BBAW: New Treasure
Tuesday's BBAW theme is "New Treasure." The official plan is to swap blogger interviews, but I didn't sign up for that option so I'm going to wing it and post a second giveaway. Back in June I posted a mini review of Angels, Vampires & Douche Bags by Carla Collins:
This one was pitched as a "comedic motivational book," and I almost passed on it due to my distate for motivational books of any kind. It turned out to be more of an advice-meets-memoir book. In it, Collins explains how she divides the world into three kinds of people -- the angels who help and support us, the vampires who suck out our money or energy or emotional reserves, and the douchebags who act douchebaggy. She weaves in stories of angels, vampires, and douchebags from her own life and shares anecdotes that don't always relate to the theme of the book but nearly always amuse. The pace of the writing was often frenetic, as if I was reading the transcript of a stand-up act instead of a book, and while it was a bit tiring at times it did keep things interesting. I got a good chuckle every few pages, too.
I was surprised by how much I liked the book, and it was a pleasant treat. For a chance to win my advance review copy of Angels, Vampires & Douche Bags, leave a comment on this post and tell me about a book that was better than you expected (US & Canada only, please!). Comments will be accepted until midnight Central Standard Time on
And don't forget to leave a comment on Monday's post for a chance to win a copy of Alexa Stevenson's excellent memoir, Half Baked.
I received a free advance review copy of Angels, Vampires & Douche Bags through the publisher. I am not being compensated in any way for this review.
WINNER!
Congrats to Lori L. at she treads softly!
Labels: BBAW 2010, Carla Collins, giveaway
posted by velocibadgergirl | 6:00 AM
10 Comments:
I was on vacation with my husband, and I finished the last book I brought with me, so he offered one of his. Harry Potter aside, we don't share the same taste in books at ALL, but I took him up on it out of desperation. It was "Amazonia" by James Rollins, and other than the fact that it was totally not my type of book, I found I really kind of enjoyed it!
I almost gave up on ROOM by Emma Donoghue. I received an ARC at work, totally loved the cover art, and started it last Monday. When I was about halfway through, and ready to put it down, it ended up on the Booker Prize shortlist. I said, "Ok, I'll give it twenty more pages." Sure enough, the story hit a groove and I didn't put it down. While I'm not 100% sold on the Booker nom, it did end up being a good book that I'm excited to put in the hands of my customers.
Edith's War by Andrew Smith was actually a much better book than I expected. Since I had accepted a review copy, I thought it would be good, but it really was quite good - a 4.5 if I was giving stars.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Really, when I first read the cover flap after spotting it in the bookstore, I wasn't very interested. But after hearing great things about it, especially from author Libba Bray, I decided to pick it up. I was pleasantly surprised.
a(dot)long(at)tcu(dot)edu
Mr. Darcy Vampire was much better then I anticipated it being. I thought it'd be awful but I really enjoyed it. :)
misusedinnocence@aol.com
When I taught 7th grade Language Arts I was required to teach "Touching Spirit Bear" by: Ben Mikaelsen. From the looks of the cover I thought it would be terrible. Both my students and myself discovered that it was actually a wonderful book!
nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net
I'm reading Hunger Games right now and it is better than I thought it would be. Sometimes books suffer from hype but this one fortunately does not!
giveawaymommy at yahoo.com
Melissa R.
Enter me.
A book that was better than expected was Mozart's Blood. I thought it was going to be twilightish because it involved vampires, but I was so surprised at how smart it was and how much depth it had. It was a paranormal historical fiction and it was amazing. I learned a lot and was never bored. The writing was incredible.
caliblue7 at gmail dot com
Nothing is better than reading a book and it turning out better than you had expected. That book for me would have to be The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker. It was so funny throughout the entire book and a memoir that reads like fiction.
hmhenderson AT yahoo DOT com
How exciting! Thanks!
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