Once a year, everybody in Allegheny County is invited to read and think about the same book, courtesy of the One Book, One Community initiative. This year you’re invited to experience Cami Walker’s 29 Gifts: How A Month of Giving Can Change Your Life. The official One Book website is filled with information that can enrich your reading experience via book club kits and discussion questions, related readings and resources on the themes of kindness and civility, and other ways to get involved, which will be updated as the official start date approaches.
The Eleventh Stack blog team has decided to participate in this countywide celebration of goodwill and bonhomie by giving away a gift every weekday for the next 29 days, starting tomorrow, February 1, 2o11. At the end of each blog post, you will be prompted to leave a comment that reflects on that day’s essay. A random winner will be chosen each day, and if it’s you, you’ll receive an e-mail with details on when/where to stop by and choose your prize.
Yes, I did say choose. The blog team has assembled a prize closet of cool stuff for you to pick from, which includes:
- copies of popular books, DVDs, and books on CD
- $5.00 Crazy Mocha gift cards (good at any CM location)
- $10.00 pre-paid fine cards (good at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh locations)
- handmade items crafted by library workers and library supporters
- fashionable black and gold “Pittsburgh Protect Your Library” tote bags
- other whimsical surprises as we think of them
We’re even assembling a special prize package for the person who wins on day 29, just in case “the good stuff” is already gone. (It’s all good stuff, but who likes to choose last? Nobody–that’s who.)
The only things we ask of you in return are:
- Be an Allegheny County resident. We love our expatriate readers, but postage is a wee bit dear these days.
- Include your e-mail address with your blog comment. (Otherwise, how can we tell you you’re a winner?)
- Add the e-mail address eleventhstack at carnegielibrary dot org to your list of approved senders. (So any mail from us doesn’t end up in your spam folder.)
- Tell us what’s on your mind when you comment! Responses like “Awesome, dude” make us feel warm and fuzzy, but don’t really help us become better writers.
On an even warmer, fuzzier note, February 2011 marks the third full year the Eleventh Stack team has been blogging for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. When we started the project, we had no idea whether or not this method of communication would be a good way to reach out to our community. Over 170,000 visits and 9,400 click-throughs to the catalog later–not to mention the lovely, thoughtful comments you’ve made–we can tell that you really, really like us.
Of course, that makes us want to work even harder to demonstrate–via our sometimes serious, sometimes silly, but always heartfelt, essays–just how much the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has to offer. Your attention to, and continued support of, CLP is a great gift. Please stick around and allow us to continue to give back in our quirky, writerly fashion.
Leigh Anne
who would take you all out for milk and cookies, except that it’s been done
Eleventh Stack 