Monday, March 27, 2017

Their Greatest Gift Giveaway

Their Greatest Gift Giveaway

Author, John Coy and Photographer, Wing Young Huie are the March Authors in the spotlight here on Booksnob are giving away one copy of their beautiful children's book to a Booksnob follower who lives in the U.S.

This is a lovely book and chronicles the experience of immigrants.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

Simple text and thought-provoking photographs offer an utterly distinctive look at immigration to the United States thorough the eyes of children from many different backgrounds.



Giveaway Rules:
Fill out the form
U.S. residents only
Enter by April 23rd at midnight
Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Sunday, March 26, 2017

Inhabited Giveaway Winners!

Inhabited Giveaway Winners!

Charlie Quimby was the Minnesota Author in the spotlight in the month of January and is giving away, along with his publisher, three copies of his latest book, Inhabited.  And the lucky winners are...

Carl from Arizona
Meghan from Colorado
Robert from Radiosun.

Congratulations Winners!!
I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did.

Here is an excerpt from my book review:

Inhabited is a book that looks at the spaces in our lives that we inhabit.  We each have a space we call home, it could be you live in a big house, or a apartment or in a tent by a winding river. Each of us needs shelter and dignity.

Quimby is a beautiful writer. His words evoke a beautiful landscape of poetic prose.  Inhabited is a book to savor, to read slowly and enjoy the language.

You can find Charlie on his website:  http://greatdivide.typepad.com/charlie_quimby/

Have a great day!




Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Inhabited by Charlie Quimby

Inhabited by Charlie Quimby

Inhabited is a book that looks at the spaces in our lives that we inhabit.  We each have a space we call home, it could be you live in a big house, or a apartment or in a tent by a winding river. Each of us needs shelter and dignity.

Inhabited tells the intersecting stories of a Colorado real estate agent who has many personal struggles living in Grand Valley and the homeless population. She must deal with the grief on the death of her sister and marriage and the homeless population who clash with the community as they look for a place to call their own. Inhabited is very well researched and the issues surrounding the homeless will educate the reader.  I learned so much.

Quimby is a beautiful writer. His words evoke a beautiful landscape of poetic prose.  Inhabited is a book to savor, to read slowly and enjoy the language.

Go beyond the book with these links:

An Interview with Charlie Quimby:  http://www.rubiconline.com/qa-book-fest-author-charlie-quimby-talks-about-newest-book-monument-road/

Book Review by the Star Tribune in Mpls.:  http://www.startribune.com/reviews-inhabited-by-charlie-quimby-and-a-house-without-windows-by-nadia-hashimi/396353461/

Kirkus review:  https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/charlie-quimby/inhabited-quimbly/

National Alliance to End Homelessness:  http://www.endhomelessness.org/

Avenues for Youth:  I teach in Mpls and have students who are homeless and this organization helps homeless teens in my area.  6000 homeless every night.  http://avenuesforyouth.org/
INHABITED, a novel by Charlie Quimby from Torrey House Press on Vimeo.


Saturday, March 18, 2017

Interview with Su Smallen + Giveaways

Interview with Su Smallen + Giveaways

Su Smallen is the Minnesota Author in the Spotlight for the month of February and I had a chance to interview her about her two amazing books of poetry.  Read on to learn more about Su, her writing practice and her books of poetry.

Hello Su,

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m named after the flower rudbeckia, in the sunflower family, which my parents call brown-eyed susan. I would love to live in a yellow house and grow a garden of sunflowers.

2. What is the inspiration behind Kinds of Snow?

We experienced several years with little snow in Minnesota, relative to previous decades, and I missed it. I wrote to imaginatively call forth snow, and while doing so, snow called forth me.

3. What is the inspiration behind You This Close?

I was awarded a residency with the Science Museum of Minnesota’s St. Croix Watershed Research Station, which included the opportunity to learn from the scientists there about the river and its watershed. This gave me images and language for writing poems to a beloved I have not yet met.

4. Why did you become an author of poetry?

I come from quiet people who pay attention to small things. I am attuned to language, space, and light.

5. Where do you find your inspiration?

Nature, poetry, visual art, performance art, and the necessity of connection.

6. Do you read?  What books or author/poets inspire you?

Yes and never enough. I have studied Virginia Woolf half my life, she constantly evolved herself. Woolf saw through things; she focused the inner life within the outer life.

7. You’ve written and published several books of poetry.  Tell us a little bit about your other books.

Buddha, Proof was first published as an artist book, hand-stitched with original art by broadcraft press. The book became a Minnesota Book Award Finalist and quickly sold out of two printings; it was then picked up by a small press for traditional, perfect-bound publication of a new edition that includes more poems. Buddha, Proof is a seriously light-hearted portrayal of Buddha in the United States.

Wild Hush was also published as a hand-bound book with original art by Susan Solomon. It is about many kinds of silence.

Weight of Light is my first book, and I am excited to tell you that it has been picked up by a new publisher after being out of print for ten years. I don’t have a publication date for it yet, but perhaps late 2018.

8. How do you carve time out of your busy day to write?  Are you a full time writer or do you have a day job? What is one of your daily writing rituals or habits?

Yes, my day job as a science editor is impossible, and work days are too long and draining. During the week, I jot things down when they occur to me. Sometimes these are cryptic notes like "red-handled can opener" that I hope will be enough to remind me later what I was thinking. Also during the week I write for 20-30 minutes twice per day: when I wake and before sleep. Then, during the weekend, I set aside quite a bit of Sunday for writing, using my week's reading and writing notes.

9. Usually poetry is autobiographical and personal. Is it hard to share your personal memories and experiences with the world? Why do you do it?

By the time a poem is published, it has "grown up"; I have revised it, sought and considered feedback, tested its reception during poetry readings.  Along the way, the poem becomes its own being, separate from me. I write them to wonder, to connect, and to give.

10. In one sentence, tell readers why they should read Kinds of Snow.

Snow, because it conceals and reveals, can help you make your way, “from point A to point A.”

11. In one sentence, tell readers why they should read You This Close.

If you seek your soulmate, if you know your soulmate, or if your soul loves a river, these poems will resonate with you.

Thanks Su!

If you want to win a copy of Su's books enter here:

Kinds of Snow Giveaway
You This Close Giveaway





Saturday, March 4, 2017

Announcing March Author in the Spotlight

Announcing March Author in the Spotlight

Happy March!!
May the March winds be always at your back.

February went by fast. My daughter was confirmed in 60 degree weather in February!  It was a beautiful day and I am ready for Spring.  I helped write a Arts Learning Grant and put in a lot of hours writing it.  I read a little but only 2 books. My teaching schedule is so busy and my son is getting ready to finish his senior year and register for college.  My favorite part of everyday continues to be reading a good book with my dog by my side.

This month I am featuring Minnesota author, John Coy.  John is the author of many young adult books and children's books.  The books I will be reviewing this month are Gap Life and Their Great Gift:
Courage, Sacrifice, and Hope in a New Land with Photographer Wing Young Huie.  John is busy traveling in Africa now, visiting schools in Uganda, Zambia and South Africa.  I'm so jealous.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:
                                                       
                                                         Gap Life:
Cray got into the same college his father attended and is expected to go. And to go pre-med. And to get started right away. His parents are paying the tuition. It should be an easy decision.
But it's not.

All Cray knows is that what's expected of him doesn't feel right. The pressure to make a decision—from his family, his friends—is huge. Until he meets Rayne, a girl who is taking a gap year, and who helps him find his first real job, at a home of four adults with developmental disabilities. What he learns about himself and others will turn out to be more than any university could teach him—and twice as difficult.

Their Great Gift:
Courage, Sacrifice, and Hope in a New Land

Simple text and thought-provoking photographs offer an utterly distinctive look at immigration to the United States thorough the eyes of children from many different backgrounds.





This month you can expect a book review, a giveaway, an author interview and maybe a guest post if we are lucky.

May the sun shine warm upon your face and may you read many great books in March.
Happy Reading!