Note to Self

This giveaway is closed. Winners will be announced later this weekend.

Warning: Since I typically have a family-friendly blog, I want to let my readers know that this post is not safe for little eyes.

Have you ever sat down with a new friend and found you stayed up way too late talking about every subject under the sun? Discussing religion, careers, and yes, even sex, even though you've only known each other for a very short period of time?

That is what it was like for me to read Note to Self - On Keeping a Journal and Other Dangerous Pursuits, by Samara O'Shea. Once I started it, I felt like Samara and I were just hanging out on my couch, sipping decaf lattes and having a conversation. (Okay, Samara might be sipping something harder, but I'm still nursing.) It was that easy to read.

The basic premise of her newest book is teaching people how to write in a journal, by sharing her own journal entries.

Personally, she wrote for therapy, sharing "A journal is an effective way to peel back the fleshy onion layers and get to the center of yourself - bear in mind that there can be tears involved when handling an onion." But she is quick to point out that there are several different ways to journal and shares ideas with you about how to find your journal niche. There is even a chapter on writing specialty journals, for recording your dreams or your travels.

I especially liked her ideas about using your journal to write letters that will never be sent. I don't keep a journal (other than this blog) but often write letters that I never send. Heck, I often write blog posts I never publish. It just makes me feel better to work my thoughts out on paper, er, I mean the keyboard.

My only real beef with this book is the amount of space the topic of sex takes up. It might just have been my imagination (I didn't take the time to go back and count), but Samara shares more juicy details than I thought was necessary for a book on how to keep a journal. In the end though, these salacious entries actually cause the book to read a bit like an auto-biography instead of a journaling how-to. That isn't necessarily a bad thing... but you probably won't be giving this book to a teenage girl who loves to write in her diary (unless you want her to read about blowing a line, going down on a boy, or masturbating)

Despite all of this, I really enjoyed the book. I hope you will too, so I am giving away my copy. If you want a chance to win my copy for free, then leave a comment below. (I know, 3 giveaways in 1 week!) I'll draw a winner sometime after 5 pm on Thursday, July 30th.

Head back over the the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival for more chances to win great stuff.

Disclaimer: I had the privilege to receive an advance copy of Note to Self - On Keeping a Journal and Other Dangerous Pursuits, from Harper Collins Publishing. If you are interested in reviewing books for your own blog, let me know in the comments and I will send you the information.