FOUR DAYS LEFT TO CELEBRATE-Banned Book Week

We have four more days to celebrate Banned Book Week and to stand up for your right to read. This subject is near and dear to my heart and I'm very passionate about.
A few years ago I worked at our local town library. Someone who thought books that were written by Stephen King were inappropriate to have on our library shelves would steal them. Stephen King has written a lot of books, all of which were very popular to our patrons.We would spend our very limited budget on replacing the books. And this cycle repeated itself for a solid two years. Either the person was hit by a bus or moved away. It finally stopped. That was my first experience of someone stomping on another person's right to read. I was truly in disbelief that because one person disagreed with the content of his books they took it upon themselves to deny other people the right to read his novels.
Excuse me? What!!!
So that's my own personal story.
Here's the details of the book that I'm giving away for Banned Book Week, I love this book and all that Sherman Alexie stands for.

Amazon Synopsis:

Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

So here's what you need to do to enter this book giveaway:
1. Follow my "Mug of Moxie" blog

                      2. Follow "Mug of Moxie" on Facebook

                      3. Follow Mug of Moxie on Twitter

This is a book giveaway for US residents only

Please Include contact information(email address) in comment section

Giveaway will run from September 15th to September 30th

Winner will be chosen on the October 1st

Good Luck!
                                This hop is hosted by BookHounds

Visit her site to participate in her giveaway as well as other book blogs that are celebrating Banned Book Giveaway Hop

Banned Book Week Giveaway!!!!

Welcome to the

BANNED BOOK WEEK

GIVEAWAY HOP!

This hop starts on September 15th and ends on September  30th

This hop is hosted by BookHounds

My Giveaway:

Amazon Synopsis:

Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

I love this banned book so much that I'm giving a copy of it away. So here's what you need to do to enter this book giveaway:

1. Follow my "Mug of Moxie" blog

2. Follow "Mug of Moxie" on Facebook

3 Follow Mug of Moxie on Twitter

This is a book giveaway for US residents only

Please Include contact information(email address) in comment section

Giveaway will run from September 15th to September 30th

Winner will be chosen on the October 1st

Good Luck!

MY TO BE READ PILE

Here's the books that I picked up at my local library or was sent this week. 

Happy Dance!!

* The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

*The Scent of Rain by  Anne Montgomery

*The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Look for upcoming Reviews!

BOOK GIVEAWAY!!!

BOOK GIVEAWAY!!

The Glass Castle

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

353 Pages

March 2005

The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette’s brilliant and charismatic father captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn’t want the responsibility of raising a family.

The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.

I loved this book so much that I'm giving a copy of "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls away. This is a paperback  book right off my personal bookshelf because I want you to have the opportunity to read and hopefully love it as much as I do. So here's what you need to do to enter this book giveaway:
1. Follow my "Mug of Moxie" blog
2. Follow "Mug of Moxie" on Facebook
3. This is a book giveaway for US residents only
4. Include contact information(email address) in comment section
5. Giveaway will run until September 30th-winner will be chosen on October 1st and have 48 hours to contact me.
Good Luck!

BOOK REVIEW-THE GOOD NEIGHBOR

THE GOOD NEIGHBOR

By A.J. Banner

204 pages

September 2015

Lake Union Publishing

Amazon:

Shadow Cove, Washington, is the kind of town everyone dreams about—quaint streets, lush forests, good neighbors. That’s what Sarah thinks as she settles into life with her new husband, Dr. Johnny McDonald. But all too soon she discovers an undercurrent of deception. And one October evening when Johnny is away, sudden tragedy destroys Sarah’s happiness.

Dazed and stricken with grief, she and Johnny begin to rebuild their shattered lives. As she picks up the pieces of her broken home, Sarah discovers a shocking secret that forces her to doubt everything she thought was true—about her neighbors, her friends, and even her marriage. With each stunning revelation, Sarah must ask herself, Can we ever really know the ones we love?

My Thoughts:
I'm sooooo tired of books being compared to Gone Girl! I think from now on if  a book is compared to Gone Girl I'll just avoid it. The Good Neighbor was a quick, easy read. I think it took me two evenings to zip through it. Sadly, I was really disappointed. The main character, Sarah annoyed the hell out of me. At times I wanted to scream at her for being so clueless. Her husband, Dr. Johnny McDonald was also extremely unlikable-he's one of the suspects in the crime committed(Don't worry, that's not a spoiler) but Sarah keeps going back to how much she loves, loves, loves him. But it never felt real. All the characters in the book fell flat. Even the "twist" was disappointing because it left me scratching my head? The book ended with so many unanswered questions and loose ends. It felt like the author just wanted to hurry and wrap it up really quick and be done with it--I know how she feels. In the end I'm really glad I only spent $1.99

Movie Review-The Glass Castle AND Book Giveaway!!

The Glass Castle

Movie Synopsis: 

The Glass Castle is based on the best selling memoir by former New York Gossip columnist, Jeannette Walls. The movie flashes back and forth between the life she lives now in New York and her unconventional childhood. In it, she recalls memories of poverty, uncertainty, and neglect. As one of the four children of an abusive, alcoholic father and a selfish wanna-be artist mother. Jeannette learns to fend for herself and care for her sisters and brother at a very young age. Growing up they are moved from town to town, kept out of school, and left hungry for days at a time. 

My Thoughts: 

I read this book when it came out twelve years ago and it left a lasting mark on me. Watching the movie was an emotional roller coaster ride that left me exhausted at the end. It's a brutal portrayal of the dysfunctional family that Jeannette grew up in and the complicated relationships that she had with her parents. There are a few differences between the movie and the book that are worth noting. In the movie Jeannette's mom is shown as never working but in fact does have a teaching degree and works at the different places that they settle in. Jeannette's father also holds down a variety of odd jobs at each place they decide to temporarily live. But their nomadic lifestyle is spot on. They don't stay in one place for very long which you can see starts to take a toll on the kids. At one point in the movie Rex wakes the children in the middle of the night and quickly loads them into the back of a moving van, this includes the smallest child which is just a baby. This does happen in the book but during the wild ride the doors of the moving van fly open and the kids are almost thrown out. There are many scenes in this movie that bring you to the brink of hating Rex and everything that he has done to his family. And then he redeems himself with a tender moment of love and caring that puts a lump in your throat. Kudos to Woody Harrelson who does an excellent job playing a man that you can't bring yourself to hate. Brie Larson plays the main character, Jeannette Walls and does a fantastic job. She is the 2015 Oscar winner of the movie "Room". Brie brings the perfect balance of toughness and vulnerability to the role. What I walked away with was a movie about an extraordinary woman who against all odds and upbringing shows that regardless of where you come from you are in charge of your own journey and the direction it takes. Go see this movie! I loved this book so much that I'm giving a copy of "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls away. This is a paperback  book right off my personal bookshelf because I want you to have the opportunity to read and hopefully love it as much as I do. So here's what you need to do to enter this book giveaway:
1. Follow my "Mug of Moxie" blog
2. Follow "Mug of Moxie" on Facebook
3. This is a book giveaway for US residents only
4. Include contact information(email address) in comment section
5. Giveaway will run from September 3rd-September 13th-winner will be chosen on the 14th and have 48 hours to contact me.
Good Luck!

WINNER-"Clear Your Book Shelf"

A WINNER HAS BEEN CHOSEN!

Kim Pinch has won a copy of "Humans of New York" by Brandon Stanton

She has 48 hours to confirm, if I don't hear from her a new winner will be chosen.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to BookHounds for hosting.

I've already signed up for a Halloween Hop also hosted by BookHounds. I can't wait!