I hope everyone is enjoying their book choices this month. I'm guessing that you are all still engrossed in your books and so I am putting off choosing this month winners until Tuesday, October 27. Get your four-sentence reviews posted in the comment section below in order to be included!
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10/24/2009
09/27/2009
September Winners
Thank you to all who submitted reviews for September! It has been great to see the books that you all have chosen to read and review. I've added to my own "to read" list as I've looked over the selections.
The winning review for September is Martha Meacham for her review of Spring's Edge: A Ranch Wife's Chronicles by Laurie Wagner Buyer
The author beckoned me to get in step with her on her walks throughout vast Colorado ranch lands, as her tale unfolded with an easy rhythm of a hardscrabble life in sync with nature's cycles.
Her simple depictions of daily ranch chores and her household tasks of preparing meals for her husband, provide a metronome-like tempo while bringing attention to both the demands and joys of rural life.
A somewhat melancholy account of the difficulty of ranch life, her journal entries describe her marital relationship with remarkable honesty, exposing the highs and lows, resentment and isolation she feels.
By the time the tourists and RV’s were lining Woodland Park highways for the summer tourist season, I felt I had survived blizzards in the Rocky Mountains and joined her in hoping for the transformations that a change of season brings.
The September door prize winner is Sharon Chance. Congratulations! I'll be in touch with both of you regarding your prizes!
It's not to late to get in on the fun. If you haven't already joined the challenge and would like to, you can sign up using the MckLinky link at the bottom of the Challenge main post or send an email to linda.hoye at hotmail.com.
Remember to post your October reviews in the comments below this post before October 25 to be included in next month's drawing.
Happy Memoir Reading!
09/01/2009
Memoiring through September
Here is a list of books chosen so far to be reviewed for the challenge. If you haven't added yours to the comment section yet, please do so we can include it in the list.
- A Broom of One’s Own: Words on Writing, Housecleaning, and Life (P.S.) by Nancy Peacock
- Damn the Rejections, Full Speed Aheadby Maralys Wills
- Iran Awakening: One Woman’s Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Countryby Shirin Ebadi
- The Woman Who Spilled Words All Over Herself: Writing and Living the Zona Rosa Way
by Rosemary Daniell
- Life is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally
by Patty Digh
- Shimmering Images: A Handy Little Guide to Writing Memoir
by Lisa Dale Norton
- Spring's Edge: A Ranch Wife's Chronicles by Laurie Wagner Buyer
- The Measure of My Days by Florida Scott-Maxwell
- Together, Alone: A Memoir of Marriage and Place by Susan Wittig Albert
- A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg
- Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-daughter Story by Sue Monk Kidd/Ann Kidd Taylor
- Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel by Jeannette Walls
- Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmber by Novella Carpenter
Remember to post your for September in the comments section below before September 27 to be included in the prize drawing for the month!
08/31/2009
HerStories Memoir Challenge #2
"Telling HerStories" is all about encouraging women to tell their life stories. And not only to tell their stories, but to embrace and share them. Some women choose to publish their memoir, others write for themselves. Whatever your ultimate publication goals are, writers learn best by reading other writers. What better way to explore the wonderful world of women's memoir than to host a book challenge?
Welcome to the HerStories Memoir Challenge! 3 books in 3 months--can you do that? This challenge starts September 1, 2009, and runs through November.
- Choose 3 women's memoirs to read over a 3 month period. If you need some ideas, click on over to the Story Circle Book Reviews web site.
- Post your book list in the comments below.
- Check back here every month of the challenge to add your new review to our monthly post. But there's a catch here: I want you to summarize your review in 4 sentences. That's right. We're also a writing organization, after all, so hone your skills by summing up your review in 4 sentences.
- If you have a blog feel free to add the badge shown above to your own blog.
We'll post on the first of every month to kick off the month's activities and show your prizes.
Prizes
Every monththe best 4-sentence review will be awarded a copy of Susan Albert's An Unthymely Death and Other Garden Mysteries and have their review published on the Story Circle Book Review site. A monthly door prize will also be awarded of Susan's Starting Points: Weekly Writing Pompts for Women with Stories to Tell.
At the end of the 3 months, we'll hold a final prize drawing, chosen randomly from all of the entries over 3 months, for a year membership (new or renewal) in Story Circle Network national and Internet organizations. So, you improve your chances of winning the membership if you post your review all 3 months.
Sign up
Sign up below by clicking on the You are next link. Enter your name and, if you have a blog, the URL.
Use the commnts section below to post titles of your book choice. When you're ready to post your first review, go to the Memoiring through September post and add it to the comments.
Good luck, and Happy Memoir Reading!
06/19/2009
04/03/2009
03/15/2009
February winners, March update
Greetings, fellow memoir-readers! Still going strong, I see. Have you enjoyed your books? What have you learned about yourself through these stories? What have you learned about your writing through these stories?
The winning February review is by Rhonda Esakov, reading and writing about "Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books":
While living through several years of war between Iran and Iraq; with missiles shrieking over head, buildings bombed and lives destroyed, Nafisi and other women in Tehran temporarily escape the violence by delving into the imaginative world of novels. Even as books are disappearing and bookstores being shut down, the author and a hand-picked group of students, all female, meet to talk more about books. Reading such books as “The Great Gatsby”, “Pride and Prejudice” and “Lolita”, they risk imprisonment, rape, beatings and possible execution to claim their independence (privately) from a government that uses fear and intimidation to control them. This intense book gives us a glimpse into a world gone mad-where even something so mundane to the Western world as a reading circle could not be taken for granted.
The drawing winner is Mary Stuever. Congrats, ladies!
Remember, post your reviews for your March books on the Memoiring through March post. Don't forget to post a link to your blog, especially if you are writing more about your challenge experience. And don't be shy about commenting on other reviews--a little peer critique and support can go a long way to boosting a fellow lifewriter.
Happy reading and writing!
03/02/2009
03/01/2009
Memoiring through February
Wow, I can't believe it's March 1 already! This 28-day month really threw me off. I know, it's not like these 28-day months happen with any predictable regularity so I can be prepared for them. All the same, Father Time and I seem to have a love-hate relationship these days. As much as I fight him on it, I suspect he'll continue to win.
Please post your reviews for February here by March 6. I'll announce our February winners on March 8. For those of you who like to work ahead, I'm going to post our March and April threads so you don't have to wait on me. :)
Don't forget to leave a link to your blogs so we can come visit!
January HerStories review winners
Thank you to everyone who submitted their 4-sentence reviews for January. Looks like we've found a few gems in our stacks of books!
I'm pleased to announce our January winners. Remember, we'll be choosing the month's "spotlight" review, plus drawing another "door" prize from the names of everyone who posted a review for that month.
Our January spotlight review is Linda Hoye's review of "Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession" by Anne Rice.
This book was a fascinating journey of Rice’s journey through her childlike faith, to atheism, and ultimately a return to her faith. The first part of the book made me nostalgic for a past that wasn’t my own, but that she depicted in such a way as to make me yearn for the simpler faith-filled time in which she grew up. Her journey away from the church of her childhood, and eventually away from her God was presented in such a way that allowed the reader to empathize and even understand some of her choices. Rice’s honesty in describing her return to her faith is commendable and, while I may not agree with her completely, I appreciate her sharing her experience and expect that this book will resonate with many who have stepped away from the faith of their childhood.
Our door prize winner is Rhonda Esakov. I'll be contacting both winners so you can pick your prizes and we can arrange delivery. Congrats! And I'll be seeing the rest of you back here at the challenge blog for February's reviews!
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