This was my favorite meme to put together. I like looking at the book covers and putting them all together. It makes me want to go to the book store! Friday Finds is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. While browsing fabulous book blogs, Amazon.com, Washington Post.com, NPR.org, various other places on the Internet, and getting recommendations from friends, these are the books that either made it to my wish list this week or I downloaded the samples on my Kindle from Amazon.com.
Congratulations ladies! You have each won a copy of Philippa Gregory’s new novel, The White Queen. Please e-mail me your mailing addresses and I will forward your info to Kelly, Ms. Gregory’s publicist, so she can send your books to you. planetbooksworldwide@gmail.com
To the rest of you lovely people who stopped by Planet Books and took time to enter in this giveaway, THANK YOU. Keep checking back here because there are more book giveaways to come. (I used the list randomizer function on Random.org.)
THIS CONTEST CONCLUDED ON 8/21.
Summary ~ The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
Brother turns on brother to win the ultimate prize, the throne of England, in this dazzling account of the wars of the Plantagenets. They are the claimants and kings who ruled England before the Tudors, and now Philippa Gregory brings them to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women, starting with Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen.
The White Queen tells the story of a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition who, catching the eye of the newly crowned boy king, marries him in secret and ascends to royalty. While Elizabeth rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become central figures in a mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the missing princes in the Tower of London whose fate is still unknown. From her uniquely qualified perspective, Philippa Gregory explores this most famous unsolved mystery of English history, informed by impeccable research and framed by her inimitable storytelling skills. – This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory kicks off a new series by the best selling and beloved author. This time the focus is on the famed “War of the Roses” or “The Cousins’ War.” The Houses of York and Lancastor battled for the throne of England between 1455 and 1487. At the time “The White Queen” takes place, King Edward IV of York’s reign. He privately married our heroine, Elizabeth Woodville, after a short courtship.
The historical fiction that Gregory produces is wonderful. It’s rich with storytelling and fact that has been blended perfectly together. I have never read any of Gregory’s novels before but I can say that she has struck a positive chord with this new book as she introduces her readers to a new reign in England’s history.
From the beginning, I thoroughly enjoyed Elizabeth. Her thoughts are strong and well written and her adventures from widow and mother to Queen of England and beyond held my attention. Kind Edward was five years Elizabeth’s junior and because he married for love (or lust, because Elizabeth wouldn’t go to bed with him until he married her) and not for an alliance between countries, this caused weakness in his personal and professional relationships that make for good drama. Of course there is heartbreak, romance and all the great aspects that are expected in a Philippa Gregory novel (I’ve read the reviews and seen the film adaptation of “The Other Boleyn Girl”). However, I did feel that the flow felt a bit like a non-fiction work at times but for the most part The White Queen was a good read.
Thank you so much to Philippa Gregory’s publicist Kelly at Touchstone-Fireside Books for inviting me to read and review The White Queen and for sending me my beautiful copy of the book. The cover art is exquisite! Kelly has also offered to giveaway two copies of The White Queen to two lucky winners/readers here at Planet Books. Please leave your name, e-mail address and the name of your favorite Philippa Gregory book so far for a chance to win. This contest will conclude on Friday, August 21st at Midnight, EST. Good luck!! You can check out Philippa Gregory’s website HERE.
{Rating ~ 4 out of 5}
I know it seems like I have neglected Planet Books a bit but I promise you, I have a real reason. I started a receptionist temp gig last Monday and it was a very tiring and quick week. This is my first full-time job in four and a half years and my body was not ready for the long schedule. I have been reading though. I received an ARC of Philippa Gregory’s The White Queen and have been able to read some during the quiet times at the front desk as well as before drifting, actually crashing, off to sleep at 9:00pm every night. The White Queen will be available in stores on Tuesday, August 18th. So far I am really enjoying it!
This weekend was a whirlwind. Hubby and I started things off by checking out the house and wow, are things coming along. The painters were in on Saturday to start painting, the fireplace and the granite surround and mantel were complete, and the cabinets were in their boxes in the dining room waiting to be installed today (Monday). Things are moving so quickly and the end of the month will be here before we know it. We just may be all settled in and enjoying our new house with all our stuff in it by mid-September!
Saturday night we went to the Dave Matthews Band concert at Nissan Pavilion along with twenty-five thousand other avid fans. I had not seen DMB live in concert since 2002 and Hubby had never seen them before. I was a little disappointed with the set list this time around. I sat for half the show as did many people and I have never done that. The tunes they chose to jam on were not the liveliest of songs so I felt bored at times. Over all I’m glad we went but I felt like the show lacked a special joyful vibe that DMB’s live albums over the last couple of years have displayed. It’s not because we are all getting older that DMB was more mellow. I know that they can rock it out hard core at Fenway Park, The Gorge and numerous other venues which I have live recordings of. Why not Saturday in Bristow, VA?
Sunday marked the beginning of my new book club here in the D.C. area. I am keeping with the same theme as my book club I ran in Okinawa which was titled “Lit & the Island.” Here I have named it “Lit & the City” and everyone loves the name. Our members include friends of mine from many different chapters of my life who I have discovered all love to read and discuss books. We had a lovely “Meet & Eat” event yesterday at a tapas restaurant in Maryland and though only six of us out of thirteen were able to make it, it showed that at least five or so members will always make it to our “Books and Brunch” meetings. We will meet every fifth Sunday at a restaurant of the book selector’s choice. We will take turns choosing books/restaurants and that person will also be responsible for discussion questions and leading the conversation. I presented our first reading selection and gave away a copy of the book to one lucky winner at the table. We are reading The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister and everyone is very excited. If you have read this book please share what you liked or didn’t like about it.
To wrap things up this weekend, Hubby and I saw “Julie & Julia.” What a wonderful glimpse into the life of Julia and Paul Child! I loved Meryl Streep’s portrayal of America’s first celebrity chef. We laughed and drooled our way through the film. Amy Adam’s did a great job of playing an annoying and whiny Julie Powell. I read her book, Julie & Julia ~ My Year of Cooking Dangerously, which was based on her blog a few years ago and enjoyed it in the written word much better than on the silver screen. I will give the book some credit though because it inspired me to cook for pleasure. I do want to read Julia Child’s memoir now and have downloaded a sample of My Life In France so I can check it out when I have the time.
What have you been up to? Reading anything good this week? Did you see “Julie & Julia” or another film? Please tell us!
Planet Books 
