World Book Night Giveaway

Tomorrow is World Book Night  and I was chosen to be a book giver. I have 24 copies of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak to distribute to people in my community. The books are given away free of charge and are designed to be passed on from one person to another. Each book has a unique tracking number so that the journey of the book can be traced to see where it ends up. 


'World Book Night is a celebration of reading and books which sees tens of thousands of passionate volunteers gift books in their communities to share their love of reading.1,000,000 books are given out in total - half of these are donated directly to hospitals, prisons and care homes, and the other half go to the Givers to distribute amongst individuals in their communities.'
- WorldBookNight.org


As my blog is such a huge part of my life and a community I love being a part of, I could not overlook all you wonderful people who read my blog. So I have decided to hold a giveaway. If you would like to take part, please fill in the Rafflecopter form. You can enter by leaving a blog comment telling me what your favourite book is. You can also tweet about this giveaway and 'like' the World Book Night Facebook page to gain extra entries. There will be one winner and they will be chosen at random on the 25th of April at 8pm. 


I absolutely loved reading this book which is why I chose this book to give away. It is a thought provoking novel which produces tears as well as laughter. I cried on the last page of this book, not because it was sad but because it was finished. Here is the blurb from the book . . . 


HERE IS A SMALL FACT - YOU ARE GOING TO DIE 

1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier. Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall. 

SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION - THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH 

It’s a small story, about: 
a girl 
an accordionist 
some fanatical Germans 
a Jewish fist fighter 
and quite a lot of thievery. 

ANOTHER THING YOU SHOULD KNOW - DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES

Listography - Top 5 Cook Books

The theme for Listography this week is the top 5 cook books. In our house, the sign of a good cook book is one that you struggle to read because the pages are stuck together or there are stains on most pages. Here is my top 5 . . .

1. My Daddy Cooks - yes I talk about it a lot! I love this book so much. I got a signed copy from Nick when I met him at Cybermummy last year and it was well worth it. I cook from it several times a week.

2. Jamie's 30 minute meals - this is where it all started for me. A year ago, I couldn't cook at all. Short of heating things up in the oven or stirring in a sauce, I was pretty much useless! I got this book for Christmas and decided to Jamie Oliverise my kitchen. I bought lots of new utensils using the list from this book and cluttered up my worktops with spices and condiments. It worked and now I cook most of my meals from scratch, not a ready made pizza in sight!

3. Jamie's Ministry of Food - I love this book. For a person like me who is nervous about opening a cookbook because I have so little knowledge this book is the answer. No complicated recipes, good hearty, family food. 

4. Nigella's How To Be A Domestic Goddess - This was one of the very first baking books I bought. I have always been better at baking than cooking and this book was right up my street. My favourite recipe from this book is and always will be her chocolate brownies. It's like eating heaven from a spoon!

5. Netmums Recipes - I am kind of breaking the rules here as this is not a book but I couldn't not include it as it is my 'go to' place when I want to know how to cook something. It's where I have found my Beef Stew and Dumplings, Chinese 5 spice with honey salmon and my lentil and ham hock soup recipe but to name a few. This site is great as it's recipes are posted up by busy, skint mums like me who are looking for ways to feed their family healthy and tasty meals for as little money and time as they can. You can go to the search facility and type in an ingredient, let's say salmon for example. It will then bring up all the member's recipes they have with salmon in it. There is also notes at the bottom where users review the recipe or add a variation to the recipe.

This post is linking up to Kate Takes 5's Listography linky

Noisy Engines - 32/366

Sssh! I'm engrossed in my book about Noisy Engines. Do Not Disturb!

Book Worm - 7/366

Reasons 2B Cheerful

I was feeling a little bit grumpy today. I think that I am getting annoyed with myself at the moment because I seem to be searching for something but I don't know what I am looking for. I am in a bit of a state of flux. I was having a bit of a moan about it on twitter today when Michelle from Mummy from the Heart reminded me of her fabulous link up. So here I am with my reasons to be cheerful this week.

                                                                                    1. Fate

We got a reasonable offer on the house today. It's only been on the market for 2 weeks! It's a bit of a miracle that the only viewer that we have had appears to be the right person for the house!

2. Holidays 

My hubby is now off for the summer until the schools go back (and me to work!) in August. We are going to my Dad's in the Czech Republic for a week on Sunday. When we get back, we will have a fortnight at home then we are off to Florida for 2 weeks. The Florida holiday has been planned for a long time (pre- JC). Hubby's parents own a timeshare and we are going with them, hubby's sister and cousin so there will be plenty of us to occupy JC on the flight!

3. Books

I am getting that fire in my belly to read again. Since I got my Kindle for my birthday I have read about 6 books. It's difficult to find the time and I really must try to go to bed earlier! I love lots of different genres but vampire and supernatural fiction is one of my favourites. A fellow blogger and vamp fiction lover over at SusanKMann has recommended some fab books to keep me going until my next Twilight instalment.

Right, I am feeling a bit better about things now. Thanks for the reminder Michelle!

Check out Michelle's other entries here . . .

12/365 Book Worm

Image Courtesy of Barefoot Books

I've been to the library with JC a few times for the Baby Rhyme Time classes but never to purposefully look at the books. He loves books and as I am a keen reader, I love to encourage his interest. I took him along to our local library today to register for his very first library card. He enjoyed having a wee rummage through the books and we picked 6 baby board books to take home. He also liked being in the library as it's a really inviting and comfortable place. Lots of beanbags and cushions to crawl over.

I thought I would take this opportunity of a book related to post to mention something which I am working on.I am trying to raise money for the charity CrossReach who run a Post Natal Depression service in Edinburgh. I am also an ambassador for Barefoot Books which produce wonderfully original books for children. I am combining both my interests and for the next year I am going to try and sell as many Barefoot Books as I can through my online marketplace and the profit I make over the next year will be going straight to the charity.

So please pay a visit to my marketplace

Not only are Barefoot Books beautifully written and illustrated they are also fabulous for exploring diversity and issues that effect our planet. 2 of the books I borrowed from the library were Barefoot Books and I had picked them for JC and I didn't notice who had published the books until I got home. I hope you enjoy them as much as me and JC do.

The Best Things in Life are Free

Sorry it's late! I've been so busy the past few days that I haven't had time to write this post.

Listography this week is Simple Pleasures. The small things that brighten my day and give me a feeling of contentment and happiness.

1. Belly Laughs - I really enjoyed being in the company of people who make me laugh so much that my sides ache, I can't catch my breath and I resort to snorting. I am well known for getting the giggles especially in the loo after a few wines.

2. Snuggles - You can't beat a good snuggle. My favourite snuggling companion is my dog Kaiya. She smells like buttered popcorn and she always makes me feel loved. She is my best friend.

3. The Sound of Water - I've always like the sound of the sea and running water. I find it naturally relaxing. I focussed on this when I was in labour and I was all Zen like.

4. Untouched Snow - My favourite landscape. I love the snow but I hate being the first person to ruin it by walking on it. Usually my four legged babies get there first as they love it even more than I do!






5. The Smell of Books - I nearly dragged my sister Kate into a bookshop in Edinburgh because I could smell them from outside the door. It's a weird fascination but I make no apologies for it. There is something about the smell of a book that takes my imagination on a journey. Where has this book been, who has touched it, how many readers have loved it and where will it take me? I was reluctant to get a kindle for this very reason but although I now love my Kindle, it will never replace my love of a 'real' book.

Listography - Children's books

JC is too young yet to have much of an input into the books we read. He mostly wants to chew them! I do let him have a rummage around with the numerous books we have but I wouldn't say he has a favourite as yet. I am/was a primary school teacher and before I went on MAT leave, I worked with P2 so I am familiar with children's books. Here is my top 5 list . . .

1.
The Gruffalo - I love how the mouse outwits the Gruffalo in this story. I like the David and Goliath message in this story. It doesn't matter how big or strong you are you can still scare a Gruffalo.




2.
Giraffes Can't Dance - A rhyming story about a giraffe who doesn't feel like he fits in because he can't dance. His friends all laugh at him trying to dance but once he realises that he just has to find the right music there's no stopping him.

3.
Chicken Licken - Although I notice that the more modern editions of this book have changed to a more positive ending. I prefer the old edition where the sky does fall down!

4. A Wee Book o Fairy Tales in Scots - I am Scottish and I love our language. I think that it's important to keep it alive and that my children all understand and enjoy stories in Scots. This is a book of popular fairy tales that have been translated into Scots.







5. The Rainbow Fish - A beautifully illustrated book. It has a lot of bad reviews by people who think it's message is that you can buy your friends (the fish gives away his sparkly scales to make friends). I don't think that this is a negative message because I think that friendship does take work and requires you to give something of yourself. In our class we sing a song which has a line 'love is something if you give it away, you end up getting more'. I think that is a lovely message.