Bibliophile Goodies! (aka the post-holidays giveaway)

It’s a day later than planned (I thought yesterday was Sunday pretty much the entire day; probably not the best start to the new year!), but it’s time for the giveaway! Right before Christmas, Cafe Press (self-described as: the online destination for custom hoodies, personalized t-shirts and funny Valentine’s gifts!) e-mailed me, asking if I’d be interested in doing a giveaway of their merchandise on the blog. After consulting with my Twitter friends (to make sure it wouldn’t be too corporate sponsor-ish), I decided it’d be great fun! Think of it as a post-holiday treat. :D Essentially, I got to create a few ‘sets,’ each worth $60. I also was able to choose $60 worth of merchandise to receive myself, in order to let y’all know about the quality. As you can see, my selections have arrived: here I am doing my best Vanna White (somehow, I don’t think Wheel of Fortune will be calling me)!  The tee shirt is adorable and wonderfully soft; in fact, my sister immediately tried to claim the shirt for herself. The colour is softer than I was expecting from the online photos: it’s not as light as it appears in this photograph of me, but it is a good two shades lighter than how it looks on the website on my laptop. The size chart was spot-on, which is a relief! The fabric itself is a good weight: not so thick it’s stiff but not so thin that it shows every bump underneath. I’m definitely delighted with my new shirt. As for the travel mug, the ceramic has a good weight to it; it feels like quality. I tested the lid’s ‘spill-proof’ qualities by filling the mug with water and turning it upside down. A few drops spilled out when I had it quite steeply angled, but that was it; I held it entirely upside down for a good thirty seconds without seeing any water. Sitting in my car’s cup holder, going over potholes and speed bumps, there were no leaks. I’m impressed with its design, from both aesthetic and practical perspectives. I also received a little pin that says ‘read a book’: it matches the picture online perfectly and opens and closes easily. I’d never ordered anything from Cafe Press before, but I’m definitely impressed with what I got, and I think either the tee or the mug would make marvelous gifts if I had $25-$30 to spend. As a bonus, you can see from my demonstration in this photograph that both shirt and mug are conducive to running in an attempt to make it in the frame before the self-timer goes off (heehee):

So now you want to win your own goodies, right?! I’ve put together three themed sets for you to choose from. First up is for the general book-lover:

You’ll receive a ceramic travel mug with the definition of ‘bibliophile’, a tote bag with the quote “I cannot live without books”, a journal (perhaps for tracking your TBR list?) featuring a books cover, with your choice of ruled, blank, or grid pages, and a little pin/button saying “I like big books and I cannot lie.”

I couldn’t resist pulling together a set for Jane Austen lovers! Included is a Persuasion coffee mug with a quote from the best love letter of all time: “You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. F.W.” *sigh* There’s also a 2011 wall calendar featuring original line drawings inspired by Pride and Prejudice, a tote bag with Jane Austen’s name in various fun fonts, and a 11″ x 17″ poster full of Austen-inspired girl power.

And of course, I had to celebrate libraries! My love for libraries is quite deep, so the only difficulty with this set was narrowing down all the options. If the winner chooses this one, she’ll have a few other choices to make, depending on whether she prefers a library-user or librarian perspective. But either way, it definitely includes an organic fitted tee (there’s also a men’s version; both include a variety of colour options) with a tattoo-style I Love My Library motto and package of 8 postcards with an old-school library checkout card print. It will also include a tote bag: either I Love My Library or Worship a Librarian. Depending on the colour of the shirt chosen (some colours cost a few more dollars than others), the winner will then get to choose two or three buttons/pins to show their library pride: Catalog This, Let There Be Librarians, Librarian: the Original Search Engine, , Take Me to Your Library, , Library Chick, Card Catalogs are Old School, That’s How I Roll, and/or Shhh.

Finally, I thought it only right that I include my own selections as a set! ;) I went with the Bibliophile t-shirt (it comes in three colours: yellow, pink, or mint), a travel mug with the Louisa May Alcott quote “She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain.” and a cute line drawing of a woman reading, and a mini-button that says Read a Book.

Aren’t there so many marvelous choices?! I had such fun searching through all of the options for sale: this represents the tiny percentage of what’s on the site. Now for the fine-print as to how to actually enter. The giveaway will be open for ten days, and then one entrant will receive the set of their choice. So even though there are a few options, there will only be one winner. Since Cafe Press ships internationally, you can enter the giveaway no matter where you are. I don’t like the ‘jumping through hoops’ approach to giveaways, so I’m going to keep entering simple: leave a comment on this post telling me your favourite reading/book-ish accessory. Do you collect bookmarks, or is a pot of a tea essential to your reading experience? (I have to say, I got new slippers for Christmas, and now I have to be wearing them when I curl up with a book in order to feel really cosy.) In addition to telling me your favourite accessory, make sure you’ve included a link to your book blog: you must be a book blogger in order to enter. (You can be a new book blogger or an established one, a daily kind of poster or more sporadic, talking about any kind of books, as long as you have a blog whose main focus is books, you’re good.) And of course, tell me which set you’ll be choosing if you’re the lucky winner! The contest will close on January 14th, midnight central time, and I’ll draw the winner the next day. In sum, each comment must include: the link to your book blog, your answer re: favourite reading accessory, the set you’re hoping to win, and your e-mail address (WordPress already asks for this, so just be sure to enter the one you’d like me to contact you at). Got that? Then have at it!