I don't experience book slumps very often. I always want to read, and I have more than enough books laying around to fuel my obsession hobby. But sometimes, like this week, nothing seems to strike my fancy. I pick up a book, read a few lines, then pick up another one, read a few lines and ... nyeh. Nothing grabs me. After stopping and starting a dozen different books (and changing my "Currently Reading" status abou a million times), I finally settled on Crow Lake by Mary Lawson. It's bleak, but really engrossing. I should finish it today - look for a review tonight or tomorrow.

In the meantime, since I've been feeling a little "slumpy" and grumpy (since I got a ticket yesterday for making a "wide, improper left turn" - grrrr ... I should have realized the police would be out en force for St. Paddy's), I'm going to do another giveaway. Yes, I'm just that generous. Actually, no I'm not - you have Tolly Moseley, a publicist with Phenix & Phenix to thank. So, here's what's up for grabs:

I have 3 copies of Chicken Soup for the Empty Nesters Soul. You're probably all familiar with the Chicken Soup books by Jack Canfield & Co., which offer poems/stories/inspirational thoughts about every subject under the sun. This one deals with - you guessed it - empty nesters. This volume contains 101 short (1-2 page) vignettes and poems that range from sentimental ("Taking Flight," "Coming Home") to hilarious ("The Whiz Kid," "Help! The Mothers Are Coming"). It makes for quick, light reading that's perfect for anyone who finds themselves facing (or about to face) an empty nest. Even if you're not at this stage, the book would make a great gift. So, what do you have to do to get your hands on a copy? Just answer a simple question: What's the first thing you're going to do (or the first thing you did do) when your children all fly the coop? Use your imaginations - I can't wait to hear the answers! I will draw the names of 3 winners on March 30. The giveaway is open to readers anywhere in the world. Good luck!

(Book Image from Barnes & Noble)

If you, too, mourned the end of Adriana Trigiani's Big Stone Gap series, then listen up! She just released the first book - Very Valentine - in a projected trilogy. The novel contains everything we love about Trigiani -memorable characters; settings so vivid they pop right off the page; lots of humor; and plenty of heart. Don't get me wrong - it's not Big Stone Gap, but this series shows a lot of promise. In the absence of Ava Marie Mulligan and her crowd, it'll do. Quite nicely, in fact.

The story begins with a big, noisy Italian wedding where we meet the colorful Angelini/Roncalli Family. Our narrator is 33-year-old Valentine Roncalli, who offers her status in the book's first paragraph - "I'm not the pretty sister. I'm not the smart sister either. I am the funny one" (1). Although she may not realize it, Valentine is more than the comic relief - she's also a talented designer, who may be the only person capable of saving her family's 100-year-old shoe business.

Since 1903, the Angelini Shoe Company has been a Greenwich Village landmark. Founded by Valentine's Italian grandfather, the shop specializes in crafting wedding shoes from the finest materials the Old World has to offer. Thanks to the finicky fashion world and some financial mismanagement, the family business now totters on the brink of bankruptcy. Selling seems to be the only answer. But Valentine the comedian is deadly serious about one thing: She desperately wants to save the Angelini Shoe Company.

Alfred, Valentine's golden boy/financial whiz of a brother, recommends selling the building, the company's only asset. But Valentine can't stand the thought of losing the shop that has sheltered her since childhood. The only other option is making 10 times the profits they do now. Considering the crumbling economy and the finicky fashion world, it's an impossible task. Valentine refuses to give up, even though it angers Alfred. She simply can't sell her dream, can't watch her family's history pass on to some greedy investor. To save the business, she comes up with a plan, a plan that will take her to Tuscany, where the roots of her family tree remain firmly planted. There, she hopes to find her way in both her professional and personal lives. But what will nurturing her passion really mean? Will it require losing the man she loves? Or selling the business she may not be able to salvage? And, always, there's her family in all its loud, fractious glory - will the squabble over Angelini Shoe Company be its ruin, too?

Set amid the glitz and glamour of New York, Very Valentine lacks the hometown feel that makes the Big Stone Gap stories so appealing. It's heartwarming, nonetheless, just in a different sort of way. Like its predecessors, Very Valentine charms because of its characters. They're quirky, colorful and so ordinary that the Roncalli Family could be your own. Details about shoe-making add interest, although I got a little irritated with all the description of what I consider to be Trigiani's Holy Trinity - food, fashion and architecture. I also, at times, tired of Valentine's brash personality. Still and all, Very Valentine's a charming debut to what promises to be another luscious family saga by the talented Adriana Trigiani.

Grade: B

I've talked before about what a little bookworm my 7-year-old daughter is. She reads constantly, running through dozens of books each month. She stashes books in the car, the bathrooms, the kitchen - everywhere - just so she will never be without one. Sound familiar?

First of all, thanks to everyone for making this such a successful giveaway. I received more comments on Michelle Moran's interview post than on any other post I've ever written. Wow. I loved watching all the comments add up. It's so much fun for me to know that you read - and enjoy - my little blog.