Happy 75th Birthday Penguin Books (and a giveaway!)

July 30th marks the official 75^th anniversary date for the launch of Penguin Books, and Penguin is going all out to celebrate this summer. For a list of festivities,stories and events, go here. 

Penguin’s founder Allen Lane started the paperback revolution with that little flippant but dignified Penguin (his secretary came up with the name and he sent another colleague off to the zoo to make sketches). One year later, 3 million Penguin paperbacks had been sold. Today, the  Penguin imprint alone has over 4000 books in print. To learn more about their history, see here and here. 


Penguin has generously offered me the chance to give some lucky reader a Penguin book to commemorate their 75th anniversary.  I was asked to pick two titles from a list of 75. One was for me to keep (thank you Penguin) and the other is to give away.


Choosing one title out of seventy-five choices was no easy feat indeed, but after a little deliberation I decided to go with "Tortilla Curtain" by T.C. Boyle. 

I read "Tortilla Curtain" many years ago and the plight, misery and yet courage of the Mexican couple- protagonist, Candido and America, never ever left me.  Today with Arizona's  immigration bill on everyone's tongues I thought this would be a very topical read.  If you're on the fence regarding this bill, believe me, this book is going to help you make your mind up, one way or another.


I include a synopsis of the book courtesy the publishers:

Topanga Canyon is home to two couples on a collision course. Los Angeles liberals Delaney and Kyra Mossbacher lead an ordered sushi-and-recycling existence in a newly gated hilltop community: he a sensitive nature writer, she an obsessive realtor. Mexican illegals Candido and America Rincon desperately cling to their vision of the American Dream as they fight off starvation in a makeshift camp deep in the ravine. And from the moment a freak accident brings Candido and Delaney into intimate contact, these four and their opposing worlds gradually intersect in what becomes a tragicomedy of error and misunderstanding


And here is a slightly more detailed run down of the book from Wikipedia.

And one from the Penguin Reading Guide.


In order to win a copy simply write a comment telling me you would like to be included in the draw.  The draw will take place on 02 August and you will be notified here, so please check this space.  Thanks!


******UPDATE********


And the winner is, "Sai Speak"


Congrats Sai, I will be e-mailing your for your address!!!  Hope you like the book!