So we have our first winner in the Year End Giveaway!
Victoria Sloboda wins a signed copy of My Soul To Take by Rachel Vincent.
She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.
Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next.
Thanks to all who have entered so far--there have been over 300 entries! Wow!
More winners will be announced a week from now; in the meantime, except for Victoria you all can continue to
enter the contest! Remember, you can enter once a day :D
8 more winners will be drawn from US and Canada, 1 winner will be drawn from the International entrants on 12/25/2010.
And if you'd like to do some good with your mouse or trackpad today, give us a click over at the Book by Book page on Pepsi Refresh:
Bloggers, you can get this handy dandy widget for your page, too. Just follow the link.We need your vote every day to make it into the top 2 and win the grant. So vote, share, and vote again!
I hope you all have had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I sat down to a giant meal with my family and my husband's family who met for the first time (even though we have been married a while, it has been tricky trying to get everyone in the same place).
Most of this month I have seen people posting about the things they are thankful for every day. I have not been doing this, not because I'm not thankful for anything, but because I'm thankful for almost everything! and if I had the luxury of time, I'd write about them all, but since I'm a little busy, I thought I'd write about one of the newest and most meaningful things I am thankful for this year.
This year I am thankful for my friend
Amber Lessa, who took the time and effort to start her own nonprofit organization this year.
Book by Book is dedicated to improving California public school libraries--a daunting task at any time, but even more so now during one of the worst economic crunches our country and state have ever experienced. As a small grassroots group, the only way we can accomplish what we plan is to keep moving forward every day, one step at a time, one school at a time, book by book. I probably don't have to tell you why--you probably read my blog because you love books, too, and because you already know that reading is one of the life skills that can help kids shape hopeful, meaningful, and happy adult lives.
So far this year, through the kindness of strangers, we have restocked 6 local elementary school libraries with over 2,800 new books including stuff kids actually want to read like the Harry Potter series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Dork Diaries, etc.
With your help, we can do even more to help kids learn to love books in 2011.
This December we are competing for $250,000 in grant money from the
Pepsi Refresh Project. All we need is for supporters to vote on the Pepsi Refresh site (or through iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, or Facebook apps) every single day in December (yes, weekends and holidays too!) The link for voting will go live on our website on November 30. In the meantime, you can preview our project video on YouTube.
We are also running two book drives benefiting 11 local schools, at Borders in Glendale and at
Flintridge Bookstore in La Canada/Flintridge.
One of our other goals this year is to get our incorporation papers in, which would normally cost us $3000 or more, but tha
I am so honored to be a part of WOW! Women On Writing’s blog tour for Cindy Hudson, who is the author of a wonderful book for parents titled Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs. Cindy has been in a mother-daughter book club with her own children for several years, and she has written a book that draws on her experiences as well as other parents around the country. This is a guide book for any parent who wants to start a group with her child, or for parents who are already involved in book clubs and want new ideas!
Cindy is here with us today to answer some questions about her book. Best of all, we are giving away a FREE copy to one lucky winner who comments on this post by Thursday, April 29 at 8:00 p.m. CST. You can tell us about your parent-child book club, ask Cindy a question, make a comment about her interview, or simply say, “I would love to win this book.” Please make sure to have included your e-mail address with your comment, so we know how to contact you!
Okay, on to Cindy:
Margo: Welcome, Cindy, to Read These Books and Use Them. I am so in love with your book about mother-daughter book clubs because you are doing exactly what I preach–using books! What do you think is the most important chapter in your book for mothers to read who are just starting out in the mother-daughter book club world?
Cindy: Book by Book is organized in three sections: one to help moms set up their groups, one with ideas for enriching meetings so clubs can thrive for years, and one for troubleshooting issues. The first ten chapters are a step-by-step process that leads moms through the whole process of getting started, and I think each helps them determine a crucial piece of putting together a reading group. With that said, if moms were going to read just one of those first ten chapters, I would recommend the chapter on deciding who to invite. You’ll see the moms and daughters in your group on a regular basis, possibly for years. It’s worth it to spend some time thinking about who you want those people to be.
Margo: That’s something I never really thought about before, but you are so right. It is important to have a good dynamic in your group to keep it thriving! What are two or three books that stand out in your mind that mothers and daughters particularly liked in your mother-daughter book clubs?
Cindy: Before I answer, I’ll say when everyone likes the book it doesn’t always mean you’ll have a great discussion. Often the best discussions come when the feelings are mixed. That’s when you’ll get diverse opinions that may help the moms and daughters in your group see things from a different perspective, which can be a really great function of book club.
It’s wonderful when you find books that are well-liked and give you a lot to talk about. Here are some I can recommend based on my experience:
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen—As the story flips from Bryce’s point of view to Juli’s, readers see how the same events can be seen in totally different ways by different people experiencing them.
Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce—When some of the greatest art in history comes to the dying town of Manod in England, it helps the citizens find new hope and
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Congratulations Victoria! Enjoy!