Tag-Archive for » bbaw «

Aug

I am voting for my favorites for Book Blogger Appreciation Week. It’s fun to discover some new blogs. I noticed as I was casting my votes that the following things tended to catch my eye:

Humor and snarkiness
A pleasing design

I love book bloggers who can inject a bit of humor into their writing. Humor is a little lacking over here at Much Madness is Divinest Sense, but perhaps that needs to change. The one review I wrote that included a little bit of humor because I was in a weird mood that day was so much fun to write. Of course, I am not sure that’s something I could sustain, and it isn’t even appropriate for all the kinds of reviews and writing I do here, but it’s something to think about. Also, I really admire Jenny’s reviews, and she is so often funny, as are the wonderful ladies at AustenBlog.

Given we are trained not to judge a book by its cover, what does my admiration for design have to do with anything? Well, I think if your site looks nice and is easy to navigate, it tends to say something about how seriously you take it. Maybe that’s not true in all cases, and frankly, if I like your blog enough, I’m probably reading it in Google Reader and only see the design when I comment, but I did tend to prefer the blogs that looked good and weren’t too cluttered with content, but still had some extra eye candy in the sidebars and images (that worked) in the posts.

I myself was way too chicken to enter my blog into this competition.

Sep

BBAW Meme

Dana

Stefanie shared her responses to this meme for Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Consider yourself tagged if you want to play along.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack? Sometimes, but the snack varies according to what I’m craving. I do find it difficult to eat a full meal while reading, but note I said “difficult” and not “impossible.” I always read when I’m eating out alone.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you? It depends. I absolutely mark my professional reading or school reading. Pleasure reading? Not so much, though sometimes. When I do mark, my tools of choice are pencil and/or yellow highlighter.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open? Most of the time, I use a bookmark. I can’t stand dog-earing pages, and I hate it when someone does that to a book I loan out. I do lay the book flat open if I’m going to turn right back to it.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both? Both, but I definitely prefer fiction for pleasure-reading.

Hard copy or audiobooks? I think the costs for audiobooks are prohibitive. I can get a paperback so much cheaper. That said, I do like them and will listen to them. I forget to get them at the library.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put down a book at any point? I like to wait until the end of a chapter before putting a book down for any length of time, but if I can’t do it, I have to at least end at a paragraph. I can’t stand it when I’m interrupted in the middle of a sentence.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away? Only if I can’t figure it out in context. I am reading Crime and Punishment via DailyLit and had to look up casuistry this morning. Of course, sometimes the fact that I don’t look words up sometimes means that I don’t immediately get the exact meaning from context and consequently use the word wrong.

What are you currently reading? Crime and Punishment in tiny bites from DailyLit, Dracula on my iPhone, and Grendel, but I think I’ll finish Grendel tonight.

What was the last book you bought? See my previous post for the full list.

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time? I used to read just one at a time, but over the last couple of years, I found I was able to read several. I don’t think I could do more than two at a time if not for DailyLit, however.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read? Evening before I settle in. I also like to read in the bath when I can.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books? I don’t have a preference as long as the series is good. I hate getting sucked into a series only to have it be uneven or end poorly (cf. the Twilight series, or at least in my opinion).

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over? The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund, The Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde, How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc). In stacks and piles with no scheme whatsoever. It would most likely make you cringe.

Category: Blogging, Trivia Tags: bbaw, meme 2 Comments

Sep

Hey Lady

Dana

I had the opportunity to get to know fellow book blogger Trish of Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’? I love that she preserves the apostrophe for the dropped g and still includes the proper punctuation—a question mark—after the apostrophe.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Hmm…such a broad question! I’m 30 years old, married, and have two dogs and a cat. I spend way too much time on the computer and hardly ever watch TV. I like to eat cookie dough and don’t like my food to touch. I prefer the rain over the sun because of my fair skin. I geek out when I meet authors and have been known to put both feet in my mouth and continue to talk blithely.

Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging because I had some (what I thought were) interesting/bizarre stories that I wanted to share, and I was already reading blogs so I thought, I can do this! I assumed, If you write it, they will read it. I quickly found out that that’s not necessarily true and that getting people to read your blog is quite a bit of work!

I see you’ve been blogging for a long time. What keeps you blogging? How have you seen the book blogging world change in the years you’ve been blogging?
The community keeps me blogging. I’ve met (in real life even!) some really great people, people who love books as much as I do, and I love that community. I love connecting with people, and my blog is one way in which I can do that. Being fairly introverted, it’s the perfect place for me to be outgoing, because I can be outgoing when I feel like it, not because I’m at a party and have to be outgoing.

The book blogging world has grown by leaps and bounds. I’ve seen the community come together, and I’ve also seen the community get fractured by those who like to create drama. One thing I’ve noticed is it’s a lot easier to get ARCs. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing I’m not quite sure…

Do you have any secret names for yourself?
Umm…no. But I do find myself talking to myself a lot more.

Have you ever gotten in trouble for reading (at school or work)?
Not exactly, since I’ve always been pretty sly. But I have gotten some sidelong glances as I close my book and quickly get back to work.

Who’s the coolest author you’ve ever met?
Wally Lamb. He made me feel like we were the only ones in the bookstore (even though there was a line of probably 50 people behind me), and he also made me feel like maybe possibly perhaps one day I could be an author.

The most…interesting author I’ve met is Katherine Dunn, author of GEEK LOVE. She wears sunglasses all the time and tends to avoid the media, so meeting her was pretty exciting.

Since this is Book Blogger Appreciation Week, do you have some other favorite book bloggers you’d like to mention?

1st Books: Stories of How Writers Get Started is a blog written by Meg Waite Clayton, author of THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS. She has other authors guest post, and it’s pretty fantastic.

A High and Hidden Place: Tales of a Capricious Reader is a great blog where you can get recommendations for a variety of books. The blogger, Heather, has a great writing style and is a lot of fun.

books i done read is very funny. All should read this blog.

Books on the Brain. Lisa is the first book blogger I ever met and still a favorite.

Dreadlock Girl is another favorite. She has great taste in books, has widened my reading, and is a great photographer.

Galleysmith is a new blogger, and holy cow, I don’t know how we ever survived without her. She has a really fun writing style and she loves YA. I love her.

Jenn’s Bookshelves. Jenn has never steered me wrong on a book, and she’s super fun to hang out with, too. This is a must read.

Linus’s Blanket. I met this blogger, Nicole, when I was in New York for BEA, and she’s one of the most well-spoken, well-reasoned bloggers I met while I was in New York. She writes great reviews and is a lot of fun.

Presenting Lenore. Lenore and I have very similar tastes in books, and she does a great job of not giving away every single plot detail.

Steph and Tony Investigate! Steph writes fantastic reviews, and has some of the most thorough reviews I’ve ever read. She puts other reviews to shame.

The Bluestocking Society has more great book reviews. I love Jessica’s style and recommend her blog to everyone.

Have you ever thrown a book across the room?
No, but I’ve wanted to. Perhaps I’ll do that at the end of THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE since I’m not particularly enjoying it.

Do you have one book you recommend to EVERYONE?
THE LIKENESS by Tana French. I seriously don’t know how you could be a reader and not enjoy that book. Also, THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins.

Can you tell us your favorite books of all time (top 3 or 5)?
Crap. I hate these questions. Okay, let’s see.

THE LIKENESS by Tana French
BEL CANTO by Ann Patchett
THE POISONWOOD BIBLE by Barbara Kingsolver
WORD FREAK by Stefan Fatsis
GEEK LOVE by Katherine Dunn

Thanks Trish for being such a great subject and helping me figure out BBAW. If you are not reading Trish now, you should be!

Category: Blogging Tags: bbaw, book blogger appreciation week 4 Comments

Aug

Book Blogger Appreciation Week Meme

Dana

What has been one of the highlights of blogging for you?

I would say that reflecting on the books I’ve read, especially at the end of the year when I count my books based on the number of reviews I’ve written, is a highlight for me. I enjoy reading other book bloggers’ reviews, too.

What blogger has helped you out with your blog by answering questions, linking to you, or inspiring you?

There have actually been quite a few: Vic at Jane Austen’s World, Iliana at Bookgirl’s Nightstand, and Murray of The Literarian have all been very encouraging of this blog.

What one question do you have about BBAW that someone who participated last year could answer?

This is a tough one for me because I didn’t participate last year, so I’m not sure what to ask. I am excited that BBAW happens during the week of my birthday. I suppose my biggest question is what would I need to do that week?