Connie's Winter Reading List

I'm feeling the urge to make a list. A reading list for winter because girl needs to have goals. I'm going to limit myself to just a few books because I want to make sure I cross all of these off.

 1.) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. This book was recommended by Mimi and if she thinks it's good then it must be.

 

 2.) I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag by Jennifer Gilbert. My kids birthdays are coming up and you know I'm the queen of goodie bags. But this year, no parties and no goodie bags.

 

 3.) A Good American by Alex George. I'm reading this for BlogHer's book club and it sounds really interesting!

 

 4.) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I've always wanted to read this book and now is the time!

 

What is on your winter reading list?

WINNER and Heather McDonald: My Inappropriate Life Giveaway

Last week was the last giveaway for our Blogiversary! The winner of the ruffle tote book bag is....

**drumroll please**

Emmy! 

Thanks everyone who helped us get the word out. Our stats more than doubled!

On to some more fabulous stuff! It happens to be another giveaway!

A couple weeks ago a friend of mine who happens to know Heather McDonald (of Chelsea Lately fame) asked if I might like to read her new book.

She also knows we have this here blog and some pages on Facebook so she figured it would be a great way to promote the book and possibly promote our little operation here.

And the idea for me to review said book and giveaway a second book was born. Isn't my friend smart? Yes. Yes, she is.

A few days ago I received this book in the mail, signed by Heather.

If you don't win this book you can go to Amazon to order on Feb. 5th. 

I have an entire list of books that I need to read either for friends (to review), book club (to keep up with one and start another) and to finish.

So I did what any normal person would do: I squealed at the pretty cover, ditched the other books and holed up on my couch with a blanky and read this one instead.

Let me first say that it is a fun, light, entertaining, and easy read. On top of that, it's a super quick read.

I started it and then got sidetracked but Friday night when we were having our weekly "slumber party" night with the boys, I got back to it.

This was my first mistake. I'm lying in bed trying to read and be quiet so the boys can sleep. When I got to the part about her Hershey's Kiss moment on Chelsea's private plane, I died. THEN. Came the torpedo moment and I lost it.

The bed was literally shaking, y'all. I tried to keep it quiet and inch my fat butt out of bed without making too much noise to escape where I could let loose with a loud guffaw noise. Donkey's got nothin' on me and my braying, guys.

You might think by the title of this book that Heather is totally irresponsible and X rated and taboo. Really? She's not.

In fact, I would venture out there enough to say that it's not that she's inappropriate. She's got some inappropriate friends, though! She ends up in situations that are seriously priceless.

She's a working mother to 2 boys and 1 step daughter and she's a normal gal...with an extraordinary job and friends that put her in the most entertaining situations.

The way she can take the ordinary story of taking her children on one of her trips for work to the ending where she's quoting Amy Winehouse song lyrics? Awesome.

And all the stuff in between (which is the good stuff that I'm not going to spoil for you) that gets you to the end where she's quoting those lyrics make total sense. As a mom, you're going to totally understand why and how this happened. In the end? It was probably a lil inappropriate that her kids were in that situation. Did she know before hand? Not at all.

Which is part of her charm. Heather is funny, self deprecating, loving and irreverent. It's an interesting and delightful combo, really. And, yes, I totally just said "delightful."

Somehow, I think Heather would smack the crap out of me for using that word in her book review.

I apologize. I need to rephrase it...perhaps something more along the lines of..."I'd trade my left nipple to live a day in her life." (read the book and you'll get that.)

Now. Here's the best part.

You can win your very own copy of Heather McDonald's book!! Autographed by the funny lady, herself!

Rafflecopter's in charge of this giveaway, so follow these rules and you're on your way to some serious laughter. If you ask me, it's perfect for this time of year....dreary, gray, cold, wet...you need some sunshine and funny!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway #4 and 3 Winners!!

Have you all been enjoying our Blogiversary celebration?? I know we sure have!

Last week Angie from Chaotic Creations offered up 3 handmade Reader Girl bookmarks and Connie added a gift card to Starbucks for each winner.

Congratulations to our 3 winners!

Emmy

Rachel

Myya

We love to read and we also love our readers and it's been so fun to interact with you all and get everyone excited for our giveaways.

That being said, we have one last giveaway. And then it's back to boring! I kid, I kid! We're not boring. Just go to our GoodReads account and read our bio. We're fabulous.

If you like our page on facebook we have all the links to other places you can find us. We're everywhere!

On to the last giveaway! This one's a REAL LOSER. Hahaha. Just joshin' ya. (remember that saying? yikes, no wonder it went extinct.)

I can joke like that because it's from my shop and I can make fun of my own stuff. So there.

But...in all honesty...it is pretty cute. It's one of my ruffle totes and I thought it would be a perfect book bag for the reader.

I actually use one for a library bag. Yes. I still go to the library. Whatever.

Anyway, you can go to my Cursing Crafter (that's my shop's name) fan page on FB to see some of the things that I make. I have an etsy but until I get it sort of back up and in order after taking the last 6 months or so to do some craft fairs and boutiques it is in vacation mode. It's not mandatory but I would love if you'd please like my page!

Here's the link for Cursing Crafter's Etsy. Feel free to add me to your circle or favorites if you like.

Anyway, here's the tote that is up for someone to win!

Wanna win??

Here's how with Rafflecopter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Giveaway #3 and another WINNER

Congratulations to Jen Pace!  You have won the adorable Book Nerd Necklace!

Thank you again to Happy Whimsy for donating the jewelry to us.  Please take a moment and visit her shop again in case you missed it the first time.  I found several things I couldn't live without and placed an order of my own!

Have you noticed how beautiful our website looks?  That is the handi-work of Miss Angie. She did fantastic, didn't she??

And guess what. She's responsible for this week's awesome giveaway, too! What a generous soul, Miss Angie is! Go visit her cute blog, here.

It's from her shop Chaotic Creations by My So Called Chaos. This girl is busy. She works, she volunteers, she has a blog, an etsy filled with beautiful things AND she designs blogs. I'm tired just typing all that out!

Visit her fan page on Facebook for her Chaotic Creations shop here. And check out the section where she offers up her blog designs. Then go look at some of her actual designs here!! She's so creative...she can do a little bit of everything!

Anyway, this week, Angie has generously offered 3 things for 3 winners!!

Here is what we have...

3 people will randomly be selected to win one of these 3 hand made, paper bookmarks!! Here's the description from etsy.

This bookmark is heavy duty, made from repurposed book pages, and colored with spray ink and a corresponding ribbon to help keep your place. It's a pretty 4-color rainbow effect and features a stamped girl with a cute little bob.

Beautiful, right??

Each winner will also win a Starbucks Gift Card from us!  Woot!

Here's the Rafflecopter to take your entries!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats to last week's winner. Please send us your info so that we can get your necklace to you!

Thank you, Angie, for the awesome new layout and design and sponsoring our lovely giveaway! You rock, more than you know!!

Giveaway #2 and a WINNER!

Congratulations to Myya for winning this months book selection, The End of Your Life Book Club. We're so excited to get started reading this book and look forward to discussing it in our facebook group.

Thank you so much for answering our question in the comments.  We know it's hard to narrow down your favorite genre but we did have a reason for it.  We want to expand our book club horizons and pick books from all kind of genres.

We told you we have a month of giveaways lined up and you are going to love this next one!

Happy Whimsy has the cutest necklace for any book lovin' lady out there. When I saw it I knew I had to ask, beg, grovel, whatever I had to do to see if the sweet shop owner would sponsor this giveaway.

Thank you, Sue, for saying yes!!

How. Cute. Is. That?! 

Here's the official description:

Book Nerd 1x2" Silver Resin Pendant
18" ball chain...approx. size of pendant 1x2"...."book Nerd" for Book Lover, Indy Reader, Book Club Gift...anyone who loves books and loves to read.

Sue also has another Etsy shop called Little Goodie 2 Shoes. Such fun stuff!! Iron ons, stickers, thank you cards, pillows and magnets are just a few of the items you will find in this ah-dor-able little shop.

I know some momma's about ready to have some babehs that are going to need some of this stuff!

What I love most about her shops are that the things she has available are cute and a great price!!

So enter to win this cute necklace, go browse her shops and tweet, tweet, tweet! to get the word out to help showcase this lovely woman and her adorable shops!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

January Book Selection and Blogiversary!

Mimi and I are excited!

Not only are we announcing the next book club selection, but it is our one year blogiversary and we've got a fun month of giveaways planned!

I want to thank Mimi for agreeing to host this blog with me.  When I had the idea for If You Give a Blogger a Book....Club, I knew Mimi would be the perfect partner because she loves reading and books as much (if not more) as I do and we get along so well!

I also want to thank all of our readers and facebook group friends that have made this year so fun.  Thank you for reading the books, participating in the discussions on the facebook group and for all of your thoughtful comments.

Without further ado.....the book club selection for January 2013 is:

From Amazon:

“What are you reading?”

That’s the question Will Schwalbe asks his mother, Mary Anne, as they sit in the waiting room of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In 2007, Mary Anne returned from a humanitarian trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan suffering from what her doctors believed was a rare type of hepatitis. Months later she was diagnosed with a form of advanced pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal, often in six months or less.

This is the inspiring true story of a son and his mother, who start a “book club” that brings them together as her life comes to a close. Over the next two years, Will and Mary Anne carry on conversations that are both wide-ranging and deeply personal, prompted by an eclectic array of books and a shared passion for reading. Their list jumps from classic to popular, from poetry to mysteries, from fantastic to spiritual. The issues they discuss include questions of faith and courage as well as everyday topics such as expressing gratitude and learning to listen. Throughout, they are constantly reminded of the power of books to comfort us, astonish us, teach us, and tell us what we need to do with our lives and in the world.

Reading isn’t the opposite of doing; it’s the opposite of dying.

Will and Mary Anne share their hopes and concerns with each other—and rediscover their lives—through their favorite books. When they read, they aren’t a sick person and a well person, but a mother and a son taking a journey together. The result is a profoundly moving tale of loss that is also a joyful, and often humorous, celebration of life: Will’s love letter to his mother, and theirs to the printed page.

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

Contest ends on Thursday night.  We'll announce the winner AND another giveaway on Friday!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

2013 Reading Challenge

Do you set a goal for number of books to read each year?  

Apparently, I love a good challenge because I pledged to read 28 books in 2012 and I read 35! 

This year I'm pledging to read 40 books! 

I think I can do it, how about you?