April 2011
77 posts
“A good vocabulary is not acquired by reading books written according to some notion of the vocabulary of one’s age group. It comes from reading books above one.”
—J.R.R. Tolkien (via shonelikethesun)
Some People Like Poetry.: Have I shared MY favorite poem yet? There are many, but I always loved... →
hmhpoetry.tumblr.com
Have I shared MY favorite poem yet? There are many, but I always loved “The Garden” by Ezra Pound. When I was in high school, we had those incredibly classy tiled ceilings, that rained asbestos, and that you could pop a square out of with one flick of your finger. For art projects we used to turn…
‘Lord of the Rings’ Extended Editions Coming Back To Theaters This June →
slashfilm.com
The three week event begins on June 14 with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition), continues on June 21 with The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Extended Edition) and concludes with the Best Picture winning The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Extended Edition) on June 28th 2011. That’s also the same day the extended edition blu-rays come out in stores.
Would SHUT UP! be the wrong response to this? Hello June 28!
“After giving birth to my first child 2 years ago, it is amazing how many “must have” items for parents are plastic. Bottles, toys, bath tubs, spoons, bowls, the list goes on and on. It’s a constant struggle NOT to add new ones. Definitely trying to reduce my reliance on them, but it’s not an easy task. Particularly for a working mom because so many decisions are based on convenience.”
—Elizabeth from GA
“In the summer of 2008, I participated in a SEA Semester summer program in which we sailed on a tall ship research vessel from Honolulu, Hawaii to San Francisco, California. My team’s project was to analyze plastic density along the cruise track. We sailed right through what is now so commonly known as “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch” and it was incredibly eye-opening…mostly because we DIDN’T see an island of garbage. We found a plastic soup, which to me was even more terrifying. From then on, it has been my mission to reduce my use of non-essential plastics and to advocate for a refusal and reduction in single-use plastic items.”
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Ryan from VT
How soon after you wake up do you touch something plastic?
For people like me who rely on a cell phone to rise and shine, I think the answer is about 0.02 seconds. Hm. For more info, check out PLASTIC: A Toxic Love Story by Susan Freinkel.
“I am an RN on a busy oncology floor. I am appalled at the plastic waste I am forced to generate each day, from gloves to IV tubing - it is depressing to think of how much plastic I have to throw away every minute of every shift.”
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Karen from Jaffrey NH
“We eat out about 1-2 times a week and I often only eat half of my meal (too big of portions). I got tired of all the plastic I was bringing home from the take-out containers. While I can recycle them, I felt I could do better. So, I now have a small reusable bag that I keep in my car with ~3 GLASS containers (enough for both me and my fiance). Whenever we eat out, I bring the bag in with me and say “no” to take-out boxes. It’s liberating and inspiring to others (friends have made comments at how cool it is).”
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Lane from OR
What is your plastic MVP? Glasses? Cell phone? Medical equipment?
It’s not all bad! For more info about our intense and multi-layered relationship with this revolutionary substance, check out PLASTIC: A Toxic Love Story by Susan Freinkel.
“How many pieces of plastic are within arm’s reach of you right now?”
—The answer may surprise you, and there could be even more plastic lurking where you least expect it. (Chewing gum? Ew.) For more info, check out PLASTIC: A Toxic Love Story by Susan Freinkel.
Plastic in Daily Life
This Earth Day we’re taking a hard look at plastic use around the office, in light of the new nonfiction we’ve all got our noses in, PLASTIC: A Toxic Love Story by Susan Freinkel. Check in for some of the questions you should ask yourself to reevaluate your relationship with this amazing, frustrating, life-saving, destructive material.
Oh, and you should enter to win our plastic-free green swag bag, too.
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More freebies!
Remember, you can still enter to win collections from each of the eight poets featured on the blog this month. For more info, click here.
Enter here! Do it.
Master of Disguises by Charles Simic
Old War by Alan Shapiro
The Needle by Jennifer Grotz
Displacement by Leslie Harrison
The God of Loneliness by Philip Schultz
American Rendering by Andrew Hudgins
The Common Man by Maurice Manning
Woods and Chalices by Tomaz Salamun
Celebrate National Bookmobile Day and win The Time Traveler's Wife! →
regal-literary.com
Enter for your chance to win a set of Audrey Niffenegger’s works through Regal Literary.
“Regal Literary is giving away, with the support of Harcourt Houghton Mifflin and Abrams Publishing, 25 copies each of Audrey Niffenegger’s Her Fearful Symmetry, The Night Bookmobile, and The Time Traveler’s Wife.
All you have to do is complete this statement in 140 characters or less: “I love my library (or bookmobile) because….” We’ll pick 25 people at random, and then deliver the books to your library or bookmobile!”
Earth Day Plastic-free Prize Pack
“We take natural substances created over millions of years, fashion them into products designed for a few minutes’ use, and then return them to the planet as litter that we’ve engineered to never go away.”
Susan Freinkel is talking about plastic, the substance we have come to rely on more completely than any other synthetic material ever produced. In light of her perspective-altering revelations about our plastic consumption, we at HMH are celebrating Earth Day with a Plastic-free Prize Pack! Enter our sweepstakes for your chance to win a copy of the book and a starter kit for living green, with a tote, food containers, water bottle and more all made from sustainable materials. Plus, it’s all pretty cute, too. Scroll down for a complete listing of prize pack items.
The Sweepstakes ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on April 25, 2011. One winner will be picked in a random drawing.
While you’re at it, share your plastic story with us—ways in which you are helping to reduce/reuse the plastic in your life, the one plastic item you can’t live without and why, the number of plastic items you touch in an hour, your favorite eco-friendly item, etc. Participation is not required to enter the sweepstakes, and your response may be used for marketing purposes.
View the full terms and conditions here.
The Earth Day Plastic-free Prize Pack includes the following eco-friendly items:
- One copy of Plastic: A Toxic Love Story by Susan Freinkel
www.susanfreinkel.com - One Plastic Pollution Coalition Reusable Water Bottle
item generously donated by Buy Green
www.BuyGreen.com
- One June Fifteen Cotton Canvas Reusable Bag
item generously donated by June Fifteen
www.june15collection.com
- One Sanctus Mundo Stainless Steel Oval Bento Lunch Box
- One Sanctus Mundo Stainless Steel Airtight Watertight Food Storage Container
- One Sanctus Mundo Stainless Steel Hot Meal Container
- One Sanctus Mundo Square Airtight Glass Container with Stainless Steel Lid
all items generously donated by Life Without Plastic
Life Without Plastic is committed to educating about the plastics issue, and features an Earth-friendly on-line boutique specializing in the healthiest, high quality, ethically sourced alternatives to plastic for everyday use.
http://LifeWithoutPlastic.com
Blog: http://www.LifeWithoutPlasticBlog.com
Twitter: @LifeWoutPlastic
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LifeWithoutPlastic
- One ReBinder Professional Recycled Binder
- One RePlay Recycled Cardboard CD Case
- One ReWrite Recycled Notebook
all items generously donated by ReBinder
ReBinder, the maker of recycled binders, cardboard cd sleeves and other zero waste office products
Twitter: @ReBinder
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rebinder
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Some People Like Poetry.: Telephone sales rep Emily Holden would win best dressed if we had... →
hmhpoetry.tumblr.com
Telephone sales rep Emily Holden would win best dressed if we had office superlatives (we should TOTALLY have office superlatives). She’d also win best taste in wall art. Her favorite poem?
“Emily Dickson’s “If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking” – my mother’s friend made her a wall hanging of…
An afternoon with Tim Wakefield
Marketing manager and blogger Hannah Harlow shares her experiences from Tim Wakefield’s book signing.
As a native New Englander, I was born a Red Sox fan and will die a Red Sox fan. So it was a real thrill to get to meet Tim Wakefield yesterday when he came to Barnes & Noble at the Prudential Center to sign copies of his new memoir, Knuckler. I’ve been telling people that if they already like Tim Wakefield, the book will just make them love him more. I suppose the same could be said of meeting him. He was gracious and kind, shook everyone’s hand that came up to get a book signed, posed for countless pictures, and signed so many books we began to worry about tiring his right arm out on a game day. (But I suppose if he can throw the knuckleball night after night, signing his name a couple hundred times is just a drop in the bucket, right?) As one person I was talking to summed it up, “He’s a real gentleman”—and you can’t say that about just any professional athlete anymore.
Thanks to all the fans who came out and waited in line, and if you missed the event yesterday, Tim will be signing next on April 30 at the BJ’s in Weymouth.
More events listings, an excerpt, reviews, and links can be found here (www.hmhbooks.com/knuckler).
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