Second Glances Giveaway #3, Elegant Extracts, and Winners of Giveaway #2

I think I might have caused some confusion in my last giveaway. Too much going on at once. This week I'm going to try to keep things simple (not always easy for me), but first I must announce last week's winners. The copy of First Impressions: A Tale of Less Pride & Prejudice goes to:

Kaewink

The copy of Second Glances: A Tale of Less Pride & Prejudice Continues goes to:

junewillaims7

And the second copy of my handmade Selected Verses by Jane Austen, with the Morris-ish cover, goes to:

Abigail Reynolds

Congratulations! I will be in touch shortly with more details.

Though every rational impulse tells me to keep the attention on Second Glances, the book I'm trying to market, I'm afraid I can't help myself and must speak of my little books instead (read more about them here). I've decided to dub these Elegant Extracts, thanks to recent conversations with the lovely Meredith Esparza of Austenesque Reviews. I feel rather foolish for not having thought to use my Twitter handle so appropriately myself, but it is the sad truth. Thanks Meredith!

Jane Austen mentions the Elegant Extracts (which you can read on Google books, if you're interested), a compilation of "useful and entertaining pieces of poetry, selected for the improvement of young persons" only twice, both times in Emma. The first is when Harriet Smith recalls of Mr. Martin that "sometimes of an evening, before we went to cards, he would read something aloud out of the Elegant Extracts, very entertaining." Emma mentions the famous book again when she claims to have already recorded a charade of Garrick's from the collection, which Mr. Woodhouse is vainly trying to recall. I think it very fitting for my project to adopt the name, as it reminds me so acutely of the charades Harriet's collected "into a thin quarto of hot-pressed paper, made up by her friend, and ornamented with ciphers and trophies.

Shinning the spotlight directly on my Elegant Extracts, today I'm giving away just a copy of Selected Verses by Jane Austen, the one with the butterfly cover. There will be several more opportunities to win Second Glances, so please check back if it is in that book alone you are interested. This is kind of experimental: an opportunity for me to gauge what kind of interest there actually is in crafted books during this era of tablets. I've heard bookmakers assert that there will always be a future for paper books as luxury items, which is really their traditional sphere. I do so hope they are correct, for I dearly love the feel of a book in my hands.

If you would like to be the owner of this extremely limited edition entirely manufactured by myself, please leave a comment including your email address. For a second opportunity to win, tell me your thoughts on the fate of paper books. And for a third chance, share this giveaway on the social media venue of your choice (and do let me know about it!). Winners will be announced next Monday, along with the details of my forth and final giveaway in celebration of the release of Second Glances. I'm nervously awaiting verdicts on both the novel and my foray into book craft.