Emptying the Nest - November Giveaway!

So, we all have those books sitting on our shelves that we have already read and don't have a use for anymore. It doesn't mean that those books weren't great reads for us once upon a time. However, books are meant to be read so we here at Reading Lark will be giving our readers a chance to give some of our old books a new lease on life. All books are used, but still in good condition. All you have to do to enter is be a Reading Lark follower, tell us which book you'd like to adopt, and fill out the form. The form will also give you some ways to earn extra entries. You can also leave a comment to let us know what you think of this giveaway for +2 entries. This idea was originally inspired by the Secondhand Saturday event at Reading Teen.

Basic Rules:

* You must be 13 years old or older to enter the YA and Classic Giveaways.
* You must be 18 years or older to enter the Adult Giveaways.

* You must have a US or Canadian mailing address to enter.

* The October event runs from 11/12-11/19. Winners will be announced on 11/20.

Click here to enter!


Here are the books you could snag in November - You can enter to win as many of them as you'd like. We have EIGHT awesome giveaways for you this month. It will be possible for you to win more than once if you enter for more than one book.

 All summaries from Goodreads.
*Note - Cover art may vary from the edition won.*

Giveaway #1: Polly's Ghost by Abby Frucht (Adult)

"I only wish I ever had the chance to hug and kiss him, teach him his letters and numbers, the colors and shapes, the animal sounds, all the starts of the ways of the world that accompany a person through life like rocks in a hard stream, put there as if for crossing."

In life, Polly Baymiller was a fierce and passionate woman ardently in love with her husband and her three sets of twins. Why should she be any different in death?

Polly's Ghost begins when Polly, an ethereal, glimpses her nine-year-old son, Tip, for the first time since she died giving birth to him. He's the only baby she never got to hold, to kiss, or to guide from one uncertain moment to the next deliberate one, and it is Tip she has missed most fervently in the years she has spent learning to be a ghost.

Love, Polly comes to realize, is not a state of mind but a way of being. One must act on the feeling in order to make it count. And act she does, taking bold steps from "above" to make sure that Tip has the courage and curiosity he needs to make his own precious way on Earth. Meanwhile, Polly -- drawn into and out of the earthly stories of the unfolding lives of other people -- follows her own path, away from a tormented ghostliness toward an abundant peace.

Giveaway #2: American Dreams by John Jakes (Adult)

American Dreams, a sweeping saga of passion, adventure, glory, ambition, and hope, is the much-anticipated follow-up. The Crown family now stands at the threshold of a new millennium, a remarkable age of promise and opportunity. Everything seems possible, yet the distant rumble of war foreshadows turbulence and tragedy. Certainly it is an exciting time to be alive. Jakes was drawn to this period, he says, because, "in little more than ten years, America, and the world, went from idyllic golden summers of peace to the bleak and bloody winter of war — war so apocalyptic, so destructive, it could hardly be imagined by most of those living at the time."

Spanning 1906 to 1917, American Dreams charts the triumphs and tragedies of three extraordinarydreamerswho all struggle to make their mark in one of America's burgeoning industries. We meet 26-year-old Fritzi Crown, daughter of successful beer brewer Joe Crown, and a woman of fierce determination and formidable ambition. Fritzi yearns for the excitement of life on the stage, but pursuing an acting career will mean defying her wealthy father and social convention. Through this young starlet's eyes, on her road from starvation to stardom, Jakes incorporates fascinating detail about the early days of the film industry. Readers meet Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Fatty Arbuckle, D. W. Griffith, and Erich von Stroheim, among other real-life notables.

Meanwhile, Fritzi's brother, Carl Crown, is searching for a higher purpose in his life after being thrown out of Princeton. His secret dream of flying takes him from Henry Ford's Detroit to the war-torn European skies as a daring aviator. His cousin Paul also finds his fortunes drastically altered by the impending war. An idealistic filmmaker and acclaimed author, Paul sacrifices his own career in the name of truth by screening footage of the atrocities of the German army. Returning to Europe intent on obtaining more war footage, Paul experiences a devastating personal loss in the trenches that is a precursor to the violence to come.

With its abundance of period history, historical fact, and highly entertaining prose, American Dreams is sure to please Jakes fans and newcomers alike.

Giveaway #3: The Society of S by Susan Hubbard (YA)

"If you ever want to hide from the world, live in a small city, where everyone seems anonymous." 

That's the advice of twelve-year-old Ariella Montero, who lives with her father in Saratoga Springs, New York, in a house haunted more by secrets than by memories. The Society of S traces her journey south, to Asheville and Savannah, and on to Florida, as she learns that everything she knows about her family is a lie. 

When she finds her mother, she learns the truth: Ariella is a fledgling member of the Society of S. 

S stands for Sanguinists: a sect of environmentalists concerned with ethics and human rights -- although they happen to be vampires. S also stands for synesthete: a person able to see words and letters in colors. The letter S is lucky for Sara, Ariella's mother, who gravitates to cities such as Savannah and Sarasota. But will it be lucky for Ariella? 

Susan Hubbard's novel is an intricate literary mystery that raises provocative questions about the way we live now. Ariella's voice will lure you into a world where you'll meet the others among us: vampires who cope with their special nature and need for blood in a variety of ways, ranging from the savage to the mundane to the scientific.

Giveaway #4: Vanishing Act by Fern Michaels (Adult)

It’s a hot, sunny afternoon on the mountain top, and the sisters are enjoying sitting around the pool chatting and laughing, frosty glasses of lemonade to keep them cool and relaxed. It’s a welcome hiatus after their last harrowing mission, and the only cloud over the happy occasion is that Charles, their mentor, is still mysteriously absent.

But amid the friendly bickering about who’s going to make dinner and what that might be, the Ladies of Pinewood receive some dreadful news: Harry Wong — Yoko’s true love and a staunch supporter of the Sisterhood — has become the victim of a ruthless identity theft ring. Harry’s bank accounts have been closed out, his beloved dojo is being foreclosed, and he’s being evicted. Distraught, Yoko is about to rush down the mountain to Harry’s aid when the Sisters intercept her. A situation like Harry’s requires finesse, careful planning, and the Sisterhood’s distinctive brand of vigilante justice…

Giveaway #5: Centuries of June by Keith Donohue (Adult)

Set in the bathroom of an old house just before dawn on a night in June,Centuries of June is a black comedy about a man who is attempting to tell the story of how he ended up on the floor with a hole in his head. But he keeps getting interrupted by a series of suspects—eight women lying in the bedroom just down the hall. Each woman tells a story drawn from five centuries of American myth and legend in a wild medley of styles and voices.

Centuries of June is a romp through history, a madcap murder mystery, an existential ghost story, and a stunning tour de force at once ingenious, sexy, inspiring, and ultimately deeply moving.

Giveaway #6: Nora Roberts' Going Home - 3 books in 1 (Adult)

Three women must rediscover the love of family before they can give their hearts to others. . . .

Unfinished Business--

She wanted answers from her estranged mother and went home to find them. But Vanessa Sexton also found Brady Tucker, the man who'd once broken her heart ... and still left her breathless.

Island of Flowers--

Innocent Laine Simmons hardly expected the father she barely knew to welcome her. However, she was completely unprepared for the suspicion of her father's sexy partner Dillon O'Brian -- or for his intense passion.

Mind over Matter--

Protecting her mother's interests pitted no-nonsense agent Aurora Fields against ruthlessly determined David Brady. But there were few David couldn't charm if he set his mind to it -- and this time it really mattered.

Giveaway #7: Peeled by Joan Bauer (YA)

Something's rotten in the heart of apple country!

Hildy Biddle dreams of being a journalist. A reporter for her high school newspaper, The Core, she's just waiting for a chance to prove herself. Not content to just cover school issues, Hildy's drawn to the town's big story--the haunted old Ludlow house. On the surface, Banesville, USA, seems like such a happy place, but lately, eerie happenings and ghostly sightings are making Hildy take a deeper look.

Her efforts to find out who is really haunting Banesville isn't making her popular, and she starts wondering if she's cut out to be a journalist after all. But she refuses to give up, because, hopefully, the truth will set a few ghosts free.

Peeled is classic Joan Bauer, featuring a strong heroine, and filled with her trademark witty dialogue, and problems and people worth standing up to.

Giveaway #8: Immortal Edited by P.C. Cast (YA)

WHEN YOU'RE IMMORTAL TRUE LOVE REALLY IS FOREVER 

Rachel Caine revisits the setting of her Morganville Vampire series, where the vampires are in charge and love is a risky endeavor, even when it comes to your own family 

Tantalize author Cynthia Leitich Smith gives us a love triangle between a vampire, a ghost, and a human girl, in which none of them are who or what they seem 

Claudia Gray takes us into the world of her Evernight series, in which a pre-civil War courtesan-to-be is courted by a pale, fair-haired man whose attentions are too dangerous to spurn-in more ways than one 

Vampire Academy author Richelle Mead brings us the tale of a young vampire on the run from the rest of her kind, and the human boy who provides the gateaway car-as well as a reason to keep running 

Wicked series writer Nancy Holder immerses us in a post-apocalyptic New York where two best friends are forced to make a choice that may kill them both 

Master fantasist Tanith Lee shows us what happens when a bright young woman with some supernatural savvy encounters a misguided (but gorgeous) young vampire 

And Kristin Cast, co-author of the House of Night series, introduces us to a new kind of vampire: one with the roots in Greek mythology, and the power to alter space and times to save the girl he's meant to love 

P.C Cast is the New York Times bestselling author of the House of Night series with her daughter Kristin Cast.