BBAW - Day Five - Avoiding Burnout

Day 5 One of the unfortunate side effects of reading and blogging like rockstars seems to be a tendency toward burnout. How do you keep things fresh on your blog and in your reading?

Avoiding burnout is something that we all have had to deal with at one time or another. There are lots of ways that I battle the urge to pack it all in.

1. Post about other things. Photography posts are my favorite way to throw up some interesting content that usually gets a lot of comments and makes me feel inspired again!

2. Reread a favorite that you can gush about. Sometimes I get in a summary-thoughts format rut. When I start talking about a favorite, I find that it's impossible to stick with a formula.

3. Participate in an event. This always helps to rekindle excitement about the blog and also to give fresh ideas, either through conversations with others or through visiting their blogs and seeing something cool that someone else is doing.

4. Be forgiving. If you're not feeling the blog at the moment, take a break. It's not like we're required to either be regularly active or else we have to quit. Take a break and if the blog is something you truly care about, you'll miss it and find your way back.

5. Don't apologize when you get back. I think that the need to apologize and explain sometimes delays one's return because those posts are tough to write and are ultimately negative. Unless it's a reason that you really feel the need to share, it's okay to just start back in with regular posts.

How do you avoid or recover from burnout?

This is the last day of Book Blogger Appreciation Week so I just wanted to thank Jenny, Andi, Ana, and Heather for bringing back this event. I was a little unsure at first but this has been an amazing week of meeting new friends, celebrating with old ones, and seeing just how important we are to each other. I love this community!

Finally, I want to plug my upcoming book event one more time. March Magics is a month-long celebration of the lives and stories of Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett. I announced the event here and will be posting dates for the readalongs and more next week. Join us if you are a fan or a newbie. Everyone is welcome!

Feeling the love,

K

BBAW - Day Four - Connection

Day 4 How do you stay connected to the community? Examples: social media, regular commenting, participation in blog events, etc. Tell us your faves!

I find that Twitter and Instagram are the best places for regular social interaction. Even if it's just a quick comment or a "like", it allows for everyone to keep in touch. It also shows you a fuller picture of someone's personality than just the bookish part. Soon you will find people who take amazing vacations, have the same musical tastes, or even have pets that look just like yours.

Community events are also a great way to find friends, even when they seem much too big to keep up with. Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon is where I originally connected with some of my best blogging mates. There's just something about staying awake together as late as humanly possible that helps form lasting friendships! (The next one is on April 23.)

Hosting my own events based on my personal interests has also helped me find friends in the blogging community. Whether it was Elizabeth sticking with me through a year of Poe or all of my lovely DWJ friends, I have managed to find the people out there who share my particular bookish tastes. It helps keep me interested in blogging to know that I have connections who care if I stick around or not.

What is your favorite way to stay connected?

Keeping in touch,

K

BBAW - Day Three - Blogger Recs

Day 3 What have you read and loved because of a fellow blogger?

Oh, this is a tough one because many of my reads now are because of fellow bloggers! I have to first say that bloggers got me back into the fantasy and science fiction genres after many years of avoiding them. Now quite a bit of my reading is of genre fiction. So, thank you, friends, for giving me Terry Pratchett and Diana Wynne Jones and Neil Gaiman and Connie Willis and Jo Walton!

My favorite author that I would probably have not discovered on my own is Jonathan Carroll. I read The Ghost in Love because of Selena's review of it and then Chris recommended The Land of Laughs because it was one of his favorite books. I loved both of these and was so happy to have read them! Carroll is a very unique author.

Is there a book that you read and loved because I recommended it?

Appreciating the community,

K

BBAW - Day Two - Interviews

Day 2 Interview Day!

Well, I didn't sign up for an interview this year because I was feeling anti-social during sign-ups. But, as I soon have my first job interview after twelve years of being a stay-at-home mom, I thought I should answer some practice interview questions here.

How has book blogging been like a job?

I think the main thing is pride of work. I don't like to put anything on my blog that isn't my best work. Sometimes I rush something out and then I feel a bit bad about doing it. I wouldn't mind being able to edit some of my posts a day or two later. I guess the moral of that is to not procrastinate! If I write my posts early, I have time to think about them and revise and add as things occur to me.

Other things that make it like a job are

-- community and collaboration. Many of the best ideas of book bloggers are actually group ideas. If you're feeling stuck on something blog or book related, you can always find someone to talk it out with.

-- deadlines. Those of us that accept review copies or participate in group events tend to keep elaborate calendars and schedules.

-- sometimes you need a vacation. There's a post later this week about how to beat burnout which is interesting because we totally are given stress-free time off in a job but for some reason don't often allow ourselves to take guilt-free breaks from our blogs.

What technologies have you used in blogging?

I write posts in both Blogger (this site) and Wordpress (for The Estella Society), have a Facebook page for the blog, a Tumblr for the DWJ March event (that I need to change now that I've changed the event to March Magics), Twitter for advertising my posts and for socializing, Instagram for book love photos, and random sites like Canva for event buttons and my new header! I've learned a lot about technology through running my blog and I've become much more confident with my skills.

What is the best thing about book blogging?

It is definitely the community. There's nothing better than finding a book soulmate. And to have someone take one of your recommendations and then also love the book feels amazing. It gets even better when your friendship becomes about more than just the books. There are many true friendships that have started simply from loving the same book.

Luckily, blogging isn't exactly like a job. We can sit and write posts while we watch silly New Zealander vampire movies, pre-schedule a dozen posts and then take off on vacation without anyone knowing, or quit anytime we want and not have to start a new blog to pay the rent. Also, it's all done out of love for the books. We aren't always so lucky with jobs!

I know this has nothing to do with blogging but ...

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about returning to work after a long break?

Using my network,

K

Book Blogger Appreciation Week - Day One - Intro

Welcome to Book Blogger Appreciation Week! This used to be one of my favorite blogger events because of the love shown for books and bloggers. Then it started focusing too much on blogger awards and was feeling more like a popularity contest and I was kind of glad when it fizzled out. But lately, I feel like the sense of community is waning so I'm very happy that the event has been resurrected (sans awards) and I'll be enthusiastically participating!

Day 1 Introduce yourself by telling us about five books that represent you as a person or your interests/lifestyle.

One of my favorite books as a kid was No Flying in the House by Betty Brock. I probably read this book twenty or more times. It's about Annabel who finds out that she's half fairy. This book not only kept me trying to kiss my elbow for years (that's how you can tell if you are a fairy) but it established one of my favorite kind of books -- real world with magic added in. Books like this give me hope that there is real magic hidden somewhere in this sometimes bleak world.

Amusing side story: a few months ago, I met up with two lovely friends who I've met through book blogging--Natalie and Selena--and Selena brought books for Nat and me. She was giving me mine and said "there's this one that was one of my favorites as a kid and it's about, well, not flying in the house ..." and I immediately freaked out and then knew that we would be friends forever. This is why books and blogging are so awesome!

And then there is The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. It's all about books, brains, and humor -- just like me! When I first read this book, I felt like I was home.

The first line of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens is possibly my favorite opening line in all of literature (so far) --

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. 

I first read this book when I was a teen and then a few times since and it's always inspired me with amazing characters and a heartwarming story. It also established that I would never fear classics.

I had already read and loved Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White when I read The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. This book led me to Lady Audley's Secret and the realization that Victorian sensation fiction was a genre and that I loved it. From East Lynne to Armadale to The Mystery of Edwin Drood, I can't get enough of these crazy novels. Add in neo-Victorian sensation novels like The Meaning of Night and The Quincunx and I'm in heaven. I think what I love about this genre is the outrageousness -- without the sordidness of the modern equivalents.

Finally, I have to credit Gone With the Wind (and my mother, who gave it to me to read in my early teens) with my love for chunksters. When one of your first adult novels is over 700 pages long, you learn to love a big, meaty read.

So, my dream read is a Victorian chunkster that has a realistic world with magic in it and a lot of talk about books? Hmm ...

Well, not quite Victorian but I don't mind! Based on these books, comment and give me a book recommendation!

Self-discovery through shelf discovery,
K

BBAW Day 4: Book Pimpin'

Well, today's BBAW writing prompt is this --

One of the best parts about book blogging is the exposure to books and authors you might never have heard of before. Pimp the book you think needs more recognition on this day. Get creative! Maybe share snippets from other bloggers who have reviewed it or make some fun art to get your message across.

But as my regular readers probably know, I am always loath to label any book as a "must read" for everyone because I don't think there's a universally beloved book out there (and I don't want anyone hating my favorite books). So, instead I'm going to invite you to find some new favorites with me while reading through a list of the "best" chapter books!

It's the Top 100 Chapter Books Read-Along that I'm hosting at The Estella Society (a new playground for book bloggers) -- and we're actually starting with my favorite chapter book so I guess in a way I'm breaking my own rules and telling you to read it.

We'll be discussing The Wizard of Oz starting this weekend (Sept. 15) so you still have time to download a copy and read along! I'm very excited to create some new fans of this 112 year old masterpiece.

Our next few titles are The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, The Graveyard Book, The Dark is Rising, The Secret Garden, Tuck Everlasting, Journey to the River Sea, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and The Saturdays. So if any of these are books you've thought of trying, books you missed out on as a child or books you've read dozens of times and want to talk about, join us on the 15th and 30th/31st of each month for a fun discussion! There's no commitment to read all 100 books -- just join in when you can/when you want to.

What's your favorite chapter book? And have I convinced you to come read some books with me?

Pimping my own project,
K

BBAW Day 3: What Blogging Means to Me

Today's BBAW prompt is a simple one but definitely a tough one as well --

What does book blogging mean to you?

Well, it's late (as is usually the case when I'm writing blog posts) and my thinky part isn't working as well as I would hope. So here are a few words in non-sentence form that touch on what blogging means to me.

Sharing

Community

Discovery

Friendships

Challenges

Self-Expression

Learning

Comfort

Purpose

Growth

What is the one word that you would choose to represent what book blogging means to you?

Short of words but strong on emotion,

K

BBAW Day 2: Some Answers and a Giveaway

Well, today is BBAW interview day which is always extremely fun but I have been so swamped with the start of school that I didn't have time to do one. So instead, you get the alternative self Q&A and a giveaway!

Do you snack while you read? Not anymore because I'm losing weight. If so, favorite reading snack? BUT, if I was to slip and grab a snack, it would be Popcorners (kettle or sea salt) or dark chocolate M&Ms.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you? Yes the idea of writing in books is not my favorite but at the same time I wish I had a better record of my thoughts while reading a book. I tend to forget them by the time I reach the end. If I ever got in a more organized place in life, I might read with post-its handy.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open? Bookmark, receipt, photograph ... NEVER dog-ears. And I actually don't ever open a book flat -- most of my read books look brand new or might have a single crease down the spine.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both? Both! There are awesome stories and ideas in both.

Hard copy or audiobooks? Hard copy. I don't have any time where it would be convenient to listen to audiobooks and my mind tends to wander anyway. I need the written words to keep my attention.

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? I used to read to the end of chapters exclusively but now, as a parent, I've had to perfect my "putting the book down at any moment" skills. In fact, now I find myself putting books down in the middle of chapters more than at the end of them.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away? Depends. If I can guess what it means from context, I'll just move on. But if I can't guess and I think that it's an important word, I'll look it up. This is why we have smartphones now, right?

What are you currently reading? An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson

What is the last book you bought? I bought a few books for the 100 Picture Books Read-Along (not so subtle plug) -- Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Journey to the River Sea, The Dark is Rising box set. In the same order, I bought Matilda and Pippi Longstocking for my niece who turned 8!

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time? Usually just one at a time but sometimes more than one if I'm doing a section-by-section read-along or if I'm reading a slower non-fiction book. But I really like immersing myself in a story and sticking with it until I'm done.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read? All day, anywhere? But 11pm to 2am in bed is probably my super favorite.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books? I like both for different reasons.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over? Diana Wynne Jones! Jasper Fforde! Read their books now!

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?) By no discernable method at all right now. I have groups by authors but those aren't placed anywhere specific in relation to other authors. I have kid book shelves and a non-fictiony-type shelf and I have a TBR bookcase (that has spilled over into also being piles on the floor next to the bookcase). Organization will never truly happen until I have many more shelves or far fewer books.

Now for that giveaway ...

I want to buy one blogger a new paperback of the incredibly awesome Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling by Michael Boccacino. This is open internationally to all book bloggers. One entry per person and the winner will be chosen on Friday night or Saturday morning.

I just finished this book yesterday and it was really, really good. I'll have a glowing review up next week but I want to give it away now. It's dark, creepy, supernatural Victoriana and the perfect RIP read! Just fill out this little form to enter --

Best of luck, K

BBAW Day 1: Appreciation!

Welcome to another year of Book Blogger Appreciation Week! With no awards this year, this is a much less formal and (I think) more fun event where we are all winners for spreading our love of books. There's no pressure to be anything but jubilant and thankful.

Today's writing prompt is

Share with your readers some of the blogs you enjoy reading daily and why.

Well, this is the part of BBAW where everyone is afraid of leaving someone out and I'm no different. So I'm going to share as many as I possibly can but I truly apologize if I miss yours and you know I'm a reader. These are the book blogs that I've been reading for a while now, the ones who post regularly, the ones that have great content, the ones who have caused me to have a 200+ TBR, and the ones that make me proud to be part of this community. I'm listing names first because it's the blogger that makes the blog!

Fans of the Classics

Allie at A Literary Odyssey

Karen at Books and Chocolate

Jane of Reading, Writing, Working, Playing

Internationally Known

Iris of Iris on Books

Judith of Leeswammes' Blog

Alex of The Sleepless Reader

Witty and Smart

Heather at Capricious Reader

Jenners of Life ... With Books

Tasha of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Books

Home of Great Discussions

Aarti at BOOKLUST

Teresa and Jenny of Shelf Love

Ana of Things Mean A Lot

Eclectic to the Max

Natasha/Vasilly at 1330v
Trisha of Eclectic / Eccentric
Kim of Sophisticated Dorkiness
Dana of Much Madness is Divinest Sense

Simons
Simon of Savidge Reads
Simon of Stuck in a Book

Killer Combos: Food + Books
Cecelia at Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia
Sakura of Chasing Bawa

Friends From the True North
Chris of Chrisbookarama
Kelly/Kailana of The Written World

Back Catalog Divas
Danielle at A Work in Progress
Gilion of Rose City Reader
Elizabeth at As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves
Col of Col Reads
Jenn of The Picky Girl

Genre Explorers

Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings

Memory of Stella Matutina
Chris of In a Bookshelf

The Esteemed Creator of Jenny's Law
Jenny of Jenny's Books

Reads for All Ages
Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea

Anastasia at Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

Danielle of There's a Book

Tif of Tif Talks Books

If I had an award to give to these bloggers, it would say something like

In Appreciation of Your Dedication to Books New and Old, Your Enthusiasm About the Written Word and Your Friendship in a Unique Community.

Thank you all for giving this nerdy and eclectic reader a place to feel at home!

Hugs all around,

K (and Z)

BBAW Giveaway Winner(s)

Congratulations to the winner of our $20 Out of Print Clothing gift certificate --

GMR of Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers!

And, I've been thinking about Out of Print's mission and want more of you to be able to place orders with them to help Books For Africa so I chose two more winners to receive $10 certificates each --

Erin of Erin Reads!

and

Eli Squared of Eli to the nth!

And to everyone else, please consider shopping at Out of Print Clothing or even just supporting Books For Africa with a donation.

(Winners, this will be an e-mailed gift certificate to the e-mail address you entered with and it says they are delivered within 1-2 business days.)

Thank you to everyone who entered. I hope you had a fantastic Book Blogger Appreciation Week!

Wearing it well,
K

BBAW Giveaway: Gift Certificate to Out-of-Print Clothing

I'm really excited about my giveaway for BBAW this year and wish I had a chance at winning it too. I'm going to be giving away a gift certificate to Out-of-Print Clothing! I love their shirts and I love their mission --

In addition to spreading the joy of reading through our tees, we acknowledge that many parts of the world don't have access to books at all. We are working to change that. For each shirt we sell, one book is donated to a community in need through our partner Books For Africa.

So, if you would like to win a $20 gift certificate toward a tee-shirt, sweatshirt, iPhone case or eReader jacket, just fill out the form below -- no following or comments required. My only request is that only bloggers enter this one. And to help out our international entrants with the higher shipping cost, I will make it $25 if you win and are not in the U.S.!

There are options for men, women and children so I'm sure there's something that you or someone you know would love. Entries are due by Saturday September 17, noon Pacific and the winner will be announced soon after.

Thanks to all bloggers and good luck,

K

Book Blogger Appreciation Week Begins Today

For many reasons, I wasn't excited by Book Blogger Appreciation Week this year. I haven't been keeping up with my own blog as well as I want to and I haven't been commenting on the blogs I read as much as I should. I was planning on sitting out on this week altogether. And yet, as the week has approached, I couldn't help but think how lucky I am to have become a part of the book blogging community. I hope that I have contributed something worthwhile so far and I can honestly say that there are bloggers out there who have had a lasting effect on me.

Today's post is actually supposed to be about Community and those bloggers who have "made book blogging a unique experience for you" so it fits in with the only thing I really want to accomplish this week -- to thank book bloggers (in a meaningful way) who have made an impression on me. This may get a bit mushy and so I apologize in advance.

First, I want to again thank Jenny of Jenny's Books for reminding me that blogging should be fun. Her witty and sometimes hilarious posts are always a blast to read. She fills her posts with sugar and vinegar in equal measure, as honesty dictates. She has also reminded me that loving a children's author is nothing to be ashamed about. Sometimes we get caught up in wanting to be taken seriously and forget that we will be respected more for being honest than for having the proper reading list.

But I also want to thank Karen (of Books and Chocolate), Danielle (of A Work in Progress), Jane (of Reading, Writing, Working, Playing), Jenny and Teresa (of Shelf Love) and Amanda (of Dead White Guys) for reminding me how much I love the classics and for constantly bringing new ones to my attention. They may not be the flashiest titles in today's reading world and we might already know how they end but they are still beautiful novels and are well worth reading (sometimes again and again).

And for helping me expand the scope of my reading, I want to thank Natalie (of In Spring it is the Dawn), Bellezza (of Dolce Bellezza), Leeswammes, Iris (of Iris on Books) and Zee (of Notes from the North). They make international fiction accessible and have led me to books that I would never have found on my own. Natalie has been especially influential in introducing me to the world of Japanese fiction that I had been missing out on for so long (and she's an absolute sweetheart). Now I'm eagerly awaiting the release of 1Q84 this fall!

I want to thank Carl (of Stainless Steel Droppings) for hosting the best challenges in the entire bookblogging world. I might not still be blogging if it wasn't for the RIP Challenge! And you have to appreciate any challenge that insists on nothing more than having fun.

For being my friend in the kidlit world that I sometimes dabble in (and hope to be much better about going forward), I want to thank Danielle of There's a Book. She's not only one of the sweetest bloggers out there but she might just be the hardest working one. I'm incredibly sad that she won't be at the Kidlitcon this weekend!

I also want to thank Selena (currently of Luxe Hours) and Cecelia (of Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia) for the meet-ups this year. Part of the joy of the book blogging community is when it spills over into the real world. Both of these ladies are smart and fun to hang out with and I can't wait to do it again!

The other joy of the community is when you are able to discover other joint interests and celebrate them together and so I want to thank Tasha a.k.a. Heidenkind (of Truth, Beauty, Freedom and Books) for being the fearless leader of our Saturday night Hitchfest group. I also want to thank all of the other #hitchfest crew for being an awesome bunch to spend an evening with while watching (and sometimes mocking) the brilliant films of Alfred Hitchcock. (Anyone is welcome to join us on Twitter -- 10pm ET Saturdays!)

And I really, really want to thank Eva of A Striped Armchair for being a curious reader. She reminds me that there's nothing wrong with picking up a book that you know nothing about. You might be annoyed with it and put it down early, but there's also the chance that you will find a new favorite author. Eva also always reminds me that we are all dealt a different hand in life and go through our ups and downs. The mark of good character is that after the downs, you stand up, dust off the cobwebs and start walking again. Thank you for always coming back, Eva!

And finally, I want to thank Tif (of Tif Talks Books) and Jenners (of Life ... With Books). It is my biggest regret that I haven't been able to meet either of these gals in real life yet because I have truly come to consider them as friends. It doesn't matter whether we share almost the exact same reading tastes (Tif) or have almost no reading in common (Jenners). I can always count on them for comments (even if Tif's come a bit late sometimes ;)) and support. They're both very resilient and strong people and I envy them in many ways.

There are so many other bloggers that make this a world that I'm loath to leave and, just because I haven't listed you here, it doesn't mean that I don't want to send out a big THANK YOU to you as well.

Sincerely,
K

BBAW Giveaway Winners

Thanks for celebrating Book Blogs with us this week!  We drew three names and each person ended up getting their first choice of books.  I love when that happens!

Word Lily won the tote and notebook and chose The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.

Acrisalves of Rascunhos (an international entry!) won The Shadow of the Wind.

E.J. Stevens, author of From the Shadows, lucked out and got her first choice as well -- Rebecca.

Thank you again to all who entered in the contest and we hope you stay around for the blogging!
K and W

BBAW: Future Treasures

What a fantastic Book Blogger Appreciation week this has been!  I've added some blogs to my reader and books to my TBR lists, spent some quality time chatting with book blogging friends on Twitter and even won a couple of books!  I hope that you all have had a great week as well and have found some new treasures.  We're supposed to talk today about our goals for the coming year but I'm not good with those so let me just give you a quick rundown of what to expect over the next few months.

The rest of September and October are going to be mostly occupied with RIP Challenge reads.  I still have plenty left on my shelves and am always willing to help you out with recommendations if you need them.

I'm almost sure I will be participating in Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon in October (my first time)!  The timing just seems right for me to jump in this year.

I'm also going to be continuing through my "book behind the classic movie" reads.  I've loved the experience so far.

I feel like I need to shake things up a bit so I'm working on some ideas.  You can expect some guest posts and other fun features soon!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by this week.  It's been fun!  I'll be ending my giveaway later today and choosing some winners so go enter if you haven't yet.

Ending with a smile and a sigh,
K

BBAW: Forgotten Treasure

Today, the BBAW topic is 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!

What an opportunity!  What book do I think you should read as soon as humanly possible?  Hmm ... I have no idea!  Honestly, I really don't like recommending books to people I don't know well.  Is there really a book out there that everyone should read?  One that everyone would enjoy?  I think it's highly unlikely.  So, let me pass on a few of my favorites that seem to get overlooked but please don't come back to me and tell me that you didn't, in fact, love one of them.  It will just make me sad.  (Just kidding ... kind of ...)

A bunch of people are reading Bleak House right now and I'm so glad!  It's a wonderful book.  And Great Expectations is always mentioned as a favorite by Dickens readers.  But have you read David Copperfield?  It's one I re-read every few years and I love it.  It has the best and worst of Dickens' characters and a hero you can really sympathize with.

Everyone who reads my blog knows I'm one of the biggest Jasper Fforde evangelists around.  The Eyre Affair is one that has a million tiny references and I hope to catch them all some day.  The Nursery Crimes books are funny and smart and gritty.  But did you miss Fforde's new release early this year -- Shades of Grey?  It was different and awesome and paid off for those who stuck with it.

Finally, I feel we're never too old for children's books and I can't get enough of these classic but lesser-known tales of magic and wonder -- The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Family Stories and The Children of Green Knowe.

Hoping I've been helpful,
K

BBAW: Unexpected Treasure

Today's BBAW discussion 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?

This is a tough question because I read such a variety of books and I'm open to quite a bit as well.  But for this one I'm going to have to give credit to Jenners of Find Your Next Book Here and her Chance Challenge, both last year's version and this year's.  You can take a look at my posts that I've just linked to see all of the different books that I've chosen to "take a chance" on.  I've tried new genres and new authors and even new ways of posting reviews.

Sometimes we use challenges to keep us on track with reading we were already planning on doing.  Other times, we join a challenge that stretches our comfort zone and encourages us to try something new.  Both are worthwhile but I've definitely gained far more from the latter.  Thanks, Jenners!

Veering off the path most traveled,
K

BBAW: New Treasure - Interview: Erica of The Olive Reader

One of my favorite features of BBAW is the Interview Swap, especially when it's done well.  I was assigned to interview Erica of The Olive Reader, the blog for the Harper Perennial imprint at Harper Collins (the olive refers to the imprint's logo).  Erica is a marketing manager and blogger extraordinaire.  I hope that you caught Erica's stint on That's How I Blog! on September 8th because it was a great chance to get to know her.  I've asked her some bookish questions -- though she still managed to answer Chipotle to one of them!  Enjoy!

Of the last ten books you've read, which one did you like best?

This is a tough question because I’ve had a really good run lately—especially good for me considering a bunch of them were books I’ll be promoting this winter! So I’m going to have to give a multi-part answer. For being unlike anything else I’ve read and yet hitting on lots of things I love (haunted houses plus family stories), Blake Butler’s There Is No Year (out this April). For bringing me to tears multiple times, both from the actual story as well as the beauty of the writing, Tana French’s Faithful Place (out now). For sheer solid, I-liked-everything-about-this-book-ness, Jessica Anya Blau’s Drinking Closer to Home (out in January.)

Which author(s) are you the biggest evangelist for (besides job-related ones ... unless you really love them regardless)?

I do really love some of them! I try not to play favorites, at least not in any public forums, but there are definitely some I force on all my friends. And there are some, like Bryan Charles (Hold Onto Me Tightly As If I Knew the Way, an amazing coming of age story) that are Harper Perennial authors but who I evangelized for way before it was my job. (There’s a reason why my signed copy of that book calls me Bryan’s #1 fan.) But in terms of non-work-related authors, I’ve forced Tana French and In the Woods onto more people than I can count. And I will preach the gospel of Kathleen Finneran’s The Tender Land (a memoir of a woman whose younger brother committed suicide) till the day I die. Seriously, please email me if you’re reading this and want to know more about any of those three books.

Which book from your shelves would you be most likely to pull out and re-read on a rainy day?

I never re-read! Well, almost never. I re-read a few books recently when I had read them many months before and then did blog talk radio interviews with the authors. But otherwise, I have such an endless to-be-read pile that it feels like too much of a luxury. Even when I’ve re-read a book, it’s usually been a classic or something from my childhood/young adulthood. So I’d have to say if I were going to re-read, it would be a Christopher Pike novel. I will re-read all of them, someday.

Do you still own any books from when you were a kid?  If you do, tell us about them.  If you don't, why not?

See above re: Christopher Pike! I have almost all his books. I grew up in a small apartment in Brooklyn, so keeping all my childhood books wasn’t really feasible. As a kid, I kept bags of them in my grandmother’s basement. When she died when I was in college, we had to clear it out and my mom limited me to one bag’s worth or so. So out went my massive sweet valley high, baby-sitters club, and other collections. I kept all the Christopher Pike and a few other favorites, and I’ve actually got to get out to my mom’s house sometime soon to go through what’s left, so we’ll see what other surprises I’ll find!

If you were limited to only reading short stories or chunksters (600+ pages) for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

Short stories all the way! Ideally I’d be limited to books of around 250-300 pages, but I’d much rather read shorter works than longer. I love that feeling of finishing something in one or two sittings, and that’s just never going to happen with a huge book. And I’m always suspicious—did it REALLY have to be that big—even before I open one.

What is one cover-art element that makes you most likely to pick up a book at a shop

Either something really graphic and eye-catching or a straight-on face shot of a girl. Really I’ll pick up almost anything that looks cool or that I’ve vaguely heard of, because I’m a cover copy junkie (I used to write it for a living) and I love reading it. I don’t often pick up books where the cover features only part of a woman’s body and not her face. It’s my own little pet peeve. I know many people don’t like to have the cover tell them too much about what the character looks like, but I’m the opposite.

Do you have a good local library?  Do you use it regularly?

My closest library is currently under renovation. I’m not too far from the main Brooklyn Public Library branch, which is a beautiful place to visit and explore, but I have to admit I don’t go much. I get a lot of books at work, and a lot of books through just being in publishing (knowing people at other houses, etc), and a lot of books from swapping with people, so when I really want a book and I can’t get it in any of those ways it’s really a huge treat for me to go to the bookstore and buy it brand-new.

Which author would you choose to write a fictional account of your life (realistic or not)?

Oh this is a tough one! I’m torn between Simon Van Booy, who would describe my life so beautifully that it would make even me appreciate it more, and Lionel Shriver, who would be tough on me (or the character of me).

Which is your favorite book-based film (any genre)?

I’m not a huge fan of book-based films. If I’ve read the book already, the movie rarely lives up to my expectations. If I haven’t, then when I do read the book I can’t stop thinking about the movie. So for that reason, I’m going to go with Twilight. Neither the book nor the movie are favorites of mine, but I was able to enjoy them both on their own merits.

What is another love in your life besides books?

Cats! Chipotle! Running! My boyfriend! TV! At various times I’ve had blogs centered on three out of five of those things. In all seriousness, while I wholeheartedly love all those things, I’d say my other main “love” is writing.

I've had a great time getting to know Erica and I hope that you head right over to The Olive Reader to check out some of Erica's witty and fun posts.  She even gives away books now and then so there's really nothing to lose!  She's also on Twitter as @harperperennial.

Pleased to make your acquaintance,
K


In a random act of unnecessary disclosure, I will tell you that Harper Collins is under the same parent company as the company where my husband works but I'm doubting the BBAW folks knew that so, well, whatever!

BBAW Giveaway

We want to celebrate Book Blogger Appreciation Week by giving you the chance to win some cool stuff!  Our giveaway is open internationally.  We have some great stuff ... take a look!

First is a brown Powell's reusable tote (flat-bottomed) and a medium-sized spiral-bound lined notebook (also brown) with orchids.

Then we have three of our favorite books --
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (gently used)
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (new)
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (gently used)

Instructions for entry are as follows --

Please mark if you are interested in the tote and notebook and then select your first, second and third choices of book.  The first name drawn for the tote will also receive their first choice of book, the second name drawn will receive their first or second choice and the third name drawn will receive the remaining book (if they are interested in it).

Winners will be chosen from entries received by 6pm Pacific on Friday September 17th.



Thanks for stopping by and good luck,
K and Z

BBAW: First Treasure

Welcome to Book Blogger Appreciation Week 2010!  I hope that everyone is ready for a week full of blog reading and celebrating.  My posts will be brief but don't think that I'm not incredibly excited about this event.  I just want to leave you time to visit as many sites as possible!  And please leave a comment if it's your first time here.  I would love to follow it back to your site or just to know you stopped by!

I'm going to start here with the first writing exercise and following this later today will be my giveaway post.

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.

Well, this is an easy one and a tough one.  There is one blog that comes immediately to mind and then there are a bunch more that immediately follow it and I would love to share them all with you.  But I'm going to mention the one blog that you absolutely need to check out if you haven't already and that's Jenny's Books.  Jenny has a wicked sense of humor and a wonderful blogging voice.  She also reads a wide variety of books and was the host of the ridiculously awesome Diana Wynne Jones Week last month.  I hope that you go say hi to Jenny today and tell her that Kristen sent you!

Beginning the celebration,
K