Enjoyed Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver? Head to Karin’s Book Nook to win a signed copy of Linger!

Karin’s Book Nook is offering one lucky winner a signed copy of Linger, the sequel to Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater.

Just head over to Karin’s Book Nook to sign up! Contest ends on Dec. 20.

Book Review of Bear Portraits by Jill Greenberg

At the bear minimum, I would have to say that this book is genius.
- Ashton Kutcher, actor/producer

This is not your father’s book of bear photos.
- Seth MacFarlane, Actor, Comedian, creator of The Family Guy

Ever since I was a child, I’ve been fascinated by “wild animals.” Bears were among my special favorites. But the images that I had of bears were from wild life shows – usually grizzlies catching fish with their paws or koola bears in trees, pandas surrounded by bamboo in a zoo or polar bears on ice – or from cartoons. Even the live bears that I’d peered at in zoos were some distance away. Jill Greenberg’s Bear Portraits gives the unique opportunity to study bears’ faces at close range.

In Bear Portraits, Jill Greenberg shares photos of 12 very different bears – a Polar Bear, a European Brown Bear, a Russian Brown Bear, several Kodiak Bears, a Grizzly Bear, a Black Bear. All these bears had been raised in captivity and learned to view their owners as their family. The bears were accustomed to people and filming. These deadly bears were able to sit, stand and growl silently on cue. The close shots and artificial lighting gives us a chance to see close up the different faces of these amazing bears.

These are the twelve bears that you’ll meet in Jill Greenberg’s Bear Portraits:
(1) Agee, a polar bear weighing 800 pounds at a height of 7 feet whose credits include Mystery, Alaska, and Out Cold;
(2) Ali Oop, a Kodiak Bear weighing 1,400 pounds at a height of over 8 feet whose credits include Grizzly Falls, Wild America, Dr. Doolittle 2, and The Last Trapper;
(3) Amos, a 4 month old European Brown Bear weighing 40 pounds and had been on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno;
(4) Barney, a Kodiak Bear weighing 1,000 pounds at a height of 7.5 feet whose credits include Anchorman, Grizzly Falls and Shoebox Zoo;
(5) Betty, a Kodiak Bear weighing 1,000 pounds at a height of 7 feet and whose credits include Dr. Doolittle 2 and Anchorman;
(6) Bonkers, a Black Bear weighing 600 pounds at a height of over 6 feet and whose credits include Brokeback Mountain, The Sopranos, Gentle Ben 1 & 2;
(7) Brett, a Black Bear cub, weighing 12 pounds at a height of 1 foot on all fours and 30 inches on his hind legs;
(8) Cheyenne, a Russian Brown Bear weighing 180 pounds at a height of 5 feet whose credits include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Ellen DeGeneres Show;
(9) Koda, a Grizzly Bear weighing 1,600 pounds at a height of 9 feet and whose credits included Grizzly Rage, Snow Dogs, Kevin of the North, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer;
(10) Max, a Black Bear weighing over 400 pounds at a height of six feet and whose credits include Tin Man, Dead Like Me, Dreamcatcher, and Animal Miracles;
(11) Ursula, a Kodiak Bear weighing 850 pounds at a height of 7 feet and whose credits include Anchorman, True Heart, Grizzly Falls, Wild America; and
(12) Whopper, a Kodiak Bear, weighing 1,000 pounds at a height of 7 feet and whose credits include Air Bud 2, Grizzly Falls, Anchorman, Return to Grizzly Mountain and The Last Trapper.

Bear Portraits is a fascinating book of photographs that will surely bring much enjoyment to children and adults alike.

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (November 3, 2009), 104 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

About the Author, courtesy of the publisher:
Jill Greenberg regularly shoots advertising and celebrity portrait photography for such clients as Dreamworks, Sony Pictures, Epson, Entertainment Weekly, and GQ. She is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. Her photographs of monkeys, dogs, lemurs, and -of course – bears were the face of a large-scale Animal Planet ad campaign featured on television and billboards and in New York City subway cars. Jill resides in Los Angeles with her husband, Robert, and two children.

A big thanks to Anna and Hatchette Book Group for this review opportunity!

Barnes & Noble January First Look Book Club just opened!

The January book selection is Joseph Monninger’s Eternal on the Water. Here’s the book’s description, courtesy of Barnes & Noble.

When Jonathan Cobb takes a sabbatical from teaching to go out and experience nature as Thoreau did in the early 19th century, he does not expect to meet the love of his life, any more than Mary expects to meet him. But from their first camp side meeting, they know they are soul mates.

Set against the sweeping natural backdrops of Maine’s rugged backcountry, the exotic islands of Indonesia, Yellowstone National Park, and rural New England, nature plays a key role in their romance. But their story is tragic as well as inspiring as their perfect love falls beneath the shadow of her impending fatal illness, and he must help her make an important and difficult decision.

About the Author

Joseph Monninger has published several award-winning YA novels and three books of nonfiction, including the memoir Home Waters, and has been awarded two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships. He lives and teaches in New Hampshire, where he also runs a dog sled team.

Sign up for the January FL selection at Barnes & Noble at http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Announcements/bd-p/announcements

Book Review of Jane Mansell’s Perfect Timing

“The thing about going out on your hen night, Poppy Dunbar couldn’t help noticing, was that nobody-but nobody-bothered to chat you up.” So opens, Jill Mansell’s newest novel, Perfect Timing.

If you haven’t read one of Jill Mansell’s books before, you’re in for a treat! Perfect Timing is a book that you’ll want to read straight through. The characters are delightful, even the scheming ones.

You’ll meet Poppy Dunbar who on her hen night gets into an accident and meets Tom, the charming stranger who literally sweeps her off her feet. Then he says those words, “Is this seriously bad timing or what? I wish you weren’t getting married tomorrow. I’m sorry about…you know, just now. I shouldn’t have said it.”

Poppy calls off the wedding and learns a long kept family secret. To avoid her angry “almost in-laws,” Poppy packs her bags and heads to London where she can start over, search for her biological father, and possibly reunite with Tom.

Along the way, Poppy comes across Caspar French, the gorgeous, talented, and slightly irresponsible painter, and his roommate Claudia. Claudia, constantly unlucky in love, is the slightly chubby and dissatisfied daughter of two glamorous movie stars. The last thing that Claudia wants is to room with the cheeky, cheery, and beautiful Poppy. But Caspar, Claudia, and Poppy all come together.

Perfect Timing has just the right mix of interesting and likable characters, romantic leads, crazy plot twists, and satisfying moments. I thoroughly enjoyed Perfect Timing and am looking forward to my next Jill Mansell fix!

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark; Reissue edition (November 1, 2009), 448 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

About the Author, courtesy of her website:
Jill Mansell lives with her partner and children in Bristol and writes full time. Actually, it’s not true; she watches TV, eats gum drops, admires the rugby players training in the sports field behind her house, and spends hours on the Internet marveling at how many other writers have blogs. Only when she’s completely run out of ways to procrastinate does she write. Learn more on Jill Mansell’s website at http://www.jillmansell.co.uk/index.html

Thank you so much to Danielle and SourceBooks for this review opportunity!

Book Review of Jane Mansell’s Perfect Timing

“The thing about going out on your hen night, Poppy Dunbar couldn’t help noticing, was that nobody-but nobody-bothered to chat you up.” So opens, Jill Mansell’s newest novel, Perfect Timing.

If you haven’t read one of Jill Mansell’s books before, you’re in for a treat! Perfect Timing is a book that you’ll want to read straight through. The characters are delightful, even the scheming ones.

You’ll meet Poppy Dunbar who on her hen night gets into an accident and meets Tom, the charming stranger who literally sweeps her off her feet. Then he says those words, “Is this seriously bad timing or what? I wish you weren’t getting married tomorrow. I’m sorry about…you know, just now. I shouldn’t have said it.”

Poppy calls off the wedding and learns a long kept family secret. To avoid her angry “almost in-laws,” Poppy packs her bags and heads to London where she can start over, search for her biological father, and possibly reunite with Tom.

Along the way, Poppy comes across Caspar French, the gorgeous, talented, and slightly irresponsible painter, and his roommate Claudia. Claudia, constantly unlucky in love, is the slightly chubby and dissatisfied daughter of two glamorous movie stars. The last thing that Claudia wants is to room with the cheeky, cheery, and beautiful Poppy. But Caspar, Claudia, and Poppy all come together.

Perfect Timing has just the right mix of interesting and likable characters, romantic leads, crazy plot twists, and satisfying moments. I thoroughly enjoyed Perfect Timing and am looking forward to my next Jill Mansell fix!

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark; Reissue edition (November 1, 2009), 448 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

About the Author, courtesy of her website:
Jill Mansell lives with her partner and children in Bristol and writes full time. Actually, it’s not true; she watches TV, eats gum drops, admires the rugby players training in the sports field behind her house, and spends hours on the Internet marveling at how many other writers have blogs. Only when she’s completely run out of ways to procrastinate does she write. Learn more on Jill Mansell’s website at http://www.jillmansell.co.uk/index.html

Thank you so much to Danielle and SourceBooks for this review opportunity!