Showing posts with label BBAW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BBAW. Show all posts
BBAW: Future Treasures
Melody
For the last day of BBAW, we are asked to share what we enjoyed about BBAW and our blogging goals for the next year.

First and foremost, I want to thank Amy and her wonderful team for organising and putting this great event together. The best thing of BBAW is not only it allows book bloggers to share our passion for books and reading, it also expands our social networking with other book bloggers through participating in the fun topics and the interview swap during the 5-day event. I love the interaction, and it is great to make some new friends along the way and adding their links to my already long subscribers' list with Google Reader.

Finally, I want to thank all my readers for reading and commenting on my blog! You have no idea how much huge influence you have made on my reading and blogging, and I am really grateful for this. Thank you for broadening my reading horizons through your wonderful recommendations, and makes me discover so many great authors I have not heard of. Isn't it amazing how wonderful this bookblogging community is, despite of the physical distance and that we have not met one another in person but yet we are able to share and exchange views (no matter if they are book-related topics or any other matters) as if we are long-time friends?

As for my blogging goal for the next year, it is simple and will always remain the same and that is, I hope my reviews (thoughts) will influence you into reading the books. And most of all, have fun and make more new friends!

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BBAW: Forgotten Treasure
Melody
Today, BBAW asked if we have a book which we wish would get more attention by book bloggers. I have a few in mind but instead I am going to focus on one of my favourite authors of all time - Mo Hayder, since I rarely see her books being mentioned around the blogosphere so I would like to take this opportunity to highlight them. For those who are not familiar with Mo Hayder, she is a British author and she writes mainly crime and thriller fiction.

I was first introduced to her books by a colleague, and I remember very well she wanted me to read Tokyo (aka The Devil of Nanking) since she enjoyed reading it so much. Needless to say, I searched for the book during my next visit to the bookstore and devoured it on the very same day! I enjoyed it so much that I looked out for her other books. Birdman is the next book I read by her and it is through this book that I got to know the lead character, DI Jack Caffery. I have to say Jack Caffery is unlike any heroes I read from other crime thriller fiction. There is no doubt that he is tough, driven and is capable of solving complicated cases, but like any other human beings he too has issues (he is tormented by his personal demons as he cannot escape the memories of his younger brother's murder which happened many years ago) and vulnerable and this is probably one reason why I am intrigued by him, for I don't think I have ever came across a hero like him. If anyone ask me if I have any literary crush, DI Jack Caffery will be the one who first comes to mind.

Here are some of Mo Hayder's books if you are interested:

Standalone
Tokyo (aka The Devil of Nanking) - Nominated for three CWA dagger awards (here's my thoughts)
Pig Island (here's my review)

Jack Caffery Series
Birdman
The Treatment (here's my review)
Ritual (here's my review)
Skin (here's my review)
Gone


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BBAW: Unexpected Treasure
Melody
How time flies! Today is already the third day of BBAW and I am enjoying every moment of it! Today's topic is to share a book or genre we have tried under the influence of another blogger. Well, I definitely have a lot to share through reading all the wonderful recommendations around the blogosphere but I want to highlight this particular bookblogger (and a dear friend!) who has influenced me to read graphic novels, a genre which I have not tried even though I read mangas. She is Ana (aka Nymeth) of Things Mean A Lot.

Ana is a prolific reader and I enjoy reading her posts because she writes eloquently and her reviews are always so insightful and thoughtful. The graphic novel which I mentioned is Blankets by Craig Thompson and though I have seen lots of rave reviews on this one, it is actually Ana's review that made me pick up this book and read it (here's her joint review with Aarti of BookLust, another blog which I too enjoy reading). Needless to say, Blankets became one of my favourite reads this year.

Another blogger I want to give a shout out is Sandy of You've Gotta Read This! Though I am a huge fan of mysteries and thrillers, it is her review of 61 hours by Lee Child that got me pick up his Jack Reacher's series (Sandy also mentioned that Jack is her literary crush so the more I am intrigued with the hero and the series). I bought Die Trying and The Enemy the day before and had ordered the very first book of the series, Killing Floor, since I could not find it in the bookstore. I cannot wait for it to arrive so I can read it in order, though I understand the series can be read as standalone. You can bet I will be adding the rest of the series to my wishlist in the near future!

What about you? What book or genre you have tried due to the influence of another blogger?

Note: Wordless Wednesday will resume next week as I haven't go through my photo archive. My apologies!
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BBAW: Interview with Ash of English Major's Junk Food
Melody
Today marks the second day of BBAW and our topic for today is getting to know another bookblogger through an interview swap. I was paired up with Ash of English Major's Junk Food and without further ado, here are Ash's answers to my questions:


Melody: How do you define a ‘good’ book or a ‘bad’ book? (Personally I don’t think any book can be defined as ‘bad’ as I believe there’s a book for everyone out there.)

    Ash: I totally agree with what you said in parentheses. I think a lot of people see 'good' books as literature and classics and 'bad' books as just about everything else. I don't look at it that way, I read things that interest me and hold my attention. Sometimes that is literary nonfiction, sometimes it's a romance novel, and sometimes it's both! As far as what makes a book good for me, I like strong female characters, villains, and great dialogue in my fiction. In nonfiction I love well researched creative nonfiction that helps me learn and makes me want to know more about a topic. I also love memoirs where the subject is totally self deprecating. Honestly, a great book for me is one that, when I'm finished, I look at and say "Wow, this book really changed the way I look at "fill in the blank."

    M: I understand you read mostly historical fiction novels, so are there any genres that you refuse to read?

    A: I read a lot more historical fiction when I first started blogging, I think my genre of choice now is probably creative nonfiction. This is because when I first started blogging I was in a creative nonfiction course that I wasn't really enjoying and felt a little stuck in my own writing. I was drawn to historical fiction because you can still learn from it, but there is a great story there. I think historical fiction is kind of my "escapist" reading. A far as genres I refuse to read, I don't really like "inspirational" books, thrillers, or science fiction.

    M: Who are your favourite historical fiction authors? Let’s say I am new to this genre, which book(s) would you recommend to me?

    A: For historical fiction I really enjoyed Lynn Cullen's recent book The Creation of Eve and when I first started blogging about historical fiction I read And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander, which I thought was a fantastic book. Kind of a mystery and kind of a romance. Sheramy Bundrick's Sunflowers was also a good book. For creative nonfiction I have better suggestions. Joan Didion is a must read, particularly The Year of Magical Thinking. I also love Chuck Klosterman's books about pop culture, John McPhee's essays, and any anthology that Lee Gutkind edits.

    M: How do you inspire yourself when you are in a writing slump?

    A: This is a great question and one that is difficult to answer. Reading is probably one of the best answers I can come up with. I find so much when I'm reading and I have to be aware of what I'm taking in from a book. I make notes when I read and sometimes when I return to them I find ideas for writing. My other answer, and the one I probably use more, is walking. I find things when I'm walking because I'm mentally isolated, but often still in the world looking out to it. Those are when my best ideas come.

    M: What are your opinions of a good book review?

    A: I don't think a good book review has to make me want to read the book, in fact I've read quite a few great book reviews that made me want to run and hide from a book. I think fairness is key. Acknowledge what you didn't like about a book but then try to explore why it didn't work for you- it might work for someone else. I enjoy reading samples of the author's writing, even if it's just a few sentences, because that gives me a better idea of the writing style and if I think it will work for me.

    M: How many blogs are there in your Reader? And how do you keep up with them?

    A: I don't use a reader because I always forget to look at it. My method is actually just my blogroll on my blog. Every few days I just hit up everyone's blog to see what posts interest me and I try to leave at least one comment on each blog. I have 54 blogs on my blogroll but there are a few I've been checking out recently and haven't added.

    M: Onto a non-books related subject, what do you most enjoy besides reading and writing?

    A: I love being outside so I enjoy walking, biking, hiking, swimming, and just spending time with nature. I also recently got Netflix so I've been fairly obsessed with getting movies online and delivered to my house!

    M: I love your blog name! So do you have any favourite junk food which you’d like to share?

    A: Ah! I love junk food, unfortunately. My favorite junk food is probably buffalo wings or pulled pork sandwiches, and pizza. The list could go on and on.

    Ash, thank you for being my interview partner! I enjoyed reading your answers and it was so much fun doing this interview swap with you! I look forward to spending more time on your blog!

    I hope you will visit Ash's blog after reading my interview with her! You may also wish to check out my answers to her questions over at her blog if you are interested.

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    BBAW and Mailbox Monday
    Melody

    Can you feel the excitement in the air? I definitely can, because today begins the Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW)! If you have been blogging for the past two years, you should have been aware of this great event started by Amy of My Friend Amy. The main purpose of this event is 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. This year, BBAW starts from 13 September and ends on 17 September and for a week it will spotlight and celebrates the work of bookbloggers through guest posts, interview swaps, awards, giveaways and other community activities.

    The theme for this year is "A Treasure Chest of Infinite Books and Infinite Blogs" and everyday starting from today, there is a list of topics for the bookbloggers to participate and today's topic: "First Treasure" is to share a great new book blog you have discovered since BBAW last year.

    Well, I had added quite a number of book blogs to my Google Reader through BBAW last year, and among them is Tasha of Truth, Beauty, Freedom and Books. What makes her blog stands out from among the rest is because she was my interview swap partner for last year's BBAW. I remember when I first discovered Tasha is an art historian, I was in awe! How cool is that?! And not only that, she also has experience in curating, teaching, researching, and writing academic articles and essays! Tasha also loves reading romance, mysteries and many others so if you haven't visit her blog, you should!

    I am happy to note that Tasha's blog is being nominated for BBAW's 2010 "Best Eclectic Book Blog" and I would like to take this opportunity to wish her all the best!


    Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia from The Printed Page where readers get to share the books that came into their house last week; and the host for this month's Mailbox Monday is Kathy of Bermudaonion's Weblog.

    I received the following book from Sourcebooks which I won from their giveaway:

    1) The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice by Abigail Reynolds

    What books came into your house last week?

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    BBAW Giveaway: Winner!
    Melody
    First of all, I want to thank everyone for participating in my giveaway during the Book Blogger Appreciation Week. I received a lot of response and thanks to all the participants for recommending your favourite YA novels to me. I will be sure to check them out!

    Onto the topic, I have drawn a winner with a little help from Random.org and she is Kathy of Bermudaonion!

    ~~Congratulations, Kathy!~~

    Kathy won a copy of Looking for Alaska by John Green. (Note to Kathy: I will email you shortly for your mailing address.)
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    BBAW: Setting Goals
    Melody

    Today is the last day for BBAW and the topic for today is:

    Setting Goals! Write in 50 words or less…what do you like best about your blog right now and where would you like your blog to be a year from now?

    I have to keep this short and sweet. I started this blog because I love reading and talking about books with all booklovers around the world. Finding good friends through this wonderful community is another great bonus to me! These are my goals and they will always remain the same. (50 words)


    I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone (no matter if you are old friends or new readers) for visiting and commenting on my blog! I really appreciate them all.

    Last but not the least, a BIG Thank You goes to Amy and the BBAW team for all their hard work and efforts for putting this event together and making it a huge success! Without BBAW, I would not have the chance to find so many great bookblogs out there (and making new friends)! Thanks, everyone!

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    BBAW: Book Recommendations from Fellow Bookbloggers
    Melody

    Can you believe it’s already Day 4 of BBAW? Where has the time gone? Well hopefully you’ve discovered plenty of new book blogs to clog up your RSS feed readers and introduce you to more marvelous books throughout the year! But let’s talk about that book you know, the one you discovered only because you read about it on a book blog and then you realized you couldn’t live without it! And then you read it and you loved it so hard! Tell us about it and about the blogger (or bloggers!) that introduced the book to you!

    I bought a lot of books based on fellow bookbloggers' recommendations. Here is a list I read this year (Please click the book titles for my reviews, and the name of the blogs for fellow bookbloggers' reviews):

    So these are the books I read and loved so much. I still have a lot of books sitting in my TBR pile recommended by many bookbloggers... I wish I'm able to list them all here!

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    BBAW: Reading Meme
    Melody

    Today is the third day of BBAW and gosh, I have so much fun visiting blogs and meeting new friends! I have no idea how many new blogs I have added to my Google Reader but I am not going to think about that.


    So what activity has lined up for today? A reading meme! I hope you enjoy reading my answers because I have fun answering them!

    Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack? Sometimes. It depends where I am reading; I usually snack more at home. My all-time favourite snack has to be Lays potato chips!

    Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you? I don't mark or write on my books (unless they are school textbooks, haha). But if I want to jot something on my books, I will use a post-it tag because it is so convenient (I can always remove it whenever I want and still leave my books clean).

    How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? I always use a bookmark. I have a collection of them so why not make good use of them? However, I would leave the beautiful ones out because I hate to dirty/wrinkle them.

    Laying the book flat open? Depends if I am in a hurry or whether or not if I have a bookmark in hand.

    Fiction, Non-fiction, or both? Definitely fiction.

    Hard copy or audiobooks? Hard copy. I tried an audiobook once and decided that it doesn't work for me.

    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 tend to read to the end of chapters, otherwise to the end of a page. I just can't hang it dangling in between passages!

    If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away? Not right away, but I will jot down the word so I can look up the meaning in the dictionary next time.

    What are you currently reading? I'm currently reading Wait Until Twilight by Sang Pak and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling.

    What is the last book you bought? I bought three books actually. They are Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs, Covet by J.R. Ward and Living with the Dead by Kelley Armstrong.

    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'd prefer to read one book at a time, but there are times that I read two books, like I'm currently doing.

    Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read? No. I read whenever I can, and I'd prefer to read in a place where it is quiet.

    Do you prefer series books or stand alone books? Both are great to me, although I'd lean more towards stand alone books.

    Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over? Yes! John Harwood and Mo Hayder!

    How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?) Once upon a time, I used to organize my books by genre but now with a few mountain high TBR piles (thanks to all the great recommendations by fellow bookbloggers), I have to sort them under 'read' or 'unread'.

    Don't forget to leave me a link so I can read your answers!
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    My Kick-off BBAW Post: Favourite Books and A Giveaway
    Melody

    Hello, my dear readers! Today is the first day of Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW) and I am very excited to participate in this event again. Last year's BBAW was a blast and I was so thrilled to see a few of my favourite bloggers were voted the best in various categories. This year's BBAW is bigger and better than the last because there are over 1000 bookbloggers participating and more awards being introduced and awarded, but aside from the fun and recognition, this event is actually about bookbloggers and its wonderful community so this is a great time for you to say "Hello" and "Thank you" to the other bookbloggers out there and of course to talk about books and reading!

    For today's post we are supposed to write a post thanking and spotlighting our favourite blogs that did not make the shortlists. Though I would love to write about this, I know it is impossible for me to list every of my favourite blogs (trust me, I have a lot!) and the fact that I might leave someone out given that I have a short memory, so my kick-off post for the BBAW today is all about sharing our favourite books instead. (I hope Amy, the founder of BBAW, wouldn't mind that I write a different topic!)

    To make it more fun, I am having a giveaway and a lucky reader will win a book from my favourite books list (it will be a brand new copy purchased from The Book Depository). Just tell me what are your favourite books and name me a YA title (or a few if you like) that you would like me to read (I am addicted to YA novels lately and I would love all the recommendations I can get!). The giveaway is open worldwide, and the closing date is September 18. Don't forget to list the title you want to win from my list and your email address in this post. The winner will be announced on the following day, September 19. Good luck!

    Here is a list of my 2009 favourite books so far:

    Happy Book Blogger Appreciation Week! Bookbloggers rock!

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