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Nowadays, you can do almost everything online, whether it is shopping for clothes, buying food, online banking or reading the news. Also, buying books online and reading them instantly was never a possibility before. When you wanted to get yourself some amazing new story to read, you usually had to travel down to your favourite book store and endlessly browse for a book there. However, this is no longer necessary as this process has been so much facilitated through the internet over the last couple of years, that now, everything is about ebooks.

It is so easy. You simply have to register on the online bookstore where you want to shop, browse through the online book shelves and finally buy and download your preferred ebook. What is even more attracting is the fact that there is also a choice of free ebooks available online.

For example, the romantic Eat, Pray, Love ebook by Elizabeth Gilbert is available for free. Consequently, you are not only rewarded by free bestseller literature, but also by a free guide of how to enjoy life. If you are not so much into romance, maybe another choice out of the huge selection of ebooks might do it for you. What about the exciting and hooking story of Stieg Larsson with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo ebook? If you like this edition, you will also like the other volumes by Stieg Larsson, such as ‘The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest’ or ‘The Girl Who Played With Fire’. All three editions deal with the ‘wanted’ woman Lisbeth Salander and two Millennium journalists who are trying to expose the truth about sex trafficking in Sweden, (political) corruption and murder. Can’t get enough of this? Just download the electronic format of Stieg Larsson’s amazing stories, store them on your little Kindle device, take it anywhere you want and enjoy these stories at any place at any time.

Yes, it is really that easy!

This guest post is sponsored on behalf of Skoob.com

The Book Cover

Title: Lovely Knits for Little Girls: 20 Just-Right Patterns, Just for Little Girls
Author: Vibe Sondergaard
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 978-1600855030
Pages: 144
★★★

Synopsis:

(Taken from Amazon.com) While project books for making baby knits abound, what happens when your little cherub turns two? Lovely Knits for Little Girls solves the problem beautifully, with twenty patterns for pint-sized vests, dresses, sweaters, and skirts—all brimming with pretty, girly details. Forget about baby-weight yarn, tiny needles, and fussy patterns for clothes that are quickly outgrown. For Lovely Knits, knitwear designer Vibe Sondegaard creates a bright, stylish, little-girl wardrobe of fabulous projects that knit up quickly and allow knitters plenty of opportunity for trying a few design tricks (cables, bobbles, lace patterns) on a manageable, kid-sized scale. Best of all, the pattern shapes size up or down easily (with back of book instruction on doing just that), making this collection versatile enough to use again and again.

Review

I guess this will just be a mini review as there isn’t much to talk about in regards to a knitting book. While I loved the overall look of the book and as a photographer I appreciated the pictures, I just don’t think it was awesome. For a knitting book, it is average.

Lovely Knits for Little Girls is supposed to be a book on lovely knits for little girls. Well, honestly, little girls really wouldn’t want to wear anything in this book. There wasn’t a single item of clothing that I could look at and think, “Yes, this would make a lovely gift for a little girl.” I really didn’t like anything. The items looked fine in the photos, but in real life, that may be another story.

Another thing is that this book requires seaming and it seemed rather complicated extra step for such basic looking patterns especially since you can get a lot of patterns that knit seamless on Ravelry.com. The cloths aren’t really stylish, at least in American terms of what style is. This looks more like a book geared towards a grandparent, in which they think their child wants to wear.

If you have found this review because you are looking for adorable knits for little girls, I recommend the following links/designers.

• Elizabeth Daugherity of Sweet Monkey Baby
• Georgie Hallam of TikkiKnits
• Tina Good of SugarBubbie
• Melissa Simpson of DaKine Knits
• Nicole Ratliff of DaKine Knits
• Carina Spencer of CarinaSpencer.com
• Marilyn Porter of Evie Pants
• Claire Gentry of CiaoBellaBaby

These designers mentioned have created, in my opinion, the just-right patterns for little girls. I do not feel the book Lovely Knits for Little Girls comes close.

I hope this will be a regular thing over the summer and not just a one time thing!

Click HERE to participate in Wordless Wednesdays.

Carli in Our Home Garden

If you have participated in Wordless Wednesday on your blog, please fill out the link collection below.

STOP

Dear Authors,

Hi. I wanted to thank you in advance for thinking about me when you want your book reviewed. I am glad that my opinion matters. But, if you don’t hear back from me, it’s probably for a variety of reasons. Let’s take the example below. (I have posted the email in whole, minus names.)

I am very happy to announce my blog tour starting May 17th for [book title removed]. My email is [email removed]
I have a web site at [website removed] and I have a fan page on Facebook. I am also on twitter
@[twitter removed]
I will be very happy to have interviews if you are interested. Please let me know.
Have a wonderful week and happy reading!
[name removed]

Forget what you learned in elementary school (Grammar/Spelling/Punctuation)

Believe me. It is not optional. While I am not a stickler for perfect grammar (I am often grammatically incorrect), I do expect it to be readable. There is no excuse for spelling errors as we live in the digital age of spellcheck. Punctuation is not that difficult. Don’t forget periods, commas, and appropriate spacing. When I am sent jumbled emails filled with spelling, typos, and lack of punctuation I often think, “An author? Are they kidding me??!” I won’t waste my time trying to hurt my head reading it.

Fail to Know Your Blogger’s Interests

What kind of books does the blogger like to read? Does your book fit in that bloggers enjoyable genre’s? If not, why do you think your book would be the exception?

Make it Impersonal

When you email a blogger, it is probably wise to find out what their name is. “HI” or nothing, is not acceptable. My name is Allison and it says it on my sidebar. Please use my name as it makes me feel like you took the time to actually look at my website before pitching your book. Take the extra few minutes and read a few of the blog entries and comment on them, too. Make reference to them in your emails.

Represent Yourself

I am all for supporting self-published authors as that is something that I am working on in the future (a company that will open in 2013). But when you represent yourself, it just doesn’t feel right. Hire a public relations representative to pitch for you, as they often know exactly what to say. Or, at least, make up someone and pretend to be a PR person. Having someone appear to do the pitching for you, makes your work all that more impressive.

Expect Free Advertising

Forget to Tell the Blogger About the Book

A Title is not enough. Do not forget a professional synopsis. I don’t want to judge a book on its title alone. When you are pitching a blogger to read your book, it needs to catch their attention. A title without a description does not work.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read.
• Open to a random page.
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page * BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

To the Nines by Janet Evanovich (ISBN: 978-0312991463)

Synopsis: (Taken from Amazon.com)

Teaser:

“My grandmother is a little Cuban woman who cooks all day and speaks Spanish. Your grandmother watches pay-per-view porn.”

“She used to watch the Weather Channel, but she said there wasn’t enough action.”

Gotta love this series! <3

May 15th 2012 – May 21st 2012

• From What I Remember… [Hardcover] – Valerie Thomas (Author), Stacy Kramer (Author)
• Gilt [Hardcover] – Katherine Longshore (Author)
• Bad Girls Don’t Die: As Dead as it Gets [Hardcover] – Katie Alender (Author)
• Code Name Verity [Hardcover] – Elizabeth Wein (Author)

There was this book that I read over and over again as a child. I must have been 6-8 years old and it was a children’s chapter book. I was thinking about how much I would love to read that book again, and read it to my girls but the thought occurred to me — I do not remember the title of the book or the author.

Not the actual illustration.

What I do know is that the book belonged to my father so estimated publish date was in the 1950′s. It was a hard back chapter book, although I do not remember the color of the actual book.

The book centered around two friends, both boys. They lived close to each other on separate farms (or a large plot of land) and had a mutual appreciation for a tree that was somewhere in the middle of their properties. They loved this tree and spent a lot of time playing on and around it.

The book goes through each season and there is a threat that new construction will tear down the tree. That  makes them very concerned. The book ends with the boys, now grown up and with families of their own, at a park. The tree that they loved has a fence around it, preserved.

That is pretty much what the book was about — friendship, and a single tree. I loved reading it because it showed how the tree changed through out the year. I read it so many times and loved it. I let a friend borrow it to read and she never returned it.  I have asked my Dad if he can remember the title of the book, but he cannot.

If you are a book junkie — do you know the book that I am talking about? Can you please help me find out what it was called and who wrote it. I would really love to find a copy for my home.

The Book Cover

Title: Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard
Author: Jessi Bloom
Publisher: Timber Press
ISBN: 978-1604692372
Pages: 224
★★★★

Synopsis:

(Taken from Amazon.com) Many gardeners fear chickens will peck away at their landscape, and chicken lovers often shy away from gardening for the same reason. But you can keep chickens and have a beautiful garden, too! Fresh eggs aren’t the only benefit — chickens can actually help your garden grow and thrive, even as your garden does the same for your chickens.

In this essential handbook, award-winning garden designer Jessi Bloom covers everything a gardener needs to know, including chicken-keeping basics, simple garden plans to get you started, tips on attractive fencing options, the best plants and plants to avoid, and step-by-step instructions for getting your chicken garden up and running.

For anyone who wants a fabulous garden where colorful chickens happily roam, Free-Range Chicken Gardens is the guide that will bring the dream home to roost.

Review

I have been debating having backyard chickens for a while. I was torn between a few ducks, or some chickens. We had ducks in our “backyard” at the apartment and they would often come to our porch to greet us for food. I don’t know why, but I really love birds. I knew that when we moved to the house (where we live in the ‘woods’ pretty much and have a HUGE backyard) that I would want to actually have ducks, or chickens.

It is this book, Free-Range Chicken Gardens, that sealed the deal on having chickens instead of ducks, though. The book is filled with amazingly beautiful pictures of backyard gardens in which the chickens are free-range. To me, these gardens look like heaven! They have a certain oasis feel, that is for sure. Imagine the great eggs that come from a happy and healthy chicken vs commercial caged chickens.

But it’s not just pictures, but incredibly useful information. We, as potential chicken owners (or just readers),  are presented with images with a few popular chicken breeds with some descriptions. Bloom helps us decide which breed is best for us (we decided on the silkie, by the way.) The silkies are docile and friendly and are great for children. But there are many varieties and no two families are exactly the same in specific chicken needs. While some are more for pets (as silkies are), some are more for meat, and some for eggs.

Free-Range Chicken Gardens is not just a book about gardening, but also a really in depth guide to raising chickens AND creating a garden habitat that would be both beautiful and beneficial for free-range chickens. I was incredibly impressed with this book and will definitely look to it often when deciding what to place in our own backyard habitat.

If you are in to sustainable living/homesteading, then I definitely recommend this book. Free-Range Chicken Gardens has dual purpose — information AND pictures. A book that you can keep on your coffee table, fit this selection into your green home as soon as possible.

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