An Ides-of-February Book Giveaway

Today is February 15th.

The Ides of February.

(Insert raised eyebrow and sinister music here).

They say the Ides of March are bad luck--what with the anniversary of Caesar's murder and all--but February is so much worse than March, I say the Ides of February must be worse, too. I expect something dreadful any day.

On that superstitious note, I say we need something to counteract the bad omen. Free books, I think. Did I say that loudly enough?

FREE BOOKS!

This time I'm giving you a choice:

1. The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. It's a beautifully written, incredible story, with a rather disturbing first chapter, which doesn't change my opinion that this book is amazing--it just changes the age of the child I would give it to for a birthday present. When I closed the last page, I sighed and thought: That's how I wish I could write.

2. Rapunzel's Revenge, by Shannon Hale. My ten-year-old son read this in one sitting. It made him an instant Shannon Hale graphic novel fan, which is kind of funny. She's only written two. He liked the sequel, Calamity Jack, too (which was recently released), but still thinks Rapunzel is better, so that's the one I'm offering here. Nathan Hale's illustrations are perfect. The story is zany and hillarious: a wild-west Rapunzel who uses her braids as weapons. My teenage daughters love Rapunzel as well. I like Rapunzel. But we all know we need more boy books, and this is a good 'un, even if the main character is a girl.

3. Savvy, by Ingrid Law. As you can see in the column to the right, this was one of my favorites of the books I read this year. It won a Newbery, and deserved it. I love the language--poetic and beautiful--the story is well-put-together and satisfying, and the romance is cute. But don't let the romance scare your boys away. It's not mushy--it's funny. My son hates romance and he liked this book. My daughters liked it even better. I was reading it aloud to my 10-year-old, and my daughters (13 and 16) wandered in, then sat down, then wouldn't let me stop reading until I was hoarse.

Okay, there you have it: books to combat February evils. Here's what you have to do:


a) follow my blog or

b) already be a follower of my blog or

c) blog or tweet about my giveaway and

d) leave me a comment telling me what you've done. Not everything you've done. I don't want to hear if you've cheated on your spouse or anything. Just if you've done a, b or c above.

e) do it by Friday, February 19th at midnight. Also, you have to be 18 or have parental permission to participate.


Saturday, I'll put your names in a hat and draw, then announce the winner, who will need to 1) choose a book and 2) email me their info at ejjube@gmail.com, so I know where to mail your choice.


We will face the second half of February armed with books. Good ones. So there, Brutus! Ha!

*P.S.:
 An update on my reading of Henry James's Golden Bowl: (drumroll, please)

I FINISHED.

And to make it count as one of my 2010 100-books, I even went back and re-read the first 100 pages I began in 2009. The amazing thing: beginning at about page 300, I started to like it, even had a hard time putting it down. I shouldn't be surprised. That always happens with Henry James. I hate the first 3/4ths, love the last 1/4th. At least I can say Henry James did not defeat me. And Mary, I'm going to rent the movie right away.