Friday, November 27, 2015

Christmas gift ideas and a DOUBLE book giveaway!!

I am so excited!!!

I love, love, love being able to give you guys free stuff! And, I love books so much!

Two books should be on your Christmas gift radar, one for your kids, and the other for you.

First, I want to tell you about the book written by our very own Bubble reader, commenter, and friend, Becky Arganbright. A while back, Becky emailed me about an idea she had for a simple and beautiful children's book about St. Thérèse, the Little Flower. It was such a lovely idea, and I knew that the story would be so appealing to a child (and frankly, I loved it, too). Soon there was an excellent illustrator on board, and I was privileged to watch the whole project grow from an seed of an idea into the fully blossomed book, The Little Flower: A Parable of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, from Peanut Butter & Grace.



Available in soft- or hardcover, the book is visually captivating and perfect for a Catholic (or even non-Catholic) child.







You will find an entire pdf preview copy here, to see for yourself.

Isn't it awesome??


Okay, so the first book is for the kiddos, but this second book is for you (and your priest or deacon)! I cannot say enough about it, I reference it constantly now, and I incorporated it into my talk to college students at Young America's Foundation. It's an important book because it explains Catholic social teaching clearly, teachings which are horribly, badly mangled today by the left. And aside from being important, it's written so beautifully that I have taken to calling Anthony Esolen the "new Chesterton". I thought I was being clever, until I realized that many others have compared Esolen to Chesterton as well!

Here it is, Reclaiming Catholic Social Teaching:




It comes from one of my favorite publishers of all time, Sophia Institute Press, whose gorgeous, illuminating books were inspirational to me in the months and years after my reversion to the Faith.

Now, I don't generally mark up my books, but occasionally one comes along that just screams to be notated. When I picked up this book, I expected to read it casually. Until I hit the first paragraph. And the next. And the next. Then I picked up a pen, and this is pretty much how most of the pages look:







Then, of course, there is a page from the book that I posted back in June, which may be the best insight into human sexuality that I've ever seen (yes, go read it).

Reclaiming Catholic Social Teaching should be on the shelf of every serious Catholic, and not just to sit there looking sharp, but to be read and re-read.

Now, to the...

GIVEAWAY!!!

Okay, so here is the fun part! I am going to give away one copy of each of these books to two lucky readers! United States and Canada only, please. To enter the giveaway, simply send me an email at littlecatholicbubble@gmail.com, and put one of the following in the subject line:

LITTLE FLOWER

or

SOCIAL TEACHING

If you want to enter the drawing for both books, then send me two emails, one for each (only one email for each book, please).

And, if you want to double your chances to win, then leave a comment on this blog, telling me why you would like to win the book(s). Make sure to remind me in your email(s) that you commented here. I will then assign you two numbers per email entry, thus doubling your chances to win.


A week from today, I will use random.org to pick the winners!

**Congratulations to our winners! Tracy Smith and Nancy A., your books will be mailed out to you shortly! 

Happy Black Friday everyone!!









Note: I have no financial stake in any of the books I promote. I just love being able to spread the word about good books in a crazy world. :)








27 comments:

  1. I would love to win either book!

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  2. I would love to be entered into the drawing for both books. Thanks!

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  3. Amelia would love to have the book about her patron, Therése!

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  4. Id love to win either book. My daughter has a devotion to St. Therese and I've enjoyed many of Anthony Esolen's writings. Thank you for the Bubble!

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  5. I would love to win the St. Therese book because she's "my girl" :) And I've been eyeing the book for some time now! I would also love to win the Social Teaching book because I'm not familiar with Esolen's writing (yet), and apparently I'm missing out! Thanks so much Leila for the fun giveaway!

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  6. Oh my gosh! I would love the social teaching book! I come from and work at a liberal university and come from a family of social workers. I am the only sister that hasn't fallen away-out of four! I want to continue to teach them, and it would really help to tocus on social teaching and where this misunderstanding and what Catholics believe. I am sure I could learn so much myself by reading it. It's on my Amazon wish list ever since you mentioned it the first time :)

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  7. Oh, I'm so excited to pull the winners next week! And, Wheelbarrow Rider, what you said is EXACTLY why we all need to learn the truth of Catholic social teaching!! You will be blown away, and you can then educate others.

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  8. Clare Therese would love to have a book about her patron saint.

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  9. I would love to win the Little Flower book! She is my patron, and I've been wanting to introduce her to the kids. What a beautiful book!

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  10. I would love to win the Little Flower book. At. Therese is the patron of our parish and this looks like such a lovely book!

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  11. Both books look fantastic! Our own little Therese would love reading about saint Therese!

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  12. Had to flip a coin on this: Social Teaching. Thanks for sharing!

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  13. I would love either book! As a convert I'm learning along with my kids so either would do us good. :) Thank you!

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  14. My daughter has a special devotion to St. Therese so I would love to win this book for her.

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  15. I have 3 girls and I am a convert so I would love this book to teach more about St. Therese.

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  16. Catholic social teaching is so important and what drew me to the church, but it has also been terrible corrupted. I would love to give this book to my priest!

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  17. I love a giveaway, especially when it is for great Catholic items! My kids and I enjoy learning through books, so we'd love to add Little Flower to our library!

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  18. I've already purchased two of the Saint Terese books (one for my daughters, one for my goddaughter), but I would love to win "Reclaiming Catholic Social Teaching"!

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  19. I would love to win the St. Therese book to give to mu goddaughter :)

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  20. I would love to have the St. Therese Little Flower book to read to my daughter. Thank you.

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  21. I would love both books! The St. Therese book for my 2 girls (6 and 7) who are in the Little Flowers Club at our parish and the Catholic Social Teaching book for my daughter in college who is hoping to become a Dominican sister next year.

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  22. Good grief, Leila, that's how my "good reads" look, even down to the stars in the margin! (although I also do hash marks, with up to five of them to point out the REALLY good thoughts). That's how I decide which books to give away for Christmas presents to my less-well-read friends and religious: I just look at how much I've underlined in them.

    I will order these that you recommend for my neighbors' kids just as soon as I get back home.

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  23. I'd love to enter to win both books. I'd like Little Flower for my daughter, and I'd love the social teachings one for me and my husband. I'm trying to show him why I think we should convert, but I don't think I'm doing a very good job so far.

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  24. I want to enter to win both books. The Little Flower book would be a great addition for our children's formation groups. And - I want the Catholic Social Teaching book for myself!

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  25. I'd love to win both books. St. Therese is my confirmation saint and I have always felt close to her. The other book, however, I NEED. It's time to be better about how I defend our faith.

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  26. I would like the St. Therese book to read to my granddaughters. thank you for the give always!!!

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  27. Thank you all!

    The winner of the Little Flower book is Tracy Smith. And the winner of the Social Teaching book is Nancy A. (who entered via email).

    Congratulations!!! I look forward to holding another giveaway in the not-too-distant future!

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