BBAW: Interviewing Eva from A Striped Armchair!

It's day two of Book Blogger Appreciation Week, and that means the time-honored tradition of book blogger interview swap day. On my third time out for BBAW book blogger interviews, I've finally gotten an interview partner whose blog isn't new to me. In fact, I've been reading Eva's blog, A Striped Armchair for at least as long as I've been blogging myself. As the years have gone on, I've become more and more of a huge fan of Eva's fantastic blog where I can always find a book recommendation to feed my hunger for anything from world lit to popular science. I'd be lost without Eva in my feed reader, so it's a particular joy and privilege to be interviewing her for BBAW today. So, without further ado...



How did you get started book blogging?

Over Christmas break of my senior year of college, I was surfing the
web and came across Iliana's book blog. I knew about blogs before as personal journals (I kept one for friends & family when I studied abroad), but I hadn't realised there were book blogs! I checked out her blogroll and was delighted to see that there were all these wonderful people on the internet who were happily nerding out about books together. Pretty soon, I decided I had to join in the fun, so I waited until January 1, 2007 and then started my own blog. I couldn't think of a good title, but I was too impatient to wait until perfect inspiration struck, so I just named my blog after my then-favourite chair.

You've been book blogging for quite a while now - longer than me and I feel like I've been book blogging for quite a while! I know there are times when it's been tough to keep at it, so what drives you to *keep* book blogging even when the going gets tough?

Not that much longer than you! :) But yes, it'll be five years come next January, which is insane to me: I'm not usually known for my follow through. What makes me stick with it are the friendships I've made with other book bloggers: they're such an important part of my life. They celebrate my triumphs and share my setbacks and in between fill up my wish list with the most wonderful sounding books. I also love having a more examined reading life, but really it's the people and sense of community that I can't live without.

What's the biggest change you've seen in the book blogosphere since you started blogging? What's the most the same?

Ohhh: so much has changed! Publishers and review copies are a much bigger deal, memes have become weekly events instead of one-time survey/questionnaire things, challenges have gone from shorter time periods to mainly annual and now seem to be going back to shorter 'events', feed readers are ubiquitous, read-a-longs have supplanted challenges in popularity, and of course the blogosphere has grown exponentially, which has led to more 'subgroups' of bloggers. But the love of books and reading is still what drives us: that combination of unabashed nerdiness and passionate bibliophilia still defines the book blogosphere to me.

What's one super-excellent book you probably would not have read if not for a book blogger (or few)?

If I think about this too hard, I'll be here all day, so I'm just going to say the first one that sprung to mind: The Summer Book by Tove Jansson. I'd never heard of Jansson before other bloggers mentioned her (in fact, I thought she was a man for the longest time), and I just loved that book! Definitely one I'll be rereading often in the future whenever I'm in need of some comforting.

Is there one book that you believe everyone should read? Which one and why?

Oh dear…too many possibilities, especially for someone as interested in social justice as myself! Too bad I can't think of one book that includes feminism, antiracism, environmentalism, and global awareness, hehe. See: I let myself think about this one, and now I'm just paralysed with indecision. But I'm going to go with Food Matters by Mark Bittman: it's a book that lays out the health and environmental reasons for cutting back on the animal products in your diet without mentioning the horrors of how animals are treated (Bittman assumes you already know that), and lays out smart ways of doing just that. Bittman himself eats vegan before 6pm, then whatever he wants for dinner and dessert. I often feel frustrated that vegetarian and vegan diets are seen as an either/or issue, and Bittman neatly solves that problem. He also includes a number of delicious recipes, and the book is just very inspiring! I think if everyone read it, we'd see a huge change in eating habits that could help solve the nastier aspects of factory farming. Or at least, a more rational discussion of the issues.

Lastly, what's the best piece of blogging advice you've ever given or been given?

Blogging is a hobby, "an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure": keep it guilt free! :D

Thanks, Eva!

BBAW: Who Makes a Community

Today is the first day of the fourth year of Book Blogger Appreciation Week, an annual celebration of book bloggers and the role they play in "the promotion and preservation of a literate culture actively engaged in discussing books, authors, and a lifestyle of reading." I'll have a few of the daily post topics for you this week, but if you want to get closer to the action, head over to the BBAW website for more.

Today's blogging topic is all about community...

While the awards are a fun part of BBAW, they can never accurately represent the depth and breadth of diversity in the book blogging community. Today you are encouraged to highlight a couple of bloggers that have made book blogging a unique experience for you. They can be your mentors, a blogger that encouraged you to try a different kind of book, opened your eyes to a new issue, made you laugh when you needed it, or left the first comment you ever got on your blog. Stay positive and give back to the people who make the community work for you!

It takes all kinds to make a community, and I do so hate to single some out at the expense of others, but so it always goes. I think all of us who make the time to be a part of it have something to offer the book blogging community, but for the purposes of this post, I'm going to give a random sampling of bloggers who I think, off the top of my head, are exemplifying some great aspect of being a book blogger.

Power Commenter - Kathy at Bermudaonion's Weblog. Kathy is the kind of commenter that I can only wish to be. It seems like every blog I venture to comment on, she's been there already, and whenever I have a post that seems like it's going to get only a chorus of crickets as a response, Kathy's comments reassure me that I'm not just talking to myself. I'm continually impressed by how she is a rockstar when it comes to being engaged with the community of bloggerdom.

The Meme You Like to See in Your Google Reader - In a blogosphere riddled with weekly memes, Top Ten Tuesday at The Broke and the Bookish has got to be the best meme I've seen since Dewey's Weekly Geeks was in its hayday. The gang at The Broke and the Bookish does a fantastic job of cooking up great weekly topics, and the posts of the people that participate are always interesting, and I love that they often start conversations instead of just those "Oh, that sounds good" comments. From what I've seen, Top Ten Tuesdays are great for the community!

The Dystopian Diva and the Small Press Princess - Lenore at Presenting Lenore and Marie at The Boston Bibliophile are two ladies I'd love to single out because they show just how much buzz even one book blogger's voice can generate for a genre or a publisher when they're willing and able to put the time and effort into sharing something they love. Lenore, whose own dystopian YA novel will be published next year, just wrapped up Dystopian August where she reviewed many dystopian stories and interviewed countless authors to preview their upcoming books in this "genre," one I happen to love.

Marie showed her enthusiasm for Europa Editions, a great smaller press, with a two week Publisher Spotlight that included reviews of Europa titles as well as interviews with Europa authors and Europa's editor-in-chief. She then followed it up this summer by pioneering a Europa Editions Challenge.

The Thoughtful Reader - Amy at Amy Reads stands out as one of many bloggers who writes the sort of posts who make us think twice about taking books or publishing at face value. Her posts are the sort that start and continue conversations about things like diversity in publishing and authenticity in books.

All these bloggers are bright, shining examples of what the rest of us book bloggers are doing on a more limited scale on a daily basis - engaging with each other in community, sharing our passion for the books and publishers we love, and thinking critically about what we're reading, why and even how we're reading it.

Thanks, ladies!

BBAW: Future Treasures

Wow, I can't believe Book Blogger Appreciation Week is already drawing to a close. As usual, it's been a fantastic week full of crazed bloghopping, great discoveries of new to me blogs that will give my Google Reader another infusion of new life, and a chance to rekindle my excitement about books, book bloggers, and book blogging. As always a big thank you to Amy and her dedicated helpers who put so much work into making it all possible!

The last topic of the week is all about blogging goals.

This year has been full of blogging ups and downs for me. Leafing Through Life is rapidly coming up on its third birthday, and the book blogosphere has grown in leaps and bounds even since I started blogging. It's been incredible watching the book blogging community grow and watching book bloggers draw the attention of publishers and authors simply by doing what they do best - get excited about books. That said, I won't lie. It's been hard trying to keep pace with a rapidly evolving book blogosphere and trying to find my place within it. There have been times in the past year when I've thought that perhaps it had passed me by, and maybe I should hang up my book blogging hat, simply because I didn't and still don't have the time to be the blogger I want to be. Er...this is not very cheery. Hold on, I promise it gets better.

Then came BEA and then Book Blogger Con and then BBAW, and, even when I'm feeling the most down about my blogging or most slumpy about my reading, these kinds of things have a way of always getting me excited and reinvigorated. Meeting and building relationships with people who love books, learning about the latest in publishing, getting to share my love of books with people who actually appreciate it instead of scratching their heads and saying something to the effect of "Oh, I read stuff. I read an issue of Entertainment Weekly just last month!" - all things I love too much to miss even when I can't dedicate the time I'd like to it. It's also weeks like this week that remind me that what's so great about the book blogosphere is still what's so great about the blogosphere - the community. It's a pleasure to see book bloggers trying to get to as many posts as possible for them this week to leave comments and discover new blogs and make new friends. The book blogosphere is a community that's still warm and welcoming and doesn't want anyone to feel left out.

I don't intend to set a lot of goals. I don't like them. They make things seem hard and like work, and it's when I let it turn into a chore that I have to get done that I like blogging least. So there will be no hard and fast goals here, just some loosey goosey wishes and hopes for the future of me in the book blogosphere.

- First and foremost, I don't need another chore, and I don't want to make blogging and reading just another obligation I have to fulfill.

- Second, I want to be more consistent about posting, and if I can't always post as much as I'd like, I still want to be as consistent in replying to comments and/or paying return visits to commenters as possible. I want everybody who takes the time to comment here to know that I really do notice and appreciate them.

- Third, I want to be a better blog reader. I'm notorious for letting my Google reader get way out ahead of me and, without even realizing it, not commenting on even my most favorite blogs for weeks on end. I'd love to come up with a better method, so that I can be more regular about showing the bloggers I love I appreciate them by actually reading and commenting on their blogs more often!

- Finally, I want a banner. For the top of the blog. See it up there? It's so boring! Except for the After You'd Gone quote, still love that. I don't know if I'm going to try to resurrect my Paint Shop Pro skills or commission someone with more talent than myself, but if you visit me next year at this time, there'd better be something pretty or at least visually interesting there.



Hope you've had a great BBAW - I know I have. Thanks to everybody for making it a particularly fabulous week to be a book blogger! =)

BBAW: Forgotten Treasure

If you've been book blogging for any length of time, or even reading book blogs for any length of time, I'm sure it doesn't surprise you when I say that some books really sweep the blogosphere. To open up your Google Reader and see what's going on with your blogging friends, you'll be exposed to reviews and chatter about the same book every five posts. I mean, Mockingjay anyone? Or perhaps you remember the whole Raven Stole the Moon thing? It's great to see worthy books get a boost from lots of book bloggers' enthusiasm, but today's Book Blogger Appreciation Week topic asks us to spotlight a book that we've loved that seems to have flown under the book blogging radar.

When I saw this topic, a book I've read this very year jumped immediately to mind. Looking back, I even commented on the unfortunate lack of book bloggers reading this book in my original review. I wanted all my blogging friends to love The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers by Thomas Mullen as much as I did. The author's previous book The Last Town on Earth seems to have made a much bigger splash, if not in the book blogosphere, then at least in general.

So, this book, it's set in the Great Depression-era where Jason and Whit Fireson AKA The Firefly Brothers are becoming infamous for their bank robbing exploits, except it seems their time may be up because they've been killed and now they're waking up in the morgue. Yes, I did say waking up up in the morgue because much to their, and everyone else's surprise, the most definitely dead Firefly Brothers are getting a second chance and a third chance and, well, you get the idea. Okay, I know people either love or hate that magical realism element in their reading, but this book has got so much going for it that perhaps even the magical realism haters could see their way to giving it a chance.

First of all, it's an unbelievably compelling picture of the Great Depression. It captures the desperation and the depravity to which the average person was driven. It draws out this hero worship for bank robbing criminals who were, in the eyes of many of the people whose houses had been foreclosed on, vicariously exacting their revenge. Second, it's a penetrating look at family as it follows the brothers back to their home where their mother and other brother are living a more average Depression experience. All these characters have incredible depth and seeing how they interact, how old hurts are never quite forgotten, and how their love for each other manifests itself in unexpected ways that never turn out quite the way they're intended is a perfect and well-drawn picture of any family, even given the unique circumstances. Finally, it's got action. I mean, it's a book about bank robbers. They rob banks. They have tommy guns. They have to make daring escapes from the cops. They have hostages and lovers and hostages who become lovers. Add to that the fact that they seem to not be staying dead, and you've got a pretty decent amount of action to offset the deeper, darker parts of the book.

I loved this book. I loved seeing the bank robber myth and legend simultaneously built up with the brothers' unlikley resurrection and peeled away to reveal a pair of average guys going through a hard time, just guys with families and baggage and struggles who just happen to be infamous bank robbers. All right, I hope my shameless gushing has convinced you to seek out a copy of The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers, and I'm looking forward to discovering some more excellent forgotten treasures today around the book blogosphere.

What's *your* forgotten treasure book?

BBAW: Interview Swap!

Welcome to the second day of Book Blogger Appreciation Week! If you hadn't already guessed it, today is the day with the bloggers interviewing each other. This year I have the pleasure of helping you get to know the lovely Shanyn of Chick Loves Lit, a blogger whose Twitter feed I discovered before I'd ever laid eyes on her blog, a blog which just so happens to be chock full of excellent YA reviews. I hope you'll enjoy getting to know Shanyn better as much as I have!

Now...on with the show!



First, tell me about you. What are you up to when you're not reading/blogging?

My name is Shanyn, and I'm married to a soon-to-be optometrist. Right now we are moving around the state of Michigan completing his last year of school, so I've spent my time trying out new libraries :) I love to watch TV shows when they're out on DVD (or, all in a row), and I'm also a fan of different kinds of crafts. My big goal this fall is to get to a Red Wings, Lions, and Pistons game (since we're near Detroit), but if I only got to choose one it would definitely be the Red Wings (they are the only one of the three I'm actually a fan of).


How did you get started blogging about books?

I had a website where I reviewed movies in 2004-2005, but it was one I coded myself (not through a blog), so it was a little harder to upkeep. And I also realized I don't like movies much. Then in 2005 my best friend started a music blog, where we would post new music finds - that was a lot of fun, but only lasted about a year, also. In early 2009 I was starting to look for another hobby, and decided to try book blogging to keep track of all of the books I was reading - I think this blog has a pretty good chance of staying around for a few more years :)


How has being a part of the book blogosphere changed what or even how you read?

The biggest change I have noticed is that I recognize 75% of the YA books on the shelves when I'm at a bookstore. This also causes me to pay attention to the general consensus about a book, because if we're out and I recognize a book, I like to also think about what other individuals have said about it. So I guess I'm more aware of everything out there!


If you could give a new book blogger one piece of advice, what would it be?

My piece of advice is to blog what you want to, not what everyone else thinks you should. You don't need to burn out on memes if you started blogging to share your thoughts on books - yes, many book blogs have similar posting schedules, but if you don't do what's right for YOU, you won't keep up your blog.


I've really started loving young adult books even though I'm a "grown-up," and Chick Loves Lit is all about YA. What made you decide to focus your blog on YA?

I originally started my blog focused on women's literature - (aka "chick lit") - but I found that reading them one right after another kind of wore me out, because many of the themes were similar. I picked up a YA book last summer and loved how fast paced it was, as well as reading about a character during a time in their life that they learn so much about themselves - so it just kind of stuck.


Tell me about one (or a few) of your favorite reads this year thus far.

I just finished Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson - I haven't written the review yet, but it is by far one of my favorite books, ever. I also loved The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney.


I love the randomness of your Fun Five feature. How'd you get inspired to ask authors (and bloggers!) questions that *aren't* all about books and writing?

After seeing so many interviews across different blogs, I realized I was mostly skipping over them - because the questions were all the same. "How do you come up with your ideas" "What is your inspiration" "What advice do you have for new writers" - while those questions can have some great answers associated with them, I found myself more interested in the personality of the author - many authors can answer the writing questions very similarly, but it's unlikely that all of them will have the same answer for their favorite gas station snack or row at the movie theater. It gives them an opportunity to tell us a story and learn more about them as an individual rather than just their writer side.


This has all been pretty heavy on the reading, writing, blogging end of things. So, I was wondering, can I borrow your Fun Five for a minute here and turn the spotlight on you?

* What's your favorite kind of ice cream?

Cotton Candy Confetti is my all time favorite. It's vanilla ice cream flavored a little like cotton candy, with bits of candies mixed in - my description doesn't do it justice, I promise! If you can manage to find it, you must try it.

* What's your weirdest habit?

Hmmmm this is an interesting question! The one that immediately comes to mind is that I always eat a piece of dry cereal out of my bowl before I pour milk on, but that makes me sound rather boring :p Oh! How about, at night when I'm trying to go to sleep, if I start thinking about something negative about my day (or something that could be turned into a nightmare), I open and shut my eyes, to kind of give myself a clean slate. I guess that one kind of makes me sound weird... I'm going to move on to the next question now...

* What's one unusual thing you have sitting on your desk?

Right now my desk is a small table that holds my computer and that's all, since I'm moving around so much. The desk in this room (that I'm not using) has a pencil sharpener (old fashioned kind) screwed right to the desktop - that's kind of unusual nowadays, I think.

* What was the last thing you bought totally on impulse?

An issue of TV Guide! I have had a TiVo for years, but when we moved, we moved to a place with AT&T U-Verse, which isn't compatible with TiVo, so I've had to watch live TV a lot. I figured I'd see what's coming in the fall season :)

* What's your favorite song right now?

The Man Who Can't Be Moved by The Script. It has been my favorite song for over a year now (maybe even two) :)


Thanks, Shanyn!

BBAW: First Treasure

That's right, Book Blogger Appreciation Week has come again! It's that week where we all get appreciated, yes, but also the week where the book blogging scene goes crazy as we all bloghop like mad and make our Google Readers overflow with newly discovered blogging friends. Given the blogging madness that ensues particularly during this week of the year, I'm unofficially suspending book reviews, because who will really have time for that kind of thing this week, anyway? I mean, right? Sure it's ironic that this week of book blogger celebration would be a week without reviews, but I'll have my hands full up writing posts for the BBAW daily blogging topics not to mention reading a good many others. I'm sure you understand, and I hope you're taking part in the BBAW festivities, so that you, too, can enjoy the pleasures of a week of book blogging celebration.

The first blogging topic to kick off the week asks us, if we're not new book bloggers or first-time BBAW participants, to spotlight a great new book blog we've discovered since last BBAW. It took me a while to figure out who I would spotlight, not because I couldn't think of many worthy blogs, but because I have no sense of time when it comes to how long I've been following a blog, much less whether that blog is actually new or just new to me. After some contemplation, though, I've come up with a great one. It's....



I've been reading Books in the City since early spring this year. Actually, I think Colleen discovered me before I discovered her, and after she'd left a comment (or few?) here, I wandered over to pay her a visit and was happy to stick around given her excellent reviews of a wide variety of books reviews that she can always make look appealing to me as well as her thoughtful Sunday Salon posts. I also had the pleasure of meeting Colleen in person at Book Blogger Convention in May. Our time in the lunch line flew by because I was enjoying our conversation so much as we talked books and blogging and bonded over our healthcare-ish jobs that have less than nothing to do with books and reading. And did I mention her blog has a lovely look too? The button is just a taste!

If you haven't paid Colleen a visit, I hope you will, and I'm sure you won't regret it!

What new(er) blogs do you love?

BBAW: Reading Habits

Whew! I'm a little late on this one, but today's BBAW activity is a little reading meme.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?

Potato chips. I'm a potato chip junkie.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

I'm too horrified by the thought of writing in books to answer this question. Okay, seriously though, I don't mind writing inside the front cover like inscriptions or Bookcrossing info, but the idea of marking within the text still kind of scandalizes me. I'm much more of a post-it note sort of girl.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?

Definitely not dog-ears. Ugh! I have a ton of beautiful bookmarks but still somehow end up marking my place with whatever junk happens to be at hand - old receipts, junk mail, used post-it note reminders to self. When I do manage to have the presence of mind to actually use one of my spiffy bookmarks it's usually one that I won from Nymeth because they are so super cool (and she made them!).

Laying the book flat open?

Blargh!

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?

Both, but probably a little more fiction.

Hard copy or audiobooks?

Hard copy. I never have managed the audiobook thing. My dad and I even took a road trip across the country, and none of the ones we picked out ever made it into the CD player.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?

Any point.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

Nope. I usually write it down and then lose it/forget to look it up. =P

What are you currently reading?

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty

What is the last book you bought?

Walking with the Wind by John Lewis for Amy's Newsweek 50 Books For Our Times Project thingy. And it's very long. And I think I might be insane. Maybe it'll be a really good massive tome. I hope....

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can
you read more than one at a time?

One in my bag to take to work and one at home. Lately I've been trying to have one ARC/review copy and one book from my considerable TBR pile going at once.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?

I like to read during my lunch break and generally shun the company of others to do so. My best reading, though, probably happens either in my bed or on the front porch with a glass of lemonade on a beautiful day.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?

Stand alones. I have a bad habit of reading the first in series, enjoying it, and yet still failing to read the rest of said series.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

Hmmmm... The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy. The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff. Oh, wait, you only wanted one? ;-)

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)

I organize my books in such a way that the most will fit on the shelves. AKA - there is no organization, but "AHA! There is a hole big enough for this one!"

BBAW: Interview with Caitlin from Chaotic Compendiums

As part of the Book Blogger Appreciation Week festivities, we had the option of taking part in an interview exchange with another book blogger. I didn't manage to do it last year, but I'm excited to have the opportunity to try it this year. I'm extra excited because I got paired up with a blogger who is new to me, Caitlin from Chaotic Compendiums. She's got a great blog, and I'm sure I'll be adding a bunch of books to my wish list from her excellent reviews. I encourage you to get to know her a little bit better here, and then definitely head on over and check out her blog - you won't regret it! =)


First of all tell me about you. What's a a day in your life look like? What are you up to when you're not reading/blogging?

I am a transplanted Southerner living happily in the Bay Area. I work in Oakland for a very large not-for-profit healthcare provider where I have the privilege of managing various efforts related to quality of service. It's really nice to work for a progressive company & to do work that makes an actual difference to real people. I love my job & I love living here even though I can't get decent hush puppies.

What made you to decide to start blogging about books?

I've always been a voracious reader & I've off & on started writing down what I've been reading. I've always been sort of curious to know how many books I read in a year. I decided to try a book blog back in April this year & for whatever reason this time it took & I've been doing it ever since. It's been a lot of fun & has re-energized my reading in lots of different ways. I've also discovered scads of books I might not have read otherwise & have been happy to read many other book bloggers.

Has being a part of the book blogosphere changed what or even *how* you read?

As I said, this has in many ways re-energized my reading. I'd felt that I was in kind of a rut, reading a lot of the same stuff, but not finding new things that challenged me. Once I started blogging about books & reading other blogs I've found a lot of new authors & have expanded my reading considerably. It's been really fun!

Name me a book (or few?) that you've read (and enjoyed!) as a result of the the reviews or general chatter of other book bloggers:

Sophie's Choice, Empire Falls, & The Short Stories of Katherine Anne Porter - I read these as part of Rose City Reader's Sunshine Smackdown: The Battle of the Prizes Challenge. This was a challenge to read a National Book Award winner, a Pulitzer Prize winner, & a book that won both awards. Reviews are linked.

Another find was Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, a book I found recommended by Constance Reader's Guide to Throwing Books with Great Force.

Have you always been a (capital R) Reader? ;-) What book(s) do you have especially fond memories of from your childhood?

Absolutely. I have been reading voraciously since I learned to read at 3 or 4 years old. Favorite childhood books include: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (& making a movie of this book should be grounds for termination of life), Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander, The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Copper, & The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. Reading & reading aloud to each other were a huge part of my growing up. I'm pleased to say that my son reads as much as I do & that most of our conversations start with, "So, I'm reading ..."


Tell me 5 "can't miss" book blogs that we should all be following:

Rose City Reader - She is list-obsessed & her blog is a great source for book lists of all kinds. She also reads a lot of really interesting books!
Constance Reader's Guide to Throwing Books with Great Force - Good writer, funny, interesting book list.
Stainless Steel Droppings - A beautiful blog with a quirky sensibility.
Serendipity - Vivienne's a British reader & scrapbooker & a faithful commenter on the blogs she reads.
Book Chase - Sam is an older gentlemen from Houston who reads a wide variety of books & reviews them, but who also writes on various topics about books & reading. I don't always agree with him, but his perspective is always refreshing.

Tell me 5 books you think everyone should read:

Just 5?! *grins*


Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak - A classic read about imagination!
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn - Another classic. Kuhn argues that scientific advancement is a revolutionary not evolutionary process. He coined the term "paradigm shift" & reading him will change how you look at most things in the world, including how you see the nature of problem-solving & interpretation.
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - I read this book every spring, & when I was still living at home my mother & I read it aloud every spring. Aside from being a wonderful story filled with delightful characters it also contains one of the most beautiful chapters of a book ever written - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
Andrew Lang's Coloured Fairy Books - Read these & you'll have a firm grounding in fairy tales & folklore that will illuminate most other things that you might read.
Sandman by Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean (& many other amazing illustrators) - Among the very best in storytelling & literature, an amazing comic (or graphic novel, if you prefer), & it's chock full of references to books Gaiman has read that are wonderfully fun to tease out.

Best book you've read this year thus far?

Best book this year is a tie: We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver & The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. Each wonderful in its own way & very different from each other.


Worst book you've read this year thus far?

Worst is tied, too: Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin (dreadful, if mildly entertaining) & Ghost Road Blues by Jonathan Maberry (which was just dreadful).

BBAW: Spotlight on Book Blogs!

At long last, the much awaited and much prepared for Book Blogger Appreciation Week has arrived. In honor of the first official day, we're spotlighting and celebrating blogs and bloggers that for one reason or another (the 1000 or so nominations? the fierce competition?) didn't manage to make the official BBAW award short lists but are super awesome nonetheless.

I find myself in a bit of a conundrum because several of my usual suspects - you know, the bloggers I just love to sing the praises of - were actually honored with spots on shortlists. Ah, but hey, we all know of my love for Eva, Nymeth, Chris, and Raych. Good news, I've got plenty more book blogger praises to extoll, and I'm sure I'll be leaving a bunch out despite my best intentions, as is always the case when doing these sorts of things.

First, the other usual suspects. I would be remiss if I didn't mention some of my long time favorites...

Wendy the Literary Feline of Musings of a Bookish Kitty who has a knack for rekindling my interest in mysteries and crime fiction and is a great commenter. It's always a pleasure to hear from her both at her blog and in the comments at mine and others' blogs!

Debi of Nothing of Importance. I would be beating a dead horse to mention the complete inaccuracy of Debi's blog's name. I love Debi's chatty posts, her weekly blame game (someday I'll be on that list...I hope...), her book babbling, and her obvious pride in her three great kids. When she went on vacation, I honestly felt a little bereft.

CJ of My Years of Reading Seriously. I've "known" CJ since I was but a baby blogger, or at least it seems that way. She writes excellent reviews, but more importantly, sometimes it's just nice to check in and see what's going on her life and read about her adventures with her furkids. =)

I gotta mention Becky of Becky's Book Reviews, too. Even though she did grab a short list mention for her blog's design, which is great, I was a bit disappointed to see that that was the only one since her abundant and quality content is what lights my fire about her blog. I totally rely on Becky's great YA reviews. They're honest and to the point and have introduced me to a great number of books that I would otherwise be ignorant of.

Someone I don't mention enough that I've been following for a long, long time is Tara at Books and Cooks. She writes great reviews, has weekly pictures of the most delicious looking farmer's market produce, and her memoir week was just to die for.

Now for a few of my newer discoveries...

I was a little surprised to see that The Book Lady's Blog didn't manage to snag a spot on a short list. Rebecca's reviews are detailed and heartfelt, her Adventures in Bookselling posts are a laugh riot, and just about anything she writes is something I'm bound to find interesting.

Likewise with Jackie from Farm Lane Books. More great reviews of books that I'm nearly always interested in(are we noticing a trend here?). I've been particularly enjoying reading her reviews as she's been reading through the Booker Prize long list.

I've only just discovered Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea. I think we share some of the same reading tastes, and I'm convinced that her great reviews will be putting books on my wish list for a long time to come.

Likewise with Claire at Kiss a Cloud. After repeated mentions of this blog on several others that I read, I finally clicked over and saw what a great blog Kiss a Cloud is. I love Claire's bookish talk, her scrumptious bookish pictures, and her fabulous knack for picking the best passages to share that make me desperately want to read what she's reading!

Lastly, I don't even know how I happened upon it, but I greatly enjoy reading Gaskella. I can always count on great, thoughtful reviews here, often of books that I might never have heard of otherwise. Definitely one of my favorites of my more recent discoveries.


As I'm finishing up, I'm thinking of others I wish I had mentioned, but alas, this, like all of my posts is probably too long already. I'm still holding out for the debut of the BBAW award for "Most Needlessly Verbose." I mean, there's a "Most Concise" award - what about the rest of us that can't help getting carried away?

*sigh* I know my losing battle with Google Reader (which will undoubtedly become worse after this week's festivities) makes me a rotten lurker and lousy commenter, but I do appreciate all 10 of these and the many more blogs I (attempt) to read. All of you - please keep up the great work making my wish list grow and making the book blogosphere the best place to be!

Book Blogger Appreciation Week

Reality can be beaten with enough imagination.
- Unknown


Say, if you've been living in a cave for the past few weeks, I suppose it's possible that you haven't heard about Book Blogger Appreciation week. Well, it starts Monday with all sorts of festivities including a mind numbing amount of giveaways of books and other good stuff on My Friend Amy and a plethora of other participating book blogs. Check out the following for details on giveaways that will soon ensue, and be sure to head over to My Friend Amy to keep up with all the cool stuff going on in the book blogosphere in connection with BBAW throughout the coming week.




If you follow along for the festivities of BBAW at My Friend Amy, you will find many chances to win LOTS of goodies! Like what? Well have a look below. All of these things will be given away between September 15-19. There will be a huge variety of ways to win them and giveaways will be announced constantly throughout the week. So be sure to check in often!


A HUGE thank you to Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group USA, Harlequin, The B&B Media Group, Shera of SNS Blog Design, WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, Catherine Delors, Pamela Binnings Ewen, Andromeda Romano-Lax, Ceceilia Dowdy, Sormag, Book Club Girl, Savvy Verse and Wit, Cafe of Dreams, Fashionista Piranha, and Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?.

Daily Raffles:
Monday--Books and Chocolate sponsored by My Friend Amy and Hey Lady! Whatcha' Readin?
Tuesday--Books and Going Green sponsored by My Friend Amy
Wednesday--Books and Coffee sponsored by My Friend Amy
Thursday--Books and Charity sponsored by My Friend Amy and Fashionista Piranha
Friday--Books and Movies sponsored by My Friend Amy

Win a Book Club Girl Hostess Survival Kit!
Do you find it's your turn to host book club and not only do you not know what to serve but you don't know what books to offer up for the next month's selection?! Let Book Club Girl come to your rescue with the Book Club Girl Hostess Survival Kit.

One lucky winner of the kit will receive:

* A basket of cheese, crackers, cookies and wine for up to 12 people
* 5 great book group books to vote on for your group's next pick. And Book Club Girl will then donate 12 copies whichever book is chosen for your entire group to read.
* 12 Book Club Girl mousepads to give out as party favors that night
* 12 Book Club Girl bookmarks to mark everyone's favorite passages
* 12 Book Club Girl coasters to protect your coffee table from all those wine glasses!

TWO SORMAG Goody Bags containing books and more!


A Special Pamper Me Basket from Cafe of Dreams!
From Avon Foot Works
~ Inflatable watermelon shaped foot tub
~ 3.4 FL oz Watermelon Cooling Foot Lotion
~ 3.4 FL oz Watermelon Exfoliating Foot Scrub
~ 12 count Watermelon Effervescent Foot Tablets
~ An ARC of So Long At The Fair by Christina Schwarz
~ A variety of Hot Chocolate and Tea mixes

A pre-made blog template from SNSDesign!

A Subscription to Poetry Magazine from Savvy Verse and Wit!

BOOKS
Mistress of the Revolution by Catherine Delors
The Moon in the Mango Tree by Pamela Binnings Ewen
The Spanish Bow by Andromeda Romano-Lax
John's Quest by Cecelia Dowdy
Confessions of a Contractor by Richard Murphy
Acedia & Me by Kathleen Norris
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer
Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley
A Tale Out of Luck by Willie Nelson with Mike Blakely
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
Exit Music by Ian Rankin
The Smart One and the Pretty One by Claire LaZebnik
Gunmetal Black by Daniel Serrano
Isolation by Travis Thrasher
The Miracle Girls by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt
Every Freaking! Day With Rachell Ray by Elizabeth Hilts
Dewey by Vicki Myron
The Shiniest Jewel by Marian Henley
Keep the Faith by Faith Evans
The Book of Calamities by Peter Trachtenberg
A is for Atticus by Lorilee Craker
After the Fire by Robin Gaby Fisher
Mike's Election Guide by Michael Moore
War as They Knew It by Michael Rosenberg
Fixing Hell By Col. (ret.) Larry C. James
Wild Boy: My Life with Duran Duran by Andy Taylor
The Last Under-Cover: The True Story of an FBI Agent's Dangerous Dance with Evil By Bob Hamer
Border Lass by Amanda Scott
Insatiable Desire by Rita Heron
Hungry for More by Diana Holquist
Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee
Trespassers Will Be Baptized by Elizabeth Emerson Hancock
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not by Trish Ryan
Never Surrender by General Jerry Boykin
Dream in Color by Congresswoman Linda Sánchez, Congresswoman Loretta Sánchez
Beyond Belief by Josh Hamilton
Cobain Unseen by Charles R. Cross
Doing Business in 21st Century India by Gunjan Bagla
Branding Only Works on Cattle by Jonathan Salem Baskin
Launching a Leadership Revolution by Chris Brady, Orrin Woodward
How to Hear from God by Joyce Meyer
Knowing Right from Wrong by Thomas D. Williams
Pope John Paul II: An Intimate Life by Caroline Pigozzi
Pure by Rebecca St. James
He Loves Me! by Wayne Jacobson
So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore by Wayne Jacobson and Dave Coleman
Move On, Move Up by Paula White
The Rosary by Gary Jansen
Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts
The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
Right Livelihoods by Rick Moody
by George by Wesley Stace
The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold
Trunk Music by Michael Connelly
Hollywood Crows by Joseph Wambaugh
Dead Boys by Richard Lange
The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters by Lorraine Lopez
Sisterchicks Go Brit! by Robin Jones Gunn
Beyond the Night by Marlo Schalesky
With Endless Sight by Allison Pittman
Harlequin Titles: To Be Announced

Many other blogs are giving away books and prizes for BBAW as well! You can see the links to all of these giveaways here.