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You may also enjoy reading about the family stories in my novels and short stories at The Homeplace Series blog. You can sign up for e-mail reminders.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Book Giveaway - Beach Street

Book Giveaway - the beach street knitting society and yarn club

I am giving away a copy of "the beach street..." - how can it miss, with beach, knitting, society, yarn and club all in the title!

Please become a follower even if you don't enter the contest - I'm trying to move to over 50 followers during this two weeks. Thanks!



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, no P.O. boxes.

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 12, 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

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Book Review - The Ninth Daughter

Book Review - The Ninth Daughter

I just finished reading the new "An Abigail Adams Mystery" - The Ninth Daughter by Barbara Hamilton. It is tough reading at first, but grows on you (me, anyway!).






 The author goes into great detail about life in the 1770s in Boston, just prior to the Revolution breaking out. The ships of tea are in the harbor! By the end of the book (Mini Spoiler), the tea is dumped, by the way!

There is a grisly murder of a woman in the home of a good lady friend of Abigail. Were the Sons of Liberty involved? The British Provost Marshall thinks her husband, John Adams, did it... surely his "proof" is bogus! Abigail works with a British officer and his assistant to uncover the truth, as Sons of Liberty meetings are going on, and Abigail has her housewifely and community responsibilities to fulful. Neither the officer nor Abigail trust each other, early on, but grow to build the necessary trust to solve the crime and apprehend those responsible.

The story is filled with great detail of household daily activities, the filthy streets, the bad weather, life on the dock and wharfs, etc., etc. Abigail makes two excruciating trips into the back country, tracing clues and interacting (or trying to avoid interactions) with a small community dominated by a religious zealot.

If you find this kind of historical setting and mystery plot of interest, than you will like this novel. Frankly, it is unlike anything I've read before, and that is a compliment.

Note: This review will also be published on LibraryThing.com:  http://www.librarything.com/ 

Happy Reading! ;-)

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

P.S. Hope you'll check out my book giveaway:
http://drbillsbookbazaar.blogspot.com/2010/02/book-giveaway-beach-street.html


Monday, February 22, 2010

It's Monday, What are You Reading? Drake's Bay

It's Monday, What are You Reading?

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



I am now 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.


Happy Reading! ;-)

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

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Have you read Linda Weaver Clarke?

If you like Linda Weaver Clarke books, like I do,  check out the review of  "Elena Woman of Courage" at Suko's Notebook. She is also giving away an earlier Clarke book, autographed. Check it out!

Bill  ;-)

Hope you'll check out my book giveaway:
http://drbillsbookbazaar.blogspot.com/2010/02/book-giveaway-emmys-equal.html

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Book Giveaway - Emmy's Equal



 

Marcia Gruver lists herself as an Author of Factual Fiction. She "tends to weigh in occasionally on eternally significant issues, and her true passion is Christian fiction."

Emmy's Equal, the third of her "Texas Fortunes" trilogy, set in 1906 Texas, meets these criteria with a subtitle of: "A strong-willed city girl meets her match in a stubborn vaquero."


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, no P.O. boxes.

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 February 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 - Emmy's Equal

 Emmy's Equal (Texas Fortunes, Book No. 3) by Marcia Gruver


Marcia Gruver lists herself as an Author of Factual Fiction. She "tends to weigh in occasionally on eternally significant issues, and her true passion is Christian fiction."

Emmy's Equal, the third of her "Texas Fortunes" trilogy, set in 1906 Texas, meets these criteria with a subtitle of: "A strong-willed city girl meets her match in a stubborn vaquero."

This book has a great story with significant interplay of the different cultures. It takes some getting used to early in the book, but overall is well laid out and satisfying.

It was easy to imagine the South Texas setting and people living there. The story about the wild horse and what happened to him was especially fascinating.

Each of the characters goes through their individual twists and turns of the plot lines, but everything comes together well in the final chapters and no one is left hanging.

If you like historical fiction, I predict you will enjoy this good read!  ;-)


See my next post for a Book Giveaway of this book.

Happy Reading! ;-)

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

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Winners in the Plum Pudding book giveaway

Winners in the Plum Pudding book giveaway, picked by the Random.org List Randomizer were:
1. Esme from California, and
2. Jason from Minnesota



Thanks to over 30 entries! A new book giveaway for the last half of February will begin on Wednesday. Check back then.

Happy Reading! ;-)

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

Monday, February 15, 2010

It's Monday, What are You Reading?

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

I am now reading the new "An Abigail Adams Mystery" - The Ninth Daughter by Barbara Hamilton. It is tough reading at first, but grows on you (me, anyway!). I'm about half way through. She goes into great detail about life in the 1770s in Boston, just prior to the Revolution breaking out. The ship of tea is in the harbor! There is a grisly murder of a woman in the home of a good lady friend. Were the Sons of Liberty involved? The British Provost Marshall thinks her husband, John Adams, did it... but has no proof, of course. Abigail works with this British officer uncover the truth, as Sons of Liberty meetings are going on, and Abigail has her housewifely and community responsibilities to fulful. I'm a little more than half through; story is filled with great detail of household daily activities, the filthy streets, the bad weather, life on the dock and wharfs, etc., etc.

Happy Reading! ;-)

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

Friday, February 12, 2010

Book Review - U is for Undertow

Book Review - U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton

I must begin by noting that I have read every one of Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone books from A to U, so far. I am a die-hard fan. With that said...

If this were NOT a Sue Grafton book, I very well may have quit about half-way through... I was struggling with all the characters in the different time periods. [I should note that I only read this in the evening, a half-hour to an hour per sitting, once a day.] But, being a Kinsey Millhone book, by Sue Grafton, I had faith that it would come together by the end; and of course, IT DID.

I recognize that authors of long series have to continue to innovate in how they present their stories. She certainly stretched and did that with this book. She clearly shared with us the events of 1967 alongside the events of 1988 that led to the very satisfying conclusion. Along the way, we also have a side story developing with additional disclosure of the family that Kinsey never knew that she had. This seems to be building to a more critical part of Kinsey's life in the books ahead. [Another side note: one other very good mystery author I used to read felt the need to delve more deeply into the psychological makeup of her protagonist in a series - I did quit reading that series after another book or two. She didn't pull it off. Sue Grafton did.]

Congratulations on another fine Kinsey Millhone mystery novel.

Note: This review will also be published on LibraryThing.com:  http://www.librarything.com/

Happy Reading! ;-)

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


 

Monday, February 1, 2010

Book Review - Abraham Lincoln's World

My review of: Abraham Lincoln's World: How Riverboats, Railroads and Republicans Transformed America… by Thomas Crump

A bit ploddy, and full of stats, but a very job of doing what he said his intent was: tell about the world of Abraham Lincoln from his birth to the Civil War. He really did this well, in terms of demographics, politics and the social environment. I got out of it what I hoped to. Guess that is a pretty good result. This is the very same time period as the lives of a set of my third great grandparents, whom I may wish to write about in the future. Crump provides a great reference to use, should I follow through on that desire.

Note: This review originally published on LibraryThing.com:  http://www.librarything.com/

Happy Reading! ;-)

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