Giveaway: The Signature of All Things

Summary: In The Signature of All Things, Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction, inserting her inimitable voice into an enthralling story of love, adventure and discovery. Spanning much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the novel follows the fortunes of the extraordinary Whittaker family as led by the enterprising Henry Whittaker—a poor-born Englishman who makes a great fortune in the South American quinine trade, eventually becoming the richest man in Philadelphia. Born in 1800, Henry’s brilliant daughter, Alma (who inherits both her father’s money and his mind), ultimately becomes a botanist of considerable gifts herself. As Alma’s research takes her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, she falls in love with a man named Ambrose Pike who makes incomparable paintings of orchids and who draws her in the exact opposite direction—into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose a utopian artist—but what unites this unlikely couple is a desperate need to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all life.

Exquisitely researched and told at a galloping pace, The Signature of All Things soars across the globe—from London to Peru to Philadelphia to Tahiti to Amsterdam, and beyond. Along the way, the story is peopled with unforgettable characters: missionaries, abolitionists, adventurers, astronomers, sea captains, geniuses, and the quite mad. But most memorable of all, it is the story of Alma Whittaker, who—born in the Age of Enlightenment, but living well into the Industrial Revolution—bears witness to that extraordinary moment in human history when all the old assumptions about science, religion, commerce, and class were exploding into dangerous new ideas. Written in the bold, questing spirit of that singular time, Gilbert’s wise, deep, and spellbinding tale is certain to capture the hearts and minds of readers. -- Penguin

Today is the paperback release of the NY Times bestselling novel THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS by Elizabeth Gilbert. THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS was named one of the best books of 2013 by the New York Times, Amazon, Time, the Washington Post, The New Yorker, Good Housekeeping, the Chicago Tribune! Unfortunately, I haven't read this novel yet, but I intend to in the very near future. It deals with science, love and the quest for knowledge and I think it just looks so good!

In fact, THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS looks like a fantastic book club pick! There is a reading guide, which includes some thought-provoking discussion questions and a Q&A with the author. In addition, Penguin is offering a sweepstakes for a chance to win a plant a month for an entire year, courtesy of White Flower Farm. For full terms, conditions, and a chance to win, please visit here. Please note the contest ends July 24^th.

Of course, you should enter to win the plant a month, but in the meantime, I have a great giveaway too -- a copy of the newly released paperback of THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS courtesy of the publisher. To enter, just fill out the form below before July 7th at 11:59 p.m. EST. I will randomly select and notify the winner the following day. This contest is open to those of you with U.S. addresses only. Good luck!