The Hunger Games Ticket G!veaway!!

Hey Everyone!


I know there are many of you excited about the upcoming film, The Hunger Games, and so are we!


To celebrate the book to movie, we are hosting a Hunger Games ticket giveaway with the help of a few blogger friends! The prize: $25 Fandango eGift Card


It's super easy to enter. I am using a Rafflecopter widget to keep track of entries, you just need to log in using your email or Facebook profile. There is one mandatory entry and then lots of extra entries you can take advantage of to earn more entries!

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Book Review: Reswyt

I am not the biggest fantasy fan, but I love novels that go back and forth between the present and some sort of parallel fantasy the way Reswyt does. A huge part of the appeal has to do with the difficulty the author faces in bringing the two story lines together and then the fact that somehow I find these types of fantasy lines more believable than something that is entirely made up. 

I have only purchased and read Book One, because the rest of the series has yet to be written, but I already know that I will be reading the rest of the series.  Like, The Outlander Series, one of my favorite fantasy to reality series, David Mayer moves from the present day to the past with the use of dreams and a couple magical touches. Sabine, the novels main character, is a young teenager who is dealing with a lot of personal baggage and a prolonged bout of insomnia.  


Early on in the book a necklace is mentioned, and when Sabine begins to fiddle with a necklace given to her by her grandfather, we realize that the necklaces are one and the same. Propelled into another realm, where dreaming minds go, Sabine realizes that our world is not independent of the actions and consequences in the other.  


The reason I mentioned that I am not a huge fantasy fan, and a big part of the reason why I do not read as much as I do, is because there is so much out there that is the same. It takes a lot for someone to come up with an idea that is unlike anything else that has been written, and even harder for them to tell that story well. Reswyt is different, and it is an interesting read. I like the archeological theme it has, because that is a personal interest of mine. I like that the fantasy and realms are within our history. I love that there are dual story lines, and that they play out independent of each other for as long as they do.

But most of all, I liked that I did not, and could not tell what was going to happen after reading the first chapter. There is an art to telling a story that makes you want to keep reading even when you have no clue how it is going to end or what is going to happen, and Mayer was able to create that story. Too often I start reading novels and the rest of the read is not finding out what happens, but just sticking with it to find out how it is all going to happen-- like we all didn't know Katniss was going to be the one to survive.  Reswyt kept me reading and the story and characters kept developing as it went on. 

Fantasy readers, fiction readers looking for an original story, and young adults will all enjoy. Till book two!

Available in the Amazon Kindle Store at amzn.to/upbETa  
Available for Nook on bn.com at bit.ly/v7dBhe
Available for iBooks on lulu.com at bit.ly/t4PpGv

Like Reswyt on Facebook
  

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Seeking Bloggers for Hunger Games Ticket Giveaway Event!

Hey Everyone! I have been talking about the book and upcoming movie, The Hunger Games, here on the blog for some time now. Everyone I know is excited for and waiting for the movie to be released on the 23rd. 

I knew I wanted to do something here on the blog to mark the event, and mentioned it a couple times, but I was waiting for a sponsor to decide what they were going to do. Turns out what they had in mind was just for me, without a giveaway for my readers-- can't have that.

So, I will be hosting a Hunger Games Ticket Giveaway with a $25 Fandango GC and I am looking for other bloggers that are interested in sponsoring additional gift cards so we can send as many fans to the movies as possible!

Here are the details:
Hunger Games Ticket Giveaway Blogger Event 3/14-3/21
- Prize $25 Fandango eGift Cards (1 guaranteed, additional gcs depend on # of blog sponsors)
- Facebook Events Page "Send Me to the Games"
- Blogger Sponsorships

•       $3 Facebook Link
•       $5 2 Links (Facebook & Twitter or Google+)
•       $6 3 Links (FB & Twitter, Google+, GFC)
•       $2 Blog Newsletter or Feed option

- Rafflecopter will be used
- Event will be advertised
- To participate: Send Sponsorship fee via Paypal to chitownchicas@gmail.com
Indicate & include Sponsorship choice and links
- Participating bloggers asked to share event on blog or via Facebook
- First 15 bloggers to blog about the event and include a link back to this page get 1 free link to their FB page added to the Rafflecopter! Email me a link to your post: chitownchicas@gmail.com

Any questions, email me at chitownchicas@gmail.com

I am really excited for this event and the movie!

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Ann Patchett's Bel Canto to Hit Lyric Opera Stage!

I never really talk about my love for Opera here on my book blog, but I am a huge fan! Last week I got an email from the Lyric about a huge announcement about the 2015-2016 season. Turns out they are planning on making Ann Patchett's novel, Bel Canto into a full fledged opera!!

Renee Fleming took over as creative consultant at Lyric and has really shaken things up. New operas, world premiers, and more social outreach have all followed her appointment. This new opera will have a score by Jimmy Lopez and a libretto by Nilo Cruz. 


I never thought about it before, but Bel Canto actually is a great choice for an opera. I am so used to watching classic operas, written solely for the stage, so its nice to be able to look forward to a book that I read and enjoyed hitting a stage that I love-- and right here in Chicago!!!


If you have yet to read Bel Canto, which was published in 2001, get to it! The novel is about the 1997 hostage situation in Peru, when 72 people were held by Marxist guerrillas till the Army went in and freed them. 

You can read more about the new opera, here.  

Be sure to check out today's free Kindle books in the widget to the right!

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Book Review: Charles Dickens and The Street Children of London

I mentioned the book, Charles Dickens and The Street Children of London a couple weeks ago in celebration of Charles Dickens birthday. I was excited to read it because though there are hundreds of books about Dickens and his writing, there are few that focus on his impact and direct contact in the lives of street children in London. I don't think most people realize that at one point in his life, Dickens was a street child himself, knew poverty and didn't just leave the condition he came from once he realized success. 

Charles Dickens and The Street Children of London is a children's book, but the information and presentation is enough to keep the children of young adults and adults. Even very young children can benefit from the book, regardless of their familiarity with Dickens, but it is best to break up the read because it is on the longer side. 

Andrea Warren works through Dickens' life chronologically, giving us an idea of how Dickens ended up where he was, and how he gained insight for his books.  Each chapter looks at how Dickens directly changed the minds of society through each book, inspired others to work toward change and establish schools and push for laws that protected children. 


I loved that the book gave you a lot to consider, with several kid friendly social issues to discuss further. It also gave us a lot of further reading and research to do, especially when it comes to planning a couple stops along the way the next time we are in London. All in all, it is a book I would recommend for anyone really, it is especially helpful to teachers, homeschooling families, parents that want some background reading before getting into Dickens with their children, and fans of his writing. 

What is your favorite Dickens novel?  

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Give Me Your Books March! Book G!veaway Linkup

To help readers find book giveaways, and help bloggers advertise their book giveaways, I host a monthly book related giveaway linkup! The Give Me Your Books March linkup will be up all months for bloggers and readers to access. 

Bloggers, feel free to add your book and book related giveaways to the linky. Include name and date that your giveaway ends so that I can delete them as the month progresses. Readers, feel free to click the book giveaway links and good luck!  BTW, the first link on the list is to win a $50 Amazon GC that I am sponsoring, here on TOL with a bunch of other bloggers.

Good Luck!

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$50 Amazon G!veaway for Twitter Followers!

I've got something fun for you all-- a $50 Amazon GC Giveaway!!

Because I opened a new Twitter account for The Opening Lines, I decided to join DNBuster and Pals to bring everyone this giveaway prize that will go to one lucky person that enters on one of the 22 blogs.  

Enter using the Rafflecopter form and come back daily because there are daily entries.


Prize:
1 winner will win a $50 Amazon E-gift card
Giveaway ends March 14th @12:01AM 

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Books to Movies: The Hunger Games Cast Tour & Upcoming Ticket G!veaway!

I just recently read, The Hunger Games, and have yet to read the rest of the trilogy. I have to admit that  I am not a huge YA reader, nor much into the genre, but the book happened into my hands and I have to say that I enjoyed the read and got straight through it in one night.

All anyone has been talking about is the upcoming release of the movie based on the book. From the trailer, it looks like they went all out-- think Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia. Fans will have to wait a whole three weeks though for the big day.

Till then, Lionsgate has organized a cast tour, with different cast members making appearances around the country for autographs, Q&A sessions, giveaways and other unnamed activities.  Here in Chicago, or Aurora to be exact, Josh Hutcherson, Isabelle Fuhrman and Jacqueline Emerson will be making an appearance on March 7th!


Other cast stops include:
Los Angeles, March 3rd
Atlanta, March 6th
Phoenix, March 7th
Miami, March 8th
Dallas, March 8th
Minneapolis, March 9th
Seattle, March 10th


Not certain I will be attending the event here in Aurora. I hear its by wristband and the vision of millions of tweens and teens descending on a few thousand square feet of concrete is kinda scaring me. 


That said, I will be going to see the movie straight away, with a bevy of teens and tweens in tow. I am also working on a Fandango gift card giveaway for one or two lucky followers to win as we speak, so follow The Opening Lines on Facebook or Twitter!


If you have not yet read The Hunger Games Trilogy, it is lendable! Join Lendle today(read my review of the site here), its free, list a few of your e-books for lending and then request to borrow any of The Hunger Games books from members. Please enter my referral code when creating your account: 73C6E1WK
This is just so I can keep track of readers if/when I start a group on the site. You can also friend, TheOpeningLines on there.

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