A Romance on Three Legs - Prize Draw result

Time for the smallest prize draw in the history of prize draws!

Four names rattling around in the bottom of my grandma's Fairyland Lustre bowl, which sits atop the piano (though not usually balanced precariously on the keyboard, as here).

Who will win a review copy of A Romance on Three Legs?

This is particularly nerve-wracking, since all four entrants are good blogging cyber-chums of mine . . .

But a winner there must be, and the name is . . .

DIANE!

Congratulations, D. The book will be in the post to you tomorrow and I look forward to reading your verdict once it reaches the top of the TBR pile.

Commiserations to the non-winners (though since two of you are Devon Bloggers, then maybe you'll be able to persuade D to lend it to you at one of your get-togethers once she's read it!)

Romance on Three Legs - free prize draw for bloggers

Those very nice people at Bloomsbury in New York have sent me an extra review copy of A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould's Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano by New York Times journalist Katie Hafner.

I was very taken with this rather unexpectedly fascinating musical detective story, as you will gather from the various mentions I've given it on this blog. It's a real one-off kind of a book, which will appeal to all sorts of readers - you certainly don't need to be a Glenn Gould devotee, or a pianist, or even a classical music aficionado to appreciate it. It's a rattling good read and I can guarantee you will learn things about pianos and about the nature of genius that you didn't know before.

If you are interested in having a chance to read and review this book (which isn't yet published in the UK), then simply leave a comment here and I'll put the names into the dish on top of my piano at the end of next week and draw the lucky winner. The only proviso for entering is that you have a vaguely bookish or musical blog and will undertake to post your thoughts about the book in due course.

BAFAB Prize Draw Result

Now that I've dutifully hacked back an awful lot of brambles at the bottom of the garden (not all of them because I want a decent crop of blackberries) and re-potted some geraniums and watered everything . . . it's time to shuffle up the names in my [rather inappropriately huntin'-shootin'-fishin'-type but nevertheless exceptionally useful] Muddy Island Rainy Walk Hat (pictured in action here!) and pull out the lucky winner of Harpole & Foxberrow: General Publishers .

And the winning name is . . .

Rob!

Congratulations, Rob - I'm sure you'll enjoy it, since you're already a fan of J L Carr. Drop me a line and let me know your address.

Rob blogs at Topsyturvydom, where there's always a faint aroma of performing seals and currently also a small piglet in wellingtons.

Commiserations to the 27 non-winners. Thanks for entering. There will be another prize draw here very soon, so maybe you'll be lucky next time.

Harpole & Foxberrow BAFAB draw - one day to go

Quick reminder - just one day to go before I put all the names in my Muddy Island Rainy Day Hat for the BAFABD prize draw and pull out the lucky winner.

So if you fancy a copy of the delightful bookish novel Harpole & Foxberrow: General Publishers by J L Carr, published by Quince Tree Press and you haven't entered yet - do so now by clicking here and leaving a comment! You don't need to be a regular reader or a blogger to enter.

Meanwhile, there is a veritable explosion of generosity in the bookblogosphere this week. Here are some of the other book giveaways going on at the moment:

Books4All
Books, Mud and Compost
Cornflower
In Spring it is the Dawn
Juxtabook
Oxford Reader
Random Distractions
Shelf Love
Stuck in a Book
Write from Karen


Good luck!

Distracted

Too overwhelmed with work this week to get my head round some long overdue book reviews. As soon as I've shifted a particularly complicated manuscript off my desk, however, I shall apply myself to musing about some excellent recent reads.

Meanwhile, briefly, a couple of updates:

Some very welcome developments on the No to Age-Banding campaign collected together on The Fidra Blog (see in particular the comment from Steve Augarde under the main post).

A round-up of Buy a Friend a Book Week prize draws on Juxtabook. And just a reminder that for your chance to win a copy of my favourite booky book of all time, J L Carr's Harpole & Foxberrow: General Publishers, just leave a comment here. The draw will be on Saturday. (NB something has gone wrong with Blogger and it won't let me add any more names to the list on the sidebar. I hope this is a temporary blip. Meanwhile, rest assured that, if you leave a comment or send an email asking to be included, then your name will definitely go into the hat.)

Finally, thanks to everyone who joined in my little First Blogversary celebration, both via comments and by email. Thanks so much for your very kind words.

Buy a Friend a Book Week prize draw

It's Buy a Friend a Book week and I've bought a wonderful book - one of my favourite bookish novels of all time - but I simply can't decide which friend to give it to.

So I'm putting it up for grabs in a free prize draw!

The book I have chosen is Harpole & Foxberrow, General Publishers by J L Carr, which I wrote about here recently whilst musing about Carr's much better known A Month in the Country.

It's published by Quince Tree Press in a very attractive edition, with a nice stiff red cover and illustrations by the author.

I can't really overstate how much I love Harpole & Foxberrow. It is the ultimate book-lover's novel, in my view. It's quite quirky in style and structure, so I suppose, in theory, it would be possible to hate it, but I can practically guarantee that, if you are reading this blog, then (a) you will love it and (b) you will probably never have read anything quite like it before.

Anyway, for your chance to find out whether I'm right, just leave a comment on this post and I will draw the lucky winner out of a hat next weekend.

Good luck!

(NB - there are also BAFABW giveaways on Juxtabook, Books4All, Write from Karen, Lori's Reading Corner and probably loads more, so why not pop over and have a look at those as well?)

Drawing the penguin pencil winner out of the penguin pencil draw drawer . . .

Twenty-one names in the pencil draw drawer:

And the winner is . . .




Becca!

Congratulations Becca. Email me your address (when you're back from your travels) and I'll get these in the post to you. Commiserations to the non-winners.

Just a reminder . . .

. . . that a set of these fabulous Penguin Pencils is up for grabs.

If you want a chance to win them, leave a comment here and I'll put your name in my special pencil draw pencil drawer.

I'll be selecting the lucky winner (with my eyes tight shut) on Thursday 12 June.

The great penguin pencil drawer pencil draw

It just doesn't seem right to keep these Penguin Pencils all to myself.

I bought a few sets on Friday to top up my Emergency Gift Supply, but they are just too good to keep hidden away. They demand to adorn a bibliophile's desk as soon as possible. Strictly for show, of course - I don't know how anyone could actually bring themselves to take them out of the packet, let alone use them (gasp - the very idea!)

So I'm putting a set up for grabs in a pencil drawer pencil draw.

If you'd like a chance to win, then please leave a comment here, or send me an email (to juliet[at]doyleandco.net) and I'll pop your name in my pencil drawer (which will need a radical spring-clean before it's fit to be photographed - all those unsticky post-its and unravelled paperclips will have to go) and draw the lucky pencil winner on 12 June.

If you can think of some more intelligent puns on the words 'pencil' and 'draw' than my own very weak attempts, then I'd be grateful to hear them. Unfortunately, it's too late at night and I am too far through my [single, medicinal] glass of Merlot to do any better right now.

(Also, if you would like to leave messages of incredulity and wonder at my astonishing niceness and generosity, then you are most welcome to do that too!!)

So roll up, roll up - you have ten days left, starting . . . . . now.

The Story of the Sea Glass prize draw winner is . . .

Cheryl!

As picked from the sea glass dish (with her eyes shut) by Iona.

Congratulations, Cheryl. Please email me your address and the book will be on its way to you this week.

(Goodness, that was unexpectedly nerve-wracking! Commiserations to the non-winners.)

The Great Sea Glass Book Prize Draw

I find myself with a spare copy of The Story of the Sea Glass by Anne Wescott Dodd, with illustrations by Mary Beth Owens, which I reviewed here.

I've decided to put it up for grabs in my first-ever Musings Prize Draw.

So, if you have children, or grandchildren or a young friend or relation who you think might like a copy of this touching story with its atmospheric watercolour illustrations - or if you just fancy owning a copy yourself - please leave a comment here, or send me an email (to juliet [at] doyleandco.net) and I'll write your name on a slip of paper with my editor's red biro and pop it into my special sea glass prize draw dish.

It doesn't matter where in the world you live - if you win, I will dispatch it post haste.

So, roll up, roll up - the more the merrier.

I'll ask my windswept younger daughter, who's named after my favourite island (no, not Mersea!), to pick a name at random out of the dish on 21 May (which is the day of my mother's 80th birthday).

Good luck!