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BBAW: Future Treasure

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So today’s the last day of BBAW which I’m rather miffed about to be honest because it’s been so much fun – but having it short and once a year gives you something to look forward to. Like Christmas, a good thing can go on for too long so that we become numb to it.

I think anyone who’s read my blog these past few days will have a pretty good idea which day was my favourite! Although initially it presented a problem I’m glad I had the chance to write my phony interview because I enjoyed taking the issues that face us book bloggers and making humour from them.

But my favourite aspect of the week overall has to be the community. I reckon at any other time we’d be bored by over saturation of the same topics at the same time but this week it was something that pulled everyone together. I don’t know about you but I often find commenting on blogs quite intimidating, I can’t help but worry if my comment will be seen as pointless, so having a whole week dedicated to sharing and knowing that everyone was in the same boat – of too many blogs too little time – really put my mind at ease.

I’ve added about 40 new blogs to my reader, and that was with some decision making. As I also own a general topic blog the amount of blogs I subscribe to is now almost unworkable but I’m so excited by all the fabulous blogs I’ve found that right now I don’t care, I will make an effort to get to them all.

I have two blogging goals for next year. The first one is pretty regular, I want to keep blogging as often as I can and keep reviewing and sharing my thoughts with you all.

The second is that I want to create time in my posting schedule for non-book posts. Sometimes I do run out of things to write about and it’s at those times that I realise I need more of the flexibility I have on my general blog. I’m also thinking of exploring the possibilities created by Bo Red!

I look forward to the continuance of a community that I have come to love in the short time I’ve been blogging, to the discussions, and to the additions to my already too-high TBR pile.

Here’s to another year of good books for all!

Links to my BBAW posts:
Introducing my first two book blogs
My phoney interview with “Bo Red” (Bored!)
Talking about Maile Meloy’s Liars And Saints

 
BBAW: Forgotten Treasure

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Today’s task is to write about a favourite book that hasn’t had as much publicity or is older.

Liars and Saints. I honestly can’t remember the day I discovered it, but I remember vividly the day I lent it out, never to see it again. I loved it so much that after a few years of waiting I bought myself another copy.

Liars and Saints is a rather short book about a small family and how their relationships with one another slowly deteriorate, starting with an assumption the grandmother made in the 1930s that her husband would be angry with her for having had a photograph taken. One by one each family member has their problems – unwanted pregnancies, sexual discovery, bad choices, and death. You are introduced to all of them, each during their youth, before they fade into the general background in order for the next to break through.

What I love about this book is that the author, Maile Meloy, isn’t scared to delve into the nitty gritty and into territory that may cause shock. The thing is, however, that she gets away with it because of the way it’s written and the eventual outcomes.

I have a favourite character, yes. Jamie, who is about 40 by the end of the book, is a musician. I could relate to him because at the time I read it, about 5 years ago, I was heavily into music, writing my own songs, composing my own pieces, and having a ball learning to play guitar. He also sounded rather hot, the teenage me needed no further persuading. This is one point I will make – I’m writing this from memory and that memory is from the head of a new-to-adult-fiction teen.

The book is packed with angst, but because of the setting and the historical element apparent in most of the pages, it’s never irksome.

A relaxing read? Certainly not. And it may possibly end sadly, there is always that idea lingering. Just don’t trust the blurb because the photographer doesn’t stay long.

 
BBAW: Interview

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Continuing in my unprepared state I do not have anyone to interview for today’s BBAW event, so I thought I would buck the trend. The following is meant to be taken in jest, and the set up is fictional.

Today I will be interviewing Bo Red of The Reluctant Book Blogger.

How did you get into book blogging?

I clicked the sign up link accidentally when I was browsing WordPress, well ok, not accidentally per se, there was this big orange button saying “sign up now” and it was staring at me. I had to press it.

Ok, so why books?

I love them, I think they’re great inventions. I got into reading when I was four years old. My mum used to put the biscuit tin on top of the cooker and I didn’t know how to reach it until one day it hit me – all those books Mum had on her shelves! With a bit of practice I came to be quite the expert at picking the right books to pile on top of each other as a leg up, and I learned to identify the letters so I’d find the ones I was looking for quicker. I’m well versed in which books make the best choices, and can still recommend you a good step or two. For example The Passage by Justin Cronin is a brilliant book, it’s thickness means you don’t have to gather so many others together and you can only get it in hardcover right now, which means extra padding. Shogun by James Clavell is even better, and if you can find a bind-up of The Lord Of The Rings you’re sorted!

Your reasons are quite, unique. What do you talk about on your blog?

Oh I do read the pages in a book. It’s important really, because sometimes you’ve one that is just that little bit too thick. I advise on which parts of the stories are bad so that readers know which pages they can cull from their volumes. I’m surprised to find that a lot of the people who first moaned at me for standing on books appreciate my knowledge of the tales, one reader recently thanked me for helping her get through Breaking Dawn in double-quick time. If I can be so bold as to promote myself, I’d like to invite all the bloggers I see who’ve read books they couldn’t finish to check out my blog.

How long do you foresee yourself blogging for?

I have to be true to myself, I’ve been blogging for a week, and I don’t like reading as a hobby. Quite frankly it bores the pants off me, and I can no longer really partake in experimenting with pile heights because I’m now 5 foot 11. People expect more of a book blogger, some ask me where my reviews are, and of course there are the disapproving questions about where I stand on literature. But it’s helped me to find my calling, which is what books are all about really. All my life books have been a means to an end and now I’ve reached that end.

I’m setting up a business in ladder design and have bought my own domain for a Typepad account.

This ends the interview, thank you, Bo Red!

 
BBAW: First Treasure

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It wasn’t until yesterday night, on reading Swapna’s blog that I realised Book Blogger Appreciation Week comprised of more than awards. It’s my first year and it seemed creating the award list was going to be what happened.

I’m totally unprepared and have posts already scheduled that aren’t to do with the events, so what I’m going to do is write on a couple of the days and then be ready for next year. The topic for Monday is the blog that you first followed.

I’m going to talk about two book blogs because I honestly can’t remember which I started reading first. Before I began blogging about books on a formal basis I was already reading a handful of blogs and it was these that gave me the inspiration to start my own (because my blogging on books beforehand had consisted of me posting reviews to my general blog). Two of these blogs were Reading Adventures, now known as The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader, and Dot Scribbles.

Marg’s posts appeal to me greatly because they tend to discuss historical romantic fiction and as a lover of historical fiction I am naturally drawn to seek out more of it. She also reads Terry Pratchett who I am a fan of. I’ve never been too keen on memes but the Teaser Tuesday is something I do read and I’ve noted down quite a few books because of these posts. Marg tends to pick some very interesting quotes which is no mean feat when they are to come from a certain page!

Dot’s posts I enjoy because they appeal to the part of me that loves chick-lit and her location means I always know that I will be able to pick up the books she reviews soon after she reviews them. She also writes about mysteries, which I’m aiming to read more of in future.

Two very different focuses covered by bloggers who bring to the table their different ideas and perspectives.

 
Book Blogger Appreciation Week

Book Blogger Appreciation Week logo

I couldn’t decide whether or not to sign up for this – had I been blogging for long enough, did it require a certain number of followers? Then I thought why not, I have nothing to lose. So here is my list of posts for the Best Written Blog category, all book reviews (I hope I’ve got the correct number of posts here):

Markus Zusak: The Book Thief
Lisa See: On Gold Mountain (this is a long post)
Philippa Gregory: The Other Boleyn Girl
Lauren Oliver: Before I Fall
Alison Weir: The Princes In The Tower

You can sign up here. Registration closes later today.

 

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