#BookBday Bonus: THE SHELF

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We've got another special Book Birthday this week: THE SHELF: From LEQ to LES: Adventures in Extreme Reading by Phyllis Rose.


Can you have an Extreme Adventure in a library?
Phyllis Rose casts herself into the wilds of an Upper East Side lending library in an effort to do just that. Hoping to explore the “real ground of literature,” she reads her way through a somewhat randomly chosen shelf of fiction, from LEQ to LES.


Praise for THE SHELF:

“A seasoned, open-minded, and passionate reader, inquisitive thinker, and delectably lucid and witty writer, Rose rallies readers to affirm our love of literature and libraries.”   Booklist, starred review  

“Rose's...understanding of readers and reading is candid and sincere.”
  Library Journal

“Rose’s experiment provides specific case studies to use in weighing the age-old question: which books are worth keeping? For skeptics of the canon, this book will make the cut.”   Publishers Weekly

“Chatty, enthusiastic and at times rambling, Rose is a welcoming guide on her latest journey of literary discovery.”   Kirkus Reviews

 

To celebrate the publication of THE SHELF, we’re offering librarians a chance to win an entire shelf of books from Macmillan (including THE SHELF) to those of you that are “extreme” enough to try Phyllis’s experiment!

Simply select a shelf of adult books in your library according to the specified guidelines:

  • No more than five books by the same author on the shelf
  • The selection must include a diversity of authors
  • The selection must include classics and modern work
  • Children’s books are not eligible

Take a picture of the shelf and send it to us with a report about the books you read on your shelf. The report should include detailed summaries and your thoughts on each book one or two sentences won’t count! And please remember that Children’s books are not eligible for this project.

Email your reports to library@macmillanusa.com with the subject line “The Shelf Project.” 

The sweepstakes is open from May 13 through November 14 and prize shelves of books are limited to the first five responders.

Update 7/28/14: Our first submission is in from super reader/librarian Jennifer Winberry of Hunterdon County Library, Flemington NJ!
Read her Shelf report here.
See?! You can do it, too!

We know we’re asking for you to do a lot of reading, but we also know that librarians are expert speed readers. We hope you have an extreme adventure in your library and perhaps you’ll add a nice collection to your stacks. Good luck!