The Lost Dog By Michelle de Kretser GIVEAWAY!!

The Lost Dog

Michelle de Kretser

Publisher: Back Bay Books (reprint)

Trade Paper Edition

Available: August 13, 2009

Pages: 352

Book Information:

Tom Loxley, an Indian-Australian professor, is less concerned with finishing his book on Henry James than with finding his dog, who is lost in the Australian bush.

Joining his daily hunt is Nelly Zhang, an artist whose husband disappeared mysteriously years before Tom met her. Although Nelly helps him search for his beloved pet, Tom isn't sure if he should trust this new friend.

Tom has preoccupations other than his book and Nelly and his missing dog, mainly concerning his mother, who is suffering from the various indignities of old age. He is constantly drawn from the cerebral to the primitive--by his mother's infirmities, as well as by Nelly's attractions. THE LOST DOG makes brilliant use of the conventions of suspense and atmosphere while leading us to see anew the ever-present conflicts between our bodies and our minds, the present and the past, the primal and the civilized.

About Michelle de Kretser

Michelle de Kretser was born in Sri Lanka and emigrated to Australia when she was fourteen. She was educated in Melbourne and Paris and has worked as an editor and a book reviewer.

The Hamilton Case, her second novel, received the Commonwealth Writers Prize (SE Asia and Pacific region), and the Society of Authors’ (U.K.) Encore Award for best second novel of the year. It was also first runner-up for Barnes & Noble’s Discover Award in Fiction, and a New York Times Notable Book.

The Lost Dog is her third novel. It was a finalist for the Commonwealth Writers Prize and received the 2008 Christina Stead Prize for fiction.

Article: Michelle's motivation for her newest novel.

GIVEAWAY!!

FIVE Of My LUCKY Readers Will WIN A Copy Of Their Very Own!!
Courtesy of Valerie and Hachette Book Group
Books will be coming directly from HBG - So, there are two rules
You MUST Reside in the U.S. or Canada ONLY
Also, You MUST Have a Street Address that You Can Give Me IF You Win
NO P.O. Boxes Please!

How Do you Win?
It's Simple!
You must follow me by hitting the FOLLOW button
that way I can see you and know you are one of my readers!

All Entries MUST be in By Midnight Sept. 23rd Winners Drawn on the 24th!

Extra Entries
+2 If you Subscribe by Mail
+2 If you Subscribe via Google Reader
+3 If you TWEET About This Giveaway
+5 If you Follow Me on TWITTER! (Leave @TwitterName)
+10 If you blog about this Giveaway in it's own post (0r any others I'm having)
+15 If you Put My Button On Your Blog and Link Back
(+5 for every NEW follower you bring me)

**IMPORTANT**
Please DO NOT WRITE I FOLLOW YOU ON TWITTER FIVE TIMES
You just have to put +5 I FOLLOW YOU ON TWITTER
If you have any QUESTIONS or Concerns, Please hit the "Contact Me" Button!

Good Luck and HAVE FUN!!
Thank you ALL for Stopping By!
Without you, your comments and imput, this blog
wouldn't be able to continue to grow!

KISSES ~ XXX

Who L-O-V-E-S ME?

Why YOU do! Wanna' know HOW I know you LOVE me? Because MY BLOG got not ONE, but Two more awards this week! And from not ONE, but THREE different wonderful women with their own beautiful blogs!!

OK, My first award is the Kreativ Blogger Award and this was sent over to me by Kristi from her "Books and Needlepoint" Blog! (Thank you Kristi!)

The Rules Are: Once you receive this award, you are to list seven of your favorite things and then nominate seven other blogs.

Here are my seven favorite things in no particular order:

1. Family and Friends
2. A Really Good Book
3. A Starry Night
4. A Kiss that makes you melt
5. When someone says "I Love You" and you know they mean it.
6. The smell after it rains in the spring
7. Red Velvet Cake

Now here are Seven other blogs that I want to nominate for this award:

1. Mrs. Magoo Reads ~ Sophie
2. Trying to Stay Calm ~ Shauna
3. Bookworming In The 21st Century ~ Kristen
4. Starting Fresh ~ Gaby
5. Red Lady's Reading Room ~ Bonnie
6. Trin's Book Nook ~ Trin
7. Trish's Book Blog ~ Trish

There they are in NO particular order!!

Now, My SECOND Award is a really pretty one and it's called THE HEARTFELT BLOGGER AWARD and this was sent to me from TWO very Special Bloggers and they are Bobbie From

Bobbie's Book Blog and Alicia at Confessions of A BookAHolic! (*UPDATE* Mari from Bookworm With A View also nominated me for this beautiful award as well) Thanks Ladies11

Do you reach for a cup of cocoa or tea when you're relaxing, seeking comfort, sharing a plate of cookies with family and friends? You know that feeling you get when you drink a yummy cup of cocoa, tea or a hot toddy? That is what the Heartfelt award is all about: feeling warm inside!

The Rules:

Put the logo on your blog/post. Nominate up to 9 blogs which make you feel comfy or warm inside. Be sure to link to your nominees within the post. Let them know about the award by commenting on their blog. Remember to link to the person from whom you received your award.My nominees are:

The Design Girl

Couture Carrie

Books and Needlepoint

The Story Siren

Confessions Of A BookAHolic

That's all for now!

KISSES ~ XXX

THE PRINCESS

A New Beginning!

Hi All!

Well, I'm finally home...

You have NO idea how good this feels! I can start reviewing again on a daily basis and I can hold contests and see all of my friends again.

But, I can't lie, there have been many changes made in my life. Permanent changes that have affected me greatly. I'm not ready to talk about all of them yet, but I will...in time. You've all been wonderful and to the authors and publishers "THANK YOU"! Can you hear me yelling?? See me waving *Waving Madly*!! Cancer is a horrible thing. It doesn't pick and choose. It's equally terrible to everyone! It doesn't care what you do, how old you are, what color you are, if you have a family or if you don't...

My choice...to fight back. And that I did. Did I win? To me, somewhat...and I know you all don't understand what I mean yet, but you will. I'm just not ready to talk about it yet and when I am, you'll be the first to know. A few closer friends online do know. I chose to tell them through private emails that they've sent to me. But enough about *C*...and more about BLOGGING, BLOGGERS and BOOKS!! YAY!!

I've received some really great books to review recently and I will get those posted! And today, I received a friend request on Face Book from my favorite Thriller writer Rick R. Reed! He now has ten (10) published Novels and I couldn't be happier for him! Continued success to you Rick! I was extremely surprised and honored that he was looking for me and wondering how I was doing. It made me *blush* a little... Anyway, he has a great post on the blog entitled "In Cold Blog" about his real life stalker experience and it's quite scary...you should check it out!

Another great thing...I've been book blogging over a year! It seems like yesterday! I can't believe it .... SO, in honor of that, I'm thinking up a great GIVE-A-WAY while we speak (or AS I TYPE!). Going through the blogs, I see just how much I've missed and some of it was quite a shock...

Dewey...I don't know what to say. I couldn't believe what I was reading and my prayers and heart go out to her and her family! I was sad I missed the read-a-thon. I missed so much. Those things made me sad and mad. It made me think of my own family and friends...my friends on line and what cancer "took away" from ME! I have been reading all of your blogs, just not posting on many! I've been lurking for a bit...Nymeth? Congrats on your "Dangerous Alphabet Book"... how cool is that?? Trish, I missed you greatly! And so many of you I tried to contact personally in a letter. J.Kaye? Your BLOG looks AMAZING! I promise to catch up on everyone and what they are doing...I also hope to have many of you stopping by here to catch up with me as well! So stop by and pass my blog on!

There are other things to "ME" besides reading and I think that I might let you all in on those things in between reviews as well...just in case...you never know. I don't want you to think ALL I do is READ. I love FASHION, PINK, CHOCOLATE and SATC...SHOES....SHOES AND SHOES! This year I think I'm going to let it all out. I have to. And not for you...for ME! So, if you want to learn about new authors, favorites, books and ME....the PRINCESS behind the BLOG, PLEASE stay tuned!

*PHEW!* I am SOOOO Glad to be back!! Unfortunately, that's all for now! Until then...

XXX ~ KISSES

PRINCESS

Cover Up! (Booking Thru Thursday!!)

Well, I'm keeping my promise about keeping up with the blogging! But I really have to say thanks to my other blogging friends that are making it SO easy!

Today is "Booking Through Thursday" over on Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’?, which is Trish's blog. Ok, the question this week is:

While acknowledging that we can’t judge books by their covers, how much does the design of a book affect your reading enjoyment? Hardcover vs. softcover? Trade paperback vs. mass market paperback? Font? Illustrations? Etc.?


I have to say that I definitely LOVE cover art. Honestly, it does influence what I buy when I'm out looking for new books or authors at a bookstore. I'll pick up covers that "speak" to me more than not. That is, unless the book was highly recommended by a friend. Then I'll read it regardless. I honestly believe that the cover should summarize what the book is about. I can't wait to get a new book home and start reading, I read it from cover to cover and the first and last thing I do is look at the covers. I analyze what about the story made them choose or decide on a certain cover.

When it comes to hardcover or soft? My personal favorite is hardcover, there's nothing like opening a crisp brand-new hardcover book. The way the paper feels, the way it smells, it's just an all-around good feeling.

Trade vs. Mass paperbacks is a pretty easy decision for me as well. I would prefer trade ... only because they are a little bigger, easier to hold, nicer art work, not usually as many produced as the mass and the paper is usually better. So, if it's a softcover that I want for keeps and not just a quick book I'm going to pass around or read on the plane, it's going to be trade.

I always love nice paper in books. It feels nice and it smells nice. Also, it usually makes for a better bound book. I hate when they are too tightly bound.

Font doesn't matter to me and neither does size. Illustrations may add beauty to a book, but they are definitely not needed, unless it's one of my art, shoe or fashion books. Those I just treasure. lol.

So that's just me. What about you?

Thanks for stoppin' by!

XXX- The Princess

Keeping up with the BLOGGING

Is my work NEVER done? Ok, I apologize for not keeping up with my blog : ( I said that it would be good for me, a thing I "should do", and since I journal, review and read all the time, it shouldn't be that hard for me to do....yeah, right! I've been SO sick lately and haven't been able to do a thing. I promise to try harder. And I have been visiting some really GREAT blogs.

One being J. Kaye's Book Blog! She's like a wonder woman....she does it all, reads, reviews, writes, takes care of her family and keeps up with HER blog...it's really great. You should check it out. : ) I was glad that I did!

That's all for now

XXX - The Princess