October 5, 2009

Giveaway: Five books from Hispanic authors and My Review of Zumba

WINNERS: Glen in Pennsylvania, Jo Anne in Texas, Adayla in South Dakota, Julia in Minnesota and Kristi in Illinois

ACK!! I'm so excited to offer this giveaway!! FIVE winners will each receive the Five books listed below. THANK YOU HACHETTE BOOK GROUP.

Here is my review of Zumba and be sure to watch for my reviews of the other books in the coming weeks.

In August I stopped eating fast food, gave up Cokes and started watching my diet. Since then I've lost 11 lbs and my goal is to lose 19 more. In September I joined a women's gym and have actually taken 3 Zumba classes.

As the tagline says, "Ditch the workout and join the party!" Zumba is so much fun. The class is pretty much 50 minutes of dancing and 5-10 minutes of stretching to hot Latin beats. I have two left feet and let me tell you it took me a few tries to get the steps down right but my friend who really has rhythm picked up the moves instantly.

With the detailed pictures in the book I have been able to master the moves we do in class and read inspirational stories about people who have joined in the Zumba craze. Also included in the book is a jump start and maintenance diet. I haven't tried them yet but will do so soon and let you know my results. And I almost forgot! There is also a DVD which shows you a few of the basic moves and a couple of work outs to try at home. This book is great and I highly recommend for anyone looking to shed a few pounds or just have fun.

TIRED OF LOGGING HOURS AT THE GYM AND NOT GETTING RESULTS?

WANT TO EAT DELICIOUS FOODS AND STILL LOSE WEIGHT?

SHAKE THINGS UP AND SLIM DOWN WITH THE WEIGHT LOSS PHENOMENON THAT'S TAKING THE COUNTRY BY STORM...ZUMBA!

Created by celebrity fitness trainer Beto Perez, Zumba® combines fun, easy-to-follow dance steps with hot Latin beats to help you shed pounds and inches fast. Now the DVD and classes that have hooked millions are available in book format, with a complete workout program, fat-burning diet, and an exclusive instructional DVD with 60 minutes worth of music to help you Zumba your way to the perfect body.

Using the principles of interval and resistance training, the simple dance and sculpting moves (inspired by the traditional cumbia, salsa, samba, and merengue) tone and shape your body. And because it burns 600 to 1,000 calories per hour, you don't have to restrict your meals to boring or bland-tasting diet foods. The Zumba diet begins with a 5-Day Express Diet to jump start weight loss (lose up to 9 lbs in 5 days) and then offers 14-day meal plans and recipes that target weight loss in the stomach and thighs. You'll find:

· Hot moves that make you feel like you're on the dance floor-not on the elliptical machine!

· Recipes for mouthwatering meals that boost your metabolism

· Dozens of workout combinations so you never get bored

· An exclusive jump-start program to get you ready for that big event next weekend

· An easy plan to help you keep up your progress and maintain the weight loss

So start moving, grooving and losing with Zumba today!


Victor and Jaqueline Torres imagined moving to the U.S. would bring happiness and prosperity-instead they found a world of frustration. While Victor put long hours into his restaurant business, Jaqui devoted her life to her daughters, until they grew up and moved on. Even their eldest, Victoria, is torn trying to reconcile being the perfect Argentine daughter and an independent American woman. Antonio and Lucia Orteli face the same realities, especially when their only son Eric leaves their close-knit Argentine community in pursuit of his own dreams.

All Ana Ruiz wanted was to have a traditional quinceañera for her daughter, Carmen. She wanted a nice way to mark this milestone year in her daughter's life. But Carmen was not interested in celebrating. Hurt and bitter over her father Esteban's departure, she blamed Ana for destroying their happy family, as did everyone else. A good man is hard to find, especially at your age Ana was told. Why not forgive his one indiscretion? Despite everything, Ana didn't want to tarnish Carmen's childlike devotion to her beloved father. But Ana knows that growing up sometimes means facing hard truths. In the end, Ana discovers that if she's going to teach Carmen anything about what it means to be a woman, it will take more than simply a fancy party to do it...

Gabriella always loved the picture of her mother kneeling in front of a bed of roses, smiling, beautiful and impossibly happy. But then she learns that her late mother hated gardening; that she had never wanted the house in the Hollywood hills, the successful movie producer husband, and possibly, her only daughter. When Gabriella discovers a journal--a book that begins as a new mother's letters to her baby girl, but becomes a secret diary--the final entry leaves one question unanswered: the night her mother died, was she returning to Colombia to end an affair, or was she abandoning her family for good?

In a small town on the Mexican border live two brothers, Don Fidencio and Don Celestino. Stubborn and independent, they now must face the facts: they are old, and they have let a family argument stand between them for too long. Don Celestino's good-natured housekeeper encourages him to make amends--while he still can. They secretly liberate Don Fidencio from his nursing home and travel into Mexico to solve the mystery at the heart of their dispute: the family legend of their grandfather's kidnapping. As the unlikely trio travels, the brothers learn it's never too late for a new beginning.

To enter to win your own set of FIVE BOOKS!! just tell me who your favorite Hispanic author is. Mine would have to be Mario Acevedo. He writes the AWESOME series featuring the vampire Felix Gomez. If you don't have a favorite Hispanic author then just tell me which book out of the five you are most looking forward to reading. Zumba was my favorite and now that I'm almost done with that one next up for me is going to be Amigoland.

For extra entries Tweet about the giveaway using the "ShareThis" link at the end of this post or Tweet your own message. Twitter entries can be done once a day, just be sure to leave me the link to your Tweet each time you do.

Giveaway open to US and Canada only. Please, no PO Boxes. Winners will be selected October 15th and will have 48 hours to respond to the winning email. Please be sure to leave me an email address in your comment if it's not in your profile or your post using anonymous.



BookBlips: vote it up!

34 comments :

kalea_kane said...

Don't enter me in the giveaway (I have some of the books already). I just wanted to congratulate you on your weight loss. Way to go!

Pam said...

I really loved Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - he's Spanish, does that count? If not, I NEED Zumba but I'd really love to read "Tell Me Something True".

melacan at hotmail dot com

MonieG said...

Thank you !

Marjorie/cenya2 said...

Evening at the Argentina Club is the novel that sparked my interest.
I am a goggle follower.

Please count me in on this giveaway.

cenya2 at hotmail dot com

bermudaonion said...

My favorite Hispanic author is Luis Urrea. Thanks for the great giveaway. milou2ster(at)gmail.com

GirlwiththeBraids said...

I've never read any books by a Spanish author before or none that I can remember. But I have been meaning to read that Drama book that is up for the contest.

-ReadingToMyself(at)yahoo(dot)com

holdenj said...

One of my favorite Hispanic authors is Isabelle Allende.

Thanks for the description of Zumba, I'd been wondering aobut it!

JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

nomadreader said...

My two favorites (I can't choose!) are Sandra Cisneros and Laura Esquivel. Awesome contest. Thanks!

traveler said...

Thanks for this great giveaway. Tell me Something True sounds compelling and wonderful. rojosho(at)gmail(dot)com

sharon54220 said...

Congrats on the weight loss.
In regards to a Spanish author, I'm not sure.
In regards to book, Tell Me Something True and Amigoland.

Thanks for a great giveaway.

sharon542202@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Please enter me in the giveaway. A favorite Latina author is myself, Jo Ann Hernandez author of two YA books and Diana Lopez excellent author of Confetti Girl.
Thank you for this opportunity
Jo Ann Hernandez
BronzeWord Latino Authors
http://authorslatino.com/wordpress
BronzeWord1 AT yahoo com

Anonymous said...

This is a fabulous giveaway, and I have my fingers crossed. My favorite Hispanic author is Sandra Cisneros. I adore her little girl voice and how she portrays her life. She is quite unique, and I do adore reading her work. I especially love House on Mango Street and her poetry.

bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com

Simply Stacie said...

I am looking forward to reading Evenings at the Argentine Club.

simplystacieblog at gmail dot com

mrsshukra said...

Josefina Lopes (Hungry Woman in Paris) is my current favorite.

I'm most excited about Evenings at the Argentine Club in this batch!

delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com

M.A.D. said...

Mary D
zenrei57 (at) hotmail (dot) com

Congratulations on your weight loss!!! :)

And please enter me in this fun giveaway, the selection looks awesome! While I am not all that familiar with Hispanic authors, I do have to say that Zumba is the one I am most excited to check out.

Anonymous said...

I love Isabelle Allende and the adventure she weaves, but I adore Pablo Neruda and his electric words... Please accept this as my entry. Thank you!

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

Anita Yancey said...

So far I haven't read any books by Hispanic authors. But I'm most interested in reading Tell Me Something True. Thanks for this chance.

ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

Kristi said...

Isabelle Allende would definitely be my favorite! (But I really covet that Zumba book!)

kherbrand at comcast dot net

Brenda S. said...

Belinda Acosta

Stampnsark@aol.com

Kristi said...

I tweeted - http://twitter.com/kherbrand/statuses/4800863681

kherbrand at comcast dot net

Dawn M. said...

I think all the books sound good but I'd probaby be most excited about either Zumba or Amigoland. :0)

Thanks!
librarygrinch at gmail dot com

CherylS22 said...

What a great set of books - please count me in!

The book I want to read the most is "Zumba". Seems like such a fun way to keep in shape.

Thanks ~ megalon22{at}yahoo{dot}com

ikkinlala said...

I've read a number of books by Hispanic authors, but I'm horrible at choosing favourites. I'm most looking forward to reading Tell Me Something True.

Glenn said...

I'm most looking forward to Amigoland because of the family dynamics. I'd like to drop my name in the virtual hat - thanks for the giveaway.

glenn_pessano AT yahoo DOT com

Sue said...

I'd love a chance to win. Zumba has me very intrigued and I'd love a chance to win.
Thanks for sharing.

s.mickelson at gmail dot com

Sarah E said...

My favorite Hispanic author is Angeles Mastretta, as she writes such interesting novels set in Mexico that tie in Mexico's history.

saemmerson at yahoo dot com

Sarah Emmerson

Unknown said...

I like Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende, both are terrific authors.

catss99 said...

I'm looking forward to tell me something true. what a great giveaway!
amanda
catss99@yahoo.com

catss99 said...

tweet

http://twitter.com/catss99/status/4881817007

amanda
catss99@yahoo.com

degood said...

I have been wondering about Zumba so I am very interested in that book but also think that Tell Me Something True would be interesting.

kerrie@mayansfamily.com

JoanneR said...

Monie, Thank you for the opportunity to win and read books by some authors that I haven't had the pleasure of reading yet.

joannereynolds@sbcglobal.net

Rebecca N. said...

Wow thanks for the cool giveaway! I don't have a favorite Hispanic author but I am really looking forward to reading Amigoland!

imsosweepy { at } gmail { dot } com

Rebecca N. said...

I Tweeted!

imsosweepy { at } gmail { dot } com

http://twitter.com/Sparkleglow/status/4900679142

Jaime said...

my fave now is Julia Amante
I would love to win this set
copperllama at yahoo dot com