The new Ripley’s annual for 2010 is out, and guess who has a copy to give away to one lucky reader? As if giving a copy of this awesome book is not enough, I’m throwing in a coupon good for buy one get one admission at any of the Ripley museums that is good through December 31, 2010.

So something has happened with these Ripley books, and that something is fantastic. When I was young, I remember Ripley’s books being very similar to the thick volumes of Guinness World Records books: information, interesting stories, and a few black and white photos.

But this bad boy is jam packed with awesome full-color and full-page pictures.

This volume of Ripley’s has some great feature sections. It’s divided into 12 sections that highlight feats of the human body, food, science, earth, and more.

The book begins with a history of Ripley himself which gives a nice overview of the hows and whys of his entire story and legacy. I loved the nice feature on Houdini within the “Incredible Feats” section but was perhaps most impressed with the fold out feature on P. T. Barnum in the “Body Oddity” section. There’s been a lot out about him recently, but with the research and name of Ripley’s, this one’s expertly done (and not to mention incredibly interesting with the layout and use of photos).

Did you know someone paid $3,154 to buy a half-eaten piece of toast … of Justin Timberlake? What about the fact scientists in the UK studied the brain waves of locusts while they watched Star Wars? Oh, and the urban legend of mentos and diet coke? Well, you can look at the photo for yourself. And be careful if you are trying to have children and live in Nebraska or New Jersey: you’re much more likely to have triplets than anywhere else in the country.

This is a book that boys and girls will enjoy. The photos are so interesting, the colors and lay outs of the pages are evocative and engaging without being overwhelming, and the snippets of human and non-human feats are attention-grabbing. What I love about these sorts of books is how they can be picked up and read at one’s leisure any time. They also never get old — you can read it again and again. Ripley’s is good for all ages, though those who are squeamish may want to skip some parts of the book. It’s a tried and true favorite and, well, SO MUCH BETTER than when I was a kid!

If you want to learn more about Ripley’s annuals, check out their website here. If you want to buy the book, you can check out a good deal on their facebook page. But as I said before, I have a copy to give away along with a buy one get one pass.

GIVEAWAY RULES:
Please follow ALL of the rules to be entered!

1. You can earn an entry through these means:

+ 1 if you comment with your email address
+ 1 if you comment with a Ripley’s believe it or not type fact (and if it’s something you pull from their website, even better!). If you can link to your source, you’ll win our librarian hearts.
+ 2 if you subscribe to our feed or are already a subscriber
+ 2 if you tweet the giveaway or you blog it — leave your twitter name/blog name in the comment. You can get 2 entries for tweeting and 2 entries for blogging for a total of 4.

2. You leave a separate comment for EACH point you earn (to be clear: comment on this post once if you just leave your email address. Add a second comment if you are also commenting with a “believe it or not” fact. Add two more comments if you subscribe or are a subscriber. Add two more if you tweet or blog it. So, the most comments you’d be leaving on the blog is 8 — you tweet, blog, subscribe, tell a believe it or not, and leave an email). Please don’t leave one comment with all your points; we’ll never sort through them!

3. Contest runs from now until September 11.

To sweeten the deal a bit, the winner will also receive an ARC of choice from my bag. It’ll be a surprise! If we get 75 comments or more, there will be a second winner of an ARC of my choosing (of course, with a bit of input from said winner).

Good luck. I’m so excited that the wonderful folks with Ripley’s sent this title along. It’s a beautiful book that will be well-loved by the lucky winner.