Monday, June 29, 2009

giveaway: two memoirs

Hachette has allowed me another great giveaway! Two memoirs are up for grabs. They are The Impostor’s Daughter by Laurie Sandell and Julie & Julia by Julie Powell.

Publishers Weekly says this about The Impostor’s Daughter:
“In this delightfully composed graphic novel, journalist Sandell (Glamour) illustrates a touchingly youthful story about a daughter's gushing love for her father. Using a winning mixture of straightforward comic-book illustrations with a first-person diarylike commentary, Sandell recounts the gradual realization from her young adulthood onward that her charming, larger-than-life Argentine father, bragging of war metals, degrees from prestigious universities and acquaintances with famous people, had lied egregiously to his family about his past and accomplishments. Growing up with her two younger sisters and parents first in California, then in Bronxville, N.Y., the author records signs along the way that her father, a professor of economics with a volatile temperament and autocratic manner, was hiding something, from his inexplicable trips out of town, increasing paranoid isolation, early name change from Schmidt to Sandell, to massive credit-card fraud. Interviewing her father for her first magazine article, the author resolved to check his sources and even flew later to confront his past in Argentina, only to discover the truth. Feeling betrayed, guilty for exposing him and mistrustful in her relationships with men, Sandell numbed herself by abusing Ambien and alcohol. Her depiction of her rehab adventure is rather pat and tidy, and she does not address the notion that her own creativity might have sprung from her father's very duplicity. However, Sandell's method of storytelling is marvelously unique and will surely spark imitators.”

And this about Julie & Julia:
“Powell became an Internet celebrity with her 2004 blog chronicling her yearlong odyssey of cooking every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. A frustrated secretary in New York City, Powell embarked on "the Julie/Julia project" to find a sense of direction, and both the cooking and the writing quickly became all-consuming. Some passages in the book are taken verbatim from the blog, but Powell expands on her experience and gives generous background about her personal life: her doting husband, wacky friends, evil co-workers. She also includes some comments from her "bleaders" (blog readers), who formed an enthusiastic support base. Powell never met Julia Child (who died last year), but the venerable chef's spirit is present throughout, and Powell imaginatively reconstructs episodes from Child's life in the 1940s. Her writing is feisty and unrestrained, especially as she details killing lobsters, tackling marrowbones and cooking late into the night. Occasionally the diarist instinct overwhelms the generally tight structure and Powell goes on unrelated tangents, but her voice is endearing enough that readers will quickly forgive such lapses. Both home cooks and devotees of Bridget Jones–style dishing will be caught up in Powell's funny, sharp-tongued but generous writing.”

The rules: One grand prize winner will receive a copy of each book. Four additional winners will get to choose which of the two books they want. Enter by leaving a comment to this post with your email (if I can't contact you, you can't win). Please indicate if you wish to be entered for both or just one of the books (those selecting both will automatically be entered into the individual giveaway if not the grand prize winner). You can gain additional entries by leaving separate comments letting me know that you're a follower or have posted a link to the giveaway on your site. The deadline to enter is 11:59pm Pacific on July 25. Winners will be selected at random. Since this is from Hachette the winners must have mailing addresses in the US or Canada; no PO Boxes.

22 comments:

  1. I would love to win either of these books
    bookmagic418@gmail.com

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  2. Both of these books sound fascinating! Thanks for the generous giveaway!
    Zoe0825@verizon.net

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  3. I'd like to enter for both too :) Julie and Julia sounds especially interesting to me since having first heard of it a few weeks ago.

    lc_intocable[a]yahoo[d]com

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  4. I would like to enter to win The Impostor's Daughter.

    oasisvalley at gmail dot com

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  5. I'd love to win both of these books. I've wanted to read Julia & Julia since I first heard about it month's ago and The Imposter's Daughter sounds ver interesting!

    Thank you for hosting this giveaway!

    Amy
    Aimala02@yahoo.com

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  6. I'm a follower of your blog using google!


    Amy
    Aimala02@yahoo.com

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  7. Please enter me for The Impostor's Daughter, thanks!
    dag888888[at]yahoo[dot]com

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  8. I would love Julie and Julia. janemarieprice [at] gmail [dot] com.

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  9. Enter me for both, much thanks!

    delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  10. Google reader subscriber!!!
    delialh01809at)yahoo(dot)com

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  11. I would love to win either of this books, but particularly Julie and Julia. Thank you!

    lesleymfan(at)gmail(dot)com

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  12. I also follow you via Blogger--thanks!

    lesleymfan(at)gmail(dot)com

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  13. Please enter me to win both/either of these books. Thanks!

    hawkes(at)citlink.net

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  14. + I'm a NEW follower

    hawkes(at)citlink.net

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  15. I'd love to win Julie and Julia!

    rebecca at rebeccareid dot com

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  16. both books sound great! i'm a wanna-be chef, so i'd go for julie and julia first!
    allison/dot/wheeler/at/att/dot/net

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  17. I would love to be entered for both books.

    jlhal@verizon.net

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  18. I'd like to win Julie and Julia. Thanks!
    skkmiller (at) live (dot) com

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  19. I follow your blog thru reader. Thanks!
    skkmiller (at) live (dot) com

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  20. Julie and Julia

    jhidey (at) gmail (dot) com

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  21. Enter the Julia and Julia contest.
    pshidey@gmail.com

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