Winner of A Reliable Wife announced

The winner in the A Reliable Wife book giveaway, picked by the Random.org List Randomizer was:

Jennifer G. of NC

Thanks for the over 70 entries in the last giveaway! A new book giveaway will be held in the last half of April. Check back then.


Happy Reading!

Bill ;-)

Author of "Back to the Homeplace"
http://thehomeplaceseries.blogspot.com/

In case you missed it, you can get a copy of A Reliable Wife on Amazon:

Book Giveaway - Back to the Homeplace

Book Giveaway - Back to the Homeplace

I am giving away a copy of Back to the Homeplace by William Leverne Smith during the first two weeks of April 2010, starting today. You can see a recent book review in my last post.




If you would like to win this copy for your own, here are the simple rules:

1) Comment here that you want to be entered.

2) Leave a valid email address in your comment (I need a way to contact you! No email address, no entry!)

3) Your email address will be added to a mailing list for Dr. Bill's Homeplace Newsletter (electronic monthly, first of each month) unless you specifically ask to opt out.

4) For an extra entry, Follow this blog. If you already follow my blog, just mention that in your comment.

5) For another extra entry, Follow me on Twitter. If you already follow me, just mention that in your comment. (Twiter is at bottom of this blog, right side)

6) If you blog about the giveaway on your blog, you get 5 extra entries! Include your blog address, so I can see it. Thanks!

7) Domestic USA mailing addresses only, please.

8) If you win, I will encourage you to read the book, publish a review, and hold your own giveaway with the copy, and/or donate the book to your local library, so others have a chance to read it as well.

All entries must be submitted by Friday, midnight, cst, April 16. I will contact the winner by email. If I don't get a response within 3 days, another winner will be chosen. The winner will be announced on this site, when determined.

All winners are picked by Random.org List Randomizer.


Happy Reading!

Bill ;-)

Author of "Back to the Homeplace"
http://thehomeplaceseries.blogspot.com/

Book Review on Amazon 1

Book Review of Back to the Homeplace on Amazon

Back to the Homeplace by William Leverne Smith transports readers to small town American of the late 1980s. Four siblings and their families are reunited under the auspices of a unique will. Complex relationships and family secrets emerge as the Bevins family members search for their place in the local community.

The interesting introductions at the beginning of most chapters helped take me back to the news and entertainment of the 1980s. I've read many books set in the 1960s or 1970s, but this is the first that concentrates on events of the 1980s. This is important for the mood and context of the story. Smith did an outstanding job weaving social issues of the late 1980s with timeless family relationships. Growing up in the midwest, I could relate to both the small town atmosphere and the varied viewpoints represented in the book. What I found particularly interesting was how Smith followed members of both the older and younger generations dealing with issues unique to each group.

Strong character development and realistic situations draw readers into the family farm setting during the first half of the novel. Smith's creative double-twist climax keeps readers engaged through the second half of the book and the conclusion leaves readers wanting to return to the Homeplace for more.

I look forward to the next book in this great new series. Annette Lamb "eduscapes"

[Included in Cym's March 30 Book Review Party Wednesday - Thanks!]

Happy Reading!

Bill ;-)

Author of "Back to the Homeplace"
http://thehomeplaceseries.blogspot.com/

Book Review - The New How

Book Review

The New How: Creating Business Solutions through Collaborative Strategy

As a recently retired Professor of Management at at AACSB accredited University business school, my first reaction to this book was: Oh-no, another would-be business guru consultant writing a book on business strategy!

With that background, let me give the negatives and positives as I see them. First, a positive: the word Collaborative in the sub-title is encouraging, and it seems to have been carried throughout the book, including in the neat cartoons used to make the reading easier. There must be ongoing collaboration among and between managers at various levels and different departments in order to either effectively plan or execute strategies.

The "Air Sandwich" metaphor that seems to permeate Merchant's consulting approach does not do anything for me, but if she has found it effective in working with her clients than I will object - because, the premise behind the metaphor is valid. Top executives must bridge that gap to front line managers and front line workers. Note the recent interest in the CBS television show, "Undercover Boss!"

The book may seem too big/long to some, but it is actually pretty normal in the business book publishing business. It is an easy read, with useful graphics and examples to break up the theory and procedural details.

It is certainly not a management text, and really offers nothing new (as the title would suggest), but I would recommend it to readers who have not had a lot of exposure to recent management classes or consultants. It does represent most of what is now seen as good practice, and I believe it is easy to follow and understand for the average manager.


Note: This review first written as a LibraryThing.com Early Reviewer review.

[Included in Cym's April 7 Book Review Party Wednesday]


Happy Reading! ;-)

Dr. Bill
http://stores.lulu.com/drbillshares
http://eduscapes.com/v2a/back_to_the_homeplace.html

It's Monday, What are You Reading? Farm Journalist

It's Monday, What are You Reading? 

Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farm Journalist: Writings from the Ozarks, Edited by Stephen W. Hines

This is my fourth entry for this meme, suggested by Sheila@ One Persons Journey Through A World of Books.



Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farm Journalist: Writings from the Ozarks, Edited by Stephen W. Hines, is as book that has been on my shelf for a year or so, awaiting the right time to pluck it off and check it out. It is a timeless book, but the time was right this week. I am finishing my own debut novel set on an Ozarks farm, Back to the Homeplace, and outlining the next in the series, so my mind is on Ozarks farming, I suppose.

This volume contains collected essays by Wilder that orignially appeared in the Missouri Ruralist between 1911 and 1924. Writing as "Mrs. A. J. Wilder" about  modern life in the early twentieth-century Ozarks, Laura lends her advice to women of her generation on such timeless issues as how to be an equal partner with their husbands, how to support the new freedoms they'd won with the right to vote, and how to maintain important family values in their changing world. She also discusses practical matters such as raising chickens and how to save time on household tasks while setting aside time to relax now and then.


Happy Reading! ;-)

Dr. Bill
http://stores.lulu.com/drbillshares
http://eduscapes.com/v2a/back_to_the_homeplace.html

Book Review - First in Peace

Book Review
First in Peace: How George Washington Set the Course for America
Conor Cruise O'Brien

It is a pleasure to review this little non-fiction piece on George Washington by the late Conor Cruise O'Brien, who is also author of "The Long Affair."

Written just before his death, O"Brien, the international commentator and author, wanted to set the record straight on his feeling about George Washington versus Thomas Jefferson after some of the reaction to his position on Jefferson in "The Long Affair." The subtitle of this book: "How George Washington Set the Course for America" gives a pretty clear indication of the direction he is taking. His position seems to fit well with my impressions after reading more than a dozen recent books of each Jefferson and Washington.

This book walks carefully through both the first and the second term of President Washington and documents, with excellent end notes, his relationship with Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson, of course, served first as Secretary of State in the Washington cabinet. After Jefferson resigned and resumed "private life," the rivalry continued as Jefferson acted behind the scenes to develop the rival Democratic-Republican party and Washington attempted to maintain his activities "above" the Federalist party. O'Brien notes some interesting exceptions, especially as related to the Whiskey Rebellion and the Jay Treaty ratification.

If you have an interest in the relationship between Washington and Jefferson and/or this critical period in our history, I highly recommend this small book.

Happy Reading! ;-)

Dr. Bill
http://stores.lulu.com/drbillshares
http://eduscapes.com/v2a/back_to_the_homeplace.html

Award Received and Passed On

I was very pleased to receive an award from a fellow book blogger, Paula at Community Bookstop.

This is a pass-along award, and I am pleased to that!
Rules are that when you receive the award you must:
a. post who it is from with their link; and then pass it on.
b. pass the award on to 5 other bloggers.

Note: Be sure you notify the new recipients of the award also.... :-)

My picks for the blog sites to award are:

1. Suko's Notebook

2. Allison's Attic

3. Bibliophile By the Sea

4. Home Girl's Book Blog

5. Reading to Know

Happy Reading! ;-)

Dr. Bill
http://stores.lulu.com/drbillshare

Book Review - The Invention of Air

The  Invention of Air by Steven Johnson

Steven Johnson places Joseph Priestley well in his time as well as in the intellectual development science (natural philosophy), faith (a founder of the Unitarian Church), and political theory (interactions with Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson) coming out of the Age of Enlightenment. His multi-disciplinary approach laid the groundwork for ecosystem theories in today's science even though his experiments were as an "amateur." Finally, the end of the story regarding how the Jeffereson-Priestley letters had such a profound influence on the later Adams-Jefferson infamous correspondence exchanges was fascinating.

[Included in Cym's March 23 Book Review Party Wednesday - Thanks!]

Happy Reading! ;-)

Dr. Bill
http://stores.lulu.com/drbillshare

Winner in the Beach Street Giveaway

The winner of the Book Giveaway - Beach Street - was: Jackie from Georgia.

Be sure to check out our current book giveaway: A Reliable Wife.




Happy Reading! ;-)

Dr. Bill
http://stores.lulu.com/drbillshare

Book Giveaway - A Reliable Wife

Book Giveaway - A Reliable Wife

Our Book Giveaway for the second half of March is A Reliable Wife, the debut novel of Robert Goolrick, author of the memoir The End of the World As We Know It.




About the novel, from the publisher:
For Ralph Truitt, the wealthy businessman who had advertised for "a reliable wife," this was also to be a new beginning. Years of solitude, denial, and remorse would be erased, and Catherine Land, whoever she might be, would be the vessel of his desires, the keeper of his secrets, the means to recover what was lost. That was his plan.

My comment: Set in early twentieth century Wisconsin, this is a haunting story of love and madness, passion and murder. Enjoy!  ;-)


If you would like to win this copy for your own, here are the simple rules:

1) Comment here that you want to be entered.

2) Leave a valid email address in your comment (I need a way to contact you! No email address, no entry!)

3) For an extra entry, Follow my blog. If you already follow my blog, just mention that in your comment.

4) US residents only.

5) If you blog about the giveaway on your blog, you get 5 extra entries! Include your blog address, so I can see it. Thanks!

All entries must be submitted by March 26, midnight, cst. I will contact the winner by email. If I don't get a response within 3 days, another winner will be chosen. The winner will be announced on this site, when determined.

All winners are picked by Random.org List Randomizer.



Happy Reading! ;-)

Dr. Bill
http://stores.lulu.com/drbillshare

Book Review - Drake's Bay

Last week I was reading "Drake's Bay" by Thomas Roberts. [It is an advance readers copy that my wife got from LibraryThing. Her review was so positive, I decided I should give it a try. It has to do with a history professor in San Francisco that lives on a boat with his young wife and gets involved in discovering some logs of Sir Francis Drake's late sixteen century voyages.]

Ethan Storey seems to be a fairly laid back California history professor, not intimidated by his colleagues at Berkley, and enjoys his time on his wooden sailing boat, the Drake, that his father, also a history professor, built as Ethan was growing up, after his mother had died. His father left Ethan the boat, and little else, when he died, years ago. Ethan takes on a part-time consulting job to catalogue a large, old collection of books, across the street from Berkley, owned by a rich family based in Antwerp, the Willems. It turns out the the collection has been the center of a struggle between the Willems and the Ballentines, a wealthy family based in Berkley, since the late 1930s. Ethan and Kay are not married; but living together on the boat in an interesting relationship that evolves along with the mystery. She is a property attorney, it turns out, working for the Ballentines.

The book does not read like a mystery at first, it is just an interesting story... although the professor who earlier had worked at cataloguing this same collection turns up murdered in New York City... New and old relationships are revealed among numerous twists and turns... and we end up with an exciting, exceptional, satisfying "mystery book" conclusion.

I highly recommend this book to any mystery enthusiast.

[Included in Cym's April 13 Book Review Party Wednesday - Thanks!] 


Happy Reading! ;-)

Dr. Bill
http://stores.lulu.com/drbillshare

Drake's Bay

It's Monday, What are You Reading? First in Peace

This is my third entry for this meme, suggested by Sheila@ One Persons Journey Through A World of Books.

After three mysteries in a row, I decided to go back to my Christmas Wish List gifts, and am reading a little non-fiction piece on George Washington by the late Conor Cruise O'Brien, also author of "The Long Affair," "First in Peace." Written just before his death, O"Brien, the international commentator and author, wanted to set the record straight on his feeling about George Washington versus Thomas Jefferson after some of the reaction to his position on Jefferson in "The Long Affair." The subtitle of this book: "How George Washington Set the Course for America" gives a pretty clear indication of the direction he is taking. It seems to fit well with my impressions after reading more than a dozen recent books on each Washington and Jefferson. I'll share more more in my review, in the coming weeks.

Happy Reading! ;-)

Dr. Bill
http://stores.lulu.com/drbillshare

Winner of Emmy's Equal was Naida from New Jersey.




Be sure to be a follower and enter The Beach Street Giveaway.

Happy Reading! ;-)

Dr. Bill
http://stores.lulu.com/drbillshare