Elizabeth McCracken Tour by Early Birds Blog Tours

Early Birds Blog Tours would like to introduce you to Elizabeth McCracken's newest book called

"An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination: A Memoir"

Description of the book from Hachette Book Group:

"This is the happiest story in the world with the saddest ending," writes Elizabeth McCracken in her powerful, inspiring memoir. A prize-winning, successful novelist in her 30s, McCracken was happy to be an itinerant writer and self-proclaimed spinster. But suddenly she fell in love, got married, and two years ago was living in a remote part of France, working on her novel, andwaiting for the birth of her first child.

This book is about what happened next. In her ninth month of pregnancy, she learned that her baby boy had died. How do you deal with and recover from this kind of loss? Of course you don't--but you go on. And if you have ever experienced loss or love someone who has, the company of this remarkable book will help you go on.

With humor and warmth and unfailing generosity, McCracken considers the nature of love and grief. She opens her heart and leaves all of ours the richer for it.

******

Enjoy reading a chapter excerpt HERE!

Or an audio excerpt HERE!

Get to know Elizabeth better on Facebook HERE!

My Review:

This is a book of happiness, loss, sadness, recovery, joy and love. The loss of one child and the birth of another culminate the basis of this book of the emotional rollercoaster of Elizabeth McCracken's life during these events. It was not an easy book to read because of the subject, but for me the writing seemed a bit choppy and thoughts seemed incomplete. Many people seem to love the book, so more power to them. I do not take losing someone lightly, whether a child, parent or spouse (who I lost 3 yrs. ago), but the story/memoir as a whole just didn't grab hold of me. By reading this book , I think we all can learn a few things about ourselves and those around us that mean the most to us.

Here are the participating blogs on the tour for today. Check out the other blogs review of the book!!!

Megan of www.chikune.com/blog
Tricia of http://www.libraryqueue.blogspot.com
Corinne of www.corinnesbookreviews.blogspot.com
Antonette of http://01crazymomma.wordpress.com
Swapna of http://www.Skrishnasbooks.blogspot.com
Luanne of http://www.luanne-abookwormsworld.blogspot.com
Carrie of http://www.TheBookGirl.net
Susan of http://www.38thavedivareaders.blogspot.com/
Allison of http://www.AllisonsAtticBlog.blogspot.com
Bethany of http://www.exlibrisbb.blogspot.com/
Marie of www.bostonbibliophile.com
The Kool Aid Mom of http://www.thekoolaidmom.wordpress.com
Nicole of http://www.linussblanket.com

New additions:
http://abookbloggersdiary.blogspot.com/
http://bookingmama.blogspot.com/
http://blog.literarily.com

A big THANK YOU!! to Miriam Parker for all her hard work on getting this tour going!!!

New Reviews Coming!!

Just a short note to apologize for no reviews the last week or so. My new job is kicking my butt...it's hard working a real job!!! Also, my grandmother passed away last Thursday, so I've gotten a little behind on reviews. I'm going to review book 1 and 2 of the Immortal series, a book called "Little Dead Girl", and after midnite tonight...a posting of the blog tour of "An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination".

Thanks to all the readers of my blog!!!

BBAW Appreciation Week!!

If you follow along for the festivities of BBAW at My Friend Amy, you will find many chances to win LOTS of goodies! Like what? Well have a look below. All of these things will be given away between September 15-19. There will be a huge variety of ways to win them and giveaways will be announced constantly throughout the week. So be sure to check in often!


A HUGE thank you to Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group USA, Harlequin, The B&B Media Group, Shera of SNS Blog Design, WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, Catherine Delors, Pamela Binnings Ewen, Andromeda Romano-Lax, Ceceilia Dowdy, Sormag, Book Club Girl, Savvy Verse and Wit, Cafe of Dreams, Fashionista Piranha, and Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?.

Daily Raffles:
Monday--Books and Chocolate sponsored by My Friend Amy and Hey Lady! Whatcha' Readin?
Tuesday--Books and Going Green sponsored by My Friend Amy
Wednesday--Books and Coffee sponsored by My Friend Amy
Thursday--Books and Charity sponsored by My Friend Amy and Fashionista Piranha
Friday--Books and Movies sponsored by My Friend Amy

Win a Book Club Girl Hostess Survival Kit!
Do you find it's your turn to host book club and not only do you not know what to serve but you don't know what books to offer up for the next month's selection?! Let Book Club Girl come to your rescue with the Book Club Girl Hostess Survival Kit.

One lucky winner of the kit will receive:

* A basket of cheese, crackers, cookies and wine for up to 12 people
* 5 great book group books to vote on for your group's next pick. And Book Club Girl will then donate 12 copies whichever book is chosen for your entire group to read.
* 12 Book Club Girl mousepads to give out as party favors that night
* 12 Book Club Girl bookmarks to mark everyone's favorite passages
* 12 Book Club Girl coasters to protect your coffee table from all those wine glasses!

TWO SORMAG Goody Bags containing books and more!


A Special Pamper Me Basket from Cafe of Dreams!
From Avon Foot Works
~ Inflatable watermelon shaped foot tub
~ 3.4 FL oz Watermelon Cooling Foot Lotion
~ 3.4 FL oz Watermelon Exfoliating Foot Scrub
~ 12 count Watermelon Effervescent Foot Tablets
~ An ARC of So Long At The Fair by Christina Schwarz
~ A variety of Hot Chocolate and Tea mixes

A pre-made blog template from SNSDesign!

A Subscription to Poetry Magazine from Savvy Verse and Wit!

BOOKS
Mistress of the Revolution by Catherine Delors
The Moon in the Mango Tree by Pamela Binnings Ewen
The Spanish Bow by Andromeda Romano-Lax
John's Quest by Cecelia Dowdy
Confessions of a Contractor by Richard Murphy
Acedia & Me by Kathleen Norris
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer
Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley
A Tale Out of Luck by Willie Nelson with Mike Blakely
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
Exit Music by Ian Rankin
The Smart One and the Pretty One by Claire LaZebnik
Gunmetal Black by Daniel Serrano
Isolation by Travis Thrasher
The Miracle Girls by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt
Every Freaking! Day With Rachell Ray by Elizabeth Hilts
Dewey by Vicki Myron
The Shiniest Jewel by Marian Henley
Keep the Faith by Faith Evans
The Book of Calamities by Peter Trachtenberg
A is for Atticus by Lorilee Craker
After the Fire by Robin Gaby Fisher
Mike's Election Guide by Michael Moore
War as They Knew It by Michael Rosenberg
Fixing Hell By Col. (ret.) Larry C. James
Wild Boy: My Life with Duran Duran by Andy Taylor
The Last Under-Cover: The True Story of an FBI Agent's Dangerous Dance with Evil By Bob Hamer
Border Lass by Amanda Scott
Insatiable Desire by Rita Heron
Hungry for More by Diana Holquist
Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee
Trespassers Will Be Baptized by Elizabeth Emerson Hancock
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not by Trish Ryan
Never Surrender by General Jerry Boykin
Dream in Color by Congresswoman Linda Sánchez, Congresswoman Loretta Sánchez
Beyond Belief by Josh Hamilton
Cobain Unseen by Charles R. Cross
Doing Business in 21st Century India by Gunjan Bagla
Branding Only Works on Cattle by Jonathan Salem Baskin
Launching a Leadership Revolution by Chris Brady, Orrin Woodward
How to Hear from God by Joyce Meyer
Knowing Right from Wrong by Thomas D. Williams
Pope John Paul II: An Intimate Life by Caroline Pigozzi
Pure by Rebecca St. James
He Loves Me! by Wayne Jacobson
So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore by Wayne Jacobson and Dave Coleman
Move On, Move Up by Paula White
The Rosary by Gary Jansen
Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts
The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
Right Livelihoods by Rick Moody
by George by Wesley Stace
The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold
Trunk Music by Michael Connelly
Hollywood Crows by Joseph Wambaugh
Dead Boys by Richard Lange
The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters by Lorraine Lopez
Sisterchicks Go Brit! by Robin Jones Gunn
Beyond the Night by Marlo Schalesky
With Endless Sight by Allison Pittman
Harlequin Titles: To Be Announced

Many other blogs are giving away books and prizes for BBAW as well! You can see the links to all of these giveaways here.


******************************************

BBAW Awards 2008 Presentation Schedule

Did you notice there are are a lot of BBAW awards? I sure did! So to make it easier on us all, and so that every blog nominated can enjoy the spotlight, these awards will be presented Wednesday morning through Thursday night at the following blogs. These blogs were asked to host because they jumped in early with their support for BBAW and because they are awesome.

Wednesday Morning

Age 30+: A Lifetime in Books
Best Meme/Carnival/Event
Best Commenter/Commentator

Booking Mama
Best Design
Best Book Club Blog

Wednesday Evening

Caribou's Mom
Most Humorous Blog

My Friend Amy
Best Publishing/Industry Blog

Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic
Best Name for a Blog
Best Challenge Host

Literate Housewife
Best Community Builder
Best Author Blog

APOOO Books
Best Book Published in 2008

Bookroom Reviews
Best Book Community Site
Most Chatty

Book-a-rama
Most Concise
Most Extravagant Giveaways

Thursday Morning

My Friend Amy
Best General Book Blog

Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic
Best Romance Blog
Best Kidlit Blog

Literate Housewife
Best Fantasy/Sci-fi/Horror/Spec-fic Blog
Best History/Historical Blog

APOOO Books
Best Literary Fiction Blog
Best Cookbook Blog

Bookroom Reviews
Best YA Lit Blog

Book-a-rama
Best Thrillers/Mystery/Suspense Blog

Caribou's Mom
Best Non-fiction Blog
Most Eclectic Taste

The Friendly Book Nook
Best Christian/Inspirational Blog

Thursday Evening

My Friend Amy
Most Altruistic Blog

********************************************

Book Photography with a Twist!

Carousel


I am finding the neatest blog entries today. Check out Book Patrol: The Page Curler and take a look at this new art form from Cara Barer using books!! I hate seeing books looking like this, but I am fascinated by it...it's soo cool!! Make sure to read down through it and there is a link to view the online exhibition!!!

What do you think of this new art?? Tell me!

Cara Barer - The Page Curler

You have to check this out!

If you love books as much as I do, you have to go check out She is too Fond of Books "Spotlight on Bookstores". It covers the Castle Arkdale and Happy Tales Bookstore in Markesan, Wisconsin. You are NOT going to believe this place!! Make sure to read the article and watch the video!!

I found another article at Book Patrol and it has a picture of the castle!!

Who wants to plan a trip with me there?? hahaha I think if I go I will think I died and went to heaven!!!

Tuesday Thingers!!

Today's question:

Members who have your books. Do you ever look at this feature? Do you use it to make LT friends, or compare notes? There are three tabs- weighted, raw, and recent. "Weighted," which means "weighted by book obscurity and library size" is probably the least self-explanatory of the three, whereas "raw" and "recent" are more so. Do you get any kind of use out of this feature?

I've seem the feature but never really 'looked' at it, other then clicking on a few people that had a lot of the same books as I do. I would leave a comment for them if they had read a book I really liked, but I don't think none have become LT 'friends' that I added.

I think I need to go take some time and look over all the LT features if Marie keeps asking questions about them!! I feel so dumb not knowing about many of these features, BUT it's nice to hear about them in case I DO want to use them!!! :-)

50 days, 50 books winner is......

The winner of "Immortals: The Crossing" autographed by the author is.....

************* Blueviolet aka Elizabeth *********************

Congratulations!!! I will be emailing you to get your information, which I will forward to the author so she can send you the signed book!!!

Thank you to all that entered!!

There are still more days of giveaways of the book on other 50 days, 50 books sites...go HERE to see the list.

The book comes out September 30th, so if you don't win a copy GO BUY ONE!!!!!

(Sorry for my delay in getting my review done for this book, family issues delayed it but should be up in the next week!!!!)