The Book Blogger Hop, a weekly event hosted by Jen at Crazy For Books, is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word!
Post about the Hop on your blog. Spread the word about the book party! The Hop lasts Friday through Monday. If you don’t have time to Hop today, come back later and join the fun! Each week there is a new discussion question for your post. This week’s question is:
“What is your favorite book cover?”
This is not as easy an answer as I thought it would be. I don’t have one favorite book cover. I like artsy covers without a lot of big bold words. When I thought about it there are two types that will always catch my eye.
Nature scenes: landscapes, trees, animals, birds.
And science fiction covers with planetscapes and space ships like the artwork of Chesley Bonestell. My all time favorite cover is an album cover: Dark Side of the Moon. Just thought I’d throw that in.
No Hope for Gomez! is turning one and next week author Graham Parker is throwing a party. Today he’s stopped by Under My Apple Tree to tell us about it:
“No Hope for Gomez!” Birthday Party. Win kindles, iPods, and get free books!
| “It’s the age-old tale: Boy meets girl. Boy stalks girl. Girl already has a stalker. Boy becomes her stalker-stalker.” |
It’s hard to believe, but it’s been a year since I handed in the final proofs for my weird little book ‘No Hope for Gomez!’ To celebrate this, and the fact that it just became a finalist in 2010’s Best Book Awards, I decided to throw an international party. As I’ve had a debilitating fear of throwing parties and no-one showing up since early childhood, I’d be more than delighted if you’d come!
Of course, with every cool, international party comes a gift bag. Here’s just some of the stuff attendants will get:
- Exclusive short story collection
- No Hope for Gomez: The Lost Chapters
- Making of Gomez: behind the scenes eBook
- Signed hi-res poster + bookplate
(These are all exclusive items and will not be available again)
Additionally, several lucky attendants will win a Kindle or an iPod!
Oh yeah, you can bring as many friends as you like, just don’t bring your crazy uncle who drinks too much and then tries to get me to go to the attic with him to see something wonderful. I’ve fallen for that before and I don’t mind telling you, I came away very disappointed!
Find out how to attend HERE.
The turkeys don’t like to stop and pose for photos. They are always running away. The faster I chase after them the quicker they move.
Photo taken at Cantigny Gardens, June 2010.
More Wordless Wednesday.
Keep The Change by Steve Dublanica
A Clueless Tipper’s Quest to Become the Guru of the Gratuity
Genre: Non-Fiction, Social Science
Published: November 2010 by HarperCollins
Pages: 320
Rating: 4 of 5
Ever feel clueless about tipping? Who gets a tip and who doesn’t? How much should you leave? Lately it seems like tip jars are popping up everywhere, creating tipping anxiety for a large number of Americans. I include myself in that group. I know to give my hair stylist, waiter, tax driver and bartender a tip, but what about the barrista or the fast food worker? How about the guy at the car wash, or my auto mechanic? And how much do I give the delivery person? What do I do about the holidays? Whew.
Steve Dublanica has made a book about tipping interesting and entertaining. He traveled the county doing research observing, interviewing and even working with people in a multitude of industries where tipping is a significant part of the worker’s income. Written in a humorous, witty and engaging style, it’s as if he was chatting with me, telling me stories and at the same time explaining the ins and out of tipping.
He begins with a brief history and explains, for better or for worse, how it became such a large part of the American economy. He goes on to interview a wide assortment of workers including waiters, bartenders, hair stylists, spa workers, doormen, valets and casino dealers. Want to know who’s cheap and who’s generous? They will tell you. The valet doesn’t want to see the Lexus pull up, they tend to give bad tips, but the guys driving big trucks give big tips. Do you tip your auto mechanic? It might be a good idea to do so. A little money spent now will get your car in and out of the shop faster the next time it breaks down. There are different types of tipping as the book will explain. There are tips as rewards, tips as a gift and those to ensure better service.
There is a lot to learn from this book. Some of the suggestions I was already practicing. I don’t like to use valet parking because I’m fussy about my car. When I do use the valet I tend to tip up front so my car gets a safe parking space and not double parked somewhere. And you don’t even want to know what one valet did to a habitual cheapskate. I didn’t know to tip the pet groomer and while I tip delivery people such as the pizza guy I didn’t know to tip the furniture delivery men. The few times I’ve played blackjack I didn’t realize I should tip the dealer. Maybe that’s why I got separated from my money so quickly. There is also an entire chapter on tipping in strip clubs, phone sex workers and prostitutes. Interesting, but not something I’ll ever use!
The author is a former waiter and it shows in the way he presents the information. There is a darker side to the industries that make their workers earn their pay through tips and he does an excellent job of exposing that. Many of these people are paid so little by their employer that on a bad day when tips are scarce they will make less than minimum wage per hour.
Keep The Change is more than just a guide to tipping although it is very useful in that regard alone. It’s also a commentary on the tipping system in the US and why tipping won’t be going away any time soon. Once you understand how employees dependent on tips for their income are compensated or, in some cases not, by their employer you realize that the tip is their income and part of the cost of the service. In the end, if you can’t afford the tip you can’t afford the service.
I recommend this book for a good inside look at tipping in the service industry told by people who have experienced the work. Plus, it’s an enjoyable and entertaining read.
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Source: Review copy from the publisher.
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I participate in Book Review Party Wednesday. Click the link to find more great reviews.
Mailbox Monday is touring through blogs. For the month of November it will be hosted by Knitting and Sundries. Next month the tour moves to Let Them Read Books where it will be hosted for the month of December.
Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week.
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New books that came into my home last week:
Three Seconds by Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom. An ARC from the publisher as part of Barnes & Noble’s First Look early reviewer discussion group.
Piet Hoffmann is the best undercover operative in the Swedish police force, but only one other man is even aware of his existence. After a drug deal he is involved in goes badly wrong, he must face the hardest mission of his life – infiltrating Sweden’s most infamous maximum-security prison.
Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor. An ARC from the publisher for review.
Desperate to salvage her son’s reputation and restore him to health, Lady Anne Oldershaw employs her own agent – John Holdsworth, author of The Anatomy of Ghosts, a controversial attack on the existence of ghostly phenomena. But his arrival in Cambridge disrupts the uneasy status quo. He glimpses a world of privilege and abuse, where the sinister Holy Ghost Club governs life at Jerusalem more effectively than the Master, Dr Carbury, ever could.
Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell was a contest win.
Dr. Peter Brown is an intern at Manhattan’s worst hospital, with a talent for medicine, a shift from hell, and a past he’d prefer to keep hidden. Whether it’s a blocked circumflex artery or a plan to land a massive malpractice suit, he knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men.
The Red-bellied Woodpecker is a year round resident in my yard. This medium-sized woodpecker can be found in the eastern half of the United States. They prefer the tall woodland trees but can be enticed to backyard feeders with offerings of suet or peanuts.
This female is often in my yard. I was potting some plants to bring in for the winter when I heard a loud yelp from the walnut tree and seconds later there she was at the feeder scolding me because it was empty. She has very distinctive calls, a cha-cha-cha or rolling kwirrr sound. Once you are familiar with it the bird is easy to find.
You can tell this is a female by the lack of red feathers on the top of her head. The male has an all red cap and juvenile birds have no color on their heads. People always want to call this bird a red-headed woodpecker, but that’s a different bird. If you look real close you can see a small patch of red feathers on her belly, which is how she got her name.
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I’m participating in Saturday Snapshots this weekend. Head on over to At Home With Books to see more great photos.
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Weekend Birding is cross-posted on LadyMin’s Garden.
Thanks to Hachette Books I have 3 copies of How Music Works by John Powell to give away to my readers. I’m reading this now and will have my review posted soon.
Description from the publisher.
How Music Works by John Powell
The Science and Psychology of Beautiful Sounds, from Beethoven to the Beatles and Beyond
Category: Music, Non-Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publish Date: Novemberr 2010
Pages: 272
What makes a musical note different from any other sound? How can you tell if you have perfect pitch? Why do 10 violins sound only twice as loud as one? Do your Bob Dylan albums sound better on CD or vinyl? John Powell, a scientist and musician, answers these questions and many more in HOW MUSIC WORKS, an intriguing and original guide to acoustics. In a clear, accessible, and engaging voice, Powell fascinates the reader with his delightful descriptions of the science and psychology lurking beneath the surface of music.
About The Author
John Powell holds a PhD in physics from Imperial College at London University. He has taught physics at the University of Nottingham and the University of Lulea in Sweden. In 2003, he earned a master’s degree in music composition from the University of Sheffield in Great Britain.
How to enter the Giveaway:
- Contest is open to US addresses only, no PO Boxes. Contest runs through December 12th.
- To enter leave a comment.
- For an extra entry promote the giveaway by posting a link on your blog, sidebar is ok, or tweet on twitter. Include the link in your comment.
- Max 2 entries.
I will draw 3 random winners on December 13th. Be sure to leave an email address so that I can contact you if you win. Winners will have 48 hours to respond with a mailing address.
Under My Apple Tree 