books

Book Blowout Contest! I can’t take it all with me…

by Marian Schembari on June 28, 2010

There’s this bookshelf in my room (left) that looks like a tornado hit it. This doesn’t include the piles of books next to my bed (I have two bedside tables), in my closet, or on my desk. I’ve been a huge reader all my life and take pride in my book collection. Unfortunately, every few years I need to do a mass donate to Goodwill because I would literally be drowning in books otherwise. Add to that the fact that I work with authors, agents and publishers, and this year has been insane in terms of book accumulation.

I’m moving soon though, and can’t take all these wonderful books with me. I’d leave them here, but who knows the next time I’ll be in the States. Some of these books I’ll never be able to part with, but some of them have been read, enjoyed, and are now just taking up space on my shelves.

So I figured I’d do a huge giveaway! There are some amazing books in my possession, and what better way to spread the love than to hold a contest? For now I’m only including the books that I think you lovely readers would like. You know, cuz I always have your best interests at heart.

The Rules

There really aren’t a hell of a lot. Below I’m posting a list of the books, so just leave a comment with the book of your choice. I can’t guess how many entries I’ll get, but if you want an extra chance at winning just retweet this post. For example, The incredibly beautiful & generous @marianschembari is doing a massive book giveaway on her blog. Click to enter: http://bit.ly/9Ebz6o (Or something along those lines.)

The Books

Social Media 101 by Chris Brogan. I reviewed this book back in March and really loved it. It’s a great resource to go back to again and again if you use social media. If you read Brogan’s blog, you’ll most likely love this book.

Flawless by Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell. The subtitle for this book is “Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History.” No joke, it’s awesome. Here’s the book trailer:

Free Agent Nation by Daniel Pink. This book is one of the reasons I struck out on my own as a freelancer. A friend recommended it to me when I was struggling with the whole “9-to-5-vs-freedom” thing and I love Pink’s thoughts on all of us as free agents.

Cleaving by Julie Powell. Unfortunately, this book is no Julie & Julia, but it’s cooking themed and I love me some food memoirs. Granted, I’m a hardcore vegetarian, but it was still interesting to read about the meat industry from a butcher’s perspective. Something I never would have learned otherwise!

The Shallows by Nicholas Carr. A really wonderful book that was sent to me after I wrote about my internet stress. Written by the man who wrote the Atlantic cover story, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?“, Shallows is required reading for anyone who works on the internet all day.

American Subversive by David Goodwillie. This book is a freaking rush. A novel the Associated Press called “a triumphant work of fiction”, American Subversive is actually impossible to put down. The very relevant love story between a gossip blogger and a terrorist. I’ll let the book trailer speak for itself:

That’s it for now! So, leave a comment below with the book of your choice. Tweet the contest to receive a second entry, but do so before Friday July 2 when the contest ends. And (don’t feel obligated to do this, but…) if you are so inclined to donate to the “Help Marian Mail 5 Hardcover Books to Loyal Readers Fund”, you can do so here:

-

UPDATED: AND THE WINNERS ARE….

The Shallows – JobJenny

Free Agent Nation – Jessica Lawlor

Cleaving – Susan Johnson

American Subversive – Baileythebookworm

Social Media 101 – Cassie Wallace

Flawless – Carin Siegfried

Thanks everyone for entering!!!

{ 72 comments }

I’m relieving my stress by reading children’s books

by Marian Schembari on May 9, 2010

In my last post I whined about not getting enough sleep, spending too much time online “learning”, having too much on my plate and pretty much having zero life outside of my job. Instead of continuing to whine, however, I decided to actually do something about it by destressing at the end of the day rather than continuing my business education. I recently finished reading Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project and she talks a bit about her love of children’s lit…

First of all, I thought it was just me. I mean, my entire devotion to publishing stems from the fact that all I did as a child was read. My first book was To Kill A Mockingbird and I was five. Books are in my blood.

My favorite thing about reading as a child was pretty much the same reason we all love reading – it takes us away. At the risk of sounding corny as hell, there’s something slightly more magical about reading at 10 than there is at 20. Why is that? Is it that so-called “childish innocence”? Or is it the quality of book? Books that don’t have complicated themes or disturbing scenes? Books that exist pretty much for the sheer pleasure of the story.

The books we read before bed matter

While writing my last post I realized that the books I was reading before bed weren’t helping my sleep problem. Despite copious amounts of sleep-inducing drugs, thoughts were running like mad inside my head. Plans for my business, post ideas, blogging tips, networking advice… It was turning me into that crazy lady who talks to herself on the train.

The problem was that I was reading books like Chris Brogan and Julien Smith’s Trust Agents. Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Workweek. Gary Vaynerchuck’s Crush It! All fabulous books, to be sure, but not the lightest of bedtime reading. Even though I’m glad I read these books, I think I need to cool it for a while. And I bet I’ll get more done if I get the sleep I need rather than stressing myself out more by reading all the things I’m still not doing in my business.

So instead…

Instead I took my ass to the library and checked out all that children’s literature I never read. The classics I figured I “missed out on” because I didn’t read them as a kid. Not even realizing I’m still allowed to read them now. Here’s what I got:

Can you believe I'd never read this?

I also checked out Dealing with Dragons because that was my favorite series (even more than Narnia and before Potter) and for some idiotic reason I gave away my copies. I haven’t reread those books in years and my fingers are crossed I can still feel a little bit of that magic.

Oh, and here’s where you come in: What were your favorite children’s books? Because of the length of most of these guys I’m already done with Tollbooth and looking for my next fix. Some of my all-time favorites include:

So? What were yours? What books did you read over and over again that you absolutely must add to my growing pile of childhood to-reads (and subsequently help to save my sanity)?

{ 37 comments }

Next Entries →