BBAW - How Do You Do Community?

Today's topic for BBAW is "How Do You Do Community?" This was a huge question for me when I first started. How do I become a part of this group of people who appear to be having so much fun? Fortunately, I had two people who gave me all kinds of wonderful tips, Mari of Bookworm With a View and Lisa of Books On The Brain.

The number one thing both of them told me was comment, comment, comment. I was game for that but one problem was finding new blogs to comment on, a way to expand the blogs I might want to visit on a regular basis. Enter blog rolls and comments already left on the blog. Any time I found a blog I liked, I figured there was a good chance I might like some of the blogs on their blog rolls or the blogs of the other people that comment there. Sure enough, my own blog roll continued to expand.

Lisa also recommended I look into challenges, memes and weekly posting topics. Clearly I've gotten a little carried away with the challenges but it has allowed me a way to meet a lot of other bloggers as did the memes. I wouldn't recommend doing them too often, but it is often easier for someone to interact with you through comments on a meme post than it is to interact on a book review. I tried the weekly things (like Mailbox Monday) but I've never really been able to stick with any one. It does, however, offer a great way to find new bloggers and make new friends.

One of my favorite ways to build community is to participate in the big blog events (like BBAW and Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon) and smaller events (such as any one of the smaller readathons or the blog hops). It's a great way to meet new people and find new blogs that interest me. I'm already looking forward to the fall edition of Dewey's Readathon. And when is that next Bloggiesta coming up?

I've been largely AWOL for the past few months from the blogging community. But this week is convincing me that I need to make more time for blogging. It does a body good!

BBAW - Getting To Know You

Day two of Book Blogger Appreciation Week is all about shining the light on our fellow bloggers. For me, this meant getting a chance to know Erin, of Erin Reads, better. I'm already a huge fan of Erin's blog. She writes wonderful reviews and has a couple of things that are unique to her blog that are very cool. Please take a few minutes to get to know Erin and then head on over to her blog to see how great it is for yourself.

1. You have two unique features on Erin Reads: Reading Buddies and Classics Reclamation Project. Can you tell my readers a bit about each of them?

Both projects grew out of personal reading goals I really wanted to emphasize: reading with other people and reading more classics.

Reading Buddies grew out of my desire to read and discuss books with other people while tackling my ever-growing TBR list. Eight months in, it has taken two forms. Each month, I read a poll-selected book very informally with anyone who is interested. I post about each book twice, and participants are free to comment, post, and read whenever and however often they wish. I've also done some even less formal reads, where participants have discussed a book via email or on Goodreads without any concrete timeline. I love formal readalongs, but they tend to stress me out, so my goal with Reading Buddies was to create a relaxed environment in which to read together. I love knowing other people are reading the same thing I am but without the pressure of having to reach a certain point by a specific day, and reading with other people is such a rewarding experience.

The Classics Reclamation Project is my personal project to read more classics. Prior to 2010, when I started the project, the last time I had voluntarily read a classic was in high school. Being forced to read books for school left me with the feeling that such books were difficult and unenjoyable, and I spent a good ten years avoiding them. As I got into book blogging, though, I began to see more and more bloggers posting about good experiences they had with various classics, and I started to think that maybe I should give those books another chance. I started out always making sure I had a classic going, sharing my thoughts in a weekly post about whichever classic I was reading at the moment. At this point, I am no longer posting weekly, but I continue to make a conscious effort to include classics in my reading diet. It's working -- I'm much less frightened of classics than I used to be, have worked them into my regular reading diet, and have even enjoyed a few!

My Projects page (http://erinreads.com/projects/) has more information on both.

2. I see that one of your goals is to read books by Indian authors. Do you have any favorites?

That particular goal is new this year, so I haven't actually read enough books by any one author to choose favorites! I have encountered some excellent novels in pursuit of this goal, though. (I should note that I've included authors of Indian descent as well as Indian authors.) One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni was my favorite book from last year. I also enjoyed The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri and Half Life by Roopa Farooki. I've been trying to read books set in India but not necessarily by Indian authors as well, and my favorite thus far has been E.M. Forster's The Hill of Devi, an account of his time spent in India during British rule. I have several others on my shelf that I hope to read soon: Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh (the current Reading Buddies selection), A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, and A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, to name just a few.

3. Do you have any literary crushes?

Only one, and that is Po in Kristin Cashore's magnificent young adult novel Graceling! I also have a bit of a voice crush on Humphrey Bower, an audiobook narrator with a glorious Australian accent.

4. What's your favorite part about blogging?

Definitely the community. I turned to blogging in earnest after moving away from my job at an independent bookstore last year, and it has taken the place of talking books with coworkers and customers. I love turning on my computer and instantly being able to read and write about books alongside so many kindred spirits I've never even met in person. My fellow bloggers and readers are overwhelmingly diverse, supportive, positive, and accepting, more so than any other community I've encountered, and they make book blogging an amazingly rewarding experience.

5. Like most bloggers, I see you've been a reader since you were little. What is the first book you remember reading that really stuck with you and why do you think it had such an impact?

I am notoriously bad at recalling early childhood memories, so this is an especially hard question! The first book I can honestly say I remember reading is probably Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. It's the first literary world I recall being completely swept up in, its characters and places so real and so fascinating to me, and I think that experience of losing myself in a book stuck with me. I don't necessarily read to escape, but I do love books that draw me in with the realness of their worlds.

Erin used to work in an independent book store. When she quite working there, she really missed talking books with other book lovers; blogging has allowed her to find another group of people to do that with. Her interest in Indian authors stems from the fact that her husband is Indian. She has recently returned from India; be sure to check out her post with pictures from that trip. What fun!

Thanks, Erin! I'm looking forward to having time to join you in Reading Buddies soon!

Book Blogger Appreciation Week - Community

Today marks the kickoff of the fourth annual Book Blogger Appreciation Week. For those of you who don't blog, particularly for those of you who don't blog about books, this week might go one of two ways for you. Perhaps you'll largely skip over most of the posts from your favorite bloggers. But maybe, just maybe, a little bug will bite you. You'll start to think "Wow, this is so much more than just writing about books. These people really have fun with this. Maybe I should give it a try." You'll be right. Blogging is about so much more than writing book reviews and we really are having fun. A huge part of the reason that blogging is so much fun is because of the wonderful sense of community that book bloggers have.

When I started blogging in May of 2009, I had no idea who might actually read my little blog. I hoped that my family might, I suspected that some of my book club friends might, and I was fairly sure that some of my friends from Goodreads would. But would anyone else every see my work? Imagine my surprise, on my second post (and I hadn't even written a book review yet), when I got an email notice that Mel of The Reading Life had left a comment on my blog. Someone I didn't even know and had never communicated with before had actually read something I had posted. My confidence soared.

One sentence, one little acknowledgement that I had written something that was interesting enough to respond to - sometimes that is all it takes to change a person's life. Mel did that for me. If that bug should just happen to bite you this week, if you should decide that maybe you'd like to jump in and join this community, know that there are people out here who will be more than happy to leave you that one sentence, who will become your first follower, who will be more than happy to mentor you along the way. Let us know you've joined us and this community will reach out and wrap its arms around you.

BBAW Blogger Interview--Ramblings of a (Future) Librarian

Introducing Laura Ashlee of Ramblings of a (Future) Librarian, my BBAW interview partner!  Laura Ashlee is a college student, living in Alabama, who says she'll read just about anything.  Given that her favorite book is "Jane Eyre" but she also loves young adult books and mange, I'd say she's telling the truth.

Since I'm such a huge college football fan and she lives in Alabama, the first thing I had to ask Laura about was whether or not she was a fan.

I actually don't attend UA right now. I go to Samford University in Birmingham. But I will go to UA for my master's next year. I guess my statement in my "about me" is a little misleading. I'll have to change it. But back to the original question! I've never been a big football fan, but this year I've actually started watching the games. My boyfriend is a huge football fan and he's been explaining the rules to me and I'm starting to like it.

Ramblings of a (Future) Librarian is a fairly new blog so I asked Laura Ashlee what made her want to start blogging about books.

I've actually had some sort of blog since I was about 15. All of my friends and I made personal blogs (which is silly since we saw each other all day, every day). I'm much more private now and there's just not much I want to broadcast to the world about my life. Books are the exception. I love to talk about books and write reviews. It's just fun!

Laura Ashlee has recently read The Time Traveler's Wife and seen the movie.  I wanted to know if there were any movie adaptations of books that she thought really did the book justice.

Hmm.. that's hard. I always watch movie adaptations (if there is one) after reading books, so I've seen a lot of them. The Lord of the Rings is probably the most well-done adaptation I've ever seen. I also really love Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It's such a cute movie and it's just like the book! I'm pretty good at separating book and movie so I don't get too picky unless it's completely butchered.

I was curious what kind of librarian Laura Ashlee wanted to be when she was done earning her master's degree.

I wouldn't mind working in a public or college library. I don't want to be a law or medical librarian because that sounds incredibly boring. I think I'm going to focus on administration and management, so hopefully I can be in charge of a library one day!

Manga books show up frequently on Ramblings of a (Future) Librarian and I wondered what it was about manga that L.A. enjoyed and if she might have any recommendations for someone new to the genre.

I just got into manga this year so I'm not familiar with all of series. I also tend to read shoujo manga, which is targeted to teen girls so it can get dramatic or silly at times. I just think it's adorable and fun, and I really like the artwork. I really loved Sand Chronicles. It's more serious than any of the others and the story is very touching. I also really like Fruits Basket, though it's incredibly silly. I just think Tohru is so cute!

Does someone who lives in the South have any favorite Southern literature books or authors, I asked.

  

You know, I haven't read that much Southern Literature. I did like Breakfast at Tiffany's  by Truman Capote, but I have yet to read anymore of his stuff. Obviously, here in Alabama, Harper Lee is a big deal. I mean, I understand why To Kill a Mockingbird is important, I just didn't get into the way other people did. I might have to ponder reading more lit about the south.
LA. told me that she's a musician and I wanted to know more about that.

I'm actually a vocal performance major right now (I was originally going to go into musicology). I only have a few more classes to take, then it's off to grad school for library science! I grew up in a musical family so I've been singing since I was little, but I didn't start taking lessons until I got to college. I really love singing midieval and baroque music, and I love love love to sing in French and German. I also played the clarinet in high school and in my first few years of college.

Which, of course, brought up the question of what kind of music she listens to and if she had any recommendations.

As far as listening to music goes, I'm all over the board. Obviously, I love classical music. I'm a HUGE Mozart fan. I also like J.S. Bach, Debussy, Chopin, Stravinsky, John Dowland, some of Schubert's lied, and only recently a few Beethoven symphonies (I used to hate him). I listen to a lot of "indie" music, I guess. My favorite is Neko Case, who I would recommend to anyone. She's has a wonderful voice and amazing lyrics. My favorite find within the past year is a band called Buildings Breeding. They're great.

Since L.A. lives in the South and mentioned that she likes to cook, I asked her if there was anything in particular she would make if I dropped by for dinner.

I think I would go for the good southern chicken and dumplings (home made dumpling of course) with fried potatoes. I haven't made that in a year, but it's so good. Then, my favorite dessert in the world... lemon squares. 


Lemon squares?  I'm booking my plane reservation right now!  Desserts are my favorite food group.  Which lead me to wonder what L.A.'s guilty pleasure might be.

I read vampire books like it's going out of style. I don't know what it is about vampires, but I just seem to gravitate toward books with them. That's how I started read YA novels in the first place. Lately, I've been making myself read other things because I don't want to get stuck in a genre. Plus, how much brain stimulation can you really get out of paranormal books?

 Please stop by Ramlings of a (Future) Librarian and welcome Laura Ashlee to the book blogosphere!  It's always great to meet another young person with a passion for reading. 

BBAW Registration Post

There sits that lovely little BBAW button off in my sidebar to remind everyone about BBAW. I've posted about the pertinent dates for BBAW. And, yet, this afternoon I was completely stunned to realize that TODAY is the last day to register for BBAW! Without further ado, here are the five posts that I've submitted for Best Literary Fiction Blog consideration, by way of getting registered:

"The Man Who Loved Books Too Much" by Alison Hoover Bartlett (book review)

"this one is MINE" by Maria Semple (book review)

All Things In Common - June 15, 2010 (feature)

"The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver (book review)

Mama Shepp's Family Recommends..."Anything Goes" by Madison Smartt Bell (feature)

Book Blogger Appreciation Week Is Coming!

Okay, it may not exactly be around the corner; after all summer just started and by the time September 13th rolls around, my kids will have been back in school for a month. But registration time is upon us. If you are a person who primarily blogs about books and doesn't charge a fee to post a review or author interview, then you are eligible to participate and can register between now and July 7th here. There have been quite a few changes made to the registration process this year so be sure to allot some time to it. In fact, there have been a lot of changes made to the entire process used to determine the award winners so be sure all of the details when you register.

What, exactly, is BBAW? According to the website, it is:

Book Blogger Appreciation Week is a week long festival celebrating the community of book bloggers and their contribution to preserving a culture of literacy through book reviews and recommendations, reading reflections, and general bookish chat.

There will be special posts, activities for everyone to participate in, and prizes, people, prizes! So be sure to get registered soon!

BBAW #5 Where I'm At And Where I'm Going

So today BBAW is asking that we write about what we like about our blog in 50 words or less and where we want our blogs to be by next BBAW, also in 50 words or less. Normally, this sort of brevity doesn't work well for me, but I seem to be working much better at that this week.

I feel like I'm really starting to find my voice with my blog after four months. I love putting the quotes in and have worked to make the blog less cluttered while including all of the things I want to include.

For the coming year, I'm hoping to move to a 3-column format, put the awards into a slide show, and get a real header. I'm constantly working on ways to make the blog look better. I'm also working on putting together a challenge.

Whew--I did it. Now I just need to get back to reading because next week it's going to have to be back to have book reviews to post.

BBAW Thanks Bloggers For Introducing Me To...

Today for BBAW we are asked to share a book that we read because of a blog. I've discovered a lot of books since I first started blogging. Sadly, most of them are still on the TBR list. Between books I already owned and book clubs, I haven't gotten to many of the books I've seen on blogs.

I have found on audio The Piano Teacher and The Uncommon Reader, both of which I've reviewed on this blog and both of which I first read about on blogs.

 But, by far and away, the book I have most enjoyed that I've found on blogs is The Help by Kathryn Stockett, which I recently reviewed. When it first started making the rounds on the blogs and was getting good reviews, I was intrigued. But a part of me was thinking that it's just not possible to add every book that is reviewed on blogs to the TBR list and can every book really be as good as billed?

 Then one day I was in the library and there is was. And I was powerless to keep my hands off a book that had come so highly recommended by so many of you!

*Update: More than five years later, I'm interested that this is the book that I chose. As much as I enjoyed it, the book that I really loved best of the three mentioned was The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett. I had only been blogging a few months at this time - I had no idea how many books I was going to add to the TBR list from blog recommendations!*

Nostalgic For Children's Books

All this talk of books plus the start of fall is making me nostalgic. I'm missing the days when my kids used to crawl up in my lap to read. I'm missing the days when book order forms came home from the school and it was not uncommon for me to spend $50 on new books for the kids. It's been long enough now that I'm even missing the books that were read so often I didn't even need to look at the words any more. We liked to take our favorite books and use them for projects--right down to once mixing paint colors with our foot just like the mice in "Mouse Paint!" I always knew I could count on any book written or illustrated by Eric Carle, Ellen Stoll Walsh, Bill Martin Jr. and Lois Ehlert. One of the most beloved book in my house when my children were very little was "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything" by Linda Williams, illustrated by Megan Lloyd. Even as toddlers, my kids liked to act it out. With Halloween creeping up on us, I think it's time to bring this one back out for old time sake!

Todays post for BBAW is a meme about books. I think I pretty much covered these questions here a while back. Let's just say that I treat my books pretty carefully these days; must better than I used to when I was more prone to think of paperbacks as disposable.

To get the book cover pics for the recommendations, I went to the site for Scholastic Books and was excited to see that their bloggers are also participating in BBAW! Here are their responses to todays meme.

BBAW--My Interview With Lesley of Falling Into Words

When I started blogging in May, I figured it would be a great chance to keep a record of what I've been reading. I didn't hold out much higher expectations. What a wonderful surprise blogging has been; it never occurred to me that blogging would be such a wonderful way to meet new people! So I was excited to get the chance to participate in the interview exchange part of BBAW. And now I'm excited to introduce you to Lesley, of Falling Into Words. Lesley and I could not be more different in our lives which makes getting to know her so much fun. But like me, Lesley is new to blogging and shares a passion for books. Lesley has this to say for herself:

1. What made you decide to start blogging? What's been the highlight so far?

I have a terrible habit of reading a book, declaring that I love it to one and all, and then not being able to remember what actually happened in it. I thought that if I set up a blog--something public to keep me honest, so to speak--and posted a review for every book I read, I'd be less likely to forget them. In my short time blogging, the highlight has been the fact that things have gone in a very different direction from where I thought they could go. I'm doing author interviews, hosting giveaways and reviewing new and unreleased books. In generally, I just feel lucky to be involved in this amazing community

2. Have other bloggers helped you out with suggestions and tips?

Absolutely! (And that absolutely can't be big enough!) When I was first starting out, I was completely clueless, and was happy to chug along doing my own reviews (and getting no readers, incidentally). But then I started following other book blogs, and I saw what they were doing. What a blast it would be to review new books and host giveaways and all that exciting hoopala!With that in mind, I reached out to a couple of bloggers whose blogs I particularly admire. (I would love to name names and give credit where credit is due, but I know I would miss someone, so let me just say: thank you from the bottom of my heart to those who know who you are.) From there, I've had a lot of hard work, and my blog still isn't where I want it, but I couldn't been close to where I am without the help of other bloggers.

3. Beside blogs, what other sources do you use to discover new books?

Well, I suppose I could use the metaphor of a tree. The trunk consists of the authors I already know and love; I'll almost always buy their new books. Then there are branches: authors that the original authors mention, authors I hear mentioned in the same context with the original authors, and so on. Then--in a separate, nearby shrub--there are the recommendations I cull from non-blog reviews. I don't follow many particular publications, so it's mostly what catches my eye in waiting rooms or check-out lines.Sorry for the completely nonsensical answer to your very simple question. The idea seemed like it was going to go somewhere.

4. I see in your blog, that your grandmother owns (ed?) a used bookstore. Do you tend to buy a lot of your books at used bookstores? Would you rather shop in the store or online?

Yes, my grandmother did own a used bookstore; she retired and sold it when I was about twelve, to my great sadness. And your question brings me to a very, very awful confession: I have a big problem with used books. I never did when I was younger, but at some point towards the end of college, some OCD part of me took over. Anything used that couldn't really be washed started making me feel creepy-crawly. I so strongly support the plight of the used bookstores, too. I saw how difficult my grandmother had it, and I see how much worse things have become. In my entire neighboorhood, there's one used bookstore. One! In a entire Manhattan neighborhood! So I do buy from used bookstores and just close my eyes and repeat a silly little mantra to get past my OCD. All this also answers your second question: I prefer brick-and-morter; however, I'm not immune to economic incentives, so I also shop online for new books.

5. I see that you just celebrated a wedding anniversary; congratulations! How long have you been married? Any human or furry children?

Thanks! We've been married the big one (that sounds so silly). It's been one wonderful, lovely year, and if ever my blog makes it seem that I'm reading very slowly, that's all my husband! No children of any kind yet; our small apartment makes the former unworkable and my husband's allergies make the latter undoable.

6. You're a writer, too. Is that something you studied in school?

Sadly, no. If I could go back in time, I definitely would take some classes! I hope to have the opportunity to study creative writing in the future, but for now, it remains a very fun and fulfiling hobby. And if ever I were to become indepentantly wealthy, writer would suddenly become my full-time profession. (Well, maybe travel writer.)

7. What brought you to Manhattan's Upper West Side?

My husband's job was what brought us to New York. We chose the Upper West Side for a few reasons. A sense of community is very palpable, and the little things that are important to us--mainly, quick access to great food--were right there. It's somewhat odd being among the younger members of the neighborhood; most of the people in our building are about ten years older and have families already. In that sense, maybe the West Village would've made more sense!

8. Last book you bought?

Ooh, you're asking me to remember "the last" something; that never turns out well! I'm almost positive that it was The Curtain by Milan Kundera. Kundera is one of my favorite authors, so I snatch up anything of his that I don't already have.

9. What was your favorite book from childhood?

Now this one is absolutely impossible to answer; I could never pick just one. Top contenders, though, would include: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg, My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, Little House on the Praire by Laura Ingalls Wilder, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, The Islands of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell, The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss, The Giver by Lois Lowry. You know. Just to name a few.

10. Where is your favorite place to read?

Oddly, I almost never read in those comfortable places that invite curling up to read: the couch, the park, the bed. I'm the type that finds time to get reading in wherever and whenever I can. Typical places include on the bus, while cooking, waiting in lines, even--and I wouldn't recommend this--while walking. While walking may be my favorite; even the dullest book gets a little more spice that way.

You've got to admire someone who's favorite way to read is while walking! Be sure to check out Lesley's site and you can find her interview of me here.

There Goes My Google Reader!

Just before I came here to add this post, I went to my Google Reader. I was going to take a quick run through and be done with that for the night. But I have 225 posts out there waiting for me to read. And that's after I just cleaned it up this weekend. But before you all started adding your posts today to tell me about all of the great blogs that I have yet to discover. I hardly have time to read books any more!

I wanted to kick off BBAW by thanking the two ladies that really helped me get my blog off the ground in May. Mari, at Bookworm With A View, is a friend, leader of my face-to-face book club and her blog was the first book blog I had ever looked at regularly. She made blogging look like so much fun, I just had to give it a try. Thanks to Mari, I started reading Books on the Brain, where I met Lisa. Lisa was a wealth of information and support, particularly when it came to ideas on how to get people to start noticing my little blog.

Also a big thank you to all of my followers and readers. I have had such a great time in the past four months getting to know so many of you and enjoying so many new-to-me blogs!