Giveaway Winners + Another Giveaway: Pat Conroy’s MY READING LIFE

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend whether or not you celebrated Thanksgiving. I think we should treat every weekend as a holiday, and by that I mean we should sleep in, never change out of our pajamas, do movie marathons and behave in a general lazy manner.

But it’s Monday so let’s get down to business.

First, let’s get the winners of The Harry Bosch Novels: Volume 3 out of the way. The three randomly selected names are:

  1. Laura Benedict
  2. jenn
  3. Jann

Congrats! Please hit the “contact” button at top of page or red envelope icon in sidebar on right and let me know where you’d like your books sent. If I don’t hear from you by Wednesday midnight PST, alternate winner(s) will be selected.

If you entered but didn’t win, don’t despair. I thought I’d go ahead and post my next giveaway now since the holidays are approaching fast and it might be nice for you to win a gift for someone or yourself.

I have up for grabs two copies of Pat Conroy’s My Reading Life, a recent release from Doubleday. From the dust jacket:

Starting as a childhood passion that bloomed into a life-long companion, reading has been Conroy’s portal to the world, both to the furthest corners of the globe and to the deepest chambers of the human soul. His interests range widely, from Milton to Tolkien, Philip Roth to Thucydides, encompassing poetry, history, philosophy, and any mesmerizing tale of his native South. He has for years kept notebooks in which he records words and expressions, over time creating a vast reservoir of playful turns of phrase, dazzling flashes of description, and snippets of delightful sound, all just for his love of language. But reading for Conroy is not simply a pleasure to be enjoyed in off-hours or a source of inspiration for his own writing. It would hardly be an exaggeration to claim that reading has saved his life, and if not his life then surely his sanity.

I haven’t had a chance to read this yet but intend to soon. I always love hearing about how people’s reading life began.

To enter, leave a comment telling me what/who first got you interested in books. You also have to:

  • be a subscriber or Twitter follower (tell me which if you’ve never left a comment or entered a giveaway before)
  • have U.S./Canada address (no P.O. boxes)

Giveaway ends next Monday, Dec. 6, 5 p.m. PST. Winners will be randomly selected then announced here and on Twitter. I won’t be e-mailing you so please check back to see if you win. Alternate winner(s) will be chosen for any prize(s) not claimed within 48 hours.

Now, tell me about your beautiful reading life!

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7 Comments

  • Reply
    Coffee and a Book Chick
    November 28, 2010 at 6:49 pm

    Congratulations to the winners!!

  • Reply
    Paulette
    November 28, 2010 at 7:24 pm

    I remember always wanting to read…I would imitate my dad reading the newspaper and would pretend to read long before I was able to do so. My first grade teacher, Mrs. Mason, read aloud so beautifully and I wanted to be like her, so I practised and practised. As a child, I spent a lot of time on restriction (mainly for being sassy). During times of confinement, I was only allowed to attend school events and go to the library! What punishment! Locked in my room with books!

  • Reply
    Julie B
    November 29, 2010 at 7:30 am

    I lived near a library when I was growing up, and as far back as I can remember, I walk there by myself and check out the limit of books and devour them. I was quiet and shy and would always rather read than do anything else.
    I subscribe to your emails, jhbalvin at gmail dot com

  • Reply
    Kathy P
    November 29, 2010 at 7:47 am

    My mother first got me interested in books.

    GFC follower and email subscriber.

  • Reply
    Dawn Ndiaye
    November 29, 2010 at 8:28 am

    I read before I went to school.. My father taught me. He gave me the greatest gift. He showed me that I could travel around the world, yet never leave our home. I would watch him read and would hold the newspaper upside down because I wanted to be like him. Going to the library or the bookstore is such a treat for me. Reading has helped me weather all kinds of difficulty in my life. I cannot imagine my life without books. Although I lost my Dad at 17, I honor his memory every time I purchase a book.

    I follow you on Twitter @ladybellesfic

  • Reply
    Eddy
    December 1, 2010 at 9:03 am

    My family were all big readers. There were always books and magazines and newspapers and such around our house. My older brother was already out of the house and married by the time I started really reading, but I got to raid his science fiction collection that he left behind. My dad was a member of the Reader’s Digest Condensed Book club, so I’d read some of those. I remember that my mom would often stop by the library on her way home from work and pick out 4 or 5 books for me to read that week. If I remember correctly, she always made good choices.

  • Reply
    Laura DeLuca
    December 2, 2010 at 10:15 am

    I got myself interested-I have been reading and writing since second grade

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