I go through this every time I do a giveaway on this blog: obsessing over how the winner might be chosen. Most bloggers who stage such contests state right on the page that the winner will be drawn at random. It would be simple enough to go to a site that offers a plug-in random number generator designed for this very purpose. If the blogger is stellarly popular and there are hundreds upon hundreds of entries, there is not enough time to read and weigh every comment (unless the blogger has no life), and this seems the most efficient method.

Saturday Beret designed by Ellen Gormley

My post offering a free copy of Clever Crocheted Accessories by Brett Bara (Interweave Press, 27 November 2012) has attracted 90 comments, a nice, round, manageable figure, and I actually read them all. Although I clearly mentioned that sucking up to me wouldn’t improve anyone’s chances of winning, it was sweet of so many readers to say kind things, thank you. The commenting is completely transparent in that everyone can read all the entries, so you can see for yourself how I might get to know, if only briefly, many of the readers. Having looked each one of you in the eye, so to speak, I find myself wishing I had 90 copies to give away because it’s going to kill me to disappoint the 89 hopeful faces behind the not-winning comments.  Know what I’m saying? By reading your replies I have become invested in each of you.

So I decided to let my blog readers be the instrument of choosing. I pulled up the stats for the number of page views for each day in the past week, picked out the highest total, noted the last two digits. The winner, decided by you, is lucky number 17, Andrea! I’ll be in touch through the e-mail address attached to your comment. Hoping everyone else can enjoy this book, too. Thanks again for the comments and congratulations to Andrea.