Deep Thoughts - Macmillan Library

#Libfaves13 – Your Favorite Books of 2013

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Anne Spieth

This week, librarians everywhere are sharing their favorite 10 reads from 2013, counting down from #10 to #1 on Twitter with the hashtag #libfaves13. Join them or sit back and watch the fireworks!

UPDATE 12/11/13: The votes are in and Macmillan has 4 books on the Librarian Favorite 2013 list!

1. ELEANOR & PARK by Rainbow Rowell
2. FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell (also the September #1 LibraryReads pick!)
8. HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN by Louise Penny (also the September #2 LibraryReads pick!)
10. (tied) THE HUMAN DIVISION by John Scalzi

View the full list of winners here. Thank you to everyone who voted!

Here's a look at some of the Macmillan-nominated favorites throughout the week:

If you’re a mere marketer (like us) join us by listing your 2013 faves on Twitter using hashtag #libmktgfaves13.

Happy reading and happy sharing!

[...]

Know More...

Cooking & Crafting 2013 – WRAPAGAMI

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Anne Spieth

wrapagami 5 Who's going shopping this weekend? We are, too. If you don't have a good hiding spot for your gifts, why not wrap them right away? Better yet, wrap them creatively without paper or tape! In WRAPAGAMI, Jennifer Playford shows you how to wrap boxes, bottles and even odd-shaped items like dishes and cookie tins (Anne's excited about that one). It's eco-friendly and depending on the fabric you use, can serve as two gifts in one (ex: a scarf wrapped around a jewelry box).

Today, Anne's going to demonstrate a wrap that most of us should find very useful: the Single Book Wrap. She didn't have extra fabric lying around the house but found that a dish towel worked perfectly well for this example (Gift idea: kitchen gadgets wrapped in a dish towel! See how easy that two-in-one idea is?).

Read on for the step-by-step instructions and don't forget that you can enter for a chance to win WRAPAGAMI and other crafting and cookbooks!

[...]

Know More...

Cooking & Crafting 2013 – Hanukkah Eats

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Anne Spieth

While many people are preparing for Thanksgiving this week, others are ready to celebrate Hanukkah, which starts this Wednesday. To celebrate, Anne made Yukon Gold and Sweet Potato Latkes and Cider-Glazed Root Vegetables from THE NEW JEWISH TABLE by Todd Gray and Ellen Kassoff Gray to share with all of you.

Enjoy! And don't forget that you can enter to win a copy of THE NEW JEWISH TABLE and other cooking and crafting books (see details after the recipes).

[...]

Know More...

“Every Book Its Reader” Vol. 3

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Anne Spieth

Dear Reader,

Our adventure has come to an end. Our favorite book has been recovered and we’ve passed it on to one of our favorite librarians and she recommended it to her favorite reader. And the lesson learned here is that Macmillan’s Library Marketing team has the book you’ve always wanted to read!

Vol. 2
Vol. 1

Every Book Its Reader, Vol. 3 [...]

Know More...

Happy Halloween 2013!

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Anne Spieth

You know who loves ya!

[...]

Know More...

“Every Book Its Reader” Vol. 2

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Anne Spieth

Dear Friend,

The book we so desperately wanted to recommend to you has escaped! And we’re now on the hunt for it among the wilds of the trade show exhibit hall... (In case you missed it – here’s where our misadventures began...)

Unshelved comic 2
[...]

Know More...

“Every Book Its Reader” Vol. 1

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Anne Spieth

“Every Book Its Reader.” -- from S.R. Ranganathan’s The Five Laws of Library Science

Dear Friend,

How does a book find its way into your hands and heart?

If you’re a librarian, your first stop is Macmillan’s Library Marketing team – a department of two highly skilled book addicts trained in the dark arts of reading, recommending and match-making. But how do we actually pair the “right” book with the “right” reader? Thanks to our pals at Unshelved, here’s the very first installment of a behind-the-scenes look at how we do what it is we do... Stay tuned to see what happens next! (Vol. 2 now available here.)

Unshelved comic 1

[...]

Know More...

Monday Fun Day with MR. PENUMBRA’S Unofficial Fan Club

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Anne Spieth

Good afternoon, friends! Today we have a special treat for you. We were so pumped when we saw Preservation Librarian Craig Fansler tweet a photo of the MR. PENUMBRA'S 24-HOUR BOOKSTORE exhibit at the Z. Smith Reynolds Library that we had to do more than just re-tweet it. We immediately wrote to Craig (the clear leader of the "Unofficial Robin Sloan Fan Club" at ZSR Library) and asked him our most burning questions about how this awesome display came to be:

Mr. Penumbra display

[...]

Know More...

9/11: Twelve Years Later

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Anne Spieth

Today is a painful day in our national history as we remember the tragic events of 9/11. There is a saying that "time heals all wounds" and while the truth of that statement may be up for debate, we can agree that time brings us insight and knowledge:

102 MINUTES: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers
by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn

At 8:46 am on September 11, 2001, 14,000 people were inside the twin towers. Over the next 102 minutes, each would become part of a drama for the ages. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with rescuers and survivors, thousands of pages of oral histories, and countless phone, e-mail, and emergency radio transcripts, New York Times reporters Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn tell the story of September 11 from the inside looking out.

A HISTORY OF THE WORLD SINCE 9/11: Disaster, Deception and Destruction in the War on Terror
by Dominic Streatfeild

Acclaimed author and journalist Dominic Streatfeild traveled across the world for years in pursuit of answers for this stunning collapse of international law. The results of his search form the most fully realized study of the war on terror yet written. Piercing reportage blends with sobering human drama, woven into eight narratives of how our world went wrong after 9/11.

THE 9/11 REPORT: The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
by Thomas H. Kean, Chair, and Lee Hamilton, Vice Chair; With analysis and reporting by The New York Times

A New York Times Notable Book of 2004, this complete edition of the 9/11 Report by the independent 9/11 Commission examines what happened that day, the lessons we learned and provides recommendations as to how we can prevent future attacks.

[...]

Know More...

Monday Fun Day! (9/9/2013 Edition)

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Anne Spieth

Our weekend involved authors & kittens.

What more is there to life, really?

Talia attended local bookstore events for Louise Penny (HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN) and Wilton Barnhardt (LOOKAWAY, LOOKAWAY) at Flyleaf Books and McIntyre's Books. All were smash hits as you can see from the standing room only pictures.

Meanwhile, Anne hit the Rockaways and found kittens living under the boardwalk. She (of course) wanted to take all seven of them home that instant! Fear not! a neighborhood kitten wrangler is keeping an eye on them. Phew!

We hope your week is off to a good start!

[...]

Know More...