Reading Cats

We have a winner!
Actually because all cats think they are the winners, we decided that we couldn't choose between them! So, Molly has won the bottle of Library Wine, Charlie has won a book of his choice and Joe won a book to be mailed out since he was a long distance winner (from DC!).

Thanks to all contestants and owners! We know of at least three more cats who are disappointed their owners didn't enter them into the contest. 

Well bred, well read contest finalists

It's been very difficult to pick the winner of this month's Well read, well bred photo contest. We need your help. Vote (comment) for your favorite photo by August 8th if you want it to win.

This is Molly reading Garfield.

This is Charlie reading Meowmorphosis.

This is Joe, dreaming of his wild Scottish cousins.

Catch your cat reading!

There is a week left to submit a picture of your cat reading.
Entries may include photos or drawings/pictures of your pet or another.  Don't forget that our next contest will be a photo/entry of any pet, especially considering the dog days of August.
One of our entries is reading Garfield:

See Official Rules

Photo contest

Photo contest - - another chance to win a book and a bottle of summer wine!
Don't forget to submit a great photo of your cat reading!!
Official Rules
Must be 21 years of age or over to win the library wine.

The book that he has made renders its author this service in return, that so long as the book survives its author remains immortal and cannot die. Richard de Bury 1281-1345 Philobiblion

And we have a winner!

Brandy took a few moments away from reading Hamlet to pose for a photo for the "Well Bred, Well Read" contest.
Congratulations to Barb for submitting the winning photo. She wins her choice of books from the prize tower and a bottle of library wine!
Thanks for participating Barb!

Our next contest is ready to go! Get your cameras and cats ready...

June Photo Contest

New Friends contest: We are still looking for new wine tags for the Rochester Public Library wine. Wine tags are the eye-catching  bling that complement the library wine labels. Creative entries will be considered for future wine labels as well.
Topic: "Well Bred, Well Read!" Submit a photo of your cat for a chance to win a bottle of library wine and a book of your choice off of our prize shelf. Deadline: June 30, 2011. (July's contest will be a well-read pet of any kind - horse, turtle, goat, etc.)
Must be 21 years of age to enter this contest. See official rules.

Speaking of Library Wine... it's still for sale at Andy's Liquor stores. For every bottle purchased (at $9.99)  $1.50 is donated to the Rochester Public Library. You can also get a case discount! (That's 12 bottles of great labels - mix and match.)

Literary Contests

After a successful contest series last summer we’re continuing a literary theme. New contest kickoff: We are looking for new wine tags for the Rochester Public Library wine. Wine tags are the eye-catching bling that complement the library wine labels. Creative entries will be considered for future wine labels as well.

Topic: “Well Bred, Well Read!” Submit a photo of your dog for a chance to win a bottle of library wine. Deadline: May 27, 2011. (June’s contest will be a well-read cat.)

Must be 21 years of age to enter this contest. See official rules.

Speaking of Library Wine… it’s still for sale at Andy’s Liquor stores. For every bottle purchased ($9.99) a $1.50 is donated to the Rochester Public Library. You can also get a case discount! (That’s 12 bottles of great labels – mix and match.)

In July we will be having a contest for summer beach reads. This will be a chance to win a free ticket to an ice cream social on Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at the Plummer House. Details will follow.

Friends' Bookstore

Instead of a Second Saturday Sale, the Friends' Bookstore is holding an Open House with cookies on Saturday the 9th October.
We will also have a Best of the Bookstore selection of books for sale. Please join us.

Mark your calendars for the 22nd of October when the Friends will also have a coffee morning to thank all the Friends and volunteers for their efforts throughout the year. We will also have a contest with prizes for people to dress as their favourite literary character or author. Come join the fun. Being a Friend has its advantages!!

Fall into a Good Book - Contest

It's time for another exciting literary contest!
Fall into a Good Book
The weather is cooperating. There are bushels of new books in both the library and the Friends' Bookstore just waiting to be read. Fall is a fabulous time to lose yourself in timeless novels or non-fiction. Reveal your Autumn reading through literary leaves.
Remember, a picture is worth a 1000 words.

Deadline to submit your photo is October 8th.

Ready your thinking caps for the spooky October contest on favorite thrillers or mysteries.


Official Rules:
All entries must be electronic and emailed to: friendsbookstorerochmn@gmail.com

All entries will be posted on the Friends and Friends’ Bookstore Blog where positive comments will help determine the winning entry.

Photographs must be original and all winning individuals must agree to sign a release form for publication within our newsletters and social media sites.

Winning entries may be published in newsletters and posted on our social media sites and displayed in the Library/Friends’ Bookstore. Winner(s) may remain anonymous if they so choose.

The content of the entry must be suitable for viewing by an audience of all ages.

No more than one entry per person per contest.

Only one prize per entry.

The prizes consist of donated books; a variety of children’s, young adult, fiction, non-fiction, etc. will be available to choose from. Every effort will be made to find a book of the winner’s choice.

If your entry contains any copyrighted material the entrant will be responsible for securing the licensing rights and giving appropriate credits.

A qualified panel will review all entries and decide the contest winners.
Each entry will be graded on the following criteria:
1. Quality of entry – style, content, and enthusiasm
2. Does the entry relate to the topic?
3. Creativity of entry
4. Blog Comments
5. Overall impression

Read 'em and eat contest

We do have a winner for the Read 'em and Eat contest.
A number of bookclubs and book lovers come to Jaspers for discussions or reading over morning coffee or lunch each week. (E-books have been visible too!) The friendly staff at Jaspers have always been accomodating and enjoy some of the selections. This group (the BBC) always brings napkins that they enjoy reading too.
Jose chose several books for his children after submitting this photo!

FALL INTO A GOOD BOOK will be the title of our next contest = details next week! Enjoy the long weekend ahead, with all those reading opportunities!

Read 'em and eat! photo contest

You still have two more days to send in a photograph of your reading, eating, cooking, etc photo and comments! We need your entries! And look forward to viewing your creativity!

Dog Days of Summer Contest - Winner

The winner is Zeke! This dog was attentively listening to Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. This was a summer reading assignment for his owner, Justin Erbe, who decided to share the book with Zeke. This made it a much faster read. Note to Justin,  "Do not read the ending to Zeke. He won't like it."
Justin gets to pick whichever story he thinks Zeke will like to listen to next.

The runner-up is Chris Sigurdson for her fabulous relaxing in a hammock photo. We were all envious. She will get a book of The Book Whisperer's choosing because she waits for her reviews anyway. She is also a loyal follower of this blog.

Reminder: We still have two contests running: The Adult summer reads and the Read it and Eat contest. (We're still waiting for bribes!)

Dog Days of Summer Contest

One of our favourite dogs was caught listening to one of his favourite books : Note the Attention!!
So we need your help to choose between some of the submissions...

Read 'em and Eat Contest

Reading and tasting Cake!

Remember we have a special Saturday Sale this week: August 14th in the Friends' Bookstore. This is also a great time to think of your photo opportunity to win the Read 'em and Eat Contest on the internet! Hard work!! Enjoy!

Calling all Readers!

A chance to flaunt your bluestocking tendencies. Our blog is buzzing with exciting summer reads to help you fill your list for the Adult Summer Reads. If you are enjoying these free book recommendations, and are considering purchasing any of these titles, please remember that if you do it through the Friends' Amazon portal, we (and therefore the library) gets a tiny commission! So please consider making a purchase.
We also like the increased circulation in the library!

Read Local.

Read it and Eat - contest!

Here is your chance to "read it and eat." Cookbooks are full of wonderful reading and fabulous food. Many other books are full of wonderful eating and fabulous reading (for example, many mystery series include recipes, restaurants, or references to cooking from gourmet through the gamut to backyard BBQ.)

Your mission: Submit a photo of your favorite literary book, your favorite meal from a cookbook, or anything else relating to the topic of a summer feast. Include a caption or short commentary on what makes a good eating (reading) book.


The judges are partial to chocolate and could be open to sample bribery ;)

The best entry will win a book of your choice from our prize bookshelf including a selection of cookbooks.

Entries must be submitted by August 27, 2010.

A huge selection of cookbooks will be on Sale in the Friends' Bookstore during their Second Saturday Sale on August 14.
If you spend more than $20 you will receive a free t-shirt or tote bag.
Spend $10 or more and receive a free apron or oven mitt.

Summer Reads for Adults Contest

Remember our ongoing Summer Reads for Adults contest. Submit a list of the books that you have read from Memorial Day through Labor Day (May 31 - Sept. 6) with any interesting comments or recommendations on September 7. We will post as many entries as possible to illustrate the diversity of our summer reading. Again, the winner will receive a free book plus a book journal!

NB The Book Whisperer has been disqualified from entry so you have a good chance at winning!

Dog Days of Summer contest entry

What do dogs like to read?
What do people like to read in the heat of the summer?


Send us your entries! Official Rules
Deadline: August 16, 2010

Remember this also counts as a book for your summer reads contest.

Details soon!

Book Clubs

Bluestocking Monarda in my garden

Please send in your comments about your bookclub (s) of what you are reading now. One of my book clubs (the BBC - for Bluestocking Book Club, or Bas Bleu Club, or Brunch Book Club, depending on origin) met yesterday (at Jaspers so someone else does the cooking and cleaning, but it is a delightful atmosphere with good food), and as always we discussed books. Not just any books, but books that you finish reading and simply MUST share with someone. Especially someone you know likes that author or that genre.
I loved seeing a Friends' face when I laid my copy of The Whisperer by John Connolly on her place setting. She was in need of the next good read, and travelling soon. She was also the person who introduced me to Harlan Coban, in the Friends' Bookstore, as we exchanged if you like him, read this! We passed around multiple copies of the Ariana Franklin Mistress of the Art of Death series. There was much discussion about the new Alexander McCall Smith series, while some were also catching up on his previous novels and series. New poetry suggestions, one of our friends is on the COVER of a new book, as her husband did a stunning photograph. It is rather mysterious but very beautiful. Now I need to buy that book too!
I am into reading nonfiction at the moment, with historical writing in New England my next work topic. As I was trying to sleep last night I was thinking I really needed something lighter to read, to ease the sleep process!
So = any and all book recommendations will be appreciated. I will be in the Bookstore today to have a look at new titles/acquisitions and will describe some of the best for you later!
Continue that Summer Reading and remember the Friends Reading Contest, creating alist of what you are reading - free books!

Next Contest! Dog Days of Summer

The next contest is Dog Days of Summer.

Submit a photo of your favorite Dog Days of Summer related reading material. Photo can include your favorite spot to stay cool, your best canine friend, your best human friend, etc! Include a caption or short commentary on what makes a good Dog Days book to read. The best entry will win a book of your choice from our prize bookshelf. Entries must be submitted by August 16, 2010.

Official Rules