Katie Up and Down the Hall--Book Review and GIveaway--3 Winners!

Katie Up and Down the Hall is a heartwarming book about a little cocker spaniel named Katie who pulls together strangers and turns the unrelated individuals into a family.    The main characters in the book are Pearl and her husband of 59 years Arthur,a single father John and his young son Ryan, the author and of course, Katie.  Their love of, and caring for, Katie transforms these strangers into an unlikely group that share meals, good times, illnesses and deaths, that eventually makes them a family unit.


I love books about animals and found I loved this one as well.  Although the middle of the book was a bit slower for me personally, the first third and last third grabbed my attention with personal memories shared by the author.  The author of the book is Glenn Plaskin who has written several books and contributed to numerous magazines and newspapers including Family Circle, Ladies Home Journal, the Daily News and New York Times.  The first third of the book includes recollections of the many famous celebrities he interviewed--from lunch or meetings with Ivana Trump and Senator Edward Kennedy, to even introducing Peter Jennings to Mr. Plaskin's favorite celebrity and Katie's namesake, Katherine Hepburn over lunch.   Katie often accompanied the author on his interviews and even managed to sneak into "no dogs allowed" buildings and hospitals. 

One of the aspects of the book I found most fascinating is his first hand account of 9/11 later in the book.  He lived in a penthouse apartment with a view of the Twin Towers and of the Statue of Liberty.   On 9/11 he was at home and witnessed the highjacked planes hitting the towers.    As the residents fled the apartments in fear, he felt the enormous impact of the towers collapsing and his senses were overwhelmed by the dust and smoke that engulfed the residents.   He shares the horrors of witnessing people jumping from the windows of the towers, to the Hudson being patrolled with machine gun manned police boats and the refrigerated trucks a month later storing human remains as the rescuers recovered them.    But he also chronicles the incredible coming together of perfect strangers with the young helping the old,  and the outreaching offers of help from friends and family. 

And of course scattered throughout the whole book are stories of Katie from her funny antics, her nonstop searching for food treats, her outrageous outfits, and her incredible love and sense of loyalty to her "family" members.  It's obvious that the strong love and devotion between the pet and the humans worked both ways. 


Check out the homepage of katiebook.com to read more about Glenn Plaskin and Katie, as well as see pictures of all the "family", hear the author reading excerpts from the book, and view a videotape.   Check it out!

Buy It:    If you think you'd enjoy reading the book, you  can purchase it from Amazon.

Win It:   Valerie from Hachette Books has been generous and offered THREE of my readers a copy of the book.

Mandatory Entry:    Comment below with the name of a dog you've loved.

Extra Entries:  

1)  Follow me on GFC  (2 entries so leave 2 comments)

2)  Subscribe to my feed

3)  Sign up for my email newsletter in the upper right side bar and make sure to verify the link in the email you'll receive   (2 entries so leave 2 comments)

4)   Blog about this on your own blog with a link here.   (5 entries so leave 5 comments)

5)   Enter any other open giveaway.
6)  Visit the katiebook site and tell me something interesting you found there.

7)   Read my post about swagbucks HERE and leave a comment on it.   Come back to let me know on this post

8)  Join swagbucks through the referral link on this post and get 5 extra entries.  You must be an active member of swagbucks by the end of the giveaway for these entries to count.  Make sure to leave 5 separate entries

RULES:
Giveaway begins now and ends Monday Nov. 15th  at 10 PM EST.   Must be 18 or older to enter and must reside in the US. Winner will be selected with random.org and will be notified by email.   Winner must respond by within 48 hours  or a new winner will be selected.    Prize will be mailed from Hachette Books.

 
Disclosure:   I have not been compensated in any way for this review except receiving a sample of the book to review.     My review is my own and my honest opinion. 

"Unforgettable You" by Diasy Fuentes Book Review and Giveaway.--CLOSED

UNFORGETTABLE YOU by Daisy Fuentes

"Master the Elements of Style, Spirituality and True Beauty"

"Become a Classic Girl in a Modern World"

I must admit that when I was first asked to read and review this book I wasn't sure how much I'd like it.   I was never really part of the MTV generation and not all that familiar with Daisy Fuentes.  Plus I'm not much into "self help" type books.   So I admit that I was surprised to find out how much I enjoyed reading it.  

The book is primarily a guide to things that Daisy Fuentes has learned over the years that she hopes can help other.   She started out in the modeling world, then progressed to TV weather girl, MTV host, and recently successful businesswoman.    Along the way she's learned many things about how to navigate and be viewed positively in many environments.   I was expecting mostly items about fashion and beauty and some about relationships, and that was all there.  There were also quotes and helpful hints from people in Daisy's life or people she's met along her journey.

But just as much if not more of the book was about how to act like a lady and be seen as respectful in a world that today seems to be fascinated with girls with no underwear and who can accumulate the longest list of drunken hook ups or a plethora of sexual conquests.   She talks about how to value yourself and behave and look in a manner that will cause others to respect you and treat you well in return.  

The chapters titles:

WHO ARE YOU?  BABY, WHO ARE YOU?

Knowing Who you Are

JUST LIKE A WOMAN

Grace. Elegance, and Etiquette

I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU

Navigating Relationships with Men, Family, and Friends

LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX, BABY

Sex Etiquette 101

SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN

Spirituality and Giving

PRETTY WOMAN

Notes on Beauty

MY BACK PAGES

Letters and Questionnaires

The book is a fairly easy one to read.   But you can take quite a bit of time utilizing the tools or quizzes she includes in the book to explore your own values and likes.   The book contains many quizzes that you can fill out as you go along, or you can go back later and complete them after finishing the book.  

I think the book could also be useful for parents of girls who want their daughters to grow up behaving in a fashion that attracts people to them for all the right reasons instead of the wrong reasons.  There are a few fairly explicit terms or phrases in the book, but nothing too offensive for older teen girls. 

   You can order the book from Amazon:
 Unforgettable You: Master the Elements of Style, Spirituality, and True Beauty

or win one here!!


Victoria and Atria Books have graciously offered to give one of my readers their own copy of "Unforgettable You".

Mandatory Entry:   

Tell me which chapter sounds the most interesting to you.

Extra Entries:

1)   Become a follower of my blog in GFC or let me know if you currently are a follower.   Make sure to leave you GFC name so I can verify.

2)  Enter any of my other contests that are still current.

Rules:

1)   Contest begins now and concludes on June 25th at 10PM EST.

2)   Winner will be selected using random.org and will be notified via email.  So make sure you have an email address visible in your comments or in your blogger profile.

3)   Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email.

Good luck!

Disclosure:   I received a copy of the book to facilitate my review but no other compensation.   All opinions voiced are my true ones and not influenced in any way by the sponsor.