Thursday, December 31, 2015

Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse Giveaway Winners

Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse Giveaway Winners

Milkweed Press along with Faith Sullivan, who was the November Minnesota Author in the Spotlight here on BookSnob. are giving away 3 copies of Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse to BookSnob readers.   The Wall Street Journal listed Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse as one of the best books of 2015.

And the winners are.....

Carl Scott
Elizabeth Barnes Bevin
Stephanie Sandefur


Congratulations everyone.  Enjoy your new book!

Here is an excerpt from my book review:

Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse is a gem of a story that is a love letter to independent women and book lovers and social studies teachers like me.  There is a entertaining and lovable cast of characters that flit in and out of significant historical events that make you hold your breath and hope for the best.



Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse by Faith Sullivan

Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse by Faith Sullivan

Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse begins with an obituary for Nell Stillman, written by Nell Stillman 15 years before she died.

When I opened Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse and began reading I felt like I was coming home to lovely evening with old friends. Friends from the fictional place of Harvester, Minnesota.  Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse spans Nell's lifetime from her first year of marriage and the birth of her son to her death in 1960.

Nell becomes a 3rd grade teacher out of necessity when her abusive husband dies and she must raise her son alone.  She struggles to find her way amidst the small town life of rumors and distrust as she creates life long friends and a space to call her own.
She is an independent woman when woman are supposed to rely on a man to provide and support her.  She becomes a book lover and a supporter of public libraries. Her books help her escape and are trusted friends, especially the books by P.G. Wodehouse.
(Psst, I've never read a book by P.G. Wodehouse, please don't tell the Faith Sullivan.)

Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse is a gem of a story that is a love letter to independent women and book lovers and social studies teachers like me.  There is a entertaining and lovable cast of characters that flit in and out of significant historical events that make you hold your breath and hope for the best. My favorite characters from Sullivan's former books make an appearance and I was so glad.  I really just wanted to sit down and have tea at the table and discuss the love of books with them.

I totally love the book cover.  The book cover is amazing and reminds me of the classic look of Goodnight, Moon.

Faith Sullivan writes with heart and quiet strength.  Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse is like a fine glass of wine and a warm fire.  The story glows with wit and wisdom and celebrates the art of the story.   The story of a woman who loves her son and teaching and books.  The story of friendships, of triumph and tragedy, of a simple life in a small town.  The story of all of us.






Monday, December 28, 2015

Baseball Guy. The Book by Gordy Jones

Baseball Guy. The Book by Gordy Jones

Are you ready for some Baseball?

Baseball Guy is a book for kids and adults who love baseball.  This children's book incorporates rhyme and crayon like watercolor drawings to inspire love of the classic sport.  All the characters are smiling and joyful as a young boy dreams of making his goal of being a major league baseball player come true.

The story embodies hard work and persistence as well as the love of family.  There is all kinds of baseball goodness in the back of the book as the author, Gordy Jones has some serious baseball connections with players from the Minnesota Twins.  Many valued players have written a statement in the back of the book complete with pictures.

This lovely children's book would make a great gift for the baseball lover in your life.

If you read Baseball Guy, you just might catch a case of Baseball Fever.


Sunday, December 27, 2015

The High Divide Giveaway

The High Divide Giveaway

Lin Enger is the Minnesota Author in the spotlight here on Booksnob for the month of December and he is giving away 3 copies of his wonderful book, The High Divide to followers from the United States or Canada.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

“A deeply moving, gripping novel about one man’s quest for redemption and his family’s determination to learn the truth . . .  Layered with meaning, this remarkable novel deserves to be read more than once. The High Divide proves Enger’s chops as a masterful storyteller.” —Ann Weisgarber, author of The Promise

In 1886, Gretta Pope wakes one morning to discover that her husband is gone. Ulysses Pope has left his family behind on the far edge of Minnesota’s western prairie with only the briefest of notes and no explanation for why he left or where he’s headed. It doesn’t take long for Gretta’s young sons, Eli and Danny, to set off after him, following the scant clues they can find, jumping trains to get where they need to go, and ending up in the rugged badlands of Montana.

Gretta has no choice but to search for her sons and her husband, leading her to the doorstep of a woman who seems intent on making Ulysses her own. Meanwhile, the boys find that the closer they come to Ulysses’ trail, the greater the perils that confront them, until each is faced with a choice about whom he will defend, and who he will become.

Enger’s breathtaking portrait of the vast plains landscape is matched by the rich expanse of his characters’ emotional terrain, as pivotal historical events--the bloody turmoil of expansionism, the near total demise of the bison herds, and the subjugation of the Plains Indians--blend seamlessly with the intimate story of a family’s sacrifice and devotion.

Giveaway Rules:
Fill out the form
Must be a resident from U.S./Canada
Contest Ends 1/18 at midnight
Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Sunday, December 13, 2015

Faith Sullivan Author Interview

Faith Sullivan Author Interview

Faith is one of my favorite authors and happens to be the November Author in the Spotlight here on BookSnob.  I had the chance to ask her some questions and we played email tag for a couple of weeks but finally the interview answers are here.  I am thrilled and you will be happy to know more about Faith Sullivan and her reading and writing life.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself?

 I grew up in small-town southern Minnesota, hence the locale of my Harvester novels, I suppose.  I'm married to retired journalist Dan Sullivan, have three grown children, all writers, and a two-year-old grandson Jack, whose parents are a writer and a librarian.  As the child is alarmingly verbal, he's quite possibly headed in the same direction as the rest of the family.

I began writing novels in my forties and have continued for forty-some years, producing eight, with two more "in the oven," so to speak.

2. What inspired you to write Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse?

I was inspired to write Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse because I have worshipped at the Wodehouse altar for about as many years as I've been wandering the novel-writing territory.  And, when I sat down to write about Nell Stillman, a woman I've dealt with in previous novels, though never as a leading character, her life seemed perfect for a union with Wodehouse.  She has a hard life and his stories are an anodyne.

3. Usually an author puts some of his own life experiences in the book.  Did you do that?     Do you have anything in common with your characters?

My novels are never autobiographical though I do avail myself of things I know: small town life; teaching in public schools; Catholicism; and since I was a history major, I enjoy throwing a bit of that into the mix.

4.   Can you tell us why you decided to become a writer?  What is one of your daily writing rituals or
habits?

 I became a novelist because I had stories to tell that no one else wanted to write.  Or maybe could write.  They were mine. They grew out of my particular and peculiar brain.  I continue writing for the same reason.  Basically, I am a morning writer, always have been.  In the p.m., I edit or research. I am fortunate enough to have a book-filled office in my home, though I suppose I could write anywhere. Most writers could.  Writing fiction is a fine madness, and those afflicted will find a way to do it, no matter what.

5.   Do you like to read?  What authors or books influence you?

Any fiction writer who doesn't read is either a fool or a liar.  Writing is a craft as well as an art and it must be constantly honed if rot is not to set in.  We learn from each other, as with any art or craft.  So we read and write and write and write.  Among my favorite writers are P. G. Wodehouse, Jane Austen, David McCullough; Geraldine Brooks; the late Bill Holm; and my many brilliant friends  --  novelists, children's writers, poets, etc.  As to what authors have influenced me, all of them in some way.

6.  Name one P.G. Wodehouse book that you believe is a must read for everyone and tell us why?

If, as a reader, one is just setting out on the Wodehouse trail, I'd say begin with any of the Jeeves and Wooster books. Jeeves and Wooster are so exquisitely realized, it is difficult to find their equals in modern literature.  But do not stop there.  Race on to the Blandings Castle books and the Psmith novels, and . . . well, just keep going.

7.  I love that many of your books center around a small fictional town in Minnesota called Harvester.  Was this intentional?  Did you know this would happen when you started The Cape Ann?

The Harvester Books, so called, began when my husband suggested that I should write a sequel to The Cape Ann.  I, in the meantime, had grown attached to the Wheeler family in that same book and had determined to explore the dynamics of a family in which the mother was a severe depressive.  In writing The Empress of One, I found that I savored the opportunity to return to earlier characters, further revealing their complexity.

8.  Nell Stillman, the main character of Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse plays a role in some of your other novels as well.  Can you discuss which novels and why Nell’s story needed to be told?

Nell Stillman, protagonist of Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse, appears in The Cape Ann, The Empress of One, and peripherally in Gardenias.  In these novels, I found her both heroic and human, someone extraordinary who would characterize herself as "very ordinary."  And isn't that the way with many of the extraordinary people we encounter?  I suppose one of the reasons I write fiction is to explore this phenomenon of the extraordinary in the seemingly commonplace.

9.  Are you working on a new book?  Can you tell us a little bit about it?

I am at work on two new novels.  I'll speak about the first, Ruby.  It grew out of a recollection in the Wodehouse book of a farmer's hired girl who falls in love with the married farmer across the road and what unexpected consequences ensue.

10. In one sentence tell readers why they should read Good Night, Mr.Wodehouse?

Reading Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse is worth a reader's time because, as well as chronicling the life of an extraordinary woman, it offers fresh insights into the reasons we read and why books are the most accessible of all life-saving devices.
  
[COPYRIGHT 2015 FAITH SULLIVAN]

Thanks Faith!!

You can find Faith at her website:  http://faithsullivan.com/


Sunday, December 6, 2015

Announcing the December Author in the Spotlight

Announcing the December Author in the Spotlight

December is here and the holiday season has begun.  Now I'm in a mad rush to buy gifts for Christmas, grade papers and do final grades for my college class and read as many books as possible to up my total of books read for 2015. There is only 3 and a half more weeks of the year to read and I'm behind in my reading goal. I don't think I'm going to make it to 90 books this year. Sad.

December's author is new to me.  His name is Lin Enger and we met briefly at the Twin Cities Book Festival.  His books come highly recommended by my bookish friends so I'm excited to read them.  Lin has a brother named Leif Enger, who is also a writer, and many of you have possibly heard of him or read his famous novel, Peace Like a River.

Here are Lin Enger's books and the synopsis from Goodreads:

The High Divide:  “A deeply moving, gripping novel about one man’s quest for redemption and his family’s determination to learn the truth . . .  Layered with meaning, this remarkable novel deserves to be read more than once. The High Divide proves Enger’s chops as a masterful storyteller.” —Ann Weisgarber, author of The Promise

In 1886, Gretta Pope wakes one morning to discover that her husband is gone. Ulysses Pope has left his family behind on the far edge of Minnesota’s western prairie with only the briefest of notes and no explanation for why he left or where he’s headed. It doesn’t take long for Gretta’s young sons, Eli and Danny, to set off after him, following the scant clues they can find, jumping trains to get where they need to go, and ending up in the rugged badlands of Montana.

Gretta has no choice but to search for her sons and her husband, leading her to the doorstep of a woman who seems intent on making Ulysses her own. Meanwhile, the boys find that the closer they come to Ulysses’ trail, the greater the perils that confront them, until each is faced with a choice about whom he will defend, and who he will become.

Enger’s breathtaking portrait of the vast plains landscape is matched by the rich expanse of his characters’ emotional terrain, as pivotal historical events--the bloody turmoil of expansionism, the near total demise of the bison herds, and the subjugation of the Plains Indians--blend seamlessly with the intimate story of a family’s sacrifice and devotion.

Undiscovered Country:  Unaware that his life is about to change in ways he can't imagine, seventeen-year-old Jesse Matson ventures into the northern Minnesota woods with his father on a cold November afternoon. Perched on individual hunting stands a quarter-mile apart, they wait with their rifles for white-tailed deer. When the muffled crack of a gunshot rings out, Jesse unaccountably knows something is wrong-and he races through the trees to find his dad dead of a rifle wound, apparently self-inflicted.

But would easygoing Harold Matson really kill himself? If so, why?

Haunted by the ghost of his father, Jesse delves into family secrets, wrestles with questions of justice and retribution, and confronts the nature of his own responsibility. And just when he's decided that he alone must shoulder his family's burden, the beautiful and troubled Christine Montez enters his life, forcing him to reconsider his plans.

In spare, elegant prose, Lin Enger tells the story of a young man trying to hold his family together in a world tipped suddenly upside down. Set among pristine lakes and beneath towering pines, Undiscovered Country is at once a bold reinvention of Shakespeare's
Hamlet and a hair-bristling story of betrayal, revenge, and the possibilities of forgiveness.

This month you can expect a giveaway, a book review, an author interview and if we are lucky a guest post.  Please check out Lin Enger's books and her website at http://www.lin-enger.com/