The Perfect Holiday Gift!

Question- What could be better than giving someone a gift you just know they'll like and doing good simultaneously?

Give up?

Answer- Nothing.

Because that's about as good as it gets!

So, head on over to The Page Flipper blog, where the awesome Chelsea is auctioning a signed and "marked up" copy of SAVING ZOE. I filled the book with notes, and post its, and little drawings, of all the things that inspired me to write it!  There's not another one like it anywhere-- guaranteed!

And the best part is, your winning bid will go straight to the FIRST BOOK charity? How awesome is that!

Auction ends on December 22nd!

See you over at The Page Flipper!

Alyson

Speaking of Books . . .

Lots of exciting things happening in the world of books this week, including:

It's Cybils time again! That's right, nominations for the Children's & Young Adult Blogger's Literary Awards are open for nominations! To nominate your favorite book, just visit HERE and leave the title in the comments section--it's so easy!


Also, the Leave a Mark auction has begun! This is the one where various authors (including moi), mark up one of their books (thereby turning it into a sort of director's cut edition!), and auction it off to benefit First Book, a wonderful charity providing books for the needy! This amazing idea was the brainchild of Lauren over at Shooting Stars Magazine and Chelsea at The Page Flipper. They'll be auctioning off a different title every few days (including my marked up version of SAVING ZOE- though I'm not sure which day it will run so check back!), and all you have to do to participate is click HERE!

And, as it that wasn't enough, today also marks the start of Kelly Parra's Secret Fates Blog Extravaganza! In celebration of her latest release, INVISIBLE TOUCH, from now til the end of the month, she'll be featuring various authors spilling secrets and giving away prizes and you won't want to miss it! I'll be giving away a rare (um, rare because I'm running out of copies!) ARC of the fist title in my upcoming paranormal series, EVERMORE!! But since I'm not sure which day I'm up--you should probably visit everyday since there's loads of good stuff you're going to want! And all you have to do to win, win, win--is just click HERE!

That's it for now-- Happy October Everyone!

Gateway Books . . .

In continued celebration of Banned Books Week, I thought I'd post a list of what I like to call "Gateway Books." You know, the ones that got you hooked on reading. The one's that might've taken you from a "reading is boring" mentality to the proud owner of a towering TBR pile.

This list, compiled by votes from First Book, which, by the way, is not only a rockin' charity providing books to children in need, but pretty much a 24/7 book-lovers-love-fest, contains many of my favorite titles, many of which, big surprise, have been banned and/or challenged!

While the first book I learned to read was HORTON HATCHES THE EGG by Dr. Seuss, my personal gateway book, the one that changed everything and turned me into a bonafide addict, was Judy Blume's ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT'S ME, MARGARET, which just happens to claim the number 62 spot on the Top 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990-2000 list because apparently writing about REAL issues affecting REAL girls is somehow dangerous.

Or something.

I can't quit grasp the ideology behind the pro-book banning argument. It all seems so--dumb.

All I know is that Judy Blume says this about it:

“[I]t's not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.”

And I totally agree.

Any who, below is the list of gateway books, some of them deemed dangerous, some not. But what I really want to know is:

DID YOUR BOOK MAKE THE LIST?

Top 50 Books!

1. The Nancy Drew series
2. Green Eggs & Ham
3. Little House on the Prairie series
4. Charlotte's Web
5. Cat in the Hat
6. Little Women
7. The Boxcar Children
8. The Bobbsey Twins
9. Black Beauty
10. The Dick & Jane series
11. Go Dog Go!
12. To Kill a Mockingbird
13. Goodnight Moon
14. Gone With the Wind
15. Heidi
16. Anne of Green Gables
17. Curious George
18. Black Stallion
19. Harry Potter series
20. The Secret Garden
21. The Bible
22. The Pokey Little Puppy
23. The Giving Tree
24. A Wrinkle in Time
25. The Little Engine That Could
26. The Hobbit
27. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
28. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
29. The Hardy Boys series
30. Hop on Pop
31. Where the Sidewalk Ends
32. The Velveteen Rabbit
33. Are You There God? It's me Margaret.
34. The Babysitters Club series
35. Pippi Longstocking
36. Amelia Bedelia
37. The Hatchet
38. Superfudge
39. Ramona Quimby books
40. Cinderella
41. Island of the Blue Dolphins
42. The Wizard of Oz
43. The Outsiders
44. Winnie the Pooh
45. Treasure Island
46. Horton Hears a Who
47. Love You Forever
48. Old Yeller
49. Call of the Wild
50. Twilight

WHICH BOOK SERVED AS YOUR ENTRY INTO THE WORLD OF READING?

Mark it Up!

So, add this to the BRILLIANT IDEAS file:

The good people over at Shooting Stars Magazine and The Page Flipper are hosting an auction to benefit First Book, an organization that provides books for children from low income families, and I'm thrilled to be part of it!

I'll be donating a marked up copy of SAVING ZOE (see above) stuffed with all sorts of post it notes, little known facts, a few odd asides, a notation or two (or five or six), the story behind the story, and more (lots more!).

Tons of authors will be participating, and the auction will run from Oct-Dec, which is just in time to start buying those holiday gifts, no?

So start saving those pennies now-- it's all for a wonderful cause!

I'll post more info as I get it!

Have a good weekend everyone!