Puss Reboots: A Book Review a Day

Hats on Books

Sarah Sammis — 14 May 2008 10:59 PST

When I wrote this Thursday Thirteen I didn't see a theme posted. So I'll do hats on book covers instead.

1. The Lost and Found by Mark Teague Hundreds of hats. In fact the book is about the search for a lost hat.
2. The All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown by Sydney Taylor Five hats.
3. Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee A top hat and three hat boxes.
4. My Ántonia by Willa Cather Not sure but it's on her head.
5. Take a Stand, Rosa Parks! by Peter and Connie Roop The mother is wearing a straw hat and the driver is wearing a cap.
6. Don't Look Now and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier Again, lots of hats.
7. Hotel Cat by Esther Averill The cat from the fire station is wearing a fireman's helmet.
8. Galactic Pot-Healer by Philip K. Dick It's either a hat or a percolator.
9. Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett A helmet.
10. Bleach 6 by Tite Kubo My favorite character from Bleach! I love his hat.
11. Castro Valley by Devon Weston, Robert Phelps and Lucille Lorge. Cowboy Hats.
12. The Mystery of the Moaning Cave by William Arden A sombrero.
13. Birthday Card, Where Are You? by Harriet Ziefert and Richard Brown. A wool cap.

thursday thirteen | books

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Stone Gods

Sarah Sammis — 13 May 2008 22:17 PST

I like to give myself a few days between finishing a book and reviewing a book to reflect on my reading experience. The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson is a perfect example of why I do this. My initial reaction was "is this all there is to it?" but the book continues to come back to me.

The book is somewhere between a collection of short stories and a novel. The best explanation is in the book itself on page 146:

'What's it about?'

'A repeating world.'

Except it isn't quite. Events repeat but the locations are different. The character names are the same: always Billie and Spike but the times and locations are always different.

With a protagonist named Billie Crusoe, it's obvious that Stone Gods is influenced in part by Robinson Crusoe but there are also nods to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Barsoom series among others.

Each chapter or story is one of travel and isolation. Billie is either a loner and non-conformist in society, or trapped in a snow storm, or on an island, or in a burned out society. Some how at her side is the faithful Spike.

If you'd like a chance to travel along with Billie and Spike, I am giving away my review copy on May 17th. To enter, read the rules and then leave a comment on the original post. Comments left on this review won't count as entries.

Read the reviews at Incredible Panic Rules, Owl's Farm, All Things Uncertain.

books | fiction | contest | jeanette winterson

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The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Sarah Sammis — 13 May 2008 10:17 PST

The Five People You Meet in Heaven is one of many books that follow the protagonist as he or she travels into the after life. In this case, it's a maintenance man from a local carnival named Eddie and he dies after being crushed by a falling ride. From there he learns the ropes of Heaven from five mentors whom he knew in his life.

These books can either be mind blowing explorations of the human spirit and imagination (The Inferno by Dante Alighieri), fantasy romps that straddle the morose and the fantastical (What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson) or like this book, smaltzy and rife with cliches.

The best thing about The Five People You Meet in Heaven is its length and its simplistic vocabulary. The book can easily be read in a couple of hours. The book starts off well, building suspense with Eddie's impending death but it is unable to stay interesting. By the end of the first lesson the book settles into a predictably annoying pattern of flashbacks and lessons with Eddie being gobsmacked by each one until the end when the last mentor has to hit him over the head with the moral of the story.

Read the reviews at Pull My Finger, Abby Waiting for You, A Teenager's Bookclub.

books | fantasy | fiction | mitch albom

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Are You My Mother?

Sarah Sammis — 12 May 2008 21:15 PST

I grew up with P. D. Eastman's books. As a student of Dr. Seuss and with his books being published under the Dr. Seuss brand, it's kind of hard to read one and not the other. I still have my ragged and beloved old copy of Eastman's The Cat in the Hat Beginner Dictionary. Still somehow, I missed Are You My Mother? when I was a child; Sean and I read it for the first time together just recently.

A baby bird newly hatched goes in search of his mother, not sure what his mother looks like. He asks a everyone and everything he sees: "Are you my mother?" The creatures are a kitten, a hen, a dog, and cow. When they can't help, he tries machines: a car, a boat and a plane. Help ultimately comes from an unexpected source. Since the ending is the best part, I'll save it for parents and children to discover together.

Read the reviews at The Home School, Lynda's Review Blog, Mandy's Book Blog.

books | childrens | fiction | p d eastman

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Win Go Green

Sarah Sammis — 12 May 2008 11:22 PST

I am pleased to announce a new book giveaway: Go Green by Nancy H. Taylor.

The contest runs from today through 11PM Pacific time on June 12th.

If you are interested in winning this book, please leave a comment on this post explaining what you are doing to "Go Green". Just leaving your name or "enter me" (or similar) will not count. This blog uses "do follow" in all links so if you have a blog, please include your URL. The contest is open to any country where the United States postal service sends packages. I will mail the book out to the winner on July 2, 2008.

If you want a second chance to win the book, blog about the contest.

I will contact the winners via email on June 12th and announce the winners publicly as soon as I have verified their mailing addresses. The winners have 72 hours (3 days) to respond with a mailing address. If the winner does not respond within that time a new winner will be picked.

One entry per person / IP Address.

Here is an article explaining the book:

Ten Ways to Green Your Home and Family By Nancy H. Taylor, author of Go Green: How to Build an Earth-Friendly Community

We use a lot of energy in our daily lives, for heating, cooling, lighting, appliances and transportation. There are many ways to save energy and money by making a few simple changes.

1 Change your non-dimmable light bulbs from incandescent to compact fluorescents (CFLs). CFLs come in all shapes and sizes and even many shades of the color spectrum. So you do not have to have a white glare or even use the curly bulbs. Incandescent bulbs are going to be obsolete soon, so educate your kids about how much energy CFLs save. Because CFLs have a trace of mercury in the bulb, they must be disposed of at a recycling center.

2 Turn down the temperature of your water heater to 120 degrees F. or 50 degrees C. If your water heater is not insulated, wrap an insulating blanket around it. If your water heater is gas, and not insulated, be sure to leave room for the air vent. Do not cover any venting pipes with a blanket.

3 Arrange to have an energy audit for your home or apartment, which can be done through most utility companies or through an independent contractor. This audit will tell you where and how you are wasting energy, or areas that are lacking
insulation. If you follow some of the suggestions, it is possible you can get a
rebate from the utility and possibly a federal or state tax credit.

4 Get a programmable thermostat for your furnace or home heating system.
If your home or apartment is vacant all day, setting the heat to turn down while you are gone will save you money and energy. Also, turn the heat down at night. Adjust your air conditioner, so that it cools to a warmer temperature in the summer. Use shades to keep heat in during the winter and out during the summer. In the summer, open windows at night to let the cool night air in, then close windows and curtains to keep the house cool all day.

5 Teach your kids about turning off lights and the TV when they leave a room.
We are used to leaving appliances running even when we don’t need them. We forget that they are drawing energy, costing us money and creating carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere through their energy use. When you buy an appliance, be sure it is Energy Star rated; there are ratings for everything from air conditioners to Xerox machines!

6. Involve everyone in the family in using power strips. Any gadget that has a digital
readout or transformer box on its power cord needs to be plugged into a power strip and then turned off when not in use. Computers, printers, DVD players, TVs, I-pods, phone chargers, adding machines, coffee makers, microwaves and just about any modern device all draw power even when they are turned off. If you plug the devices into a power strip and turn it off when not in use, you can save up to 10% on your energy bill.

7. Try to minimize the carbon-producing transportation patterns of your family. Do you take public Transportation? Do you carpool? Do you ride bikes other than for recreation? Do you combine with neighbors for shopping trips, meetings or events? How about airplane travel? Do you plan your trips ahead so you do not have to fly constantly for business? When you do have to fly, offset the carbon footprint of your trip by buying green tags. Try Terra Pass or Native Energy.

8. Food buying patterns use energy too. Most food travels 1500 miles from farm to fork. See if you can find food that was not transported from far away. Many stores carry local produce from neighboring farms. Read the labels on fruits and vegetables to see where they were grown. Buy in bulk. Avoid foods that use large amounts of packaging. Buy from the farmers market or Community Supported Agriculture when you can. Always take your own bag to the market, plastic is a petroleum product.

9. Water is another source of energy use; it needs to be heated for showers and washing dishes. Take shorter showers or put a shut-off valve on the shower to turn it off while soaping, shampooing or shaving. Put a water-saver nozzle on your showerhead and all faucets. Use cold water to wash your clothes and dry your clothes on a rack or a clothesline. Turn the water off when brushing your teeth, (a great way to teach kids about not wasting water) or while shaving.

10. Using potable water from the hose to water lawns and plants can deplete your water supply, especially if you are in a drought region of the country. If you live in a place where you could collect rainwater, catch it in a barrel and use it for watering plants and landscaping. If you are landscaping, plant drought resistant plants using a method called xeriscaping.

Now that you have begun to think about the amount of energy you use in your home or apartment, you can calculate your carbon footprint. This is a way to figure out how much carbon dioxide you or your household put in to the atmosphere on a yearly basis. It can be calculated just for your home, or it can include driving and flying as well.

Each carbon calculator is a bit different. Calculating our carbon dioxide emissions is still a rough science in the process of being refined. Try several sites to see which one you like the best. Some of my favorites are: Native Energy, Terra Pass, B-E-F, My Foot Print, or the Personal Emissions Calculator.

After calculating your carbon footprint, you can choose to offset the amount of energy your home uses by purchasing green tags. Depending on the organization you choose, you could be funding a wind farm, solar panels for schools or methane generated from dairy cow waste. Your dollars contribute to developing and purchasing renewable energy. Using your money in this way makes us all less dependent on a fossil fuel economy.

Written by Nancy H. Taylor, author of Go Green: How to Build an Earth-Friendly Community, Gibbs Smith Publishers, Layton, Utah 2008. For more information, please visit Nancy H. Taylor.

books | nonfiction | contest | nancy h taylor

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Upcoming Reviews for the Week of May 12

Sarah Sammis — 12 May 2008 09:43 PST

Last week I got caught up with my reviews so this week will be back to the usual one per day.

This week's selection will have a number of children's books, both fiction and nonfiction, as well as some manga, and two sweepstakes books.

Repeat authors this week will include Tite Kubo, Sandra Brown, Bali Rai and Barbara Park.

I will also be reviewing and giving away two books: The Stone Gods Jeanette Winterson ( contest ends May 17th) and Dark Summit by (contest ends May 21st).

Upcoming reviews include:

Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson
Bleach 12 by Tite Kubo
Nettie's Trip South by Ann Turner
Seduction by Design by Sandra Brown
The Crew by Bali Rai
Dark Summit by Nick Heil
The Magic School Bus: Going Batty by Joanna Cole
Junie B. Jones Sneaky Peeky Spying by Barbara Park

books | pussreboots | reviews | blog

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Circle

Sarah Sammis — 11 May 2008 23:47 PST

Circle: 05/11/08
The final story in the May issue of FSF is "Circle" by George Tucker and it makes up for the two previous stories.

"Circle" takes place in Miami during the recent real estate boom and it is written with a similar mixture of cynicism, humor and environmentalism as Carl Hiaasen's books are.

Billy Black, the protagonist, is the grandson of a Seminole shaman who decides to use the apparent haunting at a local construction site to his advantage. The way in which Black balances his heritage with his own desire for a piece of the real estate boom pie is what reminds me most positively of Hiaasen.

As Tucker explains in his interview, "The Circle" is based on actual events and he wrote a lengthy back story for Billy Black before finally settling on the twenty pages that make up this story. Having so enjoyed this short glimpse at Billy Black's life, I'd love to see George Tucker expand things either as a series of short stories, or as a novella or perhaps a full fledged novel.

To learn more, please read the interview on the FSF blog.

Read the reviews at The Fix, The Worm Seat.

fantasy science fiction magazine | fiction | short story | george tucker

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City of Light

Sarah Sammis — 11 May 2008 22:15 PST

City of Light is a historical drama set during the time that Buffalo New York was converting to electricity with the building of turbines at Niagara Falls. I read the book primarily for the setting and I loved the way Buffalo and Niagara Falls were described. It is in the building of the setting that Lauren Belfer excels.

Peal away the interesting history and what is left is a rather dull and obvious Agatha Christie type mystery mixed together with a Victorian melodrama. Louisa Barrett, the head mistress of a local girls school finds herself in the middle of a series of murders related to the new power station at Niagara Falls. As the father of her god daughter is the owner, she feels compelled to solve the mystery to protect the people she loves.

If the mystery wasn't enough, there is also Barrett's own personal tragedy and the truth behind her fondness for her God daughter who appears to be clinically depressed after the death of her mother.

The relationship between Louisa Barrett and Grace is where I started to lose interest in the book. I know I was supposed to feel empathy for Louisa for all the heartbreak she has suffered but I never really connected with her. Her personal story is buried under all the historical descriptions and the clues for the mystery to such a degree that it doesn't make sense for the novel to end on her personal tragedy because it feels like an after thought.

I read this book for the Themed Challenge.

Read the reviews at Random Reflections, BookFix, Miss Keeks.

books | mystery | fiction | lauren belfer

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Childhood Books

Sarah Sammis — 11 May 2008 15:52 PST

This week's challenge comes from Samantha who asks us to write about our favorite childhood books.

With two young children of my own I've been spending a lot of my reading time reading my old favorites to them. In turn I blog about the books I read. Rather than write a lengthy post about books I remember reading, I'm going to list the books I have reviewed on my blog.

Arm in Arm by Remy Charlip
Fortunately by Remy Charlip
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming
The Boy Who Wanted to be a Fish by Le Grand
Manhattan is Missing by E. W. Hildick
The Lion's Own Story by Crockett Johnson
Mouse Soup by Arnold Lobel
Mouse Tales by Arnold Lobel
Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel
Small Pig by Arnold Lobel
Uncle Elephant by Arnold Lobel
Jane of Lantern Hill by L. M. Montgomery
Pat of Silver Bush by L. M. Montgomery
Animals That Live in the Sea by National Geographic
The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit
Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit
Little Lost Puppy by Margaret Glover Otto
The Best First Book Ever by Richard Scarry
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Ebb-Tide by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne
The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
Commander Toad and the Voyage Home by Jane Yolen

weekly geeks | books | meme

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Ghost Cat

Sarah Sammis — 10 May 2008 21:58 PST

Ghost Cat by Beverly Butler takes its inspiration from "Annabel Lee", Edgar Allan Poe's last poem. The young protagonist is named for the ill fated girl in Poe's poem and while staying with relatives she barely knows, Annabel Lee dredges up memories of a 40 year old feud.

While Poe may have been the starting point for this mystery, the book reminds me most of Be Buried in the Rain by Barbara Michaels but aimed at a younger audience. Although I enjoyed the 40 year old mystery and the ghost story bits, the family tension at the farm dragged the pacing of the book down.

The biggest problem with the book is Annabel herself. She's not a well defined character. Her only point seems to be to dredge up the past to bring closure for her family. Since she is mostly a plot device, she doesn't make an interesting enough character to tell the story. Her grandfather who actually knows what is going on is a far more fascinating character but he can't be the narrator since he knows too much. Butler's set up started with the plot painted into a corner.

books | childrens | fiction | beverly butler

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Deserts

Sarah Sammis — 10 May 2008 20:33 PST

After our trip through the Oregon bit of the Great Basin Desert, Sean wanted to learn more. We checked out Deserts by Seymour Simon from our local library.

The book has beautiful full-color photographs. The book is short, only 40 pages but has enough information for young readers to learn the basic facts about the desert environment, where they are in the world, what makes a desert, what sorts of plants and animals live there and what the climate is like.

Sean found the information on the deserts here in California and Oregon the most interesting because he has actually seen them. He also liked the information about the Sahara because he has studied that desert in school.

Read the reviews at Nehouse, Learning Adventures Curriculum.

book | nonfiction |childrens | sean | seymour simon

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Traitor

Sarah Sammis — 09 May 2008 22:59 PST

The sixth story in the May issue of FSF, "Traitor" by M. Rickert and it's the second story by her I've read. I preferred "Don't Ask" to "Traitor."

"Traitor" is basically a mood piece set in a near future or alternate reality America where the environment is shot and terrorism is common place.

Half of the story is told from Alika's point of view, a child who seems too happy for the hardships she and her "mother" are enduring. The second half is told in a disembodied fashion by Pauline who hints at the truth behind her relationship with Alika and her plans for the child.

It's a rather sobering look at how adults can take advantage of children and the effects of war on society.

Read the reviews at The Fix, The Worm Seat.

fantasy science fiction magazine | fiction | short story | m rickert

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Something Borrowed Wrap-up

Sarah Sammis — 09 May 2008 22:11 PST

Now that the week is over Dewey asks that we write up our reactions to the Weekly Geek Challenge. This week's challenge was to link to other blogger's reviews. I went through all the participants' blogs and found reviews we had in common. I have already linked to their reviews and will continue to search for blog book reviews for all my future reviews.

Since I started doing the linking to the reviews I've noticed a sizable jump in my daily traffic and in my number of blog subscribers. Both are up by about a third. Also the response I've had from readers has been very positive.

With all of that in mind, I plan to continue Dewey's challenge well into the future. All new reviews will have a link to another review if I can find one. I am also slowly working my way through my archives to add links to the reviews I've written. With almost 800 reviews on this blog, this project will take me a while!

weekly geeks | books | meme

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Good Omens at Puss Reboots

Sarah Sammis — 09 May 2008 12:13 PST

It's Friday and time to sum up the ways that people came to my site in the past week.

The top 10 searches of May 2-8:

"good omens" pussreboots:
I reviewed Good Omens on December 10, 2007.
graffiti alphabet a to z:
Back in 2006 I did an A to Z series of letter drawings in Photoshop. If you are specifically looking for graffiti fonts, check out Graffiti Creator. (Down from #1)
tt_ boynton site:pussreboots.pair.com:
This means Thursday Thirteen and Sandra Boynton. I've used her books in a number of my Thursday Thirteens: February 27 2008 and February 13 2008. (Up from #3)
under the sea pictures:
I have a themed gallery of digital art pieces I've done. (Up from #6)
Myanmar:
There was a devastating cyclone that hit Myanmar earlier in the week. I have not blogged about it but you can see my 2005 post, "Myanmar, Not Burma..."
"the boy who wanted to be a fish":
See my October 20, 2007 review of Le Grand's book.
friedrich buechner our greatest desire world's greatest need:
I haven't blogged about anything close to this search string. I have mentioned Friedrich Nietzsche in the Cult Books post. Trish recommended Godric to me by Friedrich Buechner but I haven't read it yet.
"a church of her own" review:
I reviewed A Church of Her Own by Sarah Sentilles on May 8, 2008. I am giving away my review copy on May 11th.
"cross of lead" jew
I reviewed Crispin: The Cross of Lead on April 30, 2008.
"flight of the goose"
Flight of the Goose is on my wishlist but the publisher of the book is sending me a copy. I will be reviewing it and giving it away in the near future.

search | logs | traffic

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A Church of Her Own

Sarah Sammis — 08 May 2008 16:41 PST

A Church of Her Own by Sarah Sentilles is part memoir and part look at the struggles women face when they decide to become priests or ministers.

The book is divided into three main parts: Vocation, Incarnation and Creation. Vocation covers the why behind woman choosing ministry even in the face of the on-going sexism in the different sects and denominations. Incarnation looks at how women ministers are scrutinized for their bodies, their dress, their makeup (or lack of it). Creation finally looks at the art of being a minister and a woman.

Since sexism is such a wide reaching problem for women who feel called to ministry, Sentilles spends a lot of the book deconstructing gender roles and talking about gays, lesbians and transgender ministers. Her discussion of gender against the bible, church traditions and modern beliefs in America is where the book really comes into its own.

A Church of Her Own starts slowly. The first few chapters are rather dry but it picks up and stays interesting to the end. When I finished the book I was angry for the women who have put up with such outrageous behavior from their colleagues and congregations.

If you are interested in reading this book, I am giving away my review copy on May 11th. To enter, please read the rules and then leave a comment on the original post. Comments left on this review will not count as an entry.

Read the reviews at Clever Title Here, Viva La Feminista, Wordcandy Bookshelf.

Learn more about the author by reading her blog.

books | nonfiction | contest | sarah sentilles

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Treasure

Sarah Sammis — 08 May 2008 16:41 PST

When I need a mental vacation like to travel with Dirk Pitt. I haven't read all of the series and what I've read hasn't been order but I still enjoy the books. My most recent read was Treasure (1988).

Treasure has all the usual adventure story stuff: buried treasure, sunken treasure, espionage, kidnappings, car chases, and so forth. In the Dirk Pitt novels there are typically two different plots: the A plot being whatever word crisis NUMA somehow has to fix and the B plot where NUMA is actually looking for treasure and basically doing its real job. I like both parts but I prefer the treasure hunting aspects of it (I'm the same way with Indian Jones too).

Since I enjoy the treasure hunt bit most, I always skip the prologue where the treasure is lost. I don't like going into the adventure knowing more than the NUMA crew. I only go back to read the prologue after I've finished the book.

In Treasure the treasure in question is tomb of Alexander the Great and the remains of his famous library. Meanwhile a trio of power hungry brothers have turned to terrorism to bring down the governments of Mexico, Egypt and Brazil bringing Senator Pitt into the fray.

How all these things come together is silly. It's fun. It's completely over the top. Think James Bond at his silliest and multiply it by two. So if you're looking for a serious adventure story, look elsewhere. If you're looking for escapism, I highly recommend treasure.

books | fiction | dirk pitt | clive cussler

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Winner Announced for Peace: 50 Years of Protest

Sarah Sammis — 08 May 2008 10:24 PST

I am pleased to announce the winner of Peace: 50 Years of Protest by Barry Miles. The winner is Ann. I will be mailing the book to her on May 16th.

If you would like to learn more about the book, please read my April 4th review.

I still have a number of book giveaways going and more to announce in the next few weeks. The current set include:

A Church of Her Own by Sarah Sentilles Rules and info | Enter here (Contest ends May 11)
Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson Rules and info | Enter here (Contest ends May 17)
Dark Summit by Nick Heil Rules and info | Enter here (Contest ends May 21)
The Road from La Cueva by Sheila Ortego Rules and info | Enter here (Contest ends May 26)
The Open Brand by Kelly Mooney and Dr. Nita Rollins Rules and info | Enter here (Contest ends June 6)

books | nonfiction | contest | barry miles

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Mercury and Venus

Sarah Sammis — 07 May 2008 22:32 PST

Sean has been learning about the solar system at school. He suggested checking out Mercury and Venus by Robin Kerrod to learn more about the two inner planets.

The illustrations are the best part of Mercury and Vensus. They are mostly maps and photographs taken from the various scientific missions that have been sent there.

The book covers the basics of both planets, their days and years and how both compare to earth, Mercury's geology, Venus's atmosphere and surface and how it is being changed over time.

Like Under the Microscope: Insects, there was almost too much information presented for casual reading. I think in a few years when Sean is older he'll be able to go back and further enjoy this book but for a kindergartner, the book is slightly too long.

books | nonfiction | childrens | robin kerrod

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Gross Books

Sarah Sammis — 07 May 2008 12:41 PST

Thursday Thirteen is doing a vacation theme this week. We're supposed to come up with a gross list. Here are 13 books that are potentially gross. Your mileage may vary.

1. How Do You Go the Bathroom in Space? by William R. Pogue
2. Blood Matters by Masha Gessen
3. Gregory III by Marc Hempel
4. Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man by Tim Allen
5. Flush by Carl Hiaasen
6. Blind Will, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami
7. Velocity by Dean Koontz
8. The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl
9. Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs
10. The Great Ringtail Garbage Caper by Timothy Foote
11. Gag by Lovechild
12. Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo
13. Underground London by Stephen Smith

thursday thirteen | books

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The Lost and Found

Sarah Sammis — 06 May 2008 20:35 PST

Sean, Harriet and I know Mark Teague's work through his collaboration with Jane Yolen on the How Do Dinosaurs? series. So when I saw The Lost and Found written and illustrated by Mark Teague, I snatched the book up to add to our collection.

In The Lost and Found, Mark Teague creates a wonderful alternate world where all the lost and found things go. The way into this magical world is, of course, through the lost and found bin. Thematically then, Teague's book is like Attic of the Wind except less sappy.

The story follows three explorers: Wendell, Floyd and Mona who go in search Mona's lucky hat and find their own luck and friendship along the way. As Mark Teague is an illustrator, he only tells half the story in the text. The remainder is told in his whimsical and slightly retro illustrations.

books | fiction | childrens | mark teague

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Win Open Brand

Sarah Sammis — 06 May 2008 18:18 PST

I am pleased to announce a new book giveaway: The Open Brand by Kelly Mooney and Dr. Nita Rollins.

The contest runs from today through 11PM Pacific time on June 6th.

If you are interested in winning this book, please leave a comment on this post. The comment must include in at least two sentences your reason for wanting to read the book. Just leaving your name or "enter me" (or similar) will not count. This blog uses "do follow" in all links so if you have a blog, please include your URL. The contest is open to any country where the United States postal service sends packages. I will mail the book out to the winner on June 16, 2008.

If you want a second chance to win the book, blog about the contest. Just let me know that you have.

I will contact the winners via email on June 6th and announce the winners publicly as soon as I have verified their mailing addresses. The winners have 72 hours (3 days) to respond with a mailing address. If the winner does not respond within that time a new winner will be picked.

One entry per person / IP Address.

Here is an article explaining the book:

O.P.E.N. for Business: The future of branding in a web-made world

This article is excerpted from The Open Brand: When Push Comes to Pull in a Web-Made World, by Kelly Mooney and Nita Rollins, available March 2008. See www.theopenbrand.com for more information.

If you're still clinging to the comforts of the brand-made world, maybe you didn't get the memo (or the IM...or the text message) about the web-made world. The web-made world has turned the brand-made world on its ear. It's less controllable by brands and more creatable by consumers. Consumers own this space; brands are only visiting. That is, unless they engage richly, deeply and meaningfully with the new online consumers who are now running the show...

The open source software movement was the first indication that our consumerist society would not be conducting business as usual online. New behaviors—creating, sharing, influencing—are becoming widespread enough to blur forever the roles of producers and consumers, everyday and elite icitizens, traditional authority figures and the new truth tellers and taste makers.

Consumers are no longer satisfied simply to shop online but desire the multifaceted relationships with brands that they have with each other. Faced with wholly new patterns of social influence, the growing ineffectiveness of traditional advertising—not to mention reconciling the social aspect of the web with e-commerce—marketers are in need of fresh strategic direction.

Get O.P.E.N.
In a web-made world, "open for business" doesn't mean what it once did. In fact, it now means "never closed." But we think today's brands need to go beyond the traditional hours-of-operation and instead hang out a sign that proclaims them to be truly O.P.E.N.

Before the internet, consumers had little say in, or influence on, product development, merchandising or marketing—they had almost no way to interact with companies. Today, consumers have the web as both amplifier and audience, and are eagerly sharing their thoughts about products and brands through a wide range of user generated content tools, from ratings and reviews to blogs. Marketing money still talks, but now so do your consumers—to you, to each other, to the whole web-made world.

O...is for On-demand.
Today's consumers want—and often get—whatever they're seeking "right now." The timeline of desire to decision to purchase to acquisition is now condensed to a fraction of the old standard, fostering an immediate, intimate connection between brands and consumers. This is particularly true for e-commerce brands if they want to capture the hearts and wallets of today's quicksilver consumers.

P...is for Personal.
Not all old-school brand learnings should be tossed aside: In fact, now, more than ever, brands need to make a personal connection with consumers.

Just as it was before the web proved itself a serious channel for brand-building and sales, the online landscape remains the province of the people, not companies. People online leave behind traces of their unique personalities, preferences and behaviors, both through passive clicking and surfing, and active partici-pation and sharing. These vast realms of identifiable, unique individuals negate the old idea of target markets broadly bucketed by age, gender, income or education level. That's why, to be open, a brand must get personal—not with one market of many but with many markets of one—building relationships through constant consumer dialogue and effective cross-channel profile management that bring the brand closer to each consumer's real-time needs, wants and expectations.

E...is for Engaging.
Brands once competed for consumers' mindshare by pushing out mass market messaging they thought would appeal to their audience. Now, that audience has taken the stage, and brands must share the spotlight with creative consumers whose long tail of personal narrative, niche expertise, and mixed media productions can make a standard TV spot look static and self-absorbed. Marketers must develop content that is immersive, participatory and relevant in order to earn a place in the social web and consumer conversations. The old days of pushing pre-made marketing and advertising out to a broad demographic are gone. The new game in town provides fun and easy tools for online users to pull, and then produce, the experiences they're seeking.

Interactivity is key to deepening consumers' emotional connection with a brand, so open brands must provide meaningful and engrossing experiences that foster consumer relationships online—and off.

N...is for Networked.
A single consumer has exponential brand potential when she goes online. She has a potential lifetime value, as she always has, but she also has viral value as she engages with her various online communities. Open brands become part of social networks by marketing to the niche of communal consumers who interact with other, like-minded consumers online. Though niche marketing is hardly new, the exponential network effect of online world of mouth marketing is. So the more the brand works the network, the more the network works for the brand.

Why O.P.E.N.?

The future of branding is open. Brands that ignore this reality do so at their own peril. It is an unstoppable movement acknowledged by no less than A.G. Lafley, CEO of Procter & Gamble, the largest mass marketer of our times. Lafley challenges: "Consumers are beginning in a very real sense to own our brands and participate in their creation. We need to learn to begin to let go."

The open brand is first and foremost an advocate of consumer participation—leveraging the power of communities and networks and inviting the consumer to influence the brand and co-create its future. It seeks often chaotic progress over carefully controlled perfection and makes room for consumers in the decision circle.

While some of today's top brands may continue to succeed by staying their current marketing course, it's only a question of time before the chinks develop into full-blown fissures. The closed brand will be overwhelmed by the passionate, powerful consumer who wants her brands open or not at all.

Are you dangerously closed?

Some features of a great brand will never change. These include sharp, distinctive design. Carefully packaged messaging and carefully messaged packaging. Innovative products that meet the needs of a changing audience and brand experiences that have lasting emotional resonance with consumers—a sense of belonging, where ownership is membership.

But for today's consumers, community-by-brand-association is not enough. Now, before, during and after a product purchase, consumers are engaging directly with each other through blogs, ratings, reviews and other interactive forums. They're sharing opinions, riffing off of each other's creativity, and seizing control of the messages that brands once generated and propagated. The internet is fast replacing brands as the portal to membership in coveted communities; as a result, products are at risk of becoming mere accessories of, rather than the keys to, belonging.

For brands to survive this relationship shift, they need to engage with this new breed of tribal, online consumers on their own turf by creating, supporting, supplying, inspiring and fostering those communities that have the closest affinity to their brand experiences. In other words, get open.

Copyright © 2008 by Resource Interactive

About Resource Interactive
Resource Interactive is one of the nation's preeminent digital marketing agencies, helping Fortune 500 companies thrive in the evolving internet economy with award-winning digital strategy, creative and technology solutions. Known for its revolutionizing consumer insights, leading edge interactive design and technological innovation, Resource Interactive is ranked among the top twenty independent interactive agencies in the nation.

Unique in the industry as female-founded, owned and operated, Resource Interactive has grown over its 25-year history from its first marketing relationship with Apple to ongoing partnerships with clients such as Procter & Gamble, Hewlett-Packard, Wal-Mart, The Coca-Cola Company, Victoria's Secret, Sherwin-Williams and L.L. Bean, among others. For more information, visit www.resource.com.
Authors
Kelly Mooney has been a consumer-centric marketing innovator for 20 years, and is President of Resource Interactive. She co-authored The Ten Demandments: Rules to Live by in the Age of the Demanding Consumer (McGrawHill, 2002) -- one of the first marketing books to showcase the consumer's perspective. A popular blogger, frequent keynote speaker and expert commentator, her perspectives have been covered by media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune, Inc., Fast Company, USA Today, Time Digital, People, CNN, CNBC, CNET, CBS's "The Early Show," Nikkei Business (Japan), Vente à Distance (France), and Capital (Dubai).
Dr. Nita Rollins is a multidisciplinary thinker and Innovation Consultant in the Resource Interactive R&D Lab. She is the author of Cinaesthetics: The Beautiful, the Ugly, the Sublime and the Kitsch in Post-Metaphysical Film (2008), and of articles for Design Management Journal, New Design (UK), Innovation: The IDSA Quarterly, Internet Retailer, Cinema Journal and Wide Angle. She earned her Ph.D. in Critical Studies from UCLA's Department of Theater, Film & TV, and has served as Research Fellow at the University of California Humanities Research Institute and the University of Paris III.

books | nonfiction | contest | kelly mooney | nita rollins

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Thrilling Wonder Stories

Sarah Sammis — 05 May 2008 22:17 PST

The fifth story in the May issue of FSF, "Thrilling Wonder Stories" has made me realize that Albert E. Cowdrey is my least favorite of the magazine's regular contributors. I liked "The Recreation Room"; I tolerated "The Overseer" and I hated "Thrilling Wonder Stories."

Once again Cowdrey's story takes place in New Orleans. This time it's set in the sweltering summer of 1950 as hinted by the inclusion of "Mona Lisa" sung by Nat King Cole. Cowdrey seems to be trying for a Stephen King type story ("The Body" comes to mind) but he doesn't pull it off.

The story is told from Farley's point of view. He's a teenage thug in an unhappy family and he knows his mother's husband isn't his father. Farley is convinced that his father is a man from Mars but the truth is much more mundane than that. This story tries for the clever ending of "The Recreation Room" but it's too little too late. All that really happens is an unhappy boy from an unloving home evolves into a cold blooded killer.

Thankfully the story was only about twenty pages but I still feel like I wasted my time reading it.

Read the reviews at Jason Sanford, aethercowboy, Damien G. Walter.

fantasy science fiction magazine | fiction | short story | albert e cowdrey

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Upcoming Reviews for the Week of May 5

Sarah Sammis — 05 May 2008 10:27 PST

Last week I got caught up with my reviews so this week will be back to the usual one per day.

This week's selection will have many reviews from the May issue of F&SF, a number of nonfiction books aimed at elementary school readers and some mysteries.

I will also be reviewing and giving away A Church of Her Own by Sarah Sentilles. The contest ends on May 11th.

Upcoming reviews include:

"Thrilling Wonder Stories" by Albert E. Cowdrey
Mercury and Venus by Robin Kerrod
Lost and Found by Mark Teague
Treasure by Clive Cussler
A Church of Her Own by Sarah Sentilles
"Traitor" by M. Rickert
Deserts by Seymour Simon
Ghost Cat by Beverly Butler
City of Light by Lauren Belfer
"Circle" by George Tucker

books | pussreboots | reviews | blog

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