GIVEAWAY: Nicholas Sparks' Novel Learning Series (NLS), including Dear John and A Bend in the Road

If you know me, you know I'm a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks' books, and the book-to-movie adaptations as well. I've reviewed The Best of Me and The Last Song on this blog, and I believe I reviewed The Last Song movie on my film blog as well. So I was excited to hear that Sparks has a teen reading series that takes his novels and adds questions and writing prompts within them so that students can use them to prep for college and the SAT/ACT.

It's called the Novel Learning Series (NLS), and Sparks is including three more books in it this summer: Dear John, A Bend in the Road, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

More info about the series:

• Each book contains study guides and "question and explanation" sections
• NLS was launched in 2013 with four of Sparks' books: The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, The Last Song, and Three Weeks with My Brother. The Notebook, Dear John, and The Last Song will also be a part of Walmart's back-to-school promotions.
• Each book also contains standard test questions, which will help students prepare for standardized tests like the SAT and ACT
• Sparks has future plans to publish more of his own titles as well as other "classic works" by authors (such as Mary Shelley, with Frankenstein)

One lucky Books I Think You Should Read reader has the opportunity to win two of Sparks' new books in the series, Dear John and A Bend in the Road! Enter via the Rafflecopter form below. The contest will end on Wednesday, August 7th, at 11:59pm EST, and the winner will be contacted on August 8th and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen. U.S./Canada only, please.

Good luck!





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CONTEST: win a copy of Social Media Engagement for Dummies, ends 8/6

I just returned from the BlogHer conference in Chicago, where I learned a lot about social media - something I use every day, from Twitter, to Facebook, to Blogger (which hosts this blog). Aliza Sherman and Danielle Smith have just launched Social Media Engagement for Dummies, and I have a copy to give away to one of my lucky readers. Read on to learn about the book and its authors, and enter via the Rafflecopter form at bottom to win.

Book Synopsis:
Put "engage" front and center in your social media marketing engagement strategies!

When you focus on the engagement side of a social media marketing strategy, you'll build and grow relationships with followers and customers, craft content just for them, analyze how they're responding, and refocus and refresh your campaigns accordingly. This smart guide shows you how to do all that, and then some. From building trust to sparking conversation to using video and other tools, this creative book is a must read if you want to discover all that goes into the most important aspect of today's social marketing.

Social Media Engagement For Dummies will help you connect to followers, convert them to customers, turn them into evangelists for your company, and boost your bottom line!

Aliza Sherman (left) and Danielle Smith

About Aliza Sherman:
Aliza Sherman is an award-winning author, speaker, and Web pioneer with a mission to empower women through technology. She is an authority on digital marketing and has been online since 1987 and consulting clients about the Internet since 1992.

Sherman has been featured numerous times in national publications including USA Today, US News and World Report, Newsweek, Time, and the Wall Street Journal as well as on major network news shows on CBS, CNN, CNN-FN, MSNBC, and CNBC. She has produced segments for local and national public radio including "Marketplace," and produced a 12-part documentary series for Wyoming Public Television. She is the author of 10 books including Social Media Engagement for Dummies (Wiley), The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Crowdsourcing (Alpha), and Mom, Incorporated (Sellers).

About Danielle Smith:
With a background in television, Danielle Smith brings a unique perspective on engaging with an audience. Smith is a former award-winning television news anchor and reporter turned digital correspondent, host, spokesperson, media trainer, and public speaker traveling around the country empowering women to utilize the power of social and media to follow their passions. She is the author of two books, Social Media Engagement for Dummies and Mom, Incorporated.

Smith is the founder and primary author of ExtraordinaryMommy.com and DanielleSmithMedia.com, as well as the host and producer of the original lifestyle series ‘Keeping Style in Your Life.’ Danielle has emceed events that included guest appearances by the First Lady, Michelle Obama and Martha Stewart.

As a result of her work, Smith has been featured nationally on the CBS Early Show, Fox News, MSNBC, NPR, and in USA Today, Forbes, and Publisher's Weekly.
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One winner will win a copy of Social Media Engagement for Dummies - enter via the form below. Contest will end on Tuesday, August 6th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be emailed on August 7th and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen. U.S./Canada only, please.

Good luck!

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Why your next read should be The Spectacular Now

Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller in The Spectacular Now

The Spectacular Now, by Tim Tharp.

I'm going to confess something here: I started this blog to bring you reviews of books I read - that I personally chose to read - and then somewhere along the way I started to receive so many books I "had" to read, that when I read "for pleasure" now, I sometimes keep my reviews to myself. Sure, I'll post them on Goodreads or wherever, but not here - I'm just too busy or tired (I also do movie reviews over at Yes/No Films, my movie blog, and it's occasionally hard to juggle both).

The Spectacular Now, however, is a secret that shouldn't be kept. I just read it for my book club, and it was a unique tale; it's also coming to the big screen on August 2nd, so if you're going to read it, you should do it this month.

It's a YA (Young Adult) book, which is one of the genres I'm rather fond of, but the narrator is a teenage boy: Sutter Keely. Sutter likes to live in "the spectacular now," which means being the life of the party, drinking more than he should, and not making any goals for the future. That is, until he meets Aimee Finecky, the typical "nice girl," whom he wants to help loosen up and feel more confident. That's the goal at first, anyways, until it turns into something more, something that surprises them both.

When I was reading this book, I had Miles Teller (Footloose) and Shailene Woodley (The Descendants) in my head as the two main characters, because they will be playing them in the movie adaptation, and I have to say that the casting there is a fantastic choice. Teller was great in Footloose and I can definitely see him as the carefree, loving-life Sutter, and Woodley exudes innocence and sweetness that will be needed to play Aimee.

I'm excited to see the movie when it hits theaters on August 2nd, and I recommend that you read the book first, as it was a great read.

4.5 stars out of 5.

(*This post is not sponsored; it's just me being really enthusiastic about an awesome book that's soon to turn into a movie.)

The Spectacular Now trailer:

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GIVEAWAY: win A Year of Diapers, Toys, and Books from Incredibundles - ends 7/28

Below is a description of Incredibundles from a fellow blogger. I'm choosing to take part in this giveaway because of the Year of Books that Incredibundles offers - great for your child once they get older! Read the information below and enter via the Rafflecopter widget at bottom.

To be honest with all the baby showers that I have to attend to every year, I'm starting to run out of ideas. You see when I buy presents I make sure that it's something that the new parents can really use. I also want it to be unique so that the new parents won't have to deal with the problem of having duplicate baby products. I just found a site that will make gift giving for baby shower super easy. If you want to surprise a new mom & dad with awesome baby shower present, make sure to check out Incredibundles! They offer foolproof baby present bundles that for sure new parents will appreciate.

Not only will you be able to choose pre-made baby bundles by price but you can also find adorable bundles that targets specific products for new moms and their babies. They have a lot of options such as Learn & Grow Bundles, Book Bundles, Bath Bundles, Sleep Bundles, Organic Bundles, Keepsake Bundles, Diaper Bundles, Sesame Street Bundles, Gear Bundles, Bundle Subscriptions and Gift Cards. So far, my favorite is their Bundle Subscriptions where you can choose to give a year of toys, diapers or books. Isn't it great to receive diaper subscriptions? Wish I received that when I had my child.

I also found their Dr. Seuss and Peter Rabbit Book bundles super adorable and fun. If you want something that fits your budget, they also have an option for you to create your own bundles, like instead of giving a year subscription you can just opt for 3-months diaper subscription.

IncrediBundles.com, the home of extraordinary baby gifts, redesigned the baby gift basket to create gifts that are as practical as they are stylish. The company got rid of the cellophane and wicker and replaced them with chic reusable storage containers filled with the best books, toys and products for babies. IncrediBundles.com features a line of foolproof baby gifts, allowing gift-givers to give the nursery essentials every new parent wants and needs.

Want to give a new mom a supply of diapers? It’s easy with an IncrediBundles.com Diaper Bundle! IncrediBundles.com will send a beautiful announcement package to your recipient featuring a cuddly bear and a certificate for a 3, 6, 9 or 12-month Diaper Subscription. Then, each month, mom and dad can select the brand and size of diapers they would like delivered straight to their door!

Why not fill the new baby’s nursery with all of the best books for a child’s first year and beyond? An IncrediBundles.com Book Bundle is the ultimate in baby book gifts. Give a whole Year of Books for a truly spectacular present.

You can also provide countless hours of playtime for the new little one! Give a Learn and Grow Bundle or A Year of Toys. An IncrediBundles.com toy gift stocks a baby’s nursery with must-have toys for lots of imaginative play in that first important year of learning.

IncrediBundles.com has partnered with

Shutterfly to launch The Ultimate Baby Gift Giveaway!

Want to win all these awesome
Incredibundles prizes in the photo above?

One lucky winner will receive all three of IncrediBundles.com’s award-winning subscriptions –
A Year of Diapers, A Year of Books and A Year of Toys PLUS a fabulous package from Shutterfly that includes baby announcements, a photo book to record baby’s first year and a beautiful custom photo plaque to keep or give away.

Enter today for a chance to win this amazing prize for yourself or someone you love.

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Giveaway ends on 7/28/13.

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Review and GIVEAWAY: Pipe Dreams

Pipe Dreams, by Destiny Allison.

As instructed, Vanessa avoided the Fallen and their children on her way to and from work. They were the outcasts, the undesirables. By refusing to comply with the mandates, they had been relegated to the streets, fending for themselves without benefit of food, electricity, or other conveniences. The drivers, smug in their management positions, cautioned against them, warning of theft, disease, and other unsavory possibilities. Had they been warning against something else, something worse? Part of her suspected their horrors paled in comparison with her own.

Pipe Dreams is a little confusing to get through, but the story it tells is definitely an interesting one. It's a dystopian novel similar to Hunger Games, minus the fighting part, combined with science and untold threats always hanging over the characters' heads.

Official synopsis:
Beneath the park bench, a young girl cries for help, her voice a cold hand on Vanessa's throat. The naked girl is desperate, but compassion for the Fallen is never forgiven. In a moment of hesitation, Vanessa sets in motion a chain of events that will determine mankind's fate.

Unbeknownst to her, Lewis is still haunted by her thick, auburn hair, serious eyes, and mocking laughter. She is the symbol of all he hates and her interaction with the girl is what he needs to gain control of the virus. As his plan unfolds, Vanessa is forced to flee. Escaping through the sewer, she finds love, heartbreak, and the red beam of a gun sight dancing on the slick, black wall. In the deep dark of the foul pipe, she also discovers she has been betrayed. That's when she learns Texas is real.

Pipe Dreams is a dystopian novel set in the near future. If gene splicing could merge Margaret Atwood and Suzanne Collins, the resulting author might write this book.
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The official synopsis is written in a "lyrical" way and kind of gives you a taste of this novel - at some points, it seemed more like poetry than a novel, although a story was definitely told. Vanessa wants to find a way to escape her sorry life; she's an Assistant in the NSO, a coveted position but which includes basically being a concubine to a man she hates. The citizens in this new society are kept in line by the ever-present fear of the Bird Flu, which supposedly wiped out most of the rest of the world a long time ago. What Vanessa and later her friends don't know as of yet is that the U.S.A. is still alive and well, and in fact is looking to infiltrate the NSO and its workers.

This novel is being touted as a merging of Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale) and Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games series) and I would agree with that, although I would say that I enjoyed those books a little better than Pipe Dreams. If you like dystopian literature, however, you will most likely enjoy Pipe Dreams (as I did, for the most part).

3.5 stars out of 5.

*Disclosure: I was given a copy of this novel for reviewing purposes. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

GIVEAWAY:

I have one copy of Pipe Dreams to give to a lucky reader. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below. The contest will end next Monday, July 22nd, at 11:59pm EST, and the winner will be emailed on July 23rd and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen. U.S./Canada only, please. 

Good luck!

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Beautiful Bitch

Beautiful Bitch, by Christina Lauren.

It's possible that I called Bennett more in those three days than in the entirety of our relationship, but it wasn't enough, and did nothing to ease the hollow ache that had taken up permanent residence inside my chest.

I kept myself busy, but there was no denying I was homesick. I wasn't sure exactly when it had happened, but at some point, Bennett had become it for me. As in it it. The One.

And it was fucking terrifying.

I think by now I am something of a Beautiful Bastard junkie - I reviewed that, the first book in this series, back in February; Beautiful Stranger, the second book, recently, in May; and also did an interview with the women behind the pen name of Christina Lauren, Lauren Billings and Christina Hobbs, in February. So when Beautiful Bitch, a novella that falls to being #1.5 in the series, came out recently, of course I asked for a copy ... and their PR team was nice enough to provide me with one to review.

Official synopsis:
Picking up where Beautiful Bastard left off, Chloe Mills and Bennett Ryan continue their steamy, combative relationship.

Just when Chloe’s career starts to take off, Bennett wishes it would all slow down long enough to spend a wild night alone with his girlfriend. But after he refuses to take no for an answer, Chloe and Bennett find themselves with two plane tickets, one French Villa, and a surprising conversation that, predictably, leaves them wrestling under the covers.
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I liked this installment a lot, but my chief two complaints are that a) it was too short (but it's a novella, so that's apparent from the get-go) and b) although it had a few "steamy" scenes, it was actually really tame as compared to the other two books in the series. I definitely enjoyed reading more about Bennett and Chloe, though, as they had been minor characters in Stranger, and I think this was the first time we get to "hear" Bennett's point-of-view - Bastard was from Chloe's point of view - and that was very refreshing, and also interesting, to see what Bennett thinks of their relationship.

As I mentioned in my Stranger review, the next three books (2 novellas, 1 full-length) will be out in September, October, and November this year - I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for those, and I encourage you to do the same as well.

3.5 stars out of 5.

*Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for reviewing purposes. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

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CONTEST: win an iPad Mini, ends 8/4

Welcome to Bay Area Mommy‘s 2nd anniversary iPad Mini Giveaway! Cohosted by Milk and Cuddles, Shortcut Saver, and Java John Z’s!

Personally, I've wanted an iPad Mini for a while now - it's the perfect size for a tablet, and it would make a GREAT e-reader too - easy to throw in a purse or bag, but at the same time, big enough to read books on. Thanks to Bay Area Mommy, I'm giving my readers a chance to win one!

One lucky reader will win an iPad Mini (winner’s choice of color)! Giveaway runs from July 10, 2013 at 12:01am EST through August 4, 2013 at 11:59pm EST. Open worldwide. Void where prohibited. Must be at least 18 years old to be eligible. No purchase necessary. Please see full terms in the widget below. To enter, use the GiveawayTools widget below. Good luck!

Entry-Form

Disclaimer: This blog is not responsible for prize fulfillment. For questions regarding this giveaway or if you notice errors in the links, please contact Bay Area Mommy at isis@bayareamommy.net.

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