why I am indebted to 27 people in denver, colorado: a giveaway
Check it out. I sounded totally nonchalant.
Oh? (stretches) That's 27 of 500. (picks teeth) How interesting.
But then she said, more or less, The Bookies is Denver's Woozles! and all of a sudden it's not just 27 online orders from all over. It's 27 people in Denver with an indie bent.
And so I'm thrilled. I want to give 27 hugs. But I'm also kind of panicked, because I don't want anyone to miss out. Only 500 books are being sent to the States -- all that's left of the first edition hardcover run, except for a few that remain on store shelves here and there and the six in my closet that my mom made me swear to keep. Once the American 500 are gone, it'll be September before the softcover is distributed in the U.S. -- but Americans who miss out on the hardcover can buy online from a Canadian source in the meantime.
I KNOW. It's totally complicated. My face just peeled off.
how and where to get the book, in Canada and the USA
The agonizingly simplified details of supply are here. Simplified further, it's this:
The hardcovers are leaving the Nimbus warehouse in the next couple of days, bound for the States. Americans can order right now for delivery in the next three weeks or so. It's there. And at The Bookies in Denver, bless them. But you'd better be quick.
Americans who miss out on the hardcover can either a) wait until September when the softcover is distributed south of the border; or b) order online from a Canadian retailer anytime.
Canadians can order the softcover right now. It's here. And will soon be there. And pretty much wherever you want it to be.
a thank you: the first dread crew giveaway
Schmutzie had asked about the cathartic/interesting/nerve-wrackingness of blogging when she interviewed me for the Canadian Weblog Awards, and this is how I answered:
The difficult, knuckle-biting posts have been those that preceded the release of my book. I've never felt so exposed in my life. I had no idea it would feel so terrifying to put those pirates where they could be seen. They're brutes and thugs but they were kind enough to run away with me when I needed fresh air. For people to respond to them (or my expression of them) with indifference... for a few weeks there, I was out of my head with how raw it felt.
That's why I want to hug 27 people in Denver, and why I want to send a little something to you. I'm grateful. And so here's how we'll start. In the coming weeks, I'll be giving away signed books, Dread Crew t-shirts, and fine art prints. I've been wanting to thank you. For showing up here at 3 AM. For commenting so thoughtfully when I get cantankerous. For sharing your own darks and lights. For tolerating all that whiplash.
Every week for the next few I'm going to list something here, and I'm going to prompt you with a question. The winner will be chosen randomly from the comments.
Today, win a second edition softcover of The Dread Crew from my personal stash, just picked up yesterday. Be the first person anywhere to have one. Aside from me. And Sydney. And Penelope.
Want a copy? Comment here and tell me this: what's your most vivid memory of books? Your first time being consumed, the one that goes everywhere with you, your first trip to a bookstore. Anything.
Comments will be closed and the winner announced in 24 hours -- Wednesday at noon Atlantic time. Go!
Congratulations to mama_k for her winning comment! I've opened the comments again so that you can all enjoy reading, as you all shared so many wonderful memories. I loved all those musty libraries and bedtime rituals.
More giveaways next week. Thanks so much. You're all so much fun to have around.
In total, there were 100 comments, three of which were uncounted, as they were mine.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Reader Comments (102)
One of my most vivid memories was being read to, by my mom. We would lie on the balcony of our sixteenth floor apartment in downtown Saskatoon, and she would read. I remember in particular the story about a man who was never early nor late, always perfectly on time, and perfectly dressed. My mom can't remember the book, and I've never found it. Later, like Liv, I read the Secret Garden, and it was my first real chapter book... and I loved it.
When I was 9 or so, I read Anne of Green Gables for the first time. In an instant my appreciation of the beauty of the outside world deepened and broadened (and I grew up in hot sunny DRY Arizona! A far cry from the lush landscape of Prince Edward Island). I inhaled those books, searching each little classmates face for a glimpse of my "bosom friend", for years and years I told all the boys I dated that I wanted a pearl engagement ring (and what do you know? Year and years later my husband presented me with exactly what I asked for!).
My most vivid memories of books are touched by Lucy Maude Montgomery's words. The Anne books not only impacted my literary life, they shaped the person I became.
For what it's worth, that one stayed with me!
I'm loving these stories so much, already.
I'll be starting to post such things in a week or so, and would love to include you.
::::No worries if you're too busy::::
and the hours spent in my bed, reading by myself.
before i could read for myself, my most vivid book-related memory is the tables at the Charlottetown children's library, which were half-moon shaped with a little semi-circular divet on the flat side, so that two pushed together made a circle with a circular cut-out. sitting in the middle of that circular cut-out was my idea of a princess throne, at four.
that, and harriet the spy - after which i carried a little pencil and notebook with me wherever i went for MONTHS. not sure how much i actually wrote in it, but i was certainly on alert for "clues" in every crevice and corner of our backyard.
congrats kate xo
It was a great joy to read Dread to my little boy and see him get fascinated with the pirates and kind of, sort of know their creator, that was a cool moment :) Blessings!
To this day, they are some of my favourites. I kept my original copies, hoping that one day my girls will read them and love them as much as I did.
My uncle was 9 years old when he died in the 40s and there were traces of him everywhere in my childhood. And my favourite thing to do was to take some of his toys (an Indian headdress missing a substantial amount of feathers, or a broken-rimmed cowboy hat) and one of his adventure stories (that paper smelled wonderful - like hopes and memories and secrets), making myself comfortable in some nook and sinking each day into a world far different to my own. It was like being invited to visit secret countries and I loved every moment, just as I loved the ghost of the boy I saw sometimes running in and out of rays of slanting light.
If I shut my eyes I can still remember those books and all they represented - the temptations of a thousand glittering worlds, jungles and oceans and pirates on islands and the boy who was so loved in his time and who still remained linked to my family and the world in small ways, in fragments, through this.
Children and full-time work and house work not withstanding, I still read A LOT. I can pick up any book (or magazine) anywhere, anytime. I get out-of-sorts when I don't have something new on deck to read. Which reminds me that I need to go to the library soon.
Honestly I can't wait to get my hands on this book Kate. Someday you're going to be part of someone else's memories and I think that's amazing.
So sorry for the delay, and thank you so much for ordering. It's wonderful.
I remember being curled up in my bed at twilight, watching the outside turn purple and the shadows get longer on my wall, and hearing my dad read the Wind In The Willows to me at bedtime. The characters came alive in my head and haunted my dreams for weeks.
That was the first special book, and there have been so many since then. I love holding a book in my hands!
After rereading the book again as an adult, I even went into the University library and looked up - on microfiche - the copy of Life magazine from the late '40s or early '50s, which did a feature on the young Doss family, which was referenced in the book.
I know of other adoptive moms who were similarly influenced by this book and to this day, I wonder whatever really became of all the members of the Doss family.
I recall being about three, sitting on my mothers lap as she rocked in the rocking chair that was next to a huge plate glass window. She was reading to me from a 7th grade geometry book. I recall a vague sense at relief about this. I think this helped me think of science and math as something readable, and as something readable it was always considered attainable.
My other memory is of D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths, I loved that book, loved the illustrations, the colors and the stories, carried it with me everywhere, read it repeatedly at night. I must have been 7 when I asked my mother if Zeus was real. To her credit, she did tell me it was a myth, and what the word myth meant... but she also added that as far as she knew, Zeus could very well be real. I love that about her. But, in this case, the book became real, and allowed my fantasies as a child take on influences from stories that crossed my path. I still have that very same book, hoping that my son will find it as wonderful as I did.
I saw the Ramona series at Barnes and Noble the other day and got so excited for Porter and that maybe he might have the same adventures as me! Then I remembered he is a boy and he might not be interested in books about little girls with funny haircuts getting into trouble.
The earliest memory I have of books, is longing to have more after reading every book in my house from Flowers in the Attic (I know) to all of the Charles Dickens stories. My family was then broken, and I had a quite complicated childhood, and reading was my own escape from the drama. Unfortunately there wasn't much support for my love of reading, so I read everything I could get my hands on from the age of 7 on. I was probably the only 7 year old that was excited to get the newspaper every day! :)