Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan, was published in 2006 by our friends over at Algonquin. I have to say, of all the books I read that year, it was my absolute favorite. I passed copies along to my mom, my mother-in-law — and recommended it to almost everyone I knew. This April, however, we have the opportunity to multiply that love, because Mudbound was selected as one of 32 titles to be included in World Book Night (#WBN13) this year! (To give you an idea what we’re aiming for, “on April 23, 2012, U.S. book givers handed out half a million printed books in 5,800 towns and cities across the country.” This, in my humble opinion, is truly awesome.) So the burning question remains, have you signed up to be a World Book Night USA Giver yet?

It’s super easy. Sign up, and you’ll be sent 20 copies of a book (light enough to carry, numbered enough to share the book far and wide) to distribute within your community. We are so excited to have a Workman Publishing/Algonquin Books book selected to be part of #WorldBookNight. Why not celebrate with us by applying to be a book giver? (‘Tis the season!)

 

To celebrate the recent publication of photographer Jordan Matter’s Dancers Among Us: A Celebration of Joy in the Everyday, we dug deep into our coffers of dance fever: Slouchy legwarmers, ribbon dance wands, oh-so-glam leotards, Bacon-era Footloose…

… castanets, tea towels and aprons for the kitchen dancers (they, too are among us), that signature red umbrella (ohmigosh, did you know that other dancers hold umbrellas, too?), and a fine array of dancing shoes for wherever and whenever the mood strikes! (Oh, and a camera, so that even though you’re dancing like no one’s watching, you can still be documented.) Perhaps you might even find yourself… dancing in the streets.

Congratulations to author Jordan Matter, whose book debuted at #29 on the New York Times extended bestseller list after less than a full week on sale! Here’s the image that launched it all:

Happy Election Day, everyone! I wonder if Jordan is off photographing dancers casting their ballets…ahem…I mean ballots.

We love this shot from the release party celebrating Jordan Matter’s new book, Dancers Among Us (right). It turns out that we are not only blessed to have dancers among us — we have editors, designers, salespeople, marketing directors (Workmanites!) among us, too. Oh, and is that an author/photographer I spy in the middle?

Thanks to the Paul Taylor Dance Company for hosting the event and for providing a stunning performance for the guests in attendance. And thanks to Ryan Carville for capturing this joyful shot! (Click through for more stunning shots from the photo booth.)

If you’re not sure what the fuss is about, I strongly urge you to check out this video. If it doesn’t get you dancing in the street, you’ll at least be tapping your toes (or peeling your jaw from your desk, right where you dropped it) by its end!

Star Wars week continues on the Workman blog! As we continue exploring our favorite galaxy far, far away, we have some new activities to get you in on the action.

Learn to fold your own Boba Fett by clicking here — or watch the video below as our pal Maggie takes you step by step through the folding of your favorite bounty hunter:

For other Star Wars activities (or to host a Star Wars party!), click here to print, color, and fold your own origami light saber (make one for Darth, Luke, Yoda, and Obi-Wan!) or print, color, and cut out a Yoda bookmark or two — or twelve.

Because speaking of books, don’t forget that Star Wars Reads Day — #starwarsreads — is on Saturday! We’re going to be celebrating by curling up and paging through our own Workman library of Star Wars titles including Star Wars Scanimation, Star Wars Origami, and Star Wars Fandex.

Star Wars Reads day is almost upon us (October 6, I’m looking at you!), and we’ve determined that there couldn’t be a better way to celebrate than a week of Star Wars book love. We have an interview with a Star Wars author, a Star Wars style guide, and a Star Wars library giveaway (scroll all the way down)–and it’s only Tuesday! It follows, then, that today’s Live By the Book style guide is inspired by Chris Alexander’s Star Wars Origami. May the folds be with you…

There’s no shortage of Star Wars gear out there in the galaxy, so we included items across the spectrum in hopes that you’ll find a little something for everyone on your list.  Whether you’re a party animal or a politician (Kenobi for POTUS!), a thinker or a talker, a sleepyhead (yes, it’s a Tauntaun sleeping bag) or a coffee brain, have a sweet (cookbook and cookie cutters!) or savory tooth (light saber chopsticks <3), we’ve got you covered. Oh, and what would a Live By the Book feature be without some bookends?…

Bear with me, because this is about to get a little circuitous, but where would bookends be without a full library of books? The Star Wars Reads Day (#starwarsreads) giveaway is now live and runs through Monday, 10/8/12 at noon PST. Enter for a chance to win (US residents only) this sampling of the library of Star Wars books!

Use the Force!

Following close on the heels wheels of The Truck Food Cookbook, this week’s Live By the Book style guide takes us all back to school, with The Mom 100 Cookbook: 100 Recipes Every Mom Needs in Her Back Pocket by Katie Workman. It’s only fair, now that the kids are back into their routine, that Mom gets to hit the books, too. Call it the textbook for the kitchen, the cheat sheet for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, Katie lays out a curriculum that can be adapted to any scenario (bake sale brownies due tomorrow?; in-laws coming for dinner? have the remnants of an elegant cheese plate languishing in the back of the fridge?) that delivers delicious dish after delicious dish that even the pickiest eaters can get down with. Here’s this week’s style syllabus to get you pumped to prepare meals for the kiddos…

…including Match & Munch puzzle piece sandwiches (for finicky, no-crust sandwich aficionados!), a lasagna tray to please everyone at the table (just like Katie’s “fork-in-the-road” recipes!), a split decision pie pan that allows for multiple flavors, two peas in a pod salt and pepper shakers (just sprinkle to taste!)…. Do I detect a theme? As it turns out, you can please them all. (And you’ve got a trophy to prove it.)

And hey, if not, at least you can defend yourself — with a tray of Fudgy One-Pot Brownies!

Last week’s edition of Live By the Book had us thinking about ice cream. Obviously. And as we thought about ice cream (a lot), we eventually thought about ice cream on wheels. And when we thought about ice cream on wheels (stay with us, here), we thought about other deliciousness on wheels. And that, naturally, made us think of The Truck Food Cookbook: 150Recipes and Ramblings from America’s Best Restaurants on Wheels by John T. Edge, this week’s style guide inspiration!

Whether truck food to you means burgers or tacos, french fries or grilled cheese, pizza or egg sandwiches, sushi or sliders, waffles or dumplings, donuts or (ahem!) ice cream! — we’ve got a little something for everyone.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for…Ben & Jerry’s! — a name that has become virtually synonymous with that melty, cool goodness known as ice cream. This week’s Live By the Book style guide is inspired that very topic, and the book Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book. I could probably stop there, but why on earth would I do that?

Here are some of our favorite mooovers and shakers in the ice cream world, from the imminently practical (get yer paws off my pint!) to the playful, from the plush to the penguin. Here’s to chilling out max and mixing up your own signature flavors!

And while you’re making all sorts of new friends by making ice cream, you can also make fashion waves: a summer dress, a detachable Peter Pan collar, some heels that make you look like you stepped in a melting ice cream cone (much better than gum!), a nail polish set in four shades of sherbert, and an apron tie-dye for.

Speaking of ice cream duos…let’s take a magical moo-stery tour through the land of Ben & Jerry with Jimmy & Stephen (that’s Fallon, of “Late Night Snack” & Colbert, of “Americone Dream”) as they learn to be lovers-not-fighters in the ultimate late night ice-cream-flavor-off. Udderly charming, to be sure.

And if the moo-sic doesn’t rid them of their ice cream headaches, perhaps they should consider Chocolate Therapy to help them work through their issues. What’s your favorite Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor? Leave your answer in the comments and you could win a copy of the book!

Last week in the Workman offices, Peter Workman had the pleasure of congratulating Becky Anderson, of Anderson’s Book Shop in Naperville, Illinois for winning our Rivendell bike giveaway celebrating Just Ride by Grant Petersen. Ms. Anderson won her choice of a Sam Hillborn or a Betty Foy bicycle from Rivendell Bicycle Works (this fine specimen below is just a placeholder until she gets her shiny new pedals underfoot!).

If any of you book sellers are tuning in just now, please take note: We had so much fun with this promotion (hello, Indie bestseller list!), that we’re doing it AGAIN! Get your orders in, booksellers, and you’ll be entered to win bike number two in our giveaway.

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So, that happened last week, then this happened this week:

“Your bible has just been written. Grant Petersen’s Just Ride is a wonderfully sane, down to earth and frequently funny guide to riding, maintaining, fixing and enjoying your bicycle.”
-Dave Eggers, New York Times Book Review, July 29

It’s one thing to get reviewed by Dave Eggers, but to be an editor’s choice among such notable folks as Cicero and Nabokov, well, we’re quite tickled.

It’s hard not to be inspired by Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative–a book that hit the New York Times best-seller list and has quickly won over creative types who love Austin’s simple but profound advice. This very feature, Live By the Book, is all about everyday inspiration brought to you by books, so this week we’re turning the tables, and asking: What inspires you? Please tell us below, in the comments (a Pantone postcard would be nice, but might take too long), and a copy of Austin’s book could be yours!

Live by the Book: Steal Like an Artist by workmanpub

Is it a framed piece of art, like one of Austin’s own Newspaper Blackout poems? If you’re the photography type, would the vintage filter on a Lomography Domino Camera send you out on a snapping excursion? Or does the blank page inspire you? Maybe perching at an (out)standing workstation gets your creative juices flowing. But if you’re really stuck, we do hope you have an Artist’s Mini Survival Kit at the ready!

If, on the other hand, you’re really feeling like a powerhouse of imagination, it’s wise to have multiple surfaces (like a real, working, mini Etch-a-Sketch necklace — you know, for when the sketchbook isn’t handy) on which to scribble your best creative secrets. And they wouldn’t be creative secrets if you didn’t have the option of eliminating any trace of your notes and sketches. No, seriously,  I mustache you to erase that.

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Steal Like An Artist Book Trailer from Austin Kleon on Vimeo.

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PS: Rule #8 (page 100 in Steal Like An Artist): Be Nice. Make Friends.