BBAW and what the future holds

Book Blogger Appreciation Week winds up after a week of frenetic commenting, lovey-dovey friendliness, good humor and NO GRIPING about anything!

(I'd like to gripe about a little thing called Twitter, which suddenly seems to be all-important... Countless blog posts these days start out, Well a funny thing happened on Twitter, blah blah. Can I continue to be a curmudgeon and just blog, thank you?)

But on to today's theme: Future Treasures

We’ve been visiting each other and getting to know each other better…now is your chance to share what you enjoyed about BBAW and also what your blogging goals are for the next year!

I loved participating this year in BBAW this year, and even though my sweetheart was annoyed at how much time I spent online, I'd do it again in an instant. It's JUST THIS ONE WEEK after all ;)

I'm ecstatic about all the new bloggers I've met and look forward to getting to know them better.

I hope some of them also might like reading mine, though I admit it's a bit irregular. As in, unpredictable content, haphazard posting, and the occasional holiday. And if I don't have anything to say, I'll post silly newspaper clippings.

No apologies, though! I work full time, and I also try to have a Life outside blogging... with varying success anyway. I try to keep things low key.

Thanks, everyone, for your book recommendations, your pats on the back and your never-flagging love of books.

My goals? Hmmm. I'd like to invite all 32 of my followers over for afternoon tea. I think you'd all fit into the flat, but you'd have to eat your crumpets standing.

My 32nd birthday is coming up, also, so how fitting would that be?

Seriously, I want to keep the work/life/blog balance nice and healthy. I'm inviting a friend or two over for Dewey's 24-hour Read-a-Thon next month. We'll probably talk more than read, but that's OK!

It's coming up on October 9, so if you haven't signed up, now's the time. You won't believe how crazy those cheerleaders can be!

For the rest of this year, I'll finish up a few challenges, check in with my family to see what they're reading, listen to a few audio books while knitting (my new craze), and plan my annual Thanksgiving book exchange.

Last year we had something like 50 books exchanged, and I don't think any of them got cranberry sauce spilled on them.

Best of luck to everyone on your bookish endeavors. Congratulations to everyone who was nominated or won awards this year -- shortlists and winners are displayed here.

And MANY MANY thanks to the folks who put in the time and effort to make BBAW such a fabulous amazing week! Thank you!!!

BBAW and some old favorites

I've so much enjoyed reading through other people's posts for today and have already added a whole bunch of books to my 'to read' list! Isn't that just the way it works.

Today's Book Blogger Appreciation Week theme—Forgotten Treasure

Sure we’ve all read about Freedom and Mockingjay but we likely have a book we wish would get more attention by book bloggers, whether it’s a forgotten classic or under marketed contemporary fiction. This is your chance to tell the community why they should consider reading this book!

I don't necessarily like giving out-and-out orders like 'You MUST read this book NOW' -- I rarely comply with those sorts of orders myself. If someone whose judgment I value tells me I HAVE to read a certain book, I file it away in my brain and come back to it two or three years later.

After I read the book and love it to death, I wonder why I waited so long.

Hmmm. Pure perversity I think.

Anyway, book bloggers have certainly done me the favor of telling me about all sorts of books that I must read, now, immediately, Do not pass Go, Do not collect $200.

I do appreciate that, and my book wishlist keeps getting longer and longer. All the same, I stick to my own idiosyncratic reading choices and I'll get around to those books you mentioned when I'm good and ready.

Are there books that I'd want to shout about over the rooftops? Definitely! Middlesex, The Blind Assassin, and Sea of Poppies are the books I'd rave about the most from the past year or so. They're no secret, though.

When I try to think of books that haven't been blogged about enormously... come to think of it, I don't remember seeing much mention of Martin Cruz Smith and his marvelous detective, Arkady Renko. Gorky Park is absolutely fantastic, and I think I liked Polar Star even better.

About Renko, I wrote:

Only because Renko doesn’t act in accordance with what’s expected of him... does the story unfold the way it does. It’s in essence the story of a man breaking all the rules: discovering the rules of his own morality...

I think it’s Renko’s intuition that’s so appealing about him. He is a fascinating character, so unexpected because he knows himself only partially.

I haven't read the others in the series, but someday I'd like to. Have any of you read the Arkady Renko books?

BBAW continues... with not-so-unexpected results

Today's Book Blogger Appreciation Week topic is Unexpected Treasure.

We invite you to share with us a book or genre you tried due to the influence of another blogger. What made you cave in to try something new and what was the experience like?

Oops! I guess I already answered this question yesterday, when I mentioned that I'm in the middle of my first Sarah Waters novel. When I first connected with other book bloggers, I noticed Sarah Waters mentioned (and raved about) EVERYWHERE.

At the time, I hadn't read anything of hers. I currently have three of her books, two yet unread, and am in the middle of Tipping the Velvet, Waters' first novel.

So far, all is going splendidly. Nan is suddenly and unexpectedly famous as Kitty's stage sidekick and she's still wondering what to do with all her newfound wealth and untapped ambition. I sense exciting times ahead... and I know I have many enjoyable hours in front of me reading Sarah Waters' other works.

I can thank fellow book bloggers in general for introducing me to lots of new authors, and for hosting challenges and readalongs that have spurred me to read more in this past year than I think I ever have. The Women Unbound Challenge, the People of Color Reading Challenge, the GLBT Reading Challenge; these have all been amazing to be part of.

Thanks to The Classics Circuit, I read The Reef by Edith Wharton, which I'm sure I wouldn't have picked up otherwise. It was a great story and quite different from the rest of my reading this year -- and it was especially fun to compare notes with other bloggers who were reading Wharton at the same time.

Finally, I want to thank Laura for hosting The Complete Booker and giving shape to my vague plan to read more Booker prize winners. So far this year I've read four Booker prize winners and loved each one. Laura also steered me toward the Orange Prize (and The Orange Prize Project) as a welcome complement to the Booker.

I feel like a whole Aladdin's cave of good literature has been opened up to me! Never in a lifetime could I hope to read all the great books out there that have been enthusiastically recommended by wonderful book bloggers.

All one can do is try.

Book Blogger Appreciation

Book Blogger Appreciation Week kicks off this week with -- First Treasure.

We invite you to share with us about a great new book blog you’ve discovered since BBAW last year! If you are new to BBAW or book blogging, share with us the very first book blog you discovered. Tell us why this blog rocks your socks off and why you keep going back for more.

I have a kind of warped memory of BBAW last year because it was only shortly before the event that I became aware of the existence of other book bloggers. I've said this before, but it was very odd.

I had been blogging about books for a while, but somehow was oblivious to the fact that there was an entire blogging community dedicated to books and reading!

What a relief it was to find you all. And to be inspired to expand my reading horizons, make new friends, and read more than I ever thought I could! (Sorry, gushing a bit.)

One book blog leads to another, and so...

If I remember right, my first blogging friend Sparkling Squirrel mentioned that she read a couple book blogs. One of these was

Raych at books i done read

Wow! You mean book blogging can be hilarious, grammatically incorrect, wildly idiosyncratic, and full of swear words?

I was hooked. Since then, Raych has remained one of my favorites, despite the fact that we seem to have very little in common reading-wise.

Ye Olde Blogrolls (can't remember whose) led me to other greats in the field...

Teresa and Jenny at Shelf Love

Eva at A Striped Armchair

Nymeth at Things Mean a Lot

These amazing bloggers demonstrated just how unique and varied book blogs can be, whether leaning toward the personal or the academic, whether measured or gushing, not to mention vlogs and challenges and giveaways...

Then BBAW 2009 finished the job of converting me over to an official book blog groupie... I haven't been the same since.

Book Blogger Appreciation continues all week with themed posts each day. Check out the week's schedule here and be sure to read Raych's summary of the year to remind you of how far we've all come.

Let the appreciation begin

Congratulations to all who made the Book Blogger Appreciation Week awards longlists! I'm very happy to see some of my top picks on the list.

Through the longlisting process, I've found some fabulous new book blogs and reconnected with some old favorites.

The voting was very difficult, with five posts to read from each blog entered, which was something like 145 blogs in one of the categories. That's a lot of reading -- and then having to vote for only five. I had more of a 'top 20' list when I finished and it was extremely difficult to narrow it down.

I found it a bit stressful! I'm glad I joined in the process, though. I enjoyed the introduction to many new book blogs and an opportunity to see where my own blog stands amongst them.

Join me in admiring the excellent work of these longlisted bloggers -- best of luck to them in the shortlisting process! (The shortlists come out later this month.)

My top picks for Best Literary Fiction Book Blog

Shelf Love is a strong contender and always sets the bar high in terms of quality of reviews and of books read.

Caribous Mom manages to be literary, approachable, and inspiring with an always friendly tone.

The New Dork Review of Books is one of my favorite new discoveries -- engaging, funny, and what a title, eh?

Inside Books didn't make the longlist but I thought it deserved to for very well written and insightful book discussion.


My top picks for Best Written Book Blog

My Porch deserves to win for being completely brilliant and engaging and insanely smart.

Tony's Reading List gets points for a creative and humorous approach including book-based screenplays and short stories featuring authors and characters.

Sasha and the Silverfish glows with energy and sass -- I like the 'reading journal' approach and the immediacy of the writing.

What You Read wasn't longlisted but should have been! Can I use the word 'engaging' one more time?


Please keep in mind that there were dozens of other blogs that I would have loved to have voted for -- including many of my very favorite blogs that didn't enter BBAW and so aren't in contention. It's their own darn fault too!

Good luck, everyone!

Photo credit: The Guardian

Book Blogger Appreciation Week

It's not until September, but Book Blogger Appreciation Week is ramping up. Registration ends July 7, so last-minute waffling procrastinators like me need to make up their minds now!

About BBAW:

Book Blogger Appreciation was started by Amy Riley of My Friend Amy in an effort to recognize the hard work and contribution of book bloggers to the promotion and preservation of a literate culture actively engaged in discussing books, authors, and a lifestyle of reading.

It was last year's BBAW that clued me in to the fact that there were a lot of other people blogging about books, and it was then that I was introduced to many of my favorites.

I was interested to see a British blogger's registration post today, by Lizzy at Lizzy's Literary Life --

Self-promotion is not a British forte but it is a must if you’d like to be considered for an award associated with this year’s BBAW... I haven’t seen any British entries yet. All I can say is that that would be a shame if that were to remain the case.

I think so too! Thanks for that call, Lizzy. Obviously, I'm not British, but I would still want the BBAW entries to be as diverse as possible.

Everyone who wants to vote (or be voted for) has to register. I admit, I had reservations about this, like many others out there. However, after reading a very good explanation of this year's changes to the registration process, I'm going ahead and making the leap.

Despite all sorts of doubts about whether this is a good idea or not, I'm registering in the Best Literary Fiction Book Blog niche category. I certainly can't hold a candle to most of the other literary fiction bloggers out there, but I want to join in the fun, so here goes.

My five posts to be considered for Best Literary Fiction Book Blog are:

• How Late It Was, How Late by James Kelman
• Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro
• The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• Amsterdam by Ian McEwan

I'm also going to go for the swollen head award and register for the Best Written Book Blog featured category as well.

My five posts for Best Written Book Blog are:

• Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro
• The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
• Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson

Note that if you're not sure about entering for a prize, you can still register in a niche category and get voting privileges.