Kobo has a cool new contest running in the lead up to Dan Brown’s release of his newest book The Inferno, which comes out May 14, 2013.

Contest participants channel their inner Robert Langdon to read three original short stories and solve the clues and ciphers before anyone else.  The first reader to solve all the clues wins $5,000!  Other prizes are on offer as well, including a Kobo Glo eReader signed by Dan Brown himself.

“The Descent” contest is open to residents of the US, UK, and Canada and runs from April 25 to May 14, 2013. You can visit the full contest website HERE! It is time to channel your inner codebreaker and win $5,000.

Good Luck!

Kimberly

This has been a difficult week for our country. But one of the many things that makes America beautiful is the way we come together in the face of tragedy. Together we are strong and together we can overcome.

And together, we can raise money to help those directly impacted by the bombings in Boston. A friend of mine and avid runner Katie, owner of the Live Half Full Blog, decided on Monday that she needed to help. So she gathered support from her fellow Chicago area running bloggers and before the day ended, they launched the Run For Boston 5K, which will be held on June 15, 2013.

The Run for Boston 5K embodies the great American spirit. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you live, there is a way to participate and help those who need it the most. They’ve set up the race so you can run it here in Chicago or from anywhere! And donations are always welcome.

Their goal is to raise funds from generous sponsors so that 100 percent of race entries benefit the Who Says I Can’t Foundation and directly to support the rehabilitation of those who lost limbs as a result of the terrorist attack at the 2013 Boston Marathon.

For more information or to sign up, please visit www.runforboston5K.com.

If you know others who are helping, please share with us in the comments!

Kimberly

As a child, I loved reading Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends (& all his others, too!) and If I Were in Charge of the World by Judith Viorst.  To be perfectly honest, I love them still.  But I have to admit that, as an adult, I’ve not given poetry the attention it deserves.  My challenge to myself this month is to read a book of poetry.  And in order to fulfill my challenge, I’m taking suggestions from you. 

Who is your favorite poet?  Which book of poetry do you think an non-poetry-reading adult should read first? 

Kimberly

I noticed in Vince Flynn’s March Newsletter that he is posting audio excerpts on his website, www.vinceflynn.com, for THE LAST MAN - the most recent Mitch Rapp novel.  In all, Flynn is giving fans a preview of the first eight chapters, almost two hours of audio in total!

Here is a link to the first two chapters from his website:

Pretty awesome, huh?  If you want to hear the rest of the previews he has made available, click here.  It’s worth the listen!

You can read our review of THE LAST MAN here.

Happy Listening!

Kimberly

I don’t know about you, but I have my best ideas in the shower. I review books in my head and come up with what I think are the best descriptions of what I’ve been reading. By the time I get out of the shower and get dressed for the day, I completely forget my train of thought.

I told my husband a few months ago that I saw these waterproof note pads online and that they would solve my memory problems! Then I forgot about them.

We went on vacation last week, but when we got home, on Valentine’s Day, guess what was waiting for me? THREE waterproof note pads from Aqua Notes! They come with suction cups to stick to the shower wall, and include two pencils, one red and one regular.

I’ve been using them for a few days now, and Love Love Love them! They work great, even when wet (just as advertised!), and the sheets tear off to go with you to the office, where you can easily see what your bright ideas were that morning. These things rock!

Love my hubby and love these waterproof note pads! If you have great ideas in the shower, or even if you are just thinking about what you need from the grocery store, these are a great tool.

Enjoy!
Kimberly

You know, everybody makes resolutions in January and by the end of the month, they’ve given up on at least half their goals.

But who says you have to wait until the next January to try again?  It’s a new year, a new month, a new beginning.  Every day is a chance to start over, start new, make a different choice.

“It’s about the dream of second chances,” he says finally.  He hasn’t raised his eyes from the paper on his desk, and I feel him looking at me without looking when he uses his grandfather’s words.  “The narrator doesn’t respect the beauty of life and the world around her, so it crushes her into the ground, and once she’s dead she realizes everything she took for granted and didn’t see right in front of her while she was alive.  She’s begging for another chance to live again so she can appreciate it this time.”

Sometimes, reading a particular book at just the right moment in your life can make it that much more powerful of a read.  At the beginning of January, as I was thinking about being the best version of me this year, I read The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay.

At its heart, The Sea of Tranquility is a story not only of survival, but of learning to be whole again and recognizing the opportunities life gives you.  It’s about choosing to surround yourself with the right people even when that choice is hard to make. It’s about second chances.  
  
The Sea of Tranquility is beautiful a reminder that every person in your life is there for a specific reason and that reason is not always obvious.  Some people are there to be your friend when you need one the most, some are there to help you through the hard times, some to make you laugh.  Some people are there to teach you an important lesson or to learn one with you.  Some are there by choice and others by necessity.  Most never know how they’ve influenced you.  Some are with you all your life and some leave when their purpose has been served.  But they all have a purpose in your life and each one is important.  And sometimes you get a second chance with somebody important to you.

I believe everyone who reads this book will find something different, something that matters in their life at that particular moment.  I read The Sea of Tranquility at just the right moment for me and found a beautiful story of love, loss, redemption and the extraordinary power of human relationships.

“So many things have shifted since the day I left here.  I just can’t figure out exactly how.  I feel like I’m starting over again for what?  The third time in my life?  The fourth?  I can’t possibly know.  I only hope that the life I start today will finally be the right one.”

Back of the book description:
I live in a world without magic or miracles.  A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.

Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her – her identity, her spirit, her will to live – pay.

Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left.  Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.

Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding – or if he even wants to.

The Sea of Tranquility is a rich, intense, and brilliantly imagined story about a lonely boy, an emotionally fragile girl, and the miracle of second chances.

Happy Reading!
Kimberly

Download The Sea of Tranquility eBook

Order a print copy of The Sea of Tranquility

Book Review Notes:
Title: THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY
Author: Katja Millay
Subject: Fiction & Literature, Contemporary Romance
Published: November 2012
Publisher: Atria Books
Source: Review Copy

Why I Love Family-Based Romance Series

A guest post by Bella Andre

I love reading romance (I read one book a day when I can!), and one of my favorite tropes is the family-based series. I absolutely love Julia Quinn’s historical romance Bridgerton series and have loved taking that idea of the big family into present day with my Sullivan contemporary romance series.

What I love when I read – and what I want my readers to get from The Sullivans – is to feel like they’re a part of the family, and to know each of the characters so well that they can begin to know anticipate what the will start saying and doing at family gatherings. I love it when I’m reading a big family scene and I know, “Oh, this character is going to react like this” or “This character will hate this!” I love it even more when the characters surprise me and I learn new things about them.

One of the advantages of writing a series about a large family is that even as the hero and heroine are having conflict with each other, we can see them being loving towards their families, so we know the depth of love they’re capable of.

There are plenty of big family scenes in my Sullivan books for you to get to know each character, what they’re like, and how they feel one another. Just like a real family, every Sullivan has a special relationship with each of the others. Smith and Sophie are extra close, as are Marcus and Lori. Ryan and Zach are so close in age that they spent a lot of time together as kids and have a special bond as adults.

The Sullivans are on tour with Novel Publicity. Follow along for your chance to win amazing prizes. We’ve got special romantic swag baskets for each book, an iPad Mini, Kindle Fire, Nook Color, and Kobo eReader, and Amazon and iTunes gift cards. WOW!

You’ll also get introduced to this amazing contemporary romance series via excerpts as well as interviews with and guest posts from New York Times and USA Today best-selling author, Bella Andre. You’ll definitely want to learn more about the family that has captured the world’s heart.

All the info you need to join the fun and enter to win amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment–easy to enter; easy to win!

To Win the Prizes:

1. Purchase any of the Sullivan ebooks by Bella Andre for just $4.99 (optional)
2. Enter the Rafflecopter contest on Novel Publicity (go here)
3. Visit today’s featured social media event (that’s where the HUGE prizes are)

About The Sullivans: In this sexy, emotional and funny contemporary romance series, each member of the Sullivan family will eventually find true love…usually where he or she least expects it.

Get the eBooks via Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, the iBookStore, or the Kobo Store.

Audiobooks are also available for the first five in the series (with more coming soon). Plus, keep an eye out for paperback editions coming from Harlequin Romance starting Summer 2013.

About the Author: New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Bella Andre has always been a writer. Songs came first, and then non-fiction books, but as soon as she started writing her first romance novel, she knew she’d found her perfect career. Known for “sensual, empowered stories enveloped in heady romance” (Publishers Weekly) about sizzling alpha heroes and the strong women they’ll love forever, nearly all of her novels have appeared on Top 10 lists at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple and Kobo.

Her books have been Cosmopolitan Magazine “Red Hot Reads” twice and have been translated into nine languages. Winner of the Award of Excellence, The Washington Post has called her “One of the top digital writers in America” and she has been featured by NPR, USA Today, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal. She has given the keynote speech at Book Expo America on her self-publishing success and has sold more than one million books.

If not behind her computer, you can find her reading her favorite authors, hiking, swimming or laughing. Married with two children, Bella splits her time between the Northern California wine country and a 100 year old log cabin in the Adirondacks.

• Sign up for Bella’s newsletter at www.eepurl.com/eXj22
• Visit Bella’s website at www.BellaAndre.com
• Follow Bella on twitter at www.twitter.com/bellaandre
• Join Bella on Faceboook at www.facebook.com/bellaandrefans

From our heart to yours, we wish you all a Merry Christmas!

I know this blog is about books and reading, but publishers also provide us with many learning tools in addition to the books we love, like Simon & Schuster’s Pimsleur Method for learning new languages.  Just look around your favorite bookstore and you’ll see so many great resources!

I’ve been trying to learn Spanish to better communicate with my husband’s extended family in Peru. I’d like to be able to have a phone conversation beyond just saying hello and how everybody is doing today, so I’ve been trying to find easy, cost-effective ways to learn.

To help me learn easy words and phrases, I’ve been listening to Spanish music and following along with lyrics that I found on musica.com and then translated using Google Translate.  I think the repetition makes it easier to recognize words.  Plus, I’ve discovered I love Spanish music!  My playlist grows every week and I’ve been enjoying listening to Enrique Iglesias, Reik, Camilia, Mana, Luis Fonsi, Chayanne and many more.  Who are your favorites?

During my commute, I’ve been listening to Coffee Break Spanish which is an excellent program presented in short 15-20 minute segments.  The early lessons are a great way to brush up on my vocabulary and later lessons are teaching me new material and the proper way to speak the language.  In the evenings, I’m doing vocabulary drills with the Mindsnacks Spanish app on my iPhone which uses several different word games to help with recall and spelling and is a lot of fun. 

I’m beginning to pick up on individual words and phrases when I hear them in conversation and can respond in Spanish to simple questions.  So, I feel like I’m making some progress (slowly!), but in the next few months, I know I’ll need to break down and buy a series like The Pimsleur Method (the mp3s) to help me in what I know is a much better, more efficient method than my self-created curriculum.  Once I do get the system, I’ll post updates to let you know how it’s going.

Did you use a system like that or take classes at a  language learning center?  I’m interested in hearing what methods you’ve tried when learning a new language and what you found to be the most helpful. 

Please share your experience in the comments!

Kimberly

In between reading Vince Flynn’s The Last Man and Michael Palmer’s Political Suicide, I picked up Kelly Hunter’s Flirting With Intent.

Flirting with Intent is light-hearted and fun with just the right amount of romance woven into the story.  The dialogue is clever and funny and I found myself smiling most of the time and even laughing out loud occasionally. 

Our main characters, Ruby and Damon are likable and charming, the kind of characters you’d love to have over for dinner.  There’s even a hint of subterfuge and danger, which is always a winner for me!

If you like a good romance, this is one you should try, I think you’ll like it!

Back of the book description:
Ruby’s Relationship Rules…

Ruby Maguire is done with being jerked around by men. Now she just needs to know three things about a potential bedmate: his name, where he’ll be in a week’s time and what it is he wants from her.

Damon West knows plenty about subterfuge and secrets, and nothing about being truthful with women. But Ruby demands honesty between them so Damon gives her as much as he can: I’m Damon West. I’ll be leaving Singapore in a week. And I want you to touch me.

At least, that was the intent…but something’s telling normally bulletproof Damon that one week with Ruby might not be so easy to recover from…

Happy Reading!

Kimberly

Download Flirting With Intent eBook
Order a print copy of Flirting with Intent

Book Review Notes:
Title: Flirting with Intent
Author: Kelly Hunter
Subject: Classic Romance
Published: October 2012
Publisher: Harlequin
Source: Personal Copy