August Reviews and Giveaway

Post links to your August reviews here!

The giveaway for August will be The Lost Dog, by Michelle de Kretser, who was born in Sri Lanka and emigrated to Australia when she was fourteen. This, her third novel, is about an Indian-Australian professor who's lost his dog in the Bush. This giveaway is sponsored by Hachette Book Group and is open to U.S. and Canadian street addresses (no P.O. Boxes) only.

And now, the winners of the July giveaway! I started reading Thug Lovin' a couple of days ago and I'm impressed with Clark's mastery of dialogue and voice. She's really got these characters down. I'm not in love with the premise or the genre, but for what it is, it's definitely got merit, and so far the story is more middle-class housewife-friendly than I expected--it's really about a young couple starting a family, while the pressures of his past gang/drug world threaten to ruin their plans. (Also: nothing above a PG rating happens in the first 50 pages, nor does it look like it's heading in that direction.)

I have copies of the two Clark books for:

Susan of Color Online, for her post about 3 works of historical fiction.
Doret of The Happy Nappy Bookseller, for her review of Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez.
Jen (multigenre fan) for her review of The Shadow Speaker by Nnedi Okorafor
Terry for her review of Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story

That leaves one more set of books up for grabs, so if you've ever posted a review here or participated in the Diversity Roll Call and you'd like to win these, send me an email at worducopia/at/gmail/com and I'll pick a fifth winner! Also please email me your addresses, Terry, Jen, Doret, and Susan, so I can get the books out to you.

August Reviews:

July News

I do have a giveaway for you guys this month! Two, actually, but I only take credit for the first. Hachette is offering up 5 sets of two books by Wahida Clark, Thug Lovin' and Pay Back With Ya Life. Have any of you read her before? I plan to read them and believe me, street fiction will be truly stretching my reading in a direction I've never thought to go. I'm looking forward to it. Wahida will also be doing a guest post on my blog, Worducopia, in mid-August.

The second giveaway is over on Color Online. Susan is holding an amazing Summer Madness multi-book giveaway between now and the end of July. She's giving away some great books by authors of color, in fact I think all but two of them were already on my TBR list! I'll be entering for sure and I encourage you all to do the same.

Not a giveaway, but here's a book to look for if you like thrillers with a touch of the paranormal: A Circle of Souls by Indian-American author Preetham Grandhi. I'm intrigued by the fact that the author is a child psychiatrist--and the book has gotten fabulous reviews so far on the blogs.

Prizes!

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post the winners of the May giveaway, but here they are!

First of all, the winners of the Asian Heritage Month giveaway:

Doret for her review of Gringolandia a book about a boy of Chilean descent--Doret's review really made me want to read this one!

Susan (speaking of books I want to read!) for her review of Down to the Bone, a YA book about a Cuban girl who gets kicked out of her home because of her love relationship with another girl.

Rhapsody in Books for her response to the Diversity Roll Call about the presence of blond princesses in the books she grew up with. Rhapsody also linked to two articles on The Root.com in my comments. The first is about the Coretta Scott King Award for children's literature, and the second is an article about Princesses in children's stories.

Summer, for her Diversity Roll Call post about young adult novels by authors of color. One of the books she highlighted caught the eye of Doret, who got it read and reviewed on The Happy Nappy Bookseller before the end of the month! And that, friends, is why we are doing this.

And finally, Aquafortis of Finding Wonderland, for her Diversity Roll Call post. Aquafortis combines an essay about her own Asian heritage with a list of favorite books from the region.

And now for the Latino Book Month Giveaway books:



Conseula, for her post about Adrian Tomine's graphic novel, Shortcomings--she says the book is about "the way race is actually lived in America (it matters when it matters, it doesn't when it doesn't, as I tell my students) while also being about something completely unrelated to race (in this case, how soul-sucking New York City can be, how soul-sucking self-delusion can be)."

Edi, for her review of Flygirl, by Sherrie L. Smith. Edi's experience reading this book was enhanced by the fact that, like the main character, her own father felt pressured to pass for white during World War Two.

Thinking Aloud, for a post about Veronica Chambers, an author from Panama who often writes about the Latino-black experience for young adults.

Zetta Elliot, for her post about The White Tiger. Zetta, the author of Bird and A Wish After Midnight, says that The White Tiger pulls elements from Native Son and Invisible Man--but she enjoyed it more.

Rich Watson, for his first C.O.R.A. Diversity Roll Call post. Rich writes a blog, called Glyphs, about black comics, which has been a great help in expanding my reading horizons ever further.

Thanks to each and every one of you for your participation in this challenge and in the diversity meme. What started as a challenge for myself to broaden my own reading horizons has led to friendships and knowledge far beyond what I was seeking, and worth far more than any prize package I could possibly offer in return.

Thanks also to Hachette Book Group, who is providing this month's prize.

Winners, shoot me an email (Worducopia-at-gmail-dot-com) with a U.S. or Canadian street address and I will get those books sent to you! Congratulations!

May draws to a close

Don't forget, there's just one more day to post reviews for the fabulous May giveaway of five books by Asian or Latino authors. You can post a link to your review as a comment in this post or the May Reviews post. Winners of the drawings will be posted in this post, so watch this space!

May Giveaway

I've been looking for just the right giveaway for May, and thanks to Hachette Book Group, here it is! I have two different sets of books to give away, and two ways for you to win. (Hint: I want to lure more of you to join in on the C.O.R.A. Diversity Roll Call weekly meme).

First, the books. Hachette is holding a Latino Book Month giveaway, which includes a set of five books by Latino authors:


B as in Beauty By Alberto Ferreras

Into the Beautiful North By Luis Urrea

Hungry Woman in Paris By Josefina Lopez

The Disappearance of Irene Dos Santos By Margaret Mascarenhas

Houston, We Have a Problema By Gwendolyn Zepeda

I have five sets of them to give away, winners will receive all five books. And that's not all! (Yes, it's the Diversity Rocks infomercial). I have another five sets of books to give away for Asian Heritage month.



Free Food for Millionaires By Min Jin Lee

Trail of Crumbs By Kim Sunée

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles By Jennifer Lee

Transparency By Frances Hwang

Strangers from a Different Shore By Ronald Takaki

Two ways to win!
1) Every May review to book written by an author of color or ethnic diversity will be entered in the drawing. You do not need to be signed up for the challenge to win, you only need to read and review a book and either link to your review or email it to me. (Please link to your specific review, not just to your blog).

2) Every participant in the C.O.R.A. Diversity Roll Call will also be entered. There have been six Roll Calls posted so far and you may go back and address any or all that you missed, for one entry per post. Click on the titles below to access the full questions and the place to add the link to your post.

• Write about an author and a character who are very different from you.
• Poetry
  
• Around the World (explore a country or region related to a book or author)
• Asian authors
• Challenging Stereotypes
• Young adult lit
  

Winners will be drawn on June 1. (I'm sorry to say that Hachette can only send these to U.S. or Canadian street addresses).

May Reviews and April Winners

You're doing a great job with your reading and book reviews for the Diversity Rocks challenge! Here's the place to post May reviews. But first, our winners of the Lee & Low giveaway! I and my trusty Random.org did the drawing for each book separately, which meant that every entrant was eligible to win both books. Winners, will you please email me at Worducopia on gmail, with your mailing address so I can pass it along to Lee and Low? If you don't have a U.S. or Canadian address, you can either designate another winner or I will select one for you.

For Paul Robeson, by Eloise Greenfield, the winners are:

Mary Ann of Great Kid Books, for her review of After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson. Mary Ann says, "the author brought me into feeling like a 12 year old girl struggling to understand herself, made me remember what it felt like to try to understand myself, my friends, my Big Purpose."

Tea, of Living Life and Reading Books, for her review of My Jim, by Nancy Rawles--a novel written from the perspective of Sadie, the wife of Jim from Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Black-eyed Susan, for her review of From The Notebooks of Melanin Sun, by Jacqueline Woodson. Susan says, "One of the things I love about Woodson's work is that while her main characters are usually African American, race informs but is often not the central theme of the book. In Woodson's work, we see whole and functioning families and we see diversity in families."

Jen from Multigenre fan for Mojo: Conjure Stories, "a collection of 19 stories by various authors that explore the perils of personal magic, by authors of fantasy and African Diaspora fiction."

Doret, for her preview of Our Children Can Soar, a picture book featuring illustrations by 13 respected artists and focusing on the achievements of African Americans.

The winners of Sacred Mountain: Everest by Christine Taylor-Butler are:

Jen, a lucky double-winner for her review of Mojo: Conjure Stories.

Mrs. V for her review of Haters by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez: "Pascuala (Paski) is in for a shock when her dad announces that they will be relocating to Los Angeles from their rural New Mexican home so that he can pursue his animation career." Mrs. V recommends this book for older teens.

Another double-winner! Mary Ann, of Great Kid Books won this one too.

Black-eyed Susan also won a second time, but her lucky number this time was 18, for her Sunday Salon post featuring Jacqueline Woodson's Feathers and Carleen Brice's Orange Mint and Honey.

Riot of Burning Leaves for her review of Yukio Mishima’s The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea. Riot says, "Mishima was a consummate writer, and The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea is both a fine example of and introduction to his works.

Congratulations to the winners, and to all of you who have been keeping up with your diverse reading and review-posting!

Newcomers are welcome to join in at any time. Post one review, or commit to a specific number or type of books. Why not start by making your next read by an author of color?

May Reviews:

One more winner!

Alyce won copy of A Lucky Child on another site as well as here, so it's back to the drawing board to pick another winner. And..... it's.....#11.

Doret, the Happy Nappy Bookseller! For her review of Sag Harbor, by African American author Colson Whitehead. I accepted a review copy of Sag Harbor partly because of Doret's review:

Reading Whitehead is like listening to improv jazz. One minute you're fully lost in the beautiful sound, then the artist takes you somewhere else you have no idea where they're going but it still sounds so good, if you're lucky enough you'll grasp every note and nuances, finally they pull it back to the beginning and all you can think is damn that was freakin amazing.

I haven't cracked it open yet, so I'm looking forward to seeing if I agree with Doret's opinion.

And let me take this opportunity to give one more Thank You to Hachette Book Group for providing the giveaway copies!

The Lucky Winners!

I just did the drawing for the copies of A Lucky Child and here are the winners, as revealed by the all-knowing random.org:

#1: Christina of Jackets and Covers, for her review of The Audacity of Hope. If you've waffled on whether to read Barack Obama's 2006 book, Christina gives a very thorough account which just might sway you one way or the other!

#3: Terry of The Reading Tub, for her review of Burn My Heart, Beverly Naidoo's historical fiction book about the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya, for ages 10 to adult. Terry says this is an exceptional book, "destined to open some wonderfully thoughtful, candid discussions that are as relevant today as theywould have been in 1951."

#13: Alyce of At Home With Books, for her review of Marlon James' The Book of Night Women. This book takes place on a Jamaican slave plantation and Alyce found it to be a gripping, and emotionally difficult, read.

#19: Cloudscome at A Wrung Sponge, for her review of Honda: The Boy Who Dreamed of Cars. This picture book by Mark Weston tells the story of the man behind the Honda car company. The illustrator, Katie Yamasaki, lives in Brooklyn and I believe is originally from Japan.

#21: Riot, from Burning Leaves, for her review of The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, by Native American author Sherman Alexie. Despite this being a much-loved book and well-written, Riot had a hard time getting into it. As she puts it, "it's not you, it's me."

Winners, please email me at Worducopia at gmail dot com by the end of the week with your mailing address, to claim your copy of the book. If you don't want the book or don't have a U.S. or Canadian mailing address, please email me to let me know whether you'd like to designate another winner or have me do another drawing. If you didn't win (and even if you did) you can still win a book in April, so keep posting those reviews and don't forget to link them here for your chance to win a copy of Paul Robeson or Sacred Mountain: Everest!

April Reviews and giveaways

Oh, is it April? Nobody told me! Here's the place to put your reviews for this month.

I'll accept entries for the Lucky Child giveaway, sponsored by Hachette Publishing Group, until Sunday, April 12th. Any links to reviews posted here or in the March Reviews will be automatically entered.

Next giveaway! Reviews posted here will also be entered to win one of two children's books generously offered by Lee and Low books. They're offering 5 copies of Eloise Greenfield's new book about Paul Robeson, and 5 copies of Sacred Mountain: Everest, by Christine Taylor-Butler. Both are new books in April, 2009.

Anyone is welcome to enter the giveaways--simply review a book by an author of color, mention the Diversity Rocks challenge in your review, and include a link to your review here (or, if you don't have a blog, email me your review and I'll post it here). If you win and don't have a U.S./Canada address or the book's not your style, you can either designate a winner of your choice or I'll redraw from the pool.

March Give-away

I have another giveaway for you this month! Anyone (okay, anyone with a U.S. or Canadian street address) who links to a review of a diverse book will be entered into a drawing for one of five copies of this book:
A Lucky Child is the memoir of Thomas Buergenthal, born in Czechoslovakia to German-Jewish parents, who survived two years at Auschwitz, separated from his parents at age 10. Almost two years after he was freed, Buergenthal was able to find his mother. In 1951 he moved to America, and is now a respected international human rights judge.

In this video, Buergenthal explains why he considers himself lucky to have gotten into Auschwitz. Just listening to him talk about his experience learning to ride a bicycle as a child makes me want to sit down and start reading.

Tell you what, I'll give you one extra entry if you visit 5 of the reviews other people post and leave meaningful comments on each of them. (Whether the comments are "meaningful" will be entirely subjective but I'm fairly easy--I'm looking for something beyond "Nice review!"). Email me at the end of the month with links to your 5 comments.

Anyone can join the Diversity Rocks challenge at any time. If you're new here, I invite you to challenge yourself to read at least one book by an author of color between now and then end of March. I'll even give you an extra couple of weeks, since it's almost the middle of March. Post a review on your blog and link it here, or email it to me (worducopia-at-gmail-dot-com) before April 15 to enter the drawing.

And we have a winner!

I used Random.org to generate a random number between one and thirty-seven, for all the February reviews posted. It chose number 28, which means...

Doret is the winner!

Doret, a.k.a. The Happy Nappy Bookseller, won for her review of The Kayla Chronicles by Sherri Winston. This is a young adult book which Doret recommends as a great girls' book club read with a strong feminist message. Be sure to check out the rest of the February reviews, too--there are thirty-seven real winners out there. (Actually, I have to admit I haven't had a chance to get to the last ten or so yet-- so I have a several to look forward to reading, myself!)

Anyone want a free book?

With February almost upon us, I'm excited to announce that Diversity Rocks challenge members will be eligible to win a free book at the end of the month! This is a gift from AdaptiveBlue, in their support of this reading challenge and as part of their efforts to connect readers with the fancy toolbar, Glue.

The prize? Any book you want, from either Powells or Amazon, up to $30 including shipping.

The catch? None. All you'll need to do is link your reviews on the February Mr. Linky, and you'll be entered to win.

Wait: out of the goodness of their hearts? What's in it for AdaptiveBlue?
My best guess is, two things. One: they got your attention for a second, right?
And two: They seem pretty confident that once they have your attention, you're going to want to try Glue.

I still don't get this whole Glue thing. What is it?
I tried to explain it here, but I'm not sure I did it justice! So I've asked Laura from AdaptiveBlue to do a guest post with a better explanation. So that's coming up on Sunday.

I want to tell you straight up front that it doesn't affect me in any way (though I'd love more people to follow!) if you join Glue or not. I don't get a kickback or anything like that (don't I wish?) and I'm not going to try to sell it to you. Uh, especially since it doesn't actually cost anything. I just get the joy of being able to offer one of you a book in exchange for your commitment to diversifying your reading this year.

I'll post more detailed rules to the contest on the February Mr. Linky post this weekend, but this would be a good time to ask questions, if you have any. And if you haven't joined the challenge yet, it's never too late!