Susie Finkbeiner's Blog, page 16
January 30, 2013
10 Great Books From My 34th Year
Congratulations to Shelana Ferris! She is the winner of Monday’s give-away!
My good friends, tomorrow is my birthday. Tomorrow I turn 35.
And I’m SOOOO okay with that. No. Really. I am.
Anyway, I read a whole bunch of books as a 34 year old. BUT, I wanted to share 10 with you. And tell you what was so great about them.
Cool?
And, at the end of the post, I’ll have a chance for you to win something kind of cool. But you’ve got to work for it…just a little. 
Now, in no certain order, are 10 Great Books From My 34th Year…
~ Every Bush Is Burning by Brandon Clements. I reviewed this book a few months ago (read that review HERE). I appreciate that Brandon had a story to tell and did it, not listening to the demands of the “market”. Well worth the read.
~ Isn’t It Time For a Coffee Break by Amelia Rhodes. Amelia blended humor, personal stories, Scripture, and practical action steps to create this book about doing life together. Great to read with a book club, women’s small group, or Sunday School.
~ Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. Either you love it, or you hate it. Nobody seems to be “middle of the road” on this novel. I loved it. Foer is a modern day literary giant.
~The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. I read this to my kids. It is fun, touching, full of meaning…so much more than what you might expect from a book written for kids. Beautiful, beautiful book. So much better than the movie. Read this. Now.
~ The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I know, so sue me. I liked this book. But not because it was popular or because Peeta is so much better in the book than the movie (although it’s true). This book is a mirror for us as a society. Yikes. Not looking so good…
~ Jesus For President by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw. This book caused me to ponder my responsibility as a Christian who votes in USA elections. It was a good time to refocus my allegiances, and to consider if they are to God or country.
~ Until We All Come Home by Kim de Blecourt. Fast paced, well written, honest. Kim gave all the glory to God. All of it. I respect that a whole bunch. Read my review of this book HERE .
~ King Arthur’s Very Great Grandson by Kenneth Kraegel. This picture book is beautiful. The story is funny, touching, meaningful. Get thyself to Amazon and buy this book for your kids…and for yourself. It’s a great one.
~ Zora and Nicky by Claudia Mair Burney. Beautifully written, full of conflict, ending in redemption. Very glad to read this book. Very grateful for the author who put her heart into it. This is what Christian fiction can and should be.
~ Facing the Hunchback of Notre Dame by L.L. Samson. Fun book for middle grade. The narrator has a great, humorous voice. The action is exciting. The characters are believable. I look forward to reading the other books in the Enchanted Attic Series!
Now it’s your turn! Tell me a few books you’ve read recently. What made them great?
Comment on this blog for a chance to win a Paint Chips canvas tote bag!
January 29, 2013
Very Pinteresting!
Hey Howdy, Friends!
It’s Tuesday. Can you believe it? Make sure you get entered to win an attractive “Paint Chips” tote bag. Click HERE for your chance to win!
***
Yesterday, I read a GREAT article by literary agent Rachelle Gardner about how to help your favorite writers (ahem…or one you just really want to help out…like me, maybe). You can check out her blog post HERE.
One of her suggestions was to make fun “Pins” with quotes from the book to put on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Etc.
Well, I took her advice. As of right now, I only have a few to share (and they are on Pinterest…just in case you wanted to repin them). Here they are. You go on ahead and share them, pin them, whatever you’d like!
More to come later this week!
Have a lovely day!
January 28, 2013
WINNING! Big Give-Away Week!
Thursday is my birthday! Yippee! Hip Hip Hooray!
And the only thing I want for my birthday is for LOTS of people to have their hands on “Paint Chips” (or…well…their hands on their ereaders that are loaded with the novel…you know what I mean)!
Therefore, this week will be full of give-aways and chances to tell people about “Paint Chips”!
Okay. Here is the give-away for today (Monday, January 28, 2013);
A lovely “Paint Chips” canvas tote bag! This is a limited item (I only ordered a few of them). Great for a library book bag or a reusable grocery bag.
To win this bag, you just need to do the following things. Do one or all! But the more you do, the more entries you get into the drawing!
1. Comment on this post. How about we share a (clean) joke?
2. Post a link to your Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Linked In, Pinterest, yada yada page. You can share a link to this post, the book trailer, the Amazon sale page…or all of them. Just tag me in the post or leave a link to that post in your comment. I’ll include the links you can share at the end of this post.
3. “Like” my Facebook author page. Just click HERE. If you already “like” me, just let me know in the comments.
4. Purchase the book for your Kindle, Nook, iBooks, etc. Just let me know in the comments if you’ve bought it.
5. Mark “Paint Chips” as “to read” on Goodreads. If you already have, just let me know in the comments.
All right. Let’s get this Give-Away going! I’ll announce a winner on Wednesday!
Go! Go! Go!!!!
LINKS
Buy for Nook, iBooks, as a PDF
Thanks, everybody! It’s going to be the best birthday ever!
