Girl With a Pearl Earring
by Tracy Chevalier
Hardcover
List Price: $21.95
Published in 2000
ISBN-10: 0-525-94527-X

I haven’t actually read the book, but only because I’ve seen the movie. It’s Colin Firth *sigh*. Why is he so sexy? I could watch all kinds of movie with him in it. I prefer watching him as Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. I like him as Darcy in Bridget Jones Diary.  Is there anyone left on this planet that haven’t read this book? If you haven’t, stay tuned, I’ll post my copy here for giveaway soon.

I love this movie. If this book is even half as colorful as the movie, then it will be a treat reading it. It’s not that I won’t read it, I’m listening to it in audio. BTW, my friend, Vicki, from Germany sent me an address book with this cover. It’s just so beautiful, I’m not sure I want to write in it because then it’s won’t be perfect anymore, right? You can look at the picture here. Inside the address book are tidbits about Vermeer. I really like that.

I just finished listening to Midwives. What a compelling story. I noticed that I have listened to and enjoyed stories narrated by children, or mainly in a teenager’s voice. Alice Siebold’s Lovely Bones, Jennifer Donnelly’s A Nothern Light come to mind. Do you know of others? I find that I like these stories.

Summer’s so busy, it’s tough to find time to sit on my computer. Also my baby is quite clingy all of a sudden. Most days, I have only time to hold and play with him, plus the other 4 kids. I’ve driven so many times to their extra-curricular activities…it looks like I’m making 4 round trips a day, 5 days a week, making it 20 roundtrips a week. That doesn’t even include maintaining my house and business, too. Thank goodness to my mother for visiting often so I can veg out in front of my computer.

I’ve decided to draw five winners from my numbered free books right now. So, look for your name and e-mail me your shipping address along with the book you won so I know which one to send.

Winner 48: The Face of Deception by Iris Johansen
Congratulations to Teresa W.

Winner 49: The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran
Congratulations to Sandy (Strlady)

Winner 50: Good Grief by Lolly Winston
Congratulations to Alessandra

Winner 51: Flirting With Danger by Suzanne Enoch
Congratulations to The Book Muncher

Winner 52: Boss Man by Diana Palmer
Congratulations to Carrie J

I want to thank you guys for playing. I have more books going up. Please watch out for the post coming up. I will have a signed Susan Elizabeth Phillips book. The book that started the Chicago Stars series. I promise you, you’ll fall in love with Phoebe Somerville & Dan Calebow. This is a new release copy of this book and it’s signed to TBFF winner. Watch out for Mr. Linky post coming up (assuming I can figure out Mr. Linky code). I have something special for those who hanged my button on their site. If you don’t have a site, don’t worry. Just mention my site to your bulletin board, and link that site to Mr. Linky and that will get you an entry too.

Under the Tuscan Sun
by Frances Mayes
Paperback
Published in 1997

Have you seen the movie? It’s with Diane Lane, and she’s paired up with this really gorgeous wet-your-knickers actor, Raoul Bova. I have a friend who’s into him, big time. Check out her ‘research’ here, here, and here.

If you have not read the book, I got a copy here. If you don’t know anything about this book, read an excerpt here. Can’t wait to win this book? Check out this author’s other books.

From Publishers Weekly
Mayes’s favorite guide to Northern Italy allots seven pages to the town of Cortona, where she owns a house. But here she finds considerably more to say about it than that, all of it so enchanting that an armchair traveler will find it hard to resist jumping out of the chair and following in her footsteps. The recently divorced author is euphoric about the old house in the Tuscan hills that she and her new lover renovated and now live in during summer vacations and on holidays. A poet, food-and-travel writer, Italophile and chair of the creative writing department at San Francisco State University, Mayes is a fine wordsmith and an exemplary companion whose delight in a brick floor she has just waxed is as contagious as her pleasure in the landscape, architecture and life of the village. Not the least of the charms of her book are the recipes for delicious meals she has made. Above all, her observations about being at home in two very different cultures are sharp and wise.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The Devil Wears Prada
by Laura Weisberger
Paperback
Published in 2006

I have two copies of this book. Two. I’ll draw two random winners from the comments for this post. These are the large paperback, used, but in good condition.

Have you seen the movie but have never the read the book? Here’s your chance! I noticed that I have quite a lot of those book that turned into movies. The next few listings will be book-to-movies categories.

Amazon product description:

A delightfully dishy novel about the all-time most impossible boss in the history of impossible bosses.

Andrea Sachs, a small-town girl fresh out of college, lands the job “a million girls would die for.” Hired as the assistant to Miranda Priestly, the high-profile, fabulously successful editor of Runway magazine, Andrea finds herself in an office that shouts Prada! Armani! Versace! at every turn, a world populated by impossibly thin, heart-wrenchingly stylish women and beautiful men clad in fine-ribbed turtlenecks and tight leather pants that show off their lifelong dedication to the gym. With breathtaking ease, Miranda can turn each and every one of these hip sophisticates into a scared, whimpering child.

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA gives a rich and hilarious new meaning to complaints about “The Boss from Hell.” Narrated in Andrea’s smart, refreshingly disarming voice, it traces a deep, dark, devilish view of life at the top only hinted at in gossip columns and over Cosmopolitans at the trendiest cocktail parties. From sending the latest, not-yet-in-stores Harry Potter to Miranda’s children in Paris by private jet, to locating an unnamed antique store where Miranda had at some point admired a vintage dresser, to serving lattes to Miranda at precisely the piping hot temperature she prefers, Andrea is sorely tested each and every day—and often late into the night with orders barked over the phone. She puts up with it all by keeping her eyes on the prize: a recommendation from Miranda that will get Andrea a top job at any magazine of her choosing. As things escalate from the merely unacceptable to the downright outrageous, however, Andrea begins to realize that the job a million girls would die for may just kill her. And even if she survives, she has to decide whether or not the job is worth the price of her soul.

Question: RWA in San Francisco is coming. Whose signed/autographed book would you like to have and why? Usually, the book available for signing are those from the last 2 years.