Read This & Win That: Water for Elephants Review & *GIVEAWAY*

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

Congrats to #113: altern147@

I am so excited to be the first one to kick things off with our Read This & Win That summer reading review & giveaway series!  If you follow me on Facebook, you know that one of the best books I have read lately was Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen.  I picked up the book because I wanted to see the movie, but typically prefer to read the book version first.  I was so inspired by the recommendations of my readers to read the book that I couldn't pass it up!  Boy am I glad I read it first!

This book surprised me in so many ways and blew me away with the writing techniques!  I'm an unabashed literary snob.  I was an English major in college and have loved the written word for as long as I can remember.  I love sentence structure and the use of vocabulary.  I adore the ability of getting lost in the words and caught up in the imagery!  Plot has always been a secondary purpose for me.  I know that sounds a bit strange, but a well written and constructed book trumps a saucy story any day for me!  Thankfully, this book was an all-in-one package - well constructed, not overly detailed, perfectly characterized, and with a griping and relate-able story line to boot!

Water for Elephants had me at "I'm 90 or 93" - read the book, you'll get it right away!!  This book intertwines some amazing themes that normally would not have interested me, but were accomplished in such a real and raw way that I fell in love with the circus and found myself aching to enjoy the years I have in life now.  I loved the touches from the era in which it is set, the seamless way that Gruen pulls you into a time you never lived through, and her ability to paint a masterful picture with such few words!

Now, I cannot give this book a full review without mentioning the movie.  I loved the idea of the cast and was so excited to see how Hollywood could make the circus come to life.  Sadly, I was utterly let down.  The movie was anything but special, which is exactly what made the book stand out.  I loved the real and untantalized nature of the main characters in the book; I thought Hollywood turned them into tragic cliches and sad excuses for existence.  Please know that I mean no offense if you loved the movie - to each his/her own :).  Remember to follow Read This & Win That on Facebook to share your own opinions!

So whether you're headed to the park with your Kindle, grabbing a few rays of sunshine at the beach with the paperback, or sneaking in a few chapters during the kids' nap time, I highly recommend that you add Water for Elephants to your summer reading list!  You will absolutely not be disappointed!!

You can buy Water for Elephants for just $8.97 + Free Shipping from Amazon or grab the Kindle version for just $4.17 - remember, you can read the Kindle version on a number of different devices; and even "share" it with your friends!

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Giveaway:

One winner will receive a copy of Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen! To enter, just do one, or all, of the methods below and leave me a comment for each. Be sure to leave me a separate comment for each entry & include your email address, so I can contact you if you win!

Methods of Entry:

• Leave me a comment telling me what one of the best books you've read lately was!
  

• Follow @savings_steward on Twitter (new & current followers qualify).

• “Like" Savings & Stewardship on Facebook (new & current fans qualify).

• Subscribe to Savings and Stewardship by Email (be sure to validate your subscription) - current & new subscribers qualify.

Giveaway will end Thursday, June 16th at Midnight EST and is open to anyone 18 yrs or older with a valid U.S. mailing address. One entry per method, per person (no duplicate email accounts, please). Winner will be drawn via Random.org and notified via email. Winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new one will be drawn. This is NOT a sponsored post - the prize will be fulfilled by me.  Read our Privacy Policy.