Love This: Robert Pierre - I'm All In

Thanks to a giveaway held by Tiger @  All Consuming Books (with help from Propeller), I was the lucky winner of a new CD by 18-year-old Robert Pierre, I'm All In.  I was happily surprised by how much I enjoyed the album! In fact, I'm still listening to it! 

I'm All In contains a good mix of energetic pop and thoughtful worship.  Robert has written or co-written all the material, and it's clear that he feels and believes what he's singing about.  If you like bands like Kutless (I can detect their influence on the worship songs--he sounds a bit like John Micah Sumrall) or Tenth Avenue North, I heartily recommend having a listen to Robert Pierre's music!

Listen to Robert's song "Light The Way"

Watch the Press Kit:  Robert Pierre EPK Video

Love This: Goodies From Garth Nix

I'm sure you're familiar with Garth Nix, author of awesome fantasy books Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen, as well as works like The Keys to the Kingdom series, Shades Children, and The Seventh Tower sequence. Mr. Nix's latest book, a collaboration with Sean Williams, is called Troubletwisters.

US, UK, and Australian covers

* Click here for my review of Troubletwisters *

Garth recently ran a giveaway on his Facebook page asking fans to post a picture of themselves reading Troubletwisters in public. Three folks won US, UK, and Australian editions of Troubletwisers signed by both authors, as well as 10 other signed books from both authors -- 13 books in all! What we didn't know was that Garth would decide to send a prize to all of the participants! How cool is he??! So, take a look at the beyond cool package that was waiting for me yesterday when I got home!

The front of the envelope.  Check out the stamps of the Royal newlyweds.

 

 The back of the envelope.  I was so excited by the signature on the customs sticker! 

(And don't worry! I checked to be sure his address was public before sharing this photo!)

The awesomeness inside was wrapped in "first pass" pages from Lord Sunday.

 I carefully unwrapped these to find none other than Sabriel, my absolute favorite Garth Nix novel! 

And it was autographed!

 

It was amazing to come home from work and find such wonderful goodies waiting to be unwrapped! 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Garth Nix!

I'm touched to see the time and care taken to make this a really special treat! This is the first time I've ever received anything like this, and I'll not forget such a kindness! Garth Nix, sir, you sure know how to make your readers feel loved.

Friends, if you haven't checked out Garth Nix's Sabriel or his newest title, Troubletwisters,  run out and buy a copy of either -- or both -- today!

Love This: Beginnings of Babar

Everyone loves Babar right? If he wasn't your favorite storybook elephant growing up, something is definitely wrong with you!

I found this cool online exhibit from The Morgan Library & Museum Online Exhibitions.  It shows Jean de Brunhoff's early draft or mock-up. called a maquette, of his Children's Classic, Histoire de Babar which you probably know as The Story of Babar.  

Check it out.  Histoire de Babar - Maquette  If you click on each thumbnail, you can read a bit about the history behind the maquette and compare the rough mock-up to the final published version.  Pretty cool, huh?

Love This: Wowbrary!

Do you love books? 

Do you love the library? 

Do you wish there were an easy way to know about new books coming to your library?

If your answer to all of the above is a resounding "YES!", then you must sign up for Wowbrary!

 

What is Wowbrary?! It's a FREE online service that notifies you by weekly email or RSS feed about new titles coming to your local library.  It links to Amazon and your library's catalog so you can find out more info about the book or -- even cooler -- you can place a hold on the book at your library!

Awesome, right?  What are you waiting for?  Sign up! 

Still here? If you're puzzled, or if you're wondering what it's like, have a peek at the picture below to see a screenshot of the latest email I received from Wowbrary!