Saturday, September 26, 2009

Giveaway: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

To you, perceptive reader, I bequeath my history....Late one night, exploring her father's library, a young woman finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters. The letters are all addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor," and they plunge her into a world she never dreamed of-a labyrinth where the secrets of her father's past and her mother's mysterious fate connect to an inconceivable evil hidden in the depths of history.The letters provide links to one of the darkest powers that humanity has ever known-and to a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out....

Breathtakingly suspenseful and beautifully written, The Historian is the story of a young woman plunged into a labyrinth where the secrets of her family's past connect to an inconceivable evil: the dark fifteenth-century reign of Vlad the Impaler and a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive through the ages. The search for the truth becomes an adventure of monumental proportions, taking us from monasteries and dusty libraries to the capitals of Eastern Europe - in a feat of storytelling so rich, so hypnotic, so exciting that it has enthralled readers around the world.

~Synopsis from the publisher

Here's your chance to win a copy of one of my favorite books! The Historian was an instant success when it was published in 2005, and for good reason. It is part mystery, part classic Gothic novel and all fascinating, intriguing fiction. And now is a great time to spread the word about The Historian. Halloween is coming up and everyone needs a good spooky read for our favorite haunted holiday! This book would make an excellent choice for book clubs (lively discussion awaits), you will find the reading group guide here. Plus, Elizabeth Kostova's eagerly awaited second novel, The Swan Thieves, will be out in January. It has been VERY eagerly awaited...I can't wait to get started on it!

Valerie at Hachette Book Group has provided five copies for me to give away (Thank you, Valerie)!! To enter, leave me a comment here telling me what you favorite Halloween memory is. Winners must have a US or Canada mailing address and will be drawn at random. Enter through midnight eastern on October 21st. Below are some ways for you to earn extra entries. Please leave ONE comment for each thing you choose to do. You can combine your comments together if you like but please do not leave multiple comments for the same extra thing (for example, one comment if you fave at Technorati or subscribe via Feedburner, not three). Anyone who already follows, subscribes, or has faved at Technorati still gets the extras, just mention it in your comment! Thank you for visiting and entering!

+1 become a follower
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88 comments:

Pam said...

When my son was 1 1/2 yrs. old, my father and I took him trick or treating just around to a few of their neighbours. We went to the last house (they're known for their parties) and my son said "Look, boos!" referring to their Halloween decorations. The woman was shocked; she thought my son was trick or treating for booze!

melacan at hotmail dot com

Pam said...

+1 follower

+3 subscribe via google reader

+3 technorati fave

melacan at hotmail dot com

Jennifer said...

My favourite Halloween memory was of my father taking ,my brother and I trick or treating, I must have been in 2nd grade. I remember that year was warmer so we could see everyone's costumes.
knittingmomof3 (AT) gmail (DOT) com

Jennifer said...

+1 I am a follower.
knittingmomof3 (AT) gmail (DOT) com

Jennifer said...

+1 Tweeted: http://twitter.com/knittingmomof3/status/4409319644

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Jennifer said...

+3 Fav'd on technorati (knittingmomof3)

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Jennifer said...

+3 Subscribe via feedburner. :)

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Anonymous said...

I'm a follower. martinack_75

My favourite Halloween memory comes from wayyyy back. I was with my dad and someone asked if I wanted candy for my 'brother'. I thought it was the funniest thing ever at age 5. :)

martinack_75 AT hotmail DOT com

mrsshukra said...

Best memory was my 5-year old girl in a Superman (yes, Superman) costume at her first piano recital on Halloween in a Catholic church!

delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com

mrsshukra said...

+ 1 Follower!

delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com

mrsshukra said...

+3 Google reader subscriber

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CLM said...

My favorite Halloweens were book related: when I was Dorothy Gale and my brother was Toto; when I was Gwenevere from The Once and Future King; when I was the Gypsy girl Rizka from Lloyd Alexander. It is a pity my nephews prefer to be superheroes every time!

PS - I loved the Elizabeth Chadwick interview.

Becca said...

When I was a kid we didn't do Halloween so all my Halloween memories are from my nieces. I love the costumes, from Wolverine, to a spider to a fairy, but it is even more fun watching them help us hand out the candy to the other kids.

thanks
rebecca.bradeen(at)verizon(dot)net

Becca said...

I'm a follower.

thanks
rebecca.bradeen(at)verizon(dot)net

Becca said...

I blogged about it here:

http://completepoppycock.blogspot.com/2009/09/learn-some-history.html

thanks
rebecca.bradeen(at)verizon(dot)net

Diana said...

My favorite halloween memory was of a murder mystery party I attended at a close friend's home. It was terribly fun and the snacks were lovely and delicious.

Diana said...

+1 Follower
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mariag said...

My favourite Halloween memory is my two kids dressed up in their costumes watching their favourite Halloween movie of all time, The Halloween Tree. This was something they actually did every year. No matter what else was going on they had to stop and watch that movie.

mariag said...

I follow

Linda said...

A favorite memory is when my children, too old for trick or treat, sat around the table carving very intricate jack 0 lanterns.

I follow through Google Reader

lcbrower40(at)gmail(dot)com

rubynreba said...

My favorite memory is carving jack o lanterns with my parents
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

rubynreba said...

+1 follower
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

rubynreba said...

+3 subscribe
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caite said...

as an adult, I dressed up as the Grim Reaper. I went to my brother's and as he and my sil took my wee niece around to the neighboring houses, I waiting on their front porch, sitting on a bench, to hand out candy. The first kids arrived, I got up...and scared those kids half to death. Guess they though I was a dummy or something...lol

subscribe to you on Google Reader.

holdenj said...

My earliest Halloween memory involves snow. I had a beautiful witch's hat with crepe paper on it and it ran black all over my neck!
+1 I'm a follower

JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

Reading said...

Please enter me. Thanks for the chance. My fav Halloween memory is bobbing for apples with my friends. We never worried about the germs back then!

lizzi0915 at aol dot com

Beth (BBRB) said...

Probably dressing up as a princess as a little girl and carrying around a giant plastic pumpkin bucket for all my treats. The bucket was almost as big as I was!

BethsBookReviewBlog AT gmail DOT com

Beth (BBRB) said...

I'm a follower.

BethsBookReviewBlog AT gmail DOT com

Misusedinnocence said...

We had a blizzard one year when I was a kid, and m Dad spent hours shovelling to the neighbors houses so I could still trick or treat. ;)

misusedinnocence@aol.com

Misusedinnocence said...

+1 I follow.


misusedinnocence@aol.com

Craftymoose Crafts said...

My favorite Halloween memory (and this will surely date me!)was getting a Ringo Starr costume and playing on my cardboard/pie pan drum set. I used both long after Halloween was over!!

+1 I follow

+3 Subscriber

+3 Fave on Technorati

Jo-Jo said...

I think my favorite Halloween memories were from when my kids were little. I made costumes for them a couple years, and my daughter was just the cutest bee! Whenever she sees a bee costume to this day, she still says "Mine was cuter!"

I'm also a follower.

joannelong74 AT gmail DOT com

pippirose said...

My favourite memory was probably the year that I got to go Trick-or-Treating without my parents. I felt so grown up (I think I was 10).
:o)
pippirose59 at gmail dot com

pippirose said...

I am a follower.
pippirose59 at gmail dot com

Kat Bryan said...

I can still remember from about 50 years ago, the skeleton costume I had. It was all black with sparkly 'bones' on the front. It was my favorite.

Kat Bryan said...

I'm an email subscriber.

winterset AT peoplepc.com

Amanda said...

Thanks for the giveaway!

+1 for a follower
+3 for reader via Google

Anonymous said...

My favourite Halloween memory is when I was a little girl and my parents used to drive me to the "big city" to go door to door for goodies. I was always in awe!
wandanamgreb(at)gmail(dot)com

Anonymous said...

I am a follower of your blog.
wandanamgreb(at)gmail(dot)com

Anonymous said...

I subscribe via Google Reader.
wandanamgreb(at)gmail(dot)com

SusanB said...

My favorite memory as a child was a special house we went to and the lady there always made something special for the children. It could be cupcakes, special cookies, etc.
susan.byerly@comcast.lnet

SusanB said...

+1 follower

+3 subscribe via google reader

WD said...

my favorite halloween memory was when i went to a friends' family farm. we sat around the bonfire and told scary stores, then went on a haunted hay ride through the woods to get in a good scare before returning to the warm fire and sipping on homemade hot chocolate

Anonymous said...

I'd love to be entered. My favorite Halloween memory is taking my daughter trick-or-treating a couple of years ago. Both my husband and I dressed up and went with her.

I subscribe via google reader.

Anonymous said...

My favourite memory of halloween is receiving comic books as a treat from a wonderful neighbor...comic books instead of candy was a nice surprise.

karen k
kmkuka(at)yahoo(dot)com

Anonymous said...

I'm a follower :)

karen k
kmkuka(at)yahoo(dot)com

Nicole said...

Best Halloween party was broken up by the cops... enough said.

Nicole said...

follower

Unknown said...

I was very into Halloween costumes as a child. My favorite memory was when I was a junior in highschool. My friend and I decided to go as Harlem Globetrotters because I had the multi-colored big afro wigs. We wore those with bright colored hightops, basketball uniforms, painted our skin dark brown and wore the wigs and funny glasses and we both carried basketballs, mine in a netting bag thrown over my shoulder. The thing is, I walked with crutches and we went to an all female private highschool run by nuns! Our friends loved the costumes & thought we were very funny especially when we executed some moves in the hallway. The nuns were not all that amused except for one or two with good sense of humor!

Aimala127@gmail.com

Unknown said...

+1 I'm a follower

+3 I subscribe via google reader

Aimala127@gmail.com

Jaime said...

Please enter me
copperllama at yahoo dot ocm

Jaime said...

I am a follower
copperllama at yahoo dot com

Jaime said...

I am a subscriber +3
copperllama at yahoo dot com

Bridget said...

Hi! Just posted on Win A Book. No need to enter me.

Belinda M said...

My favorite halloween memory is when my son was 4. It was the first time he realized what halloween was all about and did not want to stop going from house to house. He loved it!!!


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Anonymous said...

My favourite memory of Halloween as a child was the excitement of making treats, getting costumes, the party at school, finding that perfect pillow case and then waiting, waiting until the clock said it was time to run out... That feeling of sheer, unadulterated joy that saturates the soul is what I remember best.

Aliya D.
aliyadaya(at)shaw(dot)ca

M.A.D. said...

Mary D
zenrei57 (at) hotmail (dot) com

My favorite Halloween memory was 20 years ago when a friend and I took our kids trick or treating and we were hit with a MASSIVE snow storm during our fun. It was cozy, not too scary, and the kids (until the weather made it risky) had a ball throwing snowballs at each other while in their costumes. When we mothers finally called 'enough', we all trooped home for hot chocolate and popcorn, then finished the night with Gremlins lol

It was a lot of fun :)

M.A.D. said...

Mary D
zenrei57 (at) hotmail (dot) com

I just subscribed in Google Feed

+3

Anonymous said...

I included this in a blog post.

http://carolsnotebook.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/giveaways-in-blogland-20/

carolsnotebook at yahoo dot com

J.T. Oldfield said...

I can't think of my favorite Halloween memory off hand, but I'll tell you a Halloween/book related story that happened the other day. I was telling my niece, who is in 2nd grade, what I was every year for Halloween. I said that I was Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love and Beauty when I was her age. She looked at me like, huh? And I thought to myself, man, I really have to get you D'Ulaires Greek Myths and Legends...So now I know what she's getting for Christmas!

j.t.oldfield[at]gmail.com

I follow w/ Google Reader and I tweeted about this!

ibeeeg said...

Every Halloween we take our children to my parents' neighborhood where I grew up. We trick-or-treat with my sisters children and then have dinner at my parents - pumpkin soup!
We have a great time. The neighborhood shovels out pillowcases full of candy! Love it.

ibeeeg(at)gmail(dot)com

ibeeeg said...

I follow your blog via GoogleReader

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Lynz Pickles said...

My favourite Halloween memory? The year I forgot to make a costume and had about five minutes to throw something together. I grabbed crazy 80's clothes out of my dressup bin, threw on some costume jewelry, and made a passable carnival gypsy. It ended up being my favourite costume.

lynzajw[at]gmail[dot]com

Terra said...

Please enter me since this book is one my husband and I would enjoy.
Favorite Halloween memory: When we took our oldest son out for his first Halloween, he loved it. His face was so full of joy the next day as he prepared to go out again that night too.
He thought that trick or treating would be every single night. That was so cute.
thekilns (at) excite (dot) com

Andrea said...

My favorite Halloween memory would have to be decorating the house with my mother when I was younger. She loves Halloween and loves decorating our house for it, it was always fun to help her out with it.
andie.v107(at)yahoo(dot)com

Sarah E said...

Please enter me in this giveaway! My favorite Halloween memory was dressing up in a big chicken suit at Halloween in high school; friends from high school still remember that costume all these years later!

saemmerson at yahoo dot com

Sarah Emmerson

Sarah E said...

I just became a follower.

saemmerson at yahoo dot com

Sarah Emmerson

Sarah E said...

I subscribe via Feedburner.

saemmerson at yahoo dot com

Sarah Emmerson

bison61 said...

My favorite Halloween memory is when my Mother made a princess costume for me-I loved it I wore that dress till I out grew it!

tiramisu392 (at) yahoo.com

Sue said...

Easy~ I met my husband on Halloween at a party 18 years ago. Halloween is our favorite holiday and we throw a big party to celebrate both occasions.

Madwoman-doing-cartwheels said...

My favorite Halloween memory and I imagine it is my daughters as well is when she was 4 we went trick or treating in an entirely "new to us" neighborhood and all the 10 houses on the block were giving out small stuffed toys instead of candy. This must have been a conspiracy of sorts or joint agreement. She was so thrilled as it really jump started her collection with 10 new toys.

+1 commenting
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Anonymous said...

My favorite Halloween memory was going to halloween parties as a teenager.I don't really remember much as a kid.
elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net

Anonymous said...

I'm a follower
elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net

enyl said...

When I was eight years old, my family threw the Halloween party to end all parties. The adults dressed in costumes as well as the children. It was an affair that lasted all day. The games were creative and there was tons of candy for everyone.
enyl(at)inbox(dot)com

enyl said...

I subscribe by e-mail.

I follow on Google.
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CherylS22 said...

My favorite Halloween memories involve cold weather & sometimes snow. We'd have to think of costumes that would allow us to have multiple layers of clothes on.

Thanks ~ megalon22{at}yahoo{dot}com

CherylS22 said...

+1 - I follow
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CherylS22 said...

+3 - I subscribe via Google Reader
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mabelilly28 said...

Favorite Halloween memory...definitely being She-ra, Princess of Power...with my shield and sword, I truly felt that I could master anything!

mabelilly28 at yahoo dot com

mabelilly28 said...

I am a follower of your blog!

mabelilly28 at yahoo dot com

mabelilly28 said...

I am an e-mail subscriber!

+3

mabelilly28 at yahoo dot com

Carol W. said...

I've heard wonderful things about this book. Please enter me in the giveaway.

wolfcarol451(at)gmail(dot)com

Carol W. said...

Sorry. I forgot to tell my Halloween memory. As a kid, I was so excited to visit a certain neighbor's house because he gave out dimes for Halloween. That was a time when dimes could buy something!

I follow.

I subscribe with Feedburner.

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Anonymous said...

This historical novel would make a good read. Please enter me. walkerd@primus.ca

LBeezee said...

My favorite memory from Halloween is when my parents would switch places during long Trick or Treating sessions. My father always took the first stretch: we'd walk hand in hand when I was young and before my siblings were old enough to join us. Once we reached our house -- mid-way on the route -- I'd dumb my treasures on the table & I'd be allowed one treat. I like the image of us then: me with a sweet in my hand and my parents young, healthy, & happy.

Tyler Mitchell said...

My favorite Halloween memories are from my childhood about when I was 10 years old. My family was big into Halloween and the neighborhood kids always loved to come to my hosue for the treats. We were always known for having a werewolf stuffed on our front porch in a rocking-chair. Well after years of having an inanimate werewolf on the porch we switched it up one year. Instead of stuffing the werweolf with newspaper we stuff it with, ME. I would be in the suit waiting on the front porch and when the kids knocked on the door I would jump out of my chair from behind them and scare the heck out of em. This was so much fun and everyone loved it after getting over the initial shock of a werewolf jumping at them. It was so much fun. I love Halloween. Thank you for allowing me to share my memories with everyone.

Tyler Mitchell said...

+ 1 follower
+3 subscribed thru google

Unknown said...

tweet

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Sarah Emmerson


Thoughts from an Evil Overlord

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About Me

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New Hampshire, United States
Bibliophile, Anglophile, Traveller... I have been an avid reader all of my life, since I took the Dr. Seuss Dictionary away from my Mom when I was less than a year old because I wanted to read it myself. In college, where I earned my degree in English Literature, I was often asked "What are you going to do with it?" Now I finally have the answer to that question!!! Being employed as a Flight Attendant for twenty years has given me a lot of life experience and, better still, a lot of time to read. I love to travel for fun, too.