As items arrive, they will be added to this list.
I love nothing more than making sure people get to read good books! That is why I am donating all of the following books to charity.
The books pictured above are gently read, so they are going to the Salvation Army, unless I can also find a Michigan charity that accepts used books. These books come straight from my over-crowded book shelves, either purchased by me, as is the case with the 2 stacks to the left, or given to me as ARC’s to review for this blog. They are all great books to read or give to someone else.
All of the books pictured above were collected by me at BookExpo 2010 and 2011, or accidentally shipped to me by publishers. Every single book is in perfect condition, despite the fact that I had to lug them around New York for days, and the fact that were shipped across the county to my home. Most of these books are also autographed, so I’m hoping to donate these books to several nonprofits.
All of these Y.A. books were also collected during BookExpo. I hope to find them a great home with a nonprofit that works with teens.
1. The Heroine’s Bookshelf: Life Lessons, from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder by Erin Blakemore $11.07 at Amazon.com
Jo March, Scarlett O’Hara, Scout Finch—the literary canon is brimming with intelligent, feisty, never-say-die heroines and celebrated female authors. Like today’s women, they placed a premium on personality, spirituality, career, sisterhood, and family. When they were up against the wall, authors like Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott fought back—sometimes with words, sometimes with gritty actions. In this witty, informative, and inspiring read, their stories offer much-needed literary intervention to modern women.
Visit OliveReader.com to read the official blog of Harper Perennial.
Visit HarperCollins to find out more about the publisher, or to order the book now.
Visit TheHeroinesBookshelf.com to find out more about the author or book now.
Like The Heroines Bookshelf on Facebook.
Like Harper Perennial on Facebook.
Follow @HeroineBook on Twitter.
Follow @HarperPerennial on Twitter.
Check out my review here.
2. Another Bad-Dog Book: Tales of Life, Love, and Neurotic Human Behavior by Joni B. Cole $10.98 at Amazon.com
In this collection of twenty-eight “riotously funny and outrageously honest” true-life tales, author Joni B. Cole manages to mingle low moments with high comedy; and social awkwardness with social observation.
The title essay was inspired when the author went to the bookstore and noticed all the bestsellers about adorably naughty dogs. At first resentful of these other writers’ successes (“Unfortunately, my own career as an author had not been going so well these past couple years, not since I’d discovered the ‘Watch Instantly’ option on Netflix”), Cole eventually realized she had her own bad-dog story to exploit—hers in the form of her adorable “Chihuahua Bat,” who won’t be contained by invisible fencing and won’t let anyone pet the family cat in peace. Yet from this huffish beginning evolved a tale as heartwarming as it is hilarious.
Self-aware, edgy, and masterfully crafted, this charismatic collection (including some heartbreakers) is for anyone who has ever felt over-attached to a pet, stalked her high school crush, said long goodbyes to loved ones, or tried to talk (and talk and talk) her way through the ups and downs of life. A wonderful new addition to a genre best described as humor that matters.
Visit JoniBCole.com to find out more about the author or book now.
Like Joni B. Cole on Facebook.
Follow @JoniBCole on Twitter.
My full review will be coming soon.
3. Sojourns of the Soul: One Woman’s Journey around the World and into Her Truth by Dana Micucci $12.71 at Amazon.com
In a growingly skeptical and uncertain society, the search for meaning has become more urgent and critical than ever. While many of us may desire to achieve enlightenment, most of us don’t know where to start. Celebrated journalist Dana Micucci’s new memoir, Sojourns of the Soul: One Woman’s Journey around the World and into Her Truth, explores this dilemma while chronicling seven trips that span 14 years of Micucci’s life as she explores the connection of inner growth to world travel that eventually leads to her own self-actualization.
Sojourns of the Soul takes the reader on a journey through the world’s most sacred and exotic lands, including the Australian Outback, Cambodia, Egypt, Tibet, the Yucatan, New Mexico and Peru. As she explores each “souljourn,” Micucci finds herself in seven successive stages that correlate with each of the seven spiritual energy centers of the body, called chakras. These stages take the reader from an awakening all the way to activation.
This spiritual memoir gives readers an inside look into each destination through Micucci’s eyes, observing not only the spirituality and lessons to be learned at each location, but also the intimate details of the landscape. While observing the Aborigines in the Outback with Micucci, readers will not only learn about their own connections to the oldest known human culture, but will also get detailed descriptions of the eucalyptus forests and galleries of millennia-old Aboriginal paintings.
Visit DanaMicuccini.com to find out more about the author or book now.
Visit QuestBooks.net to find out more about the publisher, or to order the book now.
Like Quest Books on Facebook.
Follow @QuestBooksTPH on Twitter.
Check out my review here.
4. The Barefooted, Bad-Tempered Baby Brigade by Deborah Diesen and Illustrated by Tracy Dockray $15.99 at IndieBound.org
These babies have had it! Fed up with baths, bibs, and belly kisses, this boisterous band of babies stages a protest crawl. Fun and silly, this rhyming children’s book is actually a sentimental story in disguise, with a snuggly ending and a reminder that babies don’t stay babies for long. Enjoyed by toddlers and preschoolers (especially those with a new, much-fussed over baby brother or sister), this book is also perfect for new parents or as a baby shower gift.
Visit DeborahDiesen.com to find out more about the author and book now.
Visit TricyclePress to find out more about the publisher, or to order the book now.
Like The Barefooted, Bad-Tempered Baby Brigade on Facebook.
Follow @DebbieDiesen on Twitter.
My full review will be coming soon.
5. The Book of Holiday Awesome by Neil Pasricha Pre-order for $13.29 at Amazon.com
There’s nothing like the holidays. They bring out the best, and sometimes the worst, in everyone. Luckily, Neil Pasricha is here to remind us that not only are the holidays great but there’s actually even more to celebrate than we realize. From Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa to such holidays as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, and beyond, The Book of (Holiday) Awesome will show you why holidays are … AWESOME!
* Plugging in the Christmas lights from last year and having them all work.
* When the in-laws leave.
* Successfully regifting a present to someone who actually wants it.
* Drinking with Grandma.
* Just barely wrapping a gift with that tiny scrap of leftover wrapping paper.
* Knowing Kwanzaa is worth more Scrabble points than Hanukkah or Christmas.
Visit Penquin to find out more about the publisher, or to order the book now.
Visit 1000AwesomeThings.com to find out more about the author or book now.
Like 1000 Awesome Things on Facebook.
Like Putnam Books on Facebook.
Follow @1000Awesome on Twitter.
Follow @PutnamBooks on Twitter.
My full review will be coming soon.
6. Love at First Bark by Julie Klam $14.97 at Amazon.com
The bestselling memoirist shows how saving a dog can sometimes help you save yourself.
Julie Klam writes about dogs with a rollicking wit and a radiating warmth-as no other writer can. In her bestselling memoir You Had Me at Woof, she shared the secrets of happiness she learned as an occasionally frazzled but always devoted owner of Boston terriers. Now, with the same enchanting, pop culture-infused amalgam of humor and poignancy that reached the The New York Times and the Today show and won the hearts of readers across the country, she returns with more humorous insight into life with canine companions.
Klam focuses here on dog rescue, and its healing power not only for the dogs who are cared for and able to find good homes, but also for the people who bond with these animals. Klam became involved with rescue after years as an owner of purebred dogs. She was looking for a way to help and participate in a community, but she never imagined just how much she would receive in return. The dogs she has rescued through the years have filled her life with laughter and contentment, sorrow and frustration, and they have made certain that she never has a dull moment. Along the way, she has collected stories from friends who have also found that guiding dogs to nurturing homes made their own lives richer. These experiences, which show us that even in our smallest gestures we can make a big difference, inspired Love at First Bark.
Visit RiverheadBooks.com to find out more about the publisher, or to order the book now.
Visit JulieKlam.com to find out more about the author or book now.
Like Julie Klam, Author on Facebook.
Like Riverhead Books on Facebook.
Follow @JulieKlam on Twitter.
Follow @RiverheadBooks on Twitter.
Check out my review here.
7. Your Life in Comics: 100 Things for Guys to Write and Draw by Bill Zimmerman $9.99 at FreeSpirit.com
What’s more fun for tween guys than reading comics? Making their own. Your Life in Comics lets boys ages 9–13 do just that.
Rather than provide the story, this interactive book allows guys to decide what happens by using words and drawings of their creation. Some of the activities include completed comics where boys can dictate what happens through dialogue. Others encourage them to draw comic strips. Freestyle activities let guys personalize the book in fun ways. (Bonus: Girls will enjoy this, too!) This do-it-yourself comic book will get boys thinking about important topics in their lives, including family, friends, school, health, and the future.
SPECIAL OFFER:
Check out free downloads of comics from the book here.
To find out more about Your Life in Comics: 100 Things for Guys to
Write and Draw by Bill Zimmerman, visit FreeSpirit.com now.
Like Free Spirit Publishing on Facebook.
Follow Free Spirit Books on Twitter.
Check out my full review here.
8. How to Talk to an Autistic Kid by Daniel Stefanski $12.99 at FreeSpirit.com
While many young people know kids with Autism, they often find it hard to relate to them. That’s because the behavior of Autistic kids can seem off-putting and antisocial, even though the person with Autism wants to be friends. This is frustrating for Autistic kids and for their peers, and often leads to avoiding, ignoring, excluding—or bullying and teasing. In How to Talk to an Autistic Kid, a 14-year-old boy describes what it’s like being Autistic. With frankness and optimism, author Daniel Stefanski provides personal stories, clear explanations, and supportive advice about how to get along with kids with Autism.
If you are a librarian, teacher, parent, brother, sister, counselor, aunt, uncle, grandparent, friend, or book lover, please buy this book, and share it with everyone you can. It’s short, sweet, and very powerful when it comes to understanding both Autism and human behavior. If I had to recommend one book on the topic of Autism, I’d recommend this book, because it is easy to understand, and his advice is spot on.
To find out more about How to Talk to an Autistic Kid, visit FreeSpirit.com now.
Like Free Spirit Publishing on Facebook.
Follow Free Spirit Books on Twitter.
9. The Other Life by Ellen Meister $9.98 at Amazon.com
Quinn Braverman, a pregnant and happily married young mother with an unsettling secret. As a child, she stumbled across a portal to an alternate reality where her other life was playing out, a place where every choice she made was the opposite of what was happening in her present life. Intrigued yet wary, Quinn ignored the portal for more than two decades while building a life on Long Island with her attentive husband and adorable young son. But their idyllic life is threatened when Quinn gets frightening news about her pregnancy, and the portal draws her like a magnet with the promise of a fear-free existence. More than a simple escape from uncertainty and grief, it offers a comforting reunion with her artistic bipolar mother whose suicide seven years ago shattered Quinn’s world—on the other side of the portal, her mother is still very much alive.
Unable to resist the portal’s lure, Quinn begins to slide back and forth between the parallel universes, each of which offers elements of bliss as well as devastating loss. In one life she has a loving, stable husband and a six year old who needs her, but she also faces a shattering prognosis for her unborn child and no mother to comfort her. In the other, she is free of this pregnancy’s burden, happily living with her neurotic, famous ex-boyfriend in New York City, and, though childless, is reunited with her beloved mother. How can she possibly choose?
The Other Life explores just what it means to be a mother and asks the impossible question of what to do when you learn that your unborn child will be severely disabled. In addition to being an emotionally powerful story, the rights to the book were recently optioned by HBO to become a series.
Visit US.PenguinGroup.com to find out more about the publisher, or to order the book now.
Visit EllenMeister.com to find out more about the author or book now.
Like Ellen Meister on Facebook.
Like Penguin Group USA on Facebook.
Follow @EllenMeister on Twitter.
Follow @PenguinUSA on Twitter.
My full review, author Q&A and giveaway will be coming in December.
11. Life-Size Aquarium Book $12 at UncommonGoods.com
12. Life-Size Zoo Book $12 at UncommonGoods.com
Visit UncommonGoods.com to check out their wide selection of gifts and merchandise now.
Like Uncommon Goods on Facebook.
Follow @UncommonGoods on Twitter.
Check out my full review here.
Looking for more gift suggestions? Click on the presents to view more gift recommendations.
Interested in being included in my 2011 Holiday Gift Guide? Make sure to check out my 2011 Holiday Gift Guide – Now Accepting Submissions post.
Disclaimer: In most cases, a product or compensation was received in order to be included in the Holiday Gift Guide. Most of the items included in the guide will be donated to my favorite Michigan charities.
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