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    Giveaway Day 10

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    Happy Saturday. There's nothing like a busy first-week of school to
    help you appreciate a quiet Saturday. We don't have one thing planned.
    Except another giveaway.

    For today's giveaway, my friends at Martha Stewart are offering the winner their fun new book Favorite Crafts for Kids. This isn't a small, 24-project book. Rather, there are 175 projects included. I admit, my copy of this new book hasn't arrived yet, so I can't give you the play-by-play. But, everything the Martha Stewart company creates is absolutely lovely. I'm sure that Favorite Crafts for Kids is no exceptio

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    And Potter Craft makes beautiful, beautiful books. I met with them at Random House in New York City on this trip.
    I thought I was having lunch with one person and found myself in a
    board room with a whole team. The same team that brings us this playful
    new book from Martha. That's another untold story. A positive one.

    My Charlotte is wildly into crafts
    and I'm excited to see what she does with Martha's big book of ideas.
    If you don't have kids, let this prize give you a good headstart on
    holiday gifts or add it to your personal library for rainy-day
    inspiration. A $25 value.

    Comment to enter today's contest. Be sure to include your email
    address
    so we can contact you if you win. You don't have to type your email
    address into the body of the comment if you entered it in email-address
    field on the comment form, as I can access info from the form
    behind-the-scenes.

    Today's giveaway will close at 11:59pm PST on Saturday 8/10/13. Watch for the winner to be announced within a day or
    two at the bottom
    of the post. For more info on my August giveaway madness, click here. Please
    share the word. Check back every day. (My actual birthday is Monday, so watch for a big prize that day.)

    Good luck!

    xo—Heather


    Read More “Giveaway Day 10”

  • Summer Reading

    SummerReading

    I recently asked for book recommendations on Twitter. Here’s a list of what came through. Of course, who knows what literary taste each of these books reflects, but I’m enjoying the adventure of finding out. If you are looking for a summer read, one of these might suit your fancy — but read at your own risk. I don’t know anything about these books.

    19 Minutes by Jody Picoult (several people recommended this, but warned that it’s “heavy”)
    Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler
    The Birth House by Sideshow Ami
    Charlotte Collins by Jennifer Becton (“if you like Jane Austen”)
    Christmas Jars
    Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
    Freedom by Jonathan Franzen (“anything” by him)
    The Giving Tree (ha! a kid’s book)
    The Great Night by Chris Adrian
    The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
    Mistress of the Art of Death (looks like this is a series)
    Modoc (this is about an elephant!?)
    The Red Tent (several people recommended this one)
    Remarkable Creatures
    Sarah’s Key
    The Tailor’s Daughter
    The Time Traveler’s Wife

    And I’ll add Bossypants by Tina Fey to the list.  I’m curious to see what that one is about.  Has anyone read it?

    Several of these titles were not available at the library yesterday with multiple holds placed on each of the copies — a good sign.  The three I ended up taking home for Round 1 were:  Back When We Were Grownups, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and The Corrections (by Jonathan Franzen). 

    Thanks to everyone who sent their picks.  I have to read at night to fall asleep, otherwise, my mind invents all sorts of excuses to stay up!  If you have a suggestion or two to add, please share it.  Maybe tell us a little about it.  Twitter does’t afford space for much explanation, does it?  Here you can cast more than 140 characters in the role.