Monday, September 12, 2011

Book Blogger Appreciation Week 2011: On Community

Happy Book Blogger Appreciation Week, everyone! This year's theme is Cultivating a Community of Bloggers and Readers. Each day, I'll be posting about the suggested topic for the day. I'll also have my usual posts: several book reviews, a Thursday TV post, and a Short Fiction Saturday post for you. 

Today, we're encouraged to highlight a few book bloggers who have made book blogging a unique experience. As I thought about how to answer this question and which bloggers to highlight, I realized my answer to this question would have been so different over time. I'm grateful for all the book bloggers who have been a part of this incredible journey. For me, the book bloggers who have made it a unique experience are those whom I feel I know best, both through reading their blogs and through their comments on mine. These four women feel like friends, and I often find myself thinking of them when finishing a book and wondering "who do I know who would like this book?" I have their blogs in my "Favorites" folder of Google Reader, and I read their thoughts first.

Jackie from Farm Lane Books
Jackie manages (much more successfully than I do) to read the longlists for both the Booker Prize and the Orange Prize each year. Our taste isn't always similar, but Jackie is among the best at articulating why she did or didn't like a book, and having read her blog for several years now, I like to guess which books she'll love if I beat her to reading one from the longlists. Although we like to read the same types of books, we often have quite different reactions to them, and that diverse dialogue is representative of what I love so much about book blogging: sharing our individual reactions to books.

Wendy from Caribou's Mom
Aside from books, I fear Wendy and I have very little in common. She's a quilter and an animal lover, and it's safe to say I love to read under a quilt instead of make them and am happily pet-free. Still, she and I have quite similar taste in literary fiction. I truly think of Wendy as a kindred reading spirit, and I love that our similarly excellent taste in literature may be one of our few shared commonalities; it's a true testament to the power of literature. Wendy also writes incredibly eloquent and thoughtful reviews, and I always enjoy reading them.

Audra from Unabridged Chick
For awhile I got complacent and thought I knew all the book blogs in existance. Then I discovered Audra's blog and was aghast I didn't know about it sooner! I love the way Audra writes reviews by asking herself questions. She reads a lot faster than I do, so I rely on her to weed out a few of the less-than-stellar reads from my TBR pile, especially historical fiction. Her reviews are informative, fun, honest and often appropriately hilarious! Audra also shares my love of literary fiction and low-brow television, which is a lovely combination!

Heather from Raging Bibliomania
Heather always make me feel good. She leaves the most encouraging, heartfelt and sincere comments on my blog posts. Her book reviews are beautifully written, thorough and engaging too. Her writing is eloquent and thoughtful, and her lengthy reviews truly engage the material. 

All the rest...There are countless others who have inspired and encouraged me over the years. I've read books I may never have heard of because of book bloggers. I did not name you all individually, but I do believe the collection of book bloggers includes us all. Happy Book Blogger Appreciation Week 2011!




14 comments:

  1. Thanks for highlighting me! One of the reasons I love reading the entire long list is that it gives me the chance to compare my reading taste with others who are doing the same thing. I think I have learnt a lot more about my reading taste through doing this than anything else.

    I'm really pleased that you are able to guess which books I might like - if you come across a book not on a long list that you think I might love, please let me know!!

    I also agree about quilts - I'd far rather read under one than make one! But I think that just proves how well book blogging works. It doesn't matter if our taste in books is the same, or if we have different hobbies - it is our love of books that matters and talking about them enhances the reading experience.

    Have a wonderful BBAW!

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  2. I already follow three of the bloggers, but wait, there's one more blogger for me to add? It's surprising, isn't it, when you think you know many of the literary bloggers in town and then there's just many more to follow. Enjoy BBAW!

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  3. Carrie: Thank you SO much for this. I agree - we almost always agree on books and I definitely look forward to reading your thoughts on literary fiction (it helps me form my wish list!!). I love that in "real" life we might never have gotten to know each other because on the surface it might seem like we were so different - but the idea that we could stumble on each other's blogs and find a common, strong thread which revolves around our love of reading .... well, that is what makes the book blogging world so wonderful! Have a great week!

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  4. I loooove this post! It's so great to highlight some of our bloggy inspirations. Guess what? I highlighted YOU on my blog! :D

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  5. I agree with your choices all the way! Wendy is so creative and witty and always makes me think, while Audra is clever and has the most inviting posts I ever come across. I also have to say that your blog is one of my favorite stops as well. It's unique and has such original and thoughtful posts, and I have really been loving all the eclectic and engaging content that you have been posting. Thanks for the shout-out! It's made today a lovely day!

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  6. I agree with your choices all the way! Wendy is so creative and witty and always makes me think, while Audra is clever and has the most inviting posts I ever come across. I also have to say that your blog is one of my favorite stops as well. It's unique and has such original and thoughtful posts, and I have really been loving all the eclectic and engaging content that you have been posting. Thanks for the shout-out! It's made today a lovely day!

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  7. Thanks for sharing the wonderful sites. I have visited some of them...now there are more!

    Here's MY BBAW 2011 POST and
    MY WEBSITE

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  8. Choosing a handful of bloggers to highlight is ridiculously difficult. There are just so many great ones out there! My list of influential bloggers, if you are interested!

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  9. it's great to see Jackie getting some Blog-Hugs as she has a fantastic blog & I've found some great reads there, although not always the ones she's liked herself.

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  10. I enjoy all of the blogs you mentioned!

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  11. I found you via Andi (Estella's Revenge) and I'm glad I did! Hurray for BBAW and meeting new bloggers! Now I'm off to check out the blogs you highlighted today :)

    Happy BBAW!

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  12. You have picked some very interesting sounding blogs

    Hi, I am stopping by to visit your blog via the list of posts for Day one

    Please Stop by My Blog if you Like

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  13. Excellent choices! I read them all except for Audra, who I've added to my to-check-out list. Her review approach sounds interesting. Happy BBAW!

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  14. I am so pleased and flattered to be included in such marvelous company -- thank you! Jackie and Wendy are new to me, so I am very excited to add them to my reading, while I love Heather and her blog. She really is so thoughtful and considerate and I enjoy her reviews immensely.

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Thank you for taking the time to comment. Happy reading!
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