Archive for the ‘holiday’ Category

Tuesday, November 28th, 2023

LibraryThing’s 10th Annual Holiday Card Exchange

The 10th annual LibraryThing Holiday Card Exchange is here!

Here’s how it works:

  • Mail a holiday card to a random LibraryThing member. You can send up to 10 cards!
  • Choose a handmade or store bought card. Add a special note to personalize it.
  • You’ll get the same number of cards in return from other fellow LibraryThing members.
  • In order for cards to be delivered correctly to you, you must include your real name in the address box when signing up: use whatever matches your mailbox. (Only your matches and LibraryThing staff can see your address.)

» Sign up for the LibrayThing Holiday Card Exchange now

Sign-ups for the Card Exchange close Tuesday, December 5 at 12:00pm Eastern (17:00 GMT). We’ll inform you of your matches within an hour or so after we close. Send your cards out soon after.

Questions? Join the discussion on Talk.

Labels: card exchange, event, holiday

Monday, November 27th, 2023

LibraryThing’s Holiday Store is Live

holidaystore

It’s Cyber Monday, which means the release of the annual LibraryThing Holiday Store! We have an amazing lineup this year, with 9 brand new listings just added this morning, and—even better—they’re all on sale through Epiphany1! Come and stock up on all of your favorite bookish gifts for the holidays.

Enjoy major discounts2 on everything in the LibraryThing Store, including:

  • CueCat scanners and barcode labels for $5
  • Gorgeous enamel pins, including our new Talpa pins, for $3 apiece
  • An assortment of stickers from $1, including our brand new Litsy, Talpa, and TinyCat stickers, and brand new holographic LibraryThing and TinyCat stickers for $2
  • And more!

We’re also very excited to release our first-ever holiday bundles! Select your favorite bundle—the LibraryThing Love Bundle, Pin Bundle, and/or Sticker Bundle—and make the most out of our deals with a little extra bling for gifting to your loved ones.

Shop the Holiday Store now through January 6: https://www.librarything.com/more/store.


1 Epiphany is also known as Little Christmas, the night before Orthodox Christmas or the day after the Twelfth day of Christmas—twelve LibraryThing pins would make the perfect gifts for your loved one, would they not?

2 Prices do not include cost of shipping. Shipping is included on Store pages.

Labels: holiday, sale

Monday, November 28th, 2022

The Holiday Store is Open

holidaystore
Collage of 6 items from the LibraryThing Store including laptop stickers, book stamp, enamel pins, coasters, barcode scanner, and tote bag.

Deck the halls and slap on some glitter, the most wonderful time of the year is back! LibraryThing’s 16th annual SantaThing exchange is in full swing—signups close at 12 noon tomorrow—and the Holiday Card Exchange has just opened up. It’s also Cyber Monday, so we’re opening the LibraryThing Holiday Store all the way through Epiphany1. Come and stock up on all of your favorite bookish gifts for the holidays.

Enjoy major discounts2 on all of our gear this season, including CueCat scanners and barcode labels for just $5, gorgeous enamel pins for $3 apiece, our last few, organic-cotton, TinyCat tote bags for $18, and newly released laptop stickers for just $1.

Shop the Holiday Store through January 6: https://www.librarything.com/more/store.


1 Epiphany is also known as Little Christmas, the night before Orthodox Christmas or the day after the Twelfth day of Christmas—twelve LibraryThing pins would make the perfect gifts for your loved one, would they not?

2 Prices do not include cost of shipping. Shipping is included on Store pages.

Labels: holiday, LT swag, sale

Monday, November 28th, 2022

9th Annual LibraryThing Holiday Card Exchange

The 9th annual LibraryThing Holiday Card Exchange is here!

How it works:

  • Mail a holiday card to a random LibraryThing member.
  • You can mail a handmade or storebought card. Add a note to personalize it.
  • You’ll get one from another member. (Only that member will see your address.*)

» Sign up for the LibrayThing Holiday Card Exchange now

Sign-ups for the Card Exchange closes Wednesday, December 7th at 12:00 PM Eastern (17:00 GMT). We’ll inform you of your matches within an hour or so after we close. Send your cards out soon after.

Questions? Join the discussion on Talk.


* In order for the cards you receive to be addressed to your real name, you must include your name in the address box. Some postal services require that addressee names match what’s on your mailbox.

Labels: card exchange, event, holiday

Monday, November 7th, 2022

SantaThing 2022: Bookish Secret Santa!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: the Sixteenth Annual SantaThing is here at last!

This year we’re once again focusing on indie bookstores. The pandemic has been a disaster for independent bookstores, even as it sent Amazon sales to new heights. So we picked a few of our favorite indies from around the United States. You can still order Kindle ebooks, we have Book Depository for international orders, and also stores local to Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland.
» SIGN UP FOR SANTATHING NOW!

What is SantaThing?

SantaThing is “Secret Santa” for LibraryThing and Litsy members.

How it Works

You pay $15–$50 and pick your favorite bookseller. We match you with a participant, and you play Santa 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!

SantaThing is a joint effort between LibraryThing and Litsy. When signing up, you can opt to give and receive from members of only one community or the other, or either.

Sign up once or thrice, for yourself or someone else.

Even if you don’t want to be a Santa, you can help by suggesting books for others. Click on an existing SantaThing profile to leave a suggestion.

Every year, LibraryThing members give generously to each other through SantaThing. If you’d like to donate an entry, or want to participate, but it’s just not in the budget this year, be sure to check out our Donations Thread here, run once again by our fantastic volunteer member, mellymel1713278.

Important Dates

Sign-ups close MONDAY, November 28th at 12pm EST. By the next day, we’ll notify you via profile comment who your Santee is, and you can start picking books.

You’ll then have a week to pick your books, until MONDAY, December 5th at 12pm EST (16:00 GMT). As soon as the picking ends, the ordering begins, and we’ll get all the books out to you as soon as we can.

» Go sign up to become a Secret Santa now!

Supporting Indie Bookstores

To support indie bookstores we’re teaming up with independent bookstores from around the country to deliver your SantaThing picks, including BookPeople in Austin, TX, Longfellow Books in Portland, ME, and Powell’s Books in Portland, OR.

Once again this year, we’re also offering international deliveries through Book Depository. And after last year’s success, we’re bringing back the following foreign retail partners: Readings for our Australian participants, Time Out Books for the Kiwi participants, and Kennys for our Irish friends.

Kindle options are available to all members, regardless of location. To receive Kindle ebooks, your Kindle must be registered on Amazon.com (not .co.uk, .ca, etc.). See more information about all the stores.

Shipping

Some of our booksellers are able to offer free shipping, and some are not. Depending on your bookseller of choice, you may receive $5 less in books, to cover shipping costs. You can find details about shipping costs and holiday ordering deadlines for each of our booksellers here on the SantaThing Help page.
» Go sign up now!

Questions? Comments?

This is our SIXTEENTH year of SantaThing. See the SantaThing Help page further details and FAQ.
Feel free to ask your questions over on this Talk topic, or you can contact Kate directly at kate@librarything.com.
Happy SantaThinging!

Labels: events, fun, holiday, santathing

Monday, November 29th, 2021

8th Annual LibraryThing Holiday Card Exchange

The 8th annual LibraryThing Holiday Card Exchange is here!

How it works:

  • Mail a holiday card to a random LibraryThing member.
  • You can mail a handmade or storebought card. Add a note to personalize it.
  • You’ll get one from another member. (Only that member will see your address.*)

» Sign up for the LibrayThing Holiday Card Exchange now

Sign-ups for the Card Exchange closes Wednesday, December 8th at 12:00 PM Eastern (17:00 GMT). We’ll inform you of your matches within an hour or so after we close. Send your cards out soon after.

Questions? Join the discussion on Talk.


* In order for the cards you receive to be addressed to your real name, you must include your name in the address box. Some postal services require that addressee names match what’s on your mailbox.

Labels: card exchange, events, holiday

Monday, November 29th, 2021

The LibraryThing Holiday Store is Open

holidaystore

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! LibraryThing’s 15th annual SantaThing exchange is in full swing—signups just closed and matches are being made! It’s also Cyber Monday, so we’re opening up the LibraryThing Holiday Store all the way through Epiphany*. Come and stock up on all of your favorite bookish gifts for the holidays.

We’re offering some serious discounts** this year, including CueCat barcode scanners for just $5 apiece, barcode labels starting at $5 for the first packet in each set (that’s half off), book stamps starting at $6, our favorite, oversized, organic-cotton tote bags for just $19, and more.

Shop the Holiday Store now through January 6: https://www.librarything.com/more/store.


*Epiphany is also known as Little Christmas, the night before Orthodox Christmas or the day after the Twelfth day of Christmas—surely your loved one deserves twelve LibraryThing tote bags?

**Prices do not include cost of shipping. Shipping is included on Store pages.

Labels: holiday, sale

Monday, November 8th, 2021

SantaThing 2021: Bookish Secret Santa!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: the Fifteenth Annual SantaThing is here at last!

We’re focusing on indie bookstores again this year. The pandemic has been a disaster for independent bookstores, even as it sent Amazon sales to new heights. So we picked a few of our favorites indies from around the United States. You can still order Kindle ebooks, we have Book Depository for international orders, and also stores local to Australia and New Zealand this year!

» SIGN UP FOR SANTATHING NOW!

What is SantaThing?

SantaThing is “Secret Santa” for LibraryThing members.

How it Works

You pay $15–$50 and pick your favorite bookseller. We match you with a participant, and you play Santa 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.

Even if you don’t want to be a Santa, you can help by suggesting books for others. Click on an existing SantaThing profile to leave a suggestion.

Every year, LibraryThing members give generously to each other through SantaThing. If you’d like to donate an entry, or want to participate, but it’s just not in the budget this year, be sure to check out our Donations Thread (to come), run once again by our fantastic volunteer member, mellymel1713278.

Important Dates

Sign-ups close MONDAY, November 29th at 12pm EST. By the next day, we’ll notify you via profile comment who your Santee is, and you can start picking books.

You’ll then have until FRIDAY, December 3rd at 12pm EST to make your picks. As soon as the picking ends, the ordering begins, and we’ll get all the books out to you as soon as we can.

» Go sign up to become a Secret Santa now!

Supporting Indie Bookstores

We’re teaming up with independent bookstores from around the country to deliver your SantaThing picks, including BookPeople in Austin, TX, Longfellow Books in Portland, ME, and Powell’s Books in Portland, OR.

Once again this year, we’re also offering international deliveries through Book Depository. New to this year are retail partners Readings for our Australian participants and Time Out Bookstore for the Kiwi participants. Kindle is available to all members, regardless of location. To receive Kindle ebooks, your Kindle must be registered on Amazon.com (not .co.uk, .ca, etc.). See more information about all the stores.

Shipping

Some of our booksellers are able to offer free shipping, and some are not. Depending on your bookseller of choice, you may receive $5 less in books, to cover shipping costs. You can find details about shipping costs and holiday ordering deadlines for each of our booksellers here on the SantaThing Help page.

» Go sign up now!

Questions? Comments?

This is our FIFTEENTH year of SantaThing. See the SantaThing Help page further details and FAQ.

Feel free to ask your questions over on this Talk topic, or you can contact Kate directly at kate@librarything.com.

Happy SantaThinging!

Labels: events, fun, holiday, santathing

Thursday, March 4th, 2021

National Grammar Day Interview with Martha Brockenbrough

author photo of martha brockenbrough

Martha Brockenbrough (Photo by Emerald England)

March 4th is National Grammar Day. Established by author Martha Brockenbrough, the day was designated as a holiday in 2008. To celebrate, Meg sat down (virtually) with Brockenbrough to talk about grammar in our world today.

Let’s start with the basics: how do you define grammar and why do you think it’s important?

Oh, this could be a very long answer. Let me start with something fun: grammar and grimoire share an ancestor. A grimoire is a magician’s manual for invoking demons and you could say that grammar can often be the same. What they have in common is magic. There is the good magic that helps us say what we mean to say and understand what is meant by the author. And then there is the bad magic that uses grammar to exclude, humiliate, and subjugate. Grammar is understanding how our language works, how it has evolved, and what can be accomplished by respecting conventions and what can be accomplished by breaking them. The more we know, the more powerfully and humanely we can practice this wonderful art.

You established National Grammar Day in 2008 with the goal of making grammar fun and lively for your students. How has grammar, or the study of grammar, changed in the last thirteen years?

I’m no longer teaching high school students, although I have one at home. I think for some, the study of grammar has changed in some of the good ways that society has changed. We are better now at recognizing white supremacy and the marginalization of certain forms of English. Language has always been a political weapon. English follows a lot of Latin “rules” for this exact reason. Latin was viewed as a superior language, and we were clawing our way upward in modeling certain English rules—e.g. “don’t split infinitives”—on Latin, where an infinitive is a single word and can’t be split.

cover of unpresidented

In America, we just got rid of a president who was incredibly sloppy with language. When his subordinates tweeted under his name, they even copied his irregular spelling and capitalization. I’m being judgmental here. I called him sloppy. But as the parent of a child with dyslexia, I recognize that he might also have this very common learning disability. So my judgment might be unfair even as he played the role of a populist, and part of that role is rejecting the appearance of being conventionally educated. This was, I suppose, his evil genius. He could be born with a golden spoon in his mouth and convince people without his privilege that he understood them.

Part of arming ourselves against future demagogues is, I think, in not using education and knowledge as a cudgel to beat anyone down, but rather, to insist that it is both a gift and a birthright for everyone. I believe in building windows and doors, not walls. If it were easy, we would have done this long ago. And maybe I wouldn’t be so judgmental about the disgraced, twice-impeached, former president’s language. But I do think that’s what we might all work toward.

A lot of our members are at home helping their kids or grandkids with school because of the pandemic. What do you hope adults will convey to young people about grammar?

The best way to learn how language works is to read a lot. When you read, you encounter a much wider vocabulary than you do when conversing, watching TV, or listening to the radio. You also internalize patterns of language that have met a certain threshold of excellence. Everyone ought to read like crazy, and most libraries are still making this possible.

Meanwhile, I think we might do less conveying and more listening. I’m always learning new things about the evolving language from my kids. It was news to me that terminal punctuation on texts conveyed anger to them. To me, it meant I was being careful and consistent. All sorts of new vocabulary comes from young people, and it doesn’t hurt us to learn it and understand it. I do confess to taking delight in using things incorrectly, just to rile my kids a bit. But now it’s a running gag. They stan it. Or something like that.

I still do convey certain things to my daughters, who are now 17 and 20. The language we use in public—on social media and in school—is a lot like the clothes we wear. There are expectations and conventions. There are also power dynamics. A person who is hiring people for a job has power over the applicants, and that’s why we scrutinize our resumes and dress strategically for interviews. That’s a different situation from hanging out with friends (wearing masks, staying six feet apart). Navigating the world is easier when you understand conventions, dynamics, and codes, some of which probably ought to dismantled, but that can be hard to do from the outside.

In addition to being a grammar champion, you write fiction and narrative nonfiction. How does your understanding of grammar impact your creative writing?

I’m reading a most wonderful book right now: A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders, which is a close examination of Russian short stories and how he teaches them. Here we are, reading translations of work, and translating them again through the eyes of Saunders, who is a white man of a certain age with certain experiences. Look at what language can do. Look at what stories can do. They can cross continents. They can travel through time. They can be funneled through the filter of another language twice—and still mean something to the reader. I’m paraphrasing, but one thing Saunders says is that he tries to write sentences that make the reader want to read the next one.

That is a very specific vision of how stories work. If you’ve ever studied storytelling, you no doubt know there are graphs that show us how stories work. That there are “beats.” Narrative structures. Big-picture things that suggest that the shape of the story is more important than its cellular structure.

What Saunders is talking about, I think, is partly the power of grammar. When you encounter a sentence that is right for the story—the right words in the right order with the right rhythm for the emotional moment—you want to know what happens next. This is a way of tying the big picture elements to the very smallest, the way our bodies emerge from our unique double helixes of DNA.

All of which is to say that when I am telling a story, I make the best use I can of every tool possible. Grammar—conventional, unconventional, character-specific—is vital.

Tell us about your home library.

I love books. I have many. Too many. It is badly organized, though it wasn’t always that way. It makes it hard to find specific things but easy to be surprised by treasure. It is a mix of books for young readers and books for grownups, mostly fiction for the former and nonfiction for the latter. On the project list this year are more built-in bookshelves, and we just secured some reclaimed fir for the purpose. I’m giddy with excitement.

 

cover of unpresidented

Tell us what you’re reading right now.

I just finished David Sedaris’s essay collection, The Best of Me. I’ve been reading him my entire adult life. I’ve seen him live. I’ve read some of these essays before, and this collection felt a bit like a reckoning about family, what is funny, and what fractures us. I am reading A Question of Freedom by Reginald Dwayne Betts, which is his memoir about coming of age in prison. And then there’s the Saunders book. I don’t generally read so many books by men, but sometimes it happens. I just finished the page proofs of my next novel, Into the Bloodred Woods, which is based on the idea that everything you’ve ever read in fairytales is a lie.

 

About Martha Brockenbrough:

Martha Brockenbrough is the author of two books for adults and numerous books for young readers, including YA fiction and nonfiction, picture books, and a forthcoming chapter book series. Her next book, Into the Bloodred Woods, will be released by Scholastic in November. Visit her website to learn more about her and her books.

Labels: author interview, authors, holiday

Wednesday, December 4th, 2019

6th Annual LibraryThing Holiday Card Exchange

cardexchange-fullOur 6th annual LibraryThing Holiday Card Exchange is here! Inspired by ALA Think Tank and Reddit, we’re so excited to continue the tradition that spreads joy throughout the holiday season!

How it works is simple:

  • Mail a holiday card to a random LibraryThing member.
  • You can mail a hand-made or store card. Add a note to personalize it.
  • You’ll get one from another member. (Only that member will see your address.*)

Sign-ups for the Card Exchange closes Tuesday, December 10th at 5:00 PM EST. We’ll inform you of your matches within an hour or so. Send your cards out soon after.

» Sign up for the LibrayThing Holiday Card Exchange

Questions? Join the discussion on Talk.


* In order for the cards you receive to be addressed to your real name, you must include your name in the address box.

Labels: card exchange, events, fun, holiday