MediaBistro August Book Club Party – Review

On Tuesday, August 17th, 2010, MediaBistro hosted it’s second Book Club party of the year, featuring some amazing authors showcasing their new books. A few lucky guests that arrived early were giving the chance to take a free books home.  I was amongst those lucky few…. Not only did I get 5 amazing free books to take home with me, I also got to meet the authors, learn a lil more about themselves and get them to autograph the book for me. How cool is that?!  The best part is that I get to giveaway these great books to you, my lovely readers! I’ll only be giving away 4 out of the 5 books, because one of them, I’ll keep because I just have to!

Below are the books and a description about them:

Business journalist McGee paints Wall Street as a utility with capital flowing through the system like an electric power grid, noting why it almost failed. She describes the pressure on the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008 to bail out Wall Street firms, why Wall Street was called an “abstraction,” and how Wall Street morphed from an intermediary (raising capital) into a casino. Goldman Sachs was the master of its universe, generating average return on equity of 25.4 percent in the decade before the financial crisis, compared with 15 percent annually for four other firms during the same period. (Amazon)

In Williams’ debut, he offers a memoir that focuses on his upbringing, primarily credited to a father who instilled in him a value of education and mature study habits over sports and recreation. Williams recalls that he spent many summer days growing up pouring over flash cards or his seemingly never-ending stack of books, while his peers swam and played outside. What little free time he had he spent at a local park playing basketball and idolizing the older boys, one in particular who loved Hip-Hop and had gained the street cred that came from violence when defending one’s honor. (Amazon)

Strauss’s stellar first novel (after story collection The Joy of Funerals) chronicles the loneliness of New Yorkers loosely connected by the swanky Four Seasons hotel. Hotel manager Morgan, Strauss’s strongest protagonist, longs for the company of her older sister, Dale, who died of leukemia as a child. She’s in a go-nowhere relationship and hoping to find a friend in Trish Hemingway, an artist and gallery owner who reminds her of Dale. Trish, meanwhile, is coming to terms with growing apart from her best friend, and she’s not fully over her fiancé, who left her shortly before they were to be married. (Amazon)

Not yet available in stores.

Whether you’ve had a hard day at work, have been on the go all day, or are planning an impromptu get together for friends, nothing will end your day better than something sweet and satisfying. Thanks to baking expert Abigail Johnson Dodge, you can whip up a delicious dessert with just 4 ingredients in about half-hour. The recipes in Desserts 4 Today rely on simplicity–no outrageous ingredients, no difficult-to-master techniques, and no hours of prep work. (Amazon)

I will be giving away the following four (4) books, to the first people to leave a comment on this post stating which book you’d like and for fun, list the last book you read.

Chasing Goldman Sachs
Losing My Cool
Based Upon Availability
Life From Scratch

Good luck!