By Way of Santa

These are the first books I'll be reading in January, thanks to my Library Thing Secret Santa. Some amusing, old writer chick trivia: I haven't read MaryJanice Davidson, but I remember her from the heyday of chicklit back when I started PBW. David Weber I've also skipped, but he and I once both wrote in the same universe, and our stories were published together in Baen's The Ring of Fire anthology.

As for the other two, they're also titles I've never read. I didn't know there was a memoir that inspired the film Awakenings, which is one of my favorite Robin Williams movies. Bonk is a scientific look at sex, which should be fun.

Did Santa drop any new books in your stocking? Let us know in comments.

This and That

Sorry I'm a bit late posting today. I would like to congratulate everyone who participated in National Novel Writing Month; whether you made the 50K goal or not, you are all winners in my book. My advice is to now step away from your manuscript, take what I'm sure is a well-earned break, and enjoy the holidays (if you're inclined to work on your novel a bit more this month, that's fine, too.)

Library Thing is holding their annual SantaThing, a secret Santa book-giving event for LT members that I participate in every year. Here are some of the details, quoted from their info page:

"Who can do this?

Anyone from anywhere can do this. Unfortunately, for various reasons, we can only ship to countries on this list without extra permission. In order to sign yourself (or a non-LibraryThing member) up, you have to have a LibraryThing membership—which is free. To become a LibraryThing member, go to LibraryThing.com and click "Join now".

What do I agree to?

You agree that you're doing this for fun. By signing up you agree to take what comes and to be pleasant about it. This is about the giving. Things might go wrong. Unless LibraryThing employees run off to Mexico with your money, you don't have a case against us.

How does this work?

Fill out the form above, including a valid PayPal receipt number.
You can make yourself the recipient or someone else. You can enter as many times as you like!
On Sunday, December 4th at 5pm Eastern, LibraryThing will stop allowing people to sign up for the SantaThing program.
Shortly afterwards, we will tell you who you are matched up with by sending a profile comment. If you entered multiple times, for yourself or others, you will also need to pick for multiple members.
The gifts you pick cannot exceed the total chosen by your Santee. No single item can cost less than $2.50.
You will have until Monday, December 12th at 9am Eastern, to decide what you want to give. We will give you a web form to fill out, with a space for a message.

LibraryThing employees/elves will order everything from the bookseller you choose. We will pay the shipping; if anything is left over, we get that money."

For more information, see their information page here.

PBW's Book of the Month

October was so busy for me I had time to read only a few books for pleasure, but the most enjoyable was 50 Ways to Wear Denim by Lauren Friedman, my latest ARC from Library Thing's Early Reviewer program.

As a teenager I loved jeans, especially the hip hugger style that was so popular when I was in high school. Wearing a pair of jeans with a pretty blouse or T-shirt was practically a school uniform for my generation -- but unfortunately my mother absolutely hated denim. She considered it something that farmers wore, and refused to buy anything made from it for me (she also made me wear dresses to school, for which I was suitably tortured by my peers.) That's why I got my first pair of jeans with some money I made babysitting, and since then have never stopped buying them.

Lauren Friedman's book is a crash course in how to wear denim jeans, shirts, jackets, vests and accessories to their best advantage. I had no idea there were so many different types of denim, or that you could pair them and wear them in such a wide variety of styles. With artfully drawn illustrations the author takes the reader through dozens of denim looks for every occasion, from dressy styles for work or formal events to the most casual of cutoffs and beach wear. She clearly identifies the types of washes and treatments designers give denim, something a fashion-challenged gal like me found very interesting, and offers several options on how to wear the particular cut or style.

In the back pages there is a short history/timeline of denim that I thought was delightful. I also appreciated the section on how to recycle denim, which provides some ideas on upcycling. Just as an aside, quilters often make heavy-duty quilts out of patchwork made from old denim, which I've always wanted to try -- only I'm too attached to my old jeans to cut them up just yet. My only criticism is the author's recommendation never (or rarely) to wash your denim. It may help preserve the fabric but I'm too much of a clean freak to do that. I also think that the more denim fades, the more attractive it becomes, so that may color my opinion here.

Since my daughter is young, hip and much more fashionable than I'll ever be, I asked her to take a look at the book and give me her take on it. Here's what she said:

She's not a huge fan of denim (she must get that from her grandmother) but it will always be timeless and popular.

The styles are well put together and very trendy.

It would have been nice to represent more diverse body types in the illustrations (her only criticism.)

50 Ways to Wear Denim is a fun read, and a great way to learn more about the fabric and how fashionably flexible it can be. I recommend this book for the jeans lovers or anyone who wants to get more mileage out of their denim garments.

Book(s) of the Month

This week I have lots of book news, beginning with a heads-up from Library Thing that I've won a copy of 50 Ways to Wear Denim by Lauren Friedman from the September batch of Early Reviewer Program books. It might seem like an odd choice, but I've been trying to put my name in for a wider assortment of available titles. This increases my chances of being selected, and I can also test-drive some new-to-me genres and authors. While I don't own a lot of denim clothes, I thought I might learn something that would tempt me to wear what I have more often. I'm also going to have my very fashionable daughter take a look at it and share her thoughts.

I usually start talking about National Novel Writing Month in August, but being off on hiatus has me a bit behind. They've already posted the official participant badges and banners here, and, well, let's be honest: the little space guy looks like an elaborate ninja can opener. I'll see if I can put together something slightly more attractive to offer as an alternative. As I mentioned earlier this year I won't be joining in the fun, but as always I will write up some pep talks, hunt down some helpful links and otherwise shake my pom poms from the sidelines for all of you who decide to write a book in thirty days this November.

My book of the month for September was actually a short story: Second Son by Lee Child, which can be found in the back pages of his novel The Affair. It can also be purchased as a standalone e-book.

This was not a new read for me; it happens to be one of my favorite short stories of all time, so there wasn't much the other books I read could do to compete. As a very early prequel to the Jack Reacher series Second Son meshes quite well with the novels, and explains a bit of the mysterious family dynamic that resulted in Reacher becoming the somewhat psycho savior he was fated to be. It's intensely satisfying to see how Reacher deals with a bully and manages to solve two other mysteries in the process. I will caution you all that there is a particularly vicious fight scene between minors, and if bullying and violence between kids are triggers for you, you should give it a pass.

Expect some clean, spare, precise (almost surgical) depictions of Reacher and some other very interesting people. There are fascinating glimpses into the lives of children who travel with an active duty military parent. Each time I read it I fall a little in love with Reacher's father, too; his POV is presented just briefly but it makes the whole story. I think it works well as a standalone, and as an introduction to this universe (if you are one of the two or three people left on Earth who haven't read this author, start here.) It's not so long that you get mired down in a lot of stuff you won't need to know if you want to move on to the series, either. On top of that it's superbly written. I highly recommend it.

What was your book of the month for September? Let us know in comments.

Save Your Shelfari from Goodreads

As you Shelfari users know, sometime in the next couple weeks (I've seen several dates mentioned, but March 16th seems to be the most popular) Amazon.com will shut down your site and merge you and your library with that den of iniquity known as Goodreads. Fortunately Library Thing is coming to the rescue, at least in offering a new home for your online library:

"Now you can import your Shelfari library, and receive an automatic upgrade to a free lifetime LibraryThing account! Here’s how to do it:

Export Your Shelfari Data

You’ve got a couple options when it comes to exporting your Shelfari library, and can either directly download a file, or have one emailed to you. See Shelfari’s instructions here.

Sign Up for LibraryThing

It’s quick and free! Head over to LibraryThing.com and click “Join Now.” Enter your desired username and password (we also recommend including your email address, for password resetting purposes), and you’re good to go!

If you’ve already got a LibraryThing account, you can import your Shelfari library to your existing account.

Import Your Shelfari File to LibraryThing

Once you have your Shelfari export file, go to our Shelfari Import page and upload it there."

I have been a member of Library Thing since 2005, and I think they are marvelous. That said, if you'd rather keep your online library on a site that posts reviews for books I've never written, I understand completely. In fact I encourage you to stay away from Library Thing. We're not your sort, really.

For more information and all applicable linkage on how to save your Shelfari from Goodreads, go to Library Thing's blog post here.

LT Early Reviewers

I just received a notice from Library Thing that my next free read for their Early Reviewers program will be 52 Small Changes for the Mind by Brett Blumenthal. Since I'm all about little changes to make things better, especially in the gray matter department, I'm quite pleased.

After joining the program in spring last year I received three ARCs, worth a little over $116.00, so this new venture has definitely helped my book budget. My book of the year for 2015 came to me this way, too, which I think is pretty cool. I think I'm having such good luck with it because I put my name in only for books I want to read (mostly nonfiction). While I'm not always selected to get a free copy, looking through the listings of available titles every month keeps me in the loop about what's being published in my favorite reference categories. If I really want something, but don't win the ARC, I jot down the title and order it through our public library.

It's not all about instant gratification -- the ARCs I've won often do take eight weeks to reach me -- but when the ARC does arrive it's like a mini Christmas. I don't have the budget to buy many new books anymore, and this takes some of the sting out of that. I appreciate the opportunity to help launch a great new book, too, and by reading and writing it up (which I do faithfully with each one I get) I feel like I also earn the free read. Anyway, I highly recommend joining LT's Early Reviewer program if you're a member, and would like to add some terrific books to your personal library.

Secret Santa Books

I mentioned last month that I was signing up for Library Thing's Secret Santa event, which is a surprise book exchange between members during the holidays -- and this is what Santa delivered:



Ah, this is so much fun. I love surprise books. Let's open it up and see what I scored:



Hooray! I have read the Bill Bryson, but someone nicked my copy. I was planning to buy another to add to my Bryson keeper shelf, so very pleased to have it so I can read it again. Back when I was in high school Sylvia Plath was my favorite poet (big surprise there, eh?) and I bought the edited/censored edition of Ariel, which is now too old to handle. I'm anxious both to reread it and see what's in the restored edition. I've read several of John Keegan's books -- he's an amazing nonfic military writer -- but not this one. All three books are perfect choices for me.

And in case you're curious, here are the books I sent as Secret Santa for my recipient:

Soulless by Gail Carriger -- hilarious steampunk at its best.

Raven Black by Anne Cleeves -- my Secret Santa in 2014 sent this to me, and I enjoyed it so much I bought the series. Ruthless writer, great puzzles.

Play Dead by Anne Frasier -- Amazing writing. Amazing series. Just amazing.

Black Tupelo by Anne Frasier -- You can't have too much Anne Frasier.

Chalice by Robin McKinley -- this is a book I give often to folks who write or enjoy reading different YA. Really interesting characters and world-building.

LT Secret Santa

Library Thing is holding their annual SantaThing, a secret Santa book-giving event for LT members, and here are some of the details:

"HOW IT WORKS

You pay into the SantaThing system (choose from $15–$50). You play Santa to a LibraryThing member we pick for you, by selecting books for them. Another Santa does the same for you, in secret. LibraryThing does the ordering, and you get the joy of giving AND receiving books!

Sign up once or thrice, for yourself or someone else. If you sign up for someone without a LibraryThing account, make sure to mention what kinds of books they like, so their Santa can choose wisely.

Even if you don’t want to be a Santa, you can help by suggesting books for others.

IMPORTANT DATES

Sign-ups close MONDAY, December 7th at 5pm Eastern. By Tuesday morning, we’ll notify you via profile comment who your Santee is, and you can start picking books.

Picking closes FRIDAY, December 11th at 5pm Eastern. As soon as the picking ends, the ordering begins, and we’ll get all the books out to you as soon as we can."

It's wonderful fun, and I'm participating again this year, so who knows - if you join in maybe I'll be your Secret Santa. For more information on what to do and how it works, check out the LT blog post here.

Instant TBR

I stopped by my local Dollar Tree store last Friday to pick up some mailing envelopes, and noticed they had a really nice selection of hard covers and paperbacks, too, so I invested in ten by authors I've never read:

The Door Through Space by Marion Zimmer Bradley (yeah, I know, but I've never read her. Honestly.)

Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon

The Lingering Dead by J.N. Duncan

Absolution by Patrick Flanery

News from Heaven by Jennifer Haigh

The Aviary Gate by Katie Hickman

Gary Jennings' Aztec Revenge by Junius Podrug (An editor thought up this title. I'm sure of it. Also, a disclaimer: I did read Gary Jennings' first Aztec book before he went on to the next place.)

The Deadliest Sin by Caroline Richards

The Andalucian Friend by Alexander Soderberg

The Taint of Midas by Anne Zouroudi


Six hardcovers, two trades and two paperbacks for a grand total of ten bucks; I defy anyone to beat that price for brand-new books. It also helps my book budget to buy remainders when I want to try some new authors. I then I donate the books to our local Friends of the Library for their annual sale, so they'll be passed along for more folks to discover.

The Florida Land Boom of the 1920s by Gregg M. Turner, the third book I've gotten for free from Library Thing's Early Reviewers Program, also just arrived. I'm looking forward to diving into it this week. It did take about seven weeks for the publisher to send it to me, just FYI for anyone who is thinking about joining the program -- sometimes you do have to wait a bit for them to arrive.

Library Thing will also be kicking off their annual Santa Thing book exchange, which I'm thinking about doing again this year because it's always fun to discover what other book lovers think I should be reading. I might request e-books this time around, though, to get some new reads on the Nook and see if I can motivate myself to start using the e-reader more frequently than once or twice a year.

How are you getting cheap or free books these days? Let us know in comments.

GW Cover, LT ER

I've finished fiddling around the cover art for Ghost Writer, so here's a look at what will be on the final edition:



I've also received another free book from Library Thing's Early Reviewer program:



Just at a glance-through I think this book is going to be seriously cool, too. Looks like it's packed with info on free internet stuff. I'll have more to report once I've read it.

PBW's Book of the Month

There will not be a Just Write Thursday this week as I'm finishing up a project for a client today. Since it's the last day of April I'll use this post instead to make my pick for the book of the month, which is Longing by Mary Balogh. You can read my thoughts about it here.

The new glasses are helping me quite a bit with reading, which is why I was able to knock out a total of fourteen books in April. That's also the most I've read in one month since the eye surgeries, so I feel very good about my reading future. The last remaining problem with reading is that my book-buying budget is quite a bit tighter now that I'm freelancing, so I'm looking for creative ways to get more books without breaking the bank.

One major thing I've done this month is to sign up for Library Thing's Early Reviewer program, as I can now actually read anything I might receive. I also plan to post about the program and what books I receive from it here on the blog -- and as it happens the LT folks just notified me to expect one of my requests:

Congratulations. You've been selected to receive an Early Reviewers copy of In a French Kitchen: Tales and Traditions of Everyday Home Cooking in France by Susan Herrmann Loomis from the April 2015 batch.

This is the book I wanted most out of all my requests so I think the universe is giving me a nod there; I'll be reading and reporting on it here at the blog as soon as it comes in and I read it.

While dropping off a bunch of books at our local public library I also went into their books-for-sale nook for the first time, and was able to score this batch for a grand total of six dollars. The cookbook is not only exactly what I was looking for (my guy loves pasta) but is spiral-bound, which makes it a lot easier to use in the kitchen. It's in brand-new condition and originally listed for $18.95, so at $1.50 it was quite a bargain.

Actually I was surprised by how nice all the books in the book nook were; the Anne Perry hardcover and The Arabian Nights were also in pristine condition, and the Arabian Nights has a bunch of gorgeous color plate illustrations by Maxfield Parrish. The next time you stop by your public library you should definitely check out any books they have for sale. Unless I want to keep them all the review copy or used books I receive will be donated to our Friends of the Library for resale to benefit the library's many excellent programs, or donated to our local public high school for their media center.

What are you looking forward to reading in May? Any exciting new releases I should be keeping an eye out for? Let me know in comments.

Cook the Books

Have you ever wanted to turn your favorite read into something everyone can nosh on? Library Thing's Edible Books Contest will give you a chance:

Every spring, LibraryThing members across the globe cook up some truly amazing literary treats. Our Edible Books Contest is now in its fourth year, and I can't wait to see what everyone is going to make this year!

Create a dish inspired by your favorite book, author, character, or even the LT logo, and you could win some awesome LT swag. One grand prize winner will win $50 worth of books from Sherman's Books and Stationery here in Portland, ME.

The deadline to submit your creation is 6pm Eastern on Sunday, April 19th. At that point, LT Staff will meet to choose the winners.

The above pic is of the Jabberwocky cake my kid, her friends and I made some years ago for her English class project (and while definitely not professional it was really fun.) If you want some extra inspiration you can check out last year's entries here. More details and the rules can be found at the contest blog post here.

Secret Santa Books

After taking a brief detour to the wrong address during the holidays my Library Thing Secret Santa books have arrived:



The Ruth Reichl book was on my LT wishlist, so I'm super happy to receive that one, but the other two are surprises (and I haven't read either, so that's an extra bonus.) I received only two other books for Christmas, and while one was such a disappointment I'm not going to mention it I was quite delighted to get Gail Carriger's third finishing school novel Waistcoats & Weaponry from my friend Jilly, who stole borrowed the other two books in the series from me. After I read it I'm figuring on a trade to get them back.

What books did you get during the holidays? Anything worth mentioning? Let us know in comments.

LT Secret Santa

Library Thing is holding their eighth annual SantaThing:

"What’s SantaThing? SantaThing is Secret Santa for LibraryThing members.

Done this before? SantaThing sign up is now open!

How it works: You pay into the SantaThing system (choose from $15–$50). You play Santa to a LibraryThing member we pick for you, by selecting books for them. Another Santa does the same for you, in secret. LibraryThing does the ordering, and you get the joy of giving AND receiving books!

Sign up once or thrice, for yourself or someone else. If you sign up for someone without a LibraryThing account, make sure to mention what kinds of books they like, so their Santa can choose wisely.

Even if you don’t want to be a Santa, you can help by suggesting books for others."

I did this last year, and had such a neat time that I've signed up again for 2014 -- so if you join in, you just might end up with me as your Secret Santa (and my Santee last year really enjoyed my picks, so I'm also a pretty decent book Santa.) Sign-ups for SantaThing will close next Sunday, November 30th, 2014 at 8pm Eastern, so if you want to join in, get to it.

Kit & Crew on LT

I'm cross posting this from the series blog as I know some of you out there are Library Thing members:



To spread the love among my fellow book lovers I'm giving away ten signed print copies of Disenchanted & Co. to members of Library Thing, and it doesn't matter where you live -- residents of all countries are welcome to put in a request (you can find the official listing here, about halfway down the page.)

My only request of the winners is that they post a review of the book somewhere online (I'm not picky.) The folks at Library Thing will choose the ten recipients on April 23rd, so you've got two weeks to put in your request.

Find Someone a Job, Win $1K in Books

I'm going to back-burner today's ten list for a neat offer from Library Thing as an incentive to help them hire a new programmer:

"We need to find a kick-ass PHP programmer, so we’re offering $1,000 worth of books to the person who finds them. Think of it. $1,000 in books. What would you buy? Everything.

Rules! You get a $1,000 gift certificate to the local, chain or online bookseller of your choice.

To qualify, you need to connect us to someone. Either you introduce them to us—and they follow up by applying themselves—or they mention your name in their email (“So-and-so told me about this”). You can recommend yourself, but if you found out about it from someone else, we hope you’ll do the right thing and make them the beneficiary."

For more details go to their blog and read the job post here.

Library Thing Heads Up

The good folks over at Library Thing sent out this notice yesterday:

During a security review, we found that LibraryThing suffered a data breach in June 2011. While no book data or financial information was taken, lost or changed, the hackers did take email addresses and encrypted password hashes for some accounts created prior to that date.

People like me who were members at the time of the breach were advised to change our passwords, which I did (and if this affects you, you should receive an e-mail with the password reset link. If you haven't received it, you might check your account.) LT is also doing something quite classy in response to the breach:

The entire LibraryThing team and I deeply regret and apologize that this happened on our watch. Since 2011, we have significantly improved our security measures, which have been further tightened across the board since we discovered this breach. As a further apology, we are upgrading you and all LibraryThing members who joined prior to June 19th, 2011 to full lifetime accounts.

To read more details about the breach, see this post on the Library Thing blog.

Two Things

First Thing: LibraryThing is holding their seventh annual Santa Thing for their members:

"The idea is simple: You pay into the SantaThing system (choose from $15–$45). You play Santa to a LibraryThing member we pick for you—we try to match up similar members—and you select books for them. Another Santa does the same for you, in secret. LibraryThing does the ordering, and you get the joy of giving AND receiving books!

You can sign up as many times as you like, for yourself or someone else. If you sign up for someone without a LibraryThing account, make sure to mention what kinds of books they like, so their Secret Santa can choose wisely."

About the deadlines for the program:

"Sign-ups close Friday, November 29 at 8pm Eastern. Saturday morning, we’ll notify you via profile comment who your Santee is, and you can start picking books. Picking closes Thursday, December 5th at 12pm Eastern. As soon as the picking ends, the ordering begins, and we’ll get all the books out to you as soon as we can."

More details can be had by clicking on the Santa Thing link. This seems like a fun way to give books as well as get some in return, so I've joined in. If you're also inclined to play secret book santa please do check it out.

Second Thing: Today over at Disenchanted & Co. we're steampunking author Sofie Kelly -- and giving away this awesome cat tote filled with her Magical Cat mysteries and other very cool stuff:



If you'd like a chance to win it all, head over to the giveaway post on Disenchanted & Co. for more details.

Library Thing Promo Giveaways

Each month Library Thing, the online book catalog service that I've used to keep track of my personal library, gives away free copies of books for review to interested members, which is a very cool way to distribute the freebies they receive. I've just learned that members can also give away copies of their own published books for review purposes, too. Since the giveaways are open to e-books as well as print, this can be a very practical (and free) way for indie authors to promote their titles to reviewers. Since the giveaway books are awarded only to members who request them this means they'll definitely go to someone who is genuinely interested in reading them.

To find out more about giving away review copies of your books on Library Thing, go to the Members Giveaway page here and read the information on the sidebar.

Added: I've put up Library Thing giveaways for Her Ladyship's Curse and His Lordship Possessed; the winners will receive a code to download a free e-pub copy from SimonandSchuster.com (there are twenty copies of each book available for the giveaways; and since this is redeemable from the publisher site it is restricted to U.S. readers only.)