Our salute to this year’s 86th Academy Awards consists of paying homage to the spectacular crop of nominees. If you find that you have already seen all of the pictures nominated for the big awards or are aching for yet another movie about a Wall Street tycoon or a dysfunctional family, then look no further!

Our salute to this year’s 86th Academy Awards consists of paying homage to the spectacular crop of nominees. If you find that you have already seen all of the pictures nominated for the big awards or are aching for yet another movie about a Wall Street tycoon or a dysfunctional family, then look no further! 

Question: What would be scarier than being stranded in a foreign land? Answer: Being stuck in space! For other riveting space odysseys, read Moon Shot and Thirteen. Tracks is another fascinating look at being on your own in a foreign territory.

After The Shining: Recommendations for Fans of Stephen King    

Stephen King doesn’t need an introduction. The international bestselling author and tycoon of terror is the man possibly responsible for all of your nightmares about clowns, high school prom, and rabid dogs. His immense body of work includes fifty novels, five nonfiction books, and nearly two hundred short stories, many of which have made it into the horror genre’s canon. But if you’re looking for even more tales of terror, here are some recommendations to hit all the thrill points. 

If You Enjoyed Joyland: The Dreaming Jewelsby Theodore Sturgeon

A carnival is the best of both worlds: wholesome fun for all ages and dark secrets underneath! To escape his abusive adoptive family, eight-year-old Horton “Horty” Bluett runs away to join a carnival. But disgraced doctor Pierre “Maneater” Monetre’s traveling show is no ordinary entertainment, and its performers are not what they appear to be. The Maneater is dreaming up a dark and terrible scheme that requires the extraterrestrial power of the dreaming jewels, and unwittingly, Horty, who is more remarkable than he may know, is just the help the Maneater needs.

If You Enjoyed Insomnia: Symbiography by William Hjortsberg

Like Ralph Roberts, Par Sondak can perceive other planes of reality, but unlike Ralph, Par does it voluntarily as a bestselling dreamer in postapocalyptic America. Each night, Par retires to build magnificent worlds and escapist epics for the people of the City to enjoy. When he isn’t asleep, he surveys the wasteland beyond his laser-guarded walls where herds of Nomads scavenge for food. Lately, these Nomads have piqued Par’s curiosity, but attempting to understand them might just destroy the kingdom his dreams have built.

If You Enjoyed Salem’s Lot: They Thirstby Robert R. McCammon         

Ben Mears returned to Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine, to discover that the residents were all becoming vampires—and maybe Prince Vulkan of Robert R. McCammon’s They Thirst was to blame. In this pageturner, it’s not Maine but Los Angeles that the vampire-prince wants, setting up shop in an abandoned castle with a Hollywood view. But the spike in disappearances and grave-robbing arouses the suspicion of a local detective who must unravel the mystery before time runs out to save the city—and the planet—from bloodsucker domination.

If You Enjoyed Under the Dome: Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany

A city cut off from the rest of the world: In King’s novel it’s by an invisible dome; in Delany’s, it’s by a bridge. Bellona is a shattered city, unreachable by any means of communication. Its landmarks shift and change, buildings intermittently burn and renew, and time runs irregularly, all under what could be a double moon or a massive sun. Into this unhinged reality enters the Kid, protagonist and narrator. Dhalgren is a complex and radical challenge to those who enjoyed Under the Dome’s intricate, multicharacter and multi-POV storytelling

If You Enjoyed Children of the Corn: A Coming of Age by Timothy Zahn

Creepy children are a genre unto themselves, but for readers looking for more cultish kids, you have the children of Tigris, who develop telekinesis beginning at the age of five. Their abilities peak in their preteens and slip away as they reach maturity, but until that point, the ability to “teek” gives them power even over most adults. Lisa Duncan is fourteen and close to losing her abilities, but Dr. Matthew Jarvis’s experimental plan could change her—and Tigris’s—future, for better or for worse.

Addressing prejudice in more forms than one, Ann Allen Shockley’s writing frequently features interracial lesbian couples. The groundbreaking work Loving Her, first published in 1974, was the first novel to feature an interracial lesbian relationship.

The intriguing, sympathetic characters created by Shockley make her writing both engaging and groundbreaking. Meet a few of her characters, whose love stories will capture your attention immediately:

Renay and Terry in Loving Her:Renay is a struggling African American pianist trapped in an abusive relationship with her husband. When she meets Terry, a beautiful, wealthy white woman, Renay suddenly feels alive. Despite encounters with prejudice and tragedy, Renay and Terry fight for love and empowerment.

Myrtle and Travis in Say Jesus and Come to Me: Myrtle Black is a traveling African American minister who journeys to Nashville with the intent of organizing a protest against racism and sexism. When world-famous rhythm-and-blues singer Travis Lee joins the crusade, Reverend Myrtle can’t ignore the attraction.

Penelope and J. D. in The Black and White of It: In the story “Spring into Autumn,” which opens the collection, Penelope, who is a lonely middle-aged English professor, experiences a rejuvenation with the help of a bright, vivacious young coed named J. D.

Shockley’s novels and stories are excellent reads for any time of the year, but they deserve special attention during Black History Month. Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple, praises Shockley’s work, saying, “Written out of an earnest passion . . . it offers the reader an opportunity to develop a new way of seeing and caring.”

Learn more about Ann Allen Shockley and her new-to-ebook novels by visiting her author page.

Our salute to this year’s 86th Academy Awards consists of paying homage to the spectacular crop of nominees. If you find that you have already seen all of the pictures nominated for the big awards or are aching for yet another movie about a Wall Street tycoon or a dysfunctional family, then look no further!

Do the twisted family dynamics in Osage County make you yearn for your own zany clan? If so, the reads below are chock full of kooky mothers and quarreling siblings. 

Our salute to this year’s 86th Academy Awards consists of paying homage to the spectacular crop of nominees. If you find that you have already seen all of the pictures nominated for the big awards or are aching for yet another movie about a Wall Street tycoon or a dysfunctional family, then look no further! 

The movie about a glamorous socialite who falls from grace is a tale so captivating most people didn’t want it to end. In the vein of women everywhere who have had a long fall from grace, the novels below are just up Jasmine’s alley.

The air was cold - thin and clawing like an animal in an iron trap. The other day I heard a blonde call the snow "pretty as a postcard." It was as pretty as a postcard, if the postcard had a secret message on the back written in blood, or ink as ashen as the frostbitten feet of bodies at the morgue, and it was asking you to walk in it. I needed a drink. What I had was a book.

This long winter is enough to make anyone as cynical as a hard-boiled sleuth. Take a day in with one of these titles and read about someone else doing the legwork. 

A Long Walk Up the Water Slide by Don Winslow

After Polly Paget, a ditzy actress from Brooklyn, is assaulted by her old boss, a motley assortment of sleazoids, paparazzi, and psychotic assassins are out to get Paget to either talk or shut up permanently. PI Neal Carey is used to uncovering people trying to hide, but this time he has to help his mark stay lost. A Long Walk Up the Water Slide is part of Don Winslow's five-book Neal Carey Series.

Clandestine by James Ellroy

Even as a young cop, Freddy Underhill knows sunshine alone isn't enough to make L.A. a nice place. Patrolling one of L.A.'s roughest districts with his partner Wacky Walker (a morbid, alcoholic WWII vet with a Medal of Honor), he sees all of its lust, its rage, its madness - and the murder of an old flame. Clandestine by James Ellroy follows the investigation as it takes Freddy deep into the shadiest parts of the city, where he will have to embrace the darkness if he wants to emerge with his life.  

Skinflick is book five of the David Brandsetter Mysteries starring street-smart insurance investigator Dave Brandsetter. In this mystery, crusading evangelist Gerald Dawson has taken to vigilante justice in his local skid row, ransacking pornography shops and intimidating their owners. But when Gerald is found with his neck snapped, Brandsetter digs into the holy man’s nighttime activities, only to find a collection of sins that would make even the devil blush.

The first book in the Aden Vanner trilogy, Sleep No More by Jeff Gulvin zeroes in on a Detective Chief Inspector's obsessive search for the elusive Watchman, a case so frustrating that it drives him to beat a prisoner during questioning. Suspended from the police force, Vanner navigates London's dark alleyways using his own brand of justice because even without the Bureau's support, capturing the Watchman is the only way to clear his name.

Never Bet Your Life by George Harmon Coxe

Dave Barnum had one job - to keep his friend John from committing suicide. What he didn't think to watch for was murder. Never Bet Your Life by George Harmon Coxe details Barnum's hair-raising pursuit of a killer that escaped him once but won't escape him again. 

Our salute to this year’s 86th Academy Awards consists of paying homage to the spectacular crop of nominees. 

If there is one thing America loves, it is a good underdog story. The reads below are full of ordinary citizens overcoming insurmountable obstacles and coming out as heroes.

Our salute to this year’s 86th Academy Awards consists of paying homage to the spectacular crop of nominees.

Watching a bunch of con men and women was everyone’s guilty pleasure this year. You can continue your adventures in illegal heists with our con collection below.

Our salute to this year’s 86th Academy Awards consists of paying homage to the spectacular crop of nominees

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It’s the movie that made us ponder life’s big questions while dealing with heavy subjects such as AIDS, homosexuality, and confusion about one’s own preferences. For further reading on the above subjects, please see below.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Sidney Poitier became an icon, famous for portraying strong, proud African American characters in a variety of films—an incredible feat, considering the cultural context of the civil rights movement. In 1963, Poitier became the first African American to win the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role, awarded for his performance in Lilies of the Field.  

A highlight of Poitier’s acting career was his role as Mark Thackeray in To Sir, With Love (1967), based on the eponymous novel by E. R. Braithwaite.To Sir, With Love is a touching story set in the East End of London about the impact of a teacher on his students—and of the students’ unexpected, extraordinary effect on him.

On February 20, 2014, Poitier celebrates his eighty-seventh birthday. In honor of the amazing influence he has had on the world of film, we created a short list of other outstanding performances by subsequent generations of incredible African American actors in roles that uphold Poitier’s legacy:

1. Whoopi Goldberg won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama for her performance in the film version of The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Goldberg portrays Celie Johnson, a young, abused woman who writes letters to God describing her difficult journey of self-discovery. Both the novel and the film express an important feminist outlook and reveal the depth of the characters’ suffering.

2. Will Smith portrayed Muhammad Ali, heavyweight champion and sports legend, in the 2001 film Ali. Smith was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance. The movie explored Ali’s key contributions to the civil rights movement.

3. Lupita Nyong’o makes her acting debut as Patsey in the movie 12Years a Slave. The memoir, written by freed slave Solomon Northup in 1853, inspired the critically acclaimed film, which is nominated for nine Oscars this year, including Best Motion Picture. Even though by 2013, dialogue about race through film had become commonplace, 12 Years a Slave has been deemed especially important for the detail with which it portrays the brutality of slavery.

Check out all of our Black History Month reads here. Happy birthday, Sidney Poitier!

Men from the 369th Infantry Regiment who won the Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action. Nicknamed the Harlem Hellfighters and the Black Rattlers, it was the first African American regiment to serve with the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I.

Black History Month is a time to reflect on the struggles and celebrate the victories of African Americans throughout US history. Here, we’ve selected five mystery authors whose harrowing stakes, thrilling trails, and masterfully crafted deductions are as much informed by black history as they are expansions upon it. 

It is October 1995: the Million Man March. Elroy Covington knows he should run from the man who has emerged from his long-forgotten past. He never makes it home. Eight months later, PI Aaron Gunner is in his Los Angeles office when Elroy’s sister finds him through a business card he gave Elroy at the march. Gar Anthony Haywood’s When Last Seen Alive follows Gunner as he warms up Elroy’s frigid trail, uncovering ties to a black militant group only to find that there’s a time for brotherhood and a time to get tough.

Critically acclaimed crime author Thomas H. Cook takes us back in time to Birmingham, Alabama, during the pinnacle of the civil rights movement in Streets of Fire. When a young black girl’s body is found buried in a football field, Detective Ben Wellman becomes determined to understand the story behind the tragedy, even if it means uncovering truths that both the black and white communities would prefer to keep hidden.

In Fools Rush In, book seven of Ed Gorman’s Sam McCain Mysteries, PI Sam McCain is hired by a senator to save his campaign from a blackmailer. But the blackmailer is nowhere to be found . . . until McCain discovers him dead in the dirt, with a handsome black corpse beside him. With his small Iowa town on the brink of an all-out race war, McCain searches for the savage killer and learns that perhaps the most dangerous prejudices of all are the ones that stay quiet.

In 1992, enraged by the acquittal of Rodney King’s brutalizers, people took to the streets of Los Angeles, smashing and looting until South Central looked like Saravejo. Violent Springby Gary Phillips picks up where the riots left off: PI Ivan Monk is watching the groundbreaking ceremony for a new neighborhood shopping center when the mayor’s spade finds the body of a Korean shopkeeper. As he looks into the senseless killing, Monk finds that it wasn’t racial anger that took the man’s life, but old-fashioned, color-blind greed.

Black Samurai by Marc Olden. In this pulp fiction classic, Olden kicks off his martial arts series starring Robert Sand, the first black man ever to take the oath of the Japanese samurai. Through eight novels, Sand goes up against all sorts of baddies, chasing terrorists, arms dealers, thieves, and kidnappers around the globe.

Black Samurai was later turned into a 1977 film, starring Jim Kelly, called Black Samurai.

Enter for a chance to win a copy of Marching to Zionby Mary Glickman as part of our Friday Tweetstakes. 

To learn more about ebook news and deals, follow @OpenRoadMedia.

About the book:

Mags Preacher, a young black woman with a dream, arrives in St. Louis from the piney woods of her family home in 1916, hoping to learn the beauty trade. She knows nothing about Jews except that they killed the Lord Jesus Christ. Then she begins working for Mr. Fishbein, an Eastern European émigré who fled the pogroms that shattered his life to become the proprietor of Fishbein’s Funeral Home. By the time he saves Mags from certain death during the 1917 race riots in East St. Louis, all her perceptions have changed. But Mr. Fishbein’s daughter, the troubled redheaded beauty Minerva, is a different matter. There is something wrong with the girl, something dangerous, something fateful. And it is Magnus Bailey, Mags’s first friend in the city, who learns to what heights and depths the girl’s willful spirit can drive a man.

Marching to Zion is the tragic story of Minerva Fishbein and Magnus Bailey, a charismatic black man and the longtime business partner of Minerva’s father. From the brutal riots of East St. Louis to Memphis, Tennessee, during the 1920s and the Depression, Marching to Zion is a tale of passion, betrayal, and redemption during an era in America when interracial love could not go unpunished. Readers of Mary Glickman’s One More River will celebrate the return of Aurora Mae Stanton, who joins a cast of vibrant new characters in this tense and compelling Southern-Jewish novel that examines the price of love and the interventions of fate.

Learn more on the author's page.

Rules:

THE OPEN ROAD MEDIA MARCHING TO ZION TWEETSTAKES OFFICIAL RULES

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

SPONSOR: The “Marching to Zion Tweetstakes” (“Sweepstakes”) is sponsored by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. (“Sponsor”), Suite 6C, 345 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014

HOW TO ENTER: To enter the Marching to Zion Tweetstakes, follow @OpenRoadMedia using your Twitter account and retweet the specified message. The specified message, including the exact link and @reply, must be included to qualify.

Limit one (1) entry per person/Twitter account. Multiple entries from a single Twitter account are automatically disqualified. No automated entry devices and/or programs permitted.

Proof of entry will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Sponsor.

ELIGIBILITY: The Sweepstakes is open to all legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington, DC who are 18 years of age and older by 2/21/2014. Employees, officers and directors of Sponsor and its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, advertising and promotion agencies, manufacturers or distributors of Sweepstakes materials and their immediate families (parents, children, siblings, spouses) or members of the same household (whether related or not) of such employees/officers/directors are not eligible to enter. Offer void outside the United States and wherever prohibited, taxed or restricted by law. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.

Each entrant in the Sweepstakes must be the rightful owner or have authorized use of the Twitter account used to enter the Sweepstakes. In the event of a dispute concerning the identity of entrant, entry will be declared to have been made by the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the Twitter account used to enter. Any potential winner may be requested to provide Sponsor with proof that such winner is the authorized owner of the Twitter account associated with the winning entry.

ENTRY PERIOD: Sweepstakes begins at 12:01 AM Eastern Time (“ET”) on February 21, 2014, and ends at 11:50 PM ET on February 21, 2014.

SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS: The winners will be selected by a random drawing from all the eligible entries Tweeted on or about February 21, 2014. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. By entering the Sweepstakes, each entrant fully and unconditionally agrees to be bound by these rules and the decisions of Sponsor which will be final and binding in all matters relating to the Sweepstakes. Potential winner will be notified by Direct Message via Twitter on or about February 24, 2014, and will be required to sign and return, where legal, a Declaration of Eligibility and Release within seven (7) days of prize notification. If potential winner is considered a minor in his/her jurisdiction of residence, Declaration and Release must be signed by his/her parent or legal guardian and such prize will be delivered to minor’s parent/legal guardian and awarded in the name of parent/legal guardian. If winner cannot be contacted within five (5) calendar days of first notification attempt, if prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, if potential winner rejects his/her prize or in the event of noncompliance with these Sweepstakes rules and requirements, such prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected from all remaining eligible entries. Upon prize forfeiture, no compensation will be given.

If due to a printing, production or other error, more prizes are claimed than are intended to be awarded, the intended prize will be awarded in a random drawing from among all verified and validated prize claims received. In no event will more than the stated number of prizes be awarded.

PRIZE

One (1) winner will receive a paperback copy of Marching to Zion by Mary Glickman.

This prize is provided to you by Open Road Media.

Approximate retail value of prize: $16.99.

All prizes are non-transferrable and cannot be sold or redeemed for cash. In the case of unavailability of prize, Open Road Media reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value.

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By participating, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and the results of the random selection of the winners, which shall be final, and waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Sweepstakes and/or these Official Rules. All federal, state and local tax liabilities and unspecified expenses arising from this Sweepstakes will be the sole responsibility of the winner. Acceptance of prizes constitutes permission to use the winner’s name, likeness, picture, portrait, voice, biography, address (city and state), statements and prize won for purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity without additional notice or compensation, except where prohibited and/or restricted by law.

Each entrant shall release, discharge, and hold harmless Sponsor and its parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, assigns, attorneys, representatives and agents, including advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, employees, officers and directors (collectively, the “Sweepstakes Entities”) from any and all liabilities, loss, harm, injury, cost expense, and damages arising from the administration of the Sweepstakes, entrant’s participation in the Sweepstakes and/or the use or misuse of any prize received in this Sweepstakes, including, without limitation, the following: (i) late, lost, incomplete, delayed, misdirected, technically corrupted or unintelligible entries, (ii) any printing, typographical, administrative or technological errors in any materials associated with the Sweepstakes, (iii) any damage to the entrant’s computer, related equipment, data files, and software resulting from the entrant’s downloading of information regarding the Sweepstakes or participation in the Sweepstakes, (iv) any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail or other electronic communication or entry to be received by Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site, any combination thereof, or otherwise, including any injury or damage to entrant's or any other person’s computer, website, blog site, or other Internet or computer site related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in connection with the Sweepstakes; (v) unauthorized human intervention, traffic congestion, incomplete or inaccurate capture of entry information (regardless of cause) or failed, incomplete, garbled, jumbled or delayed computer transmissions which may limit one’s ability to enter the Sweepstakes; (vi) property damage, personal injury and/or death; and (vii) any claims based on publicity rights, defamation or invasion of privacy and merchandise delivery.

Sponsor is not responsible if Sweepstakes cannot take place or if the prize cannot be awarded due to cancellations, delays or interruptions due to acts of God, acts of war, natural disasters, weather or acts of terrorism. Entrants who do not comply with these Official Rules, or attempt to interfere with this Sweepstakes in any way shall be disqualified.

Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, cancel, extend or suspend this Sweepstakes should a virus, bug, computer problem, non-authorized human intervention, fraud or other causes beyond Sponsor's control corrupt the administration, security or proper operation of the Sweepstakes. In such case, Sponsor may select the winner(s) from all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by Sponsor. Sponsor may prohibit an entrant from participating in the Sweepstakes or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes by cheating, hacking or employing other unfair practices or by abusing other entrants or the representatives of Sponsor.

ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE OPERATION OF THE SWEEPSTAKES MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND, IN SUCH EVENT, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO PURSUE ITS REMEDIES AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING COSTS AND ATTORNEY’S FEES) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.

IN NO EVENT WILL THE SWEEPSTAKES ENTITIES BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF SPONSOR’s WEBSITE AND/OR THE SWEEPSTAKES, DOWNLOADING FROM AND/OR PRINTING MATERIAL DOWNLOADED FROM ANY WEBSITES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SWEEPSTAKES. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, THIS SWEEPSTAKES AND ALL PRIZES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS"  WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

Any dispute arising from the Sweepstakes will be determined according to the laws of the State of New York, without reference to its conflict of laws, principles, and the entrants consent to the personal jurisdiction of the State and Federal Courts located in the State and County of New York and agree that such courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all such disputes.

USE OF DATA: Sponsor will be collecting personal data about entrants online, in accordance with its privacy policy.  Please review the Sponsor’s privacy policy at http://www.openroadmedia.com/privacy-policy.aspx By participating in the Sweepstakes, entrants hereby agree to Sponsor’s collection and usage of their personal information and acknowledge that they have read and accepted Sponsor’s privacy policy.

LIST OF WINNERS: To obtain a list of winners, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope by March 15, 2014, to: Marching to Zion Tweetstakes, Open Road Integrated Media, Inc., 345 Hudson St., New York, New York 10014

If you have any problems entering this Sweepstakes or have questions about this Sweepstakes, please e-mail marketing@openroadmedia.com

THE OPEN ROAD MEDIA MARCHING TO ZION TWEETSTAKES OFFICIAL RULES

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

SPONSOR: The “Marching to Zion Tweetstakes” (“Sweepstakes”) is sponsored by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. (“Sponsor”), Suite 6C, 345 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014

HOW TO ENTER: To enter the Marching to Zion Tweetstakes, follow @OpenRoadMedia using your Twitter account and retweet the specified message. The specified message, including the exact link and @reply, must be included to qualify.

Limit one (1) entry per person/Twitter account. Multiple entries from a single Twitter account are automatically disqualified. No automated entry devices and/or programs permitted.

Proof of entry will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Sponsor.

ELIGIBILITY: The Sweepstakes is open to all legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington, DC who are 18 years of age and older by 2/21/2014. Employees, officers and directors of Sponsor and its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, advertising and promotion agencies, manufacturers or distributors of Sweepstakes materials and their immediate families (parents, children, siblings, spouses) or members of the same household (whether related or not) of such employees/officers/directors are not eligible to enter. Offer void outside the United States and wherever prohibited, taxed or restricted by law.  All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.

Each entrant in the Sweepstakes must be the rightful owner or have authorized use of the Twitter account used to enter the Sweepstakes. In the event of a dispute concerning the identity of entrant, entry will be declared to have been made by the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the Twitter account used to enter. Any potential winner may be requested to provide Sponsor with proof that such winner is the authorized owner of the Twitter account associated with the winning entry.

ENTRY PERIOD: Sweepstakes begins at 12:01 AM Eastern Time (“ET”) on February 21, 2014, and ends at 11:50 PM ET on February 21, 2014.

SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS: The winners will be selected by a random drawing from all the eligible entries Tweeted on or about February 21, 2014. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. By entering the Sweepstakes, each entrant fully and unconditionally agrees to be bound by these rules and the decisions of Sponsor which will be final and binding in all matters relating to the Sweepstakes. Potential winner will be notified by Direct Message via Twitter on or about February 24, 2014, and will be required to sign and return, where legal, a Declaration of Eligibility and Release within seven (7) days of prize notification. If potential winner is considered a minor in his/her jurisdiction of residence, Declaration and Release must be signed by his/her parent or legal guardian and such prize will be delivered to minor’s parent/legal guardian and awarded in the name of parent/legal guardian. If winner cannot be contacted within five (5) calendar days of first notification attempt, if prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, if potential winner rejects his/her prize or in the event of noncompliance with these Sweepstakes rules and requirements, such prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected from all remaining eligible entries. Upon prize forfeiture, no compensation will be given.

If due to a printing, production or other error, more prizes are claimed than are intended to be awarded, the intended prize will be awarded in a random drawing from among all verified and validated prize claims received. In no event will more than the stated number of prizes be awarded.

PRIZE

One (1) winner will receive a paperback copy of Marching to Zion by Mary Glickman.

This prize is provided to you by Open Road Media.

Approximate retail value of prize: $16.99.

All prizes are non-transferrable and cannot be sold or redeemed for cash. In the case of unavailability of prize, Open Road Media reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value.

CONDITIONS

By participating, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and the results of the random selection of the winners, which shall be final, and waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Sweepstakes and/or these Official Rules. All federal, state and local tax liabilities and unspecified expenses arising from this Sweepstakes will be the sole responsibility of the winner. Acceptance of prizes constitutes permission to use the winner’s name, likeness, picture, portrait, voice, biography, address (city and state), statements and prize won for purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity without additional notice or compensation, except where prohibited and/or restricted by law.

Each entrant shall release, discharge, and hold harmless Sponsor and its parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, assigns, attorneys, representatives and agents, including advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, employees, officers and directors (collectively, the “Sweepstakes Entities”) from any and all liabilities, loss, harm, injury, cost expense, and damages arising from the administration of the Sweepstakes, entrant’s participation in the Sweepstakes and/or the use or misuse of any prize received in this Sweepstakes, including, without limitation, the following: (i) late, lost, incomplete, delayed, misdirected, technically corrupted or unintelligible entries, (ii) any printing, typographical, administrative or technological errors in any materials associated with the Sweepstakes, (iii) any damage to the entrant’s computer, related equipment, data files, and software resulting from the entrant’s downloading of information regarding the Sweepstakes or participation in the Sweepstakes, (iv) any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail or other electronic communication or entry to be received by Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site, any combination thereof, or otherwise, including any injury or damage to entrant's or any other person’s computer, website, blog site, or other Internet or computer site related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in connection with the Sweepstakes; (v) unauthorized human intervention, traffic congestion, incomplete or inaccurate capture of entry information (regardless of cause) or failed, incomplete, garbled, jumbled or delayed computer transmissions which may limit one’s ability to enter the Sweepstakes; (vi) property damage, personal injury and/or death; and (vii) any claims based on publicity rights, defamation or invasion of privacy and merchandise delivery.

Sponsor is not responsible if Sweepstakes cannot take place or if the prize cannot be awarded due to cancellations, delays or interruptions due to acts of God, acts of war, natural disasters, weather or acts of terrorism. Entrants who do not comply with these Official Rules, or attempt to interfere with this Sweepstakes in any way shall be disqualified.

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There are two types of people in this world: those who loathe winter and those who love it. The first group wants to run to a Caribbean island at the first sign of a chill. The latter type can’t wait for the first snow, boots, Sochi 2014, and all things that glisten with the promise of frost.

Instead of counting the days until another polar vortex is upon us, dive into our snow files with ebooks that promise to make you grab your thermals and some hot chocolate.

Arctic Dreamsby Barry Lopez

In this award-winning classic, Barry Lopez explores the ways the human imagination engages with a landscape at once barren and beautiful, perilous and alluring, austere yet teeming with vibrant life, and shot through with human history. The Arctic has for centuries been a destination for the most ambitious explorers—a place of dreams, fears, and awe-inspiring spectacle.

Based on Lopez’s years spent traveling the Arctic regions in the company of Eskimo hunting parties and scientific expeditions alike, Arctic Dreams investigates the unique terrain of the human mind, thrown into relief against the vastness of the tundra and the frozen ocean. Eye-opening and profoundly moving, it is a magnificent appreciation of how wilderness challenges and inspires us.

Wolverine Cirque by Joseph Olshan                         

Sam and Mike, top-notch skiers, hike miles off piste to face a harrowing headwall of snow, a sheer descent that challenges their skill, their endurance, and ultimately, their ability to survive.

At the center of the story is Sam’s painful and poignant reminiscence of a complicated and doomed love affair with Luc, a Division I soccer player who struggles with his identity and the surprising power of desire finally unleashed. As both men grapple with the intensity of their affection for one another, Sam is forced to reckon that his attempt to master Wolverine Cirque is really a futile effort to stay the arguably more difficult course of his declining youth.

The Icerigger Trilogy by Alan Dean Foster

Icy, desolate, and sharply carved by hurricane-force winds, Tran-ky-ky is a terrible place to crash-land. But a botched kidnapping aboard the interstellar transport Antares sends Ethan Frome Fortune and a handful of his fellow travelers tumbling toward the stormy planet. Stranded and cut off from civilization, the castaways struggle to survive.

At Winter’s Endby Robert Silverberg                             

The time of falling death stars ushered in the Long Winter—eons of cold that caused plants and animals to vanish from Earth and drove people to take refuge in underground cocoons. Human ingenuity had never faced a greater challenge. For seven hundred thousand years, generation after generation was born and died below the Earth’s surface. But now, one small tribe is sensing change. Chieftain Koshmar is sure that the New Springtime is near, so she leads her people above ground to explore the new world that awaits. The unfamiliar Earth, still a frozen shell of its former self, will test their mettle in every way, leading the people of the tribe to the brink of their destiny—or to their doom.

The Dead of Winterby Michael Allegretto                         

Joe Bellano never hurt nobody. A gentle barber who takes bets on the side, he’s muddling through life when his world comes crashing down around him. First he’s arrested by an overzealous police force hoping for dirt on the local mob. Released after convincing the police that he’s strictly small time, Bellano is trying to get back to normal when his teenage daughter vanishes.

The dowager countess asks, “What is a weekend?” The upstairs life of never-ending leisure offers ample time for reading. Dive into one of these titles and you can imagine that you, too, are the inheritor of a grand estate and own a million fancy hats.

Looking for more drama? Head downstairs. 

Ready for battle? Dive into the trenches. 

Go back to Brit Lit Favourites. 

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Bone Worship by Elizabeth Eslami: Iranian American Jasmine wrestles with her family’s ideas of arranged marriage as she traverses the rocky terrain of love in Atlanta.

An Unspoken Suspicionby Françoise Bourdin: The South of France presents the evocative setting for this engaging story of the Brechignac clan, who are entangled in various love affairs.

The Winemaker by Noah Gordon: In Northern Spain, a winemaker sets out to make a life for himself and marry the woman of his dreams.

Fresh Mint with Lemon by Monika Zgustova: Love blooms on the Mediterranean between a Russian art critic and an American artist.

Love Will Tear You Apart by Giulia Ottaviano: Eugenia, daughter of a prominent Milanese entrepreneur, experiences first love as only an Italian woman can.

Little Star of Bela Lua by Luana Monteiro: Love is the connecting force in these short stories of Brazil.

What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us by Laura van den Berg: Women consumed with longing in locations all over the globe—from Scotland to the Congo to Madagascar.

Léonie by Sveva Modignani: Every year, Léonie Tardivaux escapes her family and drives to a romantic hotel on Lake Como. Who waits for her?

Daybreak by Fabio Volo: An Italian woman strays from her marriage: No one tells the story better than Fabio Volo in this sexy novel.

Scent of Sicily by Emanuela E. Abbadessa: An impossible love, a noble, expansive Sicily, and a musical demon. A passionate novel with the power of a classic.

Scoop up the ebooks below, on sale from $1.99 from participating retailers during March. Click on each cover to learn more. 

In the Devil’s Territory by Kyle Minor

In six stories that read like novels in miniature, Kyle Minor plumbs the depths of human mystery, where we meet our kindnesses and our cruelties, our generosities and our pettinesses. Notable stories include “A Day Meant to Do Less,” selected for Best American Mystery Stories 2008, and “goodbye Hills, hello night,” winner of the 2005 Tara M. Kroger Award. Buy In The Devil’s Territory from Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Google Play, Kobo, or the Sony Reader Store.

The Cats on Ben Yehuda Street by Ann Redisch Stampler

There are lots of cats on Ben Yehuda Street, but it is the friendship between a little grey cat with a pink collar and a fluffy white stray cat that brings two lonely neighbors together. This ebook also features read-along narration. Buy The Cats on Ben Yehuda Street from Amazon.com, the Apple iBookstore, Barnesandnoble.com, Google Play, Kobo, or the Kar-Ben bookstore.

The Watersplash: A Miss Silver Mysteryby Patricia Wentworth

A gardener’s death sends a country house into a frenzy. Did he drown by accident, or was he murdered? Only Maud Silver, the demure but brilliant detective, can say for sure. Buy The Watersplash from Amazon.com, the Apple iBookstore, Barnesandnoble.com, Google Play, Kobo, or the Sony Reader Store.

Valor in Vietnam by Allen B. Clark

Valor in Vietnam presents an overview of the war through the eyes of participants in each branch of service and throughout the entire course of the war. Simply put, their stories serve to reflect the commitment, honor, and dedication with which America’s veterans performed their service. Buy Valor in Vietnam from Amazon.com, the Apple iBookstore, Barnesandnoble.com, Google Play, Kobo, or the Sony Reader Store.

Everyday Jewsby Yehoshue Perle

Young Mendl’s impoverished and dysfunctional family struggles to survive in a Polish provincial town. Perle, one of Poland’s most popular, controversial, and prolific Yiddish novelists of the interwar—and wartime—period, captures the complex interplay of Christians and Jews, weekdays and Sabbaths, town and country, dream and reality, against a relentless and never-ending battle of the sexes. Buy Everyday Jews from Amazon.com, the Apple iBookstore, Barnesandnoble.com, Google Play, Kobo, or the Sony Reader Store.

Sister Wolf by Ann Arensberg is not your run-of-the-mill novel of live and love.  

Let’s take a look at the plot: Marit Deym lives on her thousand acres with no one but her fellow animals—bears, foxes, and a family of wolves—whom she has made a haven for on her land. Deym does her best to keep to herself until one day the wolves literally bring a stranger to her door. His name is Gabriel Frankman and he is a teacher at the nearby school for the blind. He got lost hiking in the woods. From there, you can guess what happens.

The most apt description of Arensberg’s novel comes from a review from the National Book Foundation. “Think Wes Anderson presents: Wuthering Heights! or Jane Eyre,”says reviewer Lauren Cerand. The book is the perfect blend of quirk, romance, and drama.

Sister Wolf was Arensberg’s debut novel and so successfully done that it won her the National Book Award for Best First Novel in 1981. It also may be the first-ever National Book Award–winning novel in which wolves are responsible for introducing the protagonists to each other.

However, the work is so rare that acclaimed author Anne Rice would still say the above description does not do the story justice. “No summary can convey the unusual power of this book, its originality in voice and tone,” she notes.

Now, it’s your turn to read it, and we have it available for the first time as an ebook. 

Learn more about Ann Arensberg on her author page.