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Yesterday, I used random.org to find out who’ll get the ARC of DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth.
The winner was Lisa M. Basso! Her book is on its way now.
I look forward to finding out Ms. Lisa’s thoughts on DIVERGENT, as it seems she has a bloggy of her own. (No pressure, Lisa! ;)
Big thanks to all who entered. That giveaway sure was fun, so I’ll just have to do it again soon.
What’s the3six5, you ask? Put simply, it’s a daily blog written by an author mosaic – a different person every day. Authors are young and old, famous folks and average Joes, writers and non-writers, from across the world.
The blog has been nominated for a Webby Award in the Connections category: “Sites that connect people, create communities, and give individuals and small groups a vehicle for their expression and participation online.”
If the3six5 doesn’t epitomize this, I’ll print out this post and eat it.
Founders Len Kendall and Daniel Honigman set up shop in 2009, soliciting design input and working hard to line up the first 365 authors. On January 1, 2010, they kicked off the crowdsourced blog experiment. I’ve since lost track of all the mentions the3six5 has received over these last 16 months, but let’s just say it’s much-loved. One of my favorite early POVs on the project comes from self-proclaimed social cyborg and cyberculturalist Dr. Kevin Lim:
Around the start of 2010, I began hearing about this idea dubbed the3six5 project. A bunch of transmedia and emerging media folks discussed it with great fervor.
So I took a look…
frowned…
then asked…
“What’s the big effing deal?”(Read the rest of Dr. Lim’s post here.)
I’m a huge fan of the3six5, and not just because I was lucky enough to contribute my own post last February (including the blog’s first-ever video clip). I’ve also found the project has connected me with friends I’ll have for life. I highly recommend it for your blog shortlist, as a daily reminder that we’re all human. For every day that goes by, every post published, the blog itself practically begins to breathe.
I can’t remember reading a book faster.
That’s my seven-word review of Divergent. I missed my train stop while reading it. Oh, hey! There’s my eight-word version.
In Divergent, author Veronica Roth deftly plunges you into a future Chicago. A dystopian Chicago, where sixteen-year-old kids must pick one of five factions to belong to for life. Where faction ties are stronger than blood, and unrest between factions has begun to knock them off-kilter. Where, after learning in an “aptitude test” that she’s a wee bit unusual, protagonist Beatrice Prior makes a choice that surprises even her.
Hooked already, no? Okay, well, you’ll sense almost immediately that Ms. Roth is a true devotee of sci-fi goodness. She draws from a little Ender’s Game, a little Giver, and a whole lot of originality. I’ve even heard talk of Divergent hitting the big screen.
I’m highly impressed with Veronica Roth’s debut novel, and I’ll keep an eye on her work, starting with the complete Divergent trilogy.
Better late than never – it’s my library-loving blog challenge results! Led again by the awesome Jenn Hubbard, the overall challenge rallied 16 participants in its third year.
My challenge began on March 28, when I pledged to donate $1 to Evanston’s The Mighty Twig for every comment on this post and every new @margorowder follower. I extended my challenge until 4/5. On that last day, I upped the ante: $5 for every comment and new twitter follower. 
In the end, thanks to you and a few fellow library-huggers, I’ve donated $174 to The Mighty Twig. I’m happy to say that’s more than enough to run the alterna-branch for one day. (If you’d like to support The Mighty Twig on your own, click here.)
 | Anonymous on My first kids’ stor… |
 | Erica on When I first felt like a … |
 | Larry on Dystopia hitting libraries too… |
 | Drew Norris on New Year’s Day means bla… |
 | Margo Rowder on 7 things I’ve learned… |
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