Penguin Books 75th Anniversary Giveaway

When I was new in the U.S. and first started reading classics, I noticed the penguin logo was on every paperback I read (couldn’t afford hardcovers back then) and assumed it was on all paperbacks. Of course, I found out later this wasn’t true but my little black and white friend was certainly the symbol of a good book.

Today Penguin Books officially turns 75 but all summer, the Penguin Mobile has been touring the country and driving its authors to celebrations at bookstores in their hometown. The final event will take place in September in New York City, where the Mini Cooper will be auctioned off with proceeds going to the New York Public Library. If I had the cash, I would bid on it in a heartbeat. I’d then take it on a car chase like in The Bourne Identity but that’s another story.

Since I can’t get to NYC, I’m celebrating here by giving away a paperback of Tana French’s In the Woods, which won the 2007 Edgar for best first novel. I haven’t read it but intend to very soon due to all the good reviews her books have received (check out this one by Picky Girl).

Here’s the synopsis from French’s website:

As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children, gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled shoes, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox – his partner and closest friend – find themselves investigating a case with chilling links to that long-ago disappearance. Now, with only snippets of buried memories to guide him, Rob has the chance to unravel both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

To enter:

• be a subscriber or Twitter follower (tell me which)
• leave a comment telling me which author you’d like to spend some time with in that cozy little car (perhaps while parked in the woods?)
• have a U.S. address

Giveaway ends next Wednesday, August 4, 5 p.m. PST. A winner will be randomly chosen via Random.org and only announced here and on Twitter. I won’t contact you personally so please check back to see if you win. The winner will have 48 hours to claim the prize before an alternate name is chosen.

Now, let’s party in the car and start fogging up the windows!