Book Blog Appreciation Week 2012- Day One

Book Blog Appreciation Week 2012

Day One

September 10 to 15, 2012

Book Blogger Appreciation week begins first in the Philippines!  We are 12 hours ahead of the east coast of the USA so the week starts first in Asia.   I hope lots of other Asian based book blogs will participate this year.

If you are a BBAW participant, please feel free to leave a link to your post in a comment.  I will try to return all visits and as a matter of policy I return all follows.

This is the fourth year in which I have participated in Book Blogger  Appreciation Week.   The biggest change this year is that there will be no awards.   I think this is a good idea.  Awards can be a great idea but there was too much appearance of cronyism is the process in years past, whether justified or not, so I am glad there will be no awards this year.    

BBAW is a virtual gathering of book blogs from all over the world.  

The Reading Life began three years ago just before BBAW Two.  My  blog focuses on short stories,  classics, modern fiction, Japanese novels and literary quality contemporary fiction.  I also publish short stories so if you have want you would like me to publish yours let me know.   I have special projects on Irish Short stories, short stories of the Indian Subcontinent and Filipino short stories.  I am open to joint project and events and I am willing to review new fiction also, including self-published.

Everyday the managers of BBAW have a topic for us.  Here are the topics for this year:

Monday: Appreciation! There are no awards this year, but it can still be hard to navigate the huge universe of book blogging. Share with your readers some of the blogs you enjoy reading daily and why.

Tuesday: Interview Swap 

Wednesday: What does book blogging mean to you?

Thursday: One of the best parts about book blogging is the exposure to books and authors you might never have heard of before. Endorse a book you think needs more recognition on this day. Get creative! Maybe share snippets from other bloggers who have reviewed it or make some fun art to get your message across.

Friday: Share a highlight of this year’s BBAW. Whether it’s a blog you discovered or a book you’re going to read or a way you felt refreshed, this is the day to celebrate the week!

I have about 200 blogs I follow closely.   A good book blog is an evolving work of art, not just a collection of book reviews!    Here are ten I follow very closely, in random order.

Suko's Notebook

I have been following Suko's Notebook since before I began my blog three years ago.  Her blog was one of my inspirations.   I owe her a debt of gratitude for getting me into the short story, which is a very big part of my blog and reading life now.   She was also one of the very first persons to comment on my blog in the days when I could count my daily visits on my hands.  We also have a common bond of teenage daughters!   Her blog is very beautiful, very honest and a great source of reading ideas.  She does some of the very best author interviews around.  She is from Southern California.

The Parrish Lantern

The Parrish Lantern is a great literary book blog.  Gary does some of the best posts one will find.  From him I have learned of many new to me writers.   Here is the credo of his blog, which he totally exemplifies

I want this to be a place that when you join, you can express your own likes. This is where we can exchange ideas on Writers, Books & Poetry. So please feel free to join & add your own ideas. As a polite introduction to a new idea, whether its a Book,a Poem, or your favourite writer is always welcome. Thanks Parrish.

Gary's approach to what he reads is one of a deep attempt to see the best in what he reads.   Harold Bloom has famously said that the best literary criticism is an attempt to appreciate the best writings in the world and this is what Gary's blog is about.  He is from the UK.

A Simple Clockwork

A Simple Clockwork by Nancy C. is the newest book blog on my list.   She is also in the Philippines, in Cebu, where I am in the capital region.  Nancy has a knowledge very few people have of the regional literature of the Philippines.  We have a joint project in which we post on short stories of the Philippines, focusing mostly on older stories.   To me these stories, written in English, are a nearly unknown literary treasures of a world heritage status.  They are also a great resource for students of colonial literature.   Nancy is very passionate about reading, justice, and life.   She has also started a year long event on the short story, The Short Story Initiative,  which I thing will be very exciting.   Her blog should be the first stop for anyone interested in learning more about the literature of the Philippines.

Beauty is a Sleeping Cat

Beauty is a Sleeping Cat is one of my very favorite blogs.   Caroline  describes her blog as about "Books, Movies, Cats and Other Treasures".   In November she hosts German Literature month.  She reads several languages and posts on a wide variety of things.  She posts on a lot of classics, literary quality contemporary fiction and her most recent post is on an exhibit of contemporary Chinese art in London.  I would say she seeks out the best the world has to offer and shares it in a very erudite, highly intelligent and passionate fashion with her readers.  You can tell she loves what she is doing.     Her blog is also a work of art which can be appreciated even by those whose reading tastes are different from hers.  Her posts always get a lot of very good comments.   She is located in Switzerland.   

Chess, Comics, Crosswords, Books, Music, Cinema

 Prashant C. Trikannad and I have several things in common.  We both live in steaming hot and at times very wet Asian mega-cities, we both like old movies and grew up reading classic comics.   Prashant posts on a wide variety of literary topics from the novels of Zane Grey to classics.   He also shares his thoughts on being a reader in India.  His series of posts on Indian libraries was fascinating.   When I see a new post on his blog I do not know in advance if it will be about a wonderful classic or a Charlie Chaplin film.   From him I got the idea of looking for stamps with authors pics on them to illustrate some of my posts.   He has lately been getting more into short stories.  I totally endorse his blog and think anyone who looks it over will want to follow it.    He is from Bombay/Mumbai.

From Kafka to Kindergarten

I first began my virtual acquaintanceship with Che of From Kafka to Kindergarten through our mutual love of short stories.   We both participate in Nancy C's short story events.  She is very into the short story and whenever I see a new post from her I know I will probably be learning about another literary work I want to read.   Here is her description of her blog and reading life

  I mostly read what is known as literary fiction with the occasional biography or non-fiction work thrown in just to spice things up. In the real world I'm a stay-at-home mom to my three year old boy so I also read a lot of board books and Dr Seuss 

I like her blog because I can really tell she is into reading and loves literature.   Her posts on short stories are very insightful and I have learned a lot from them.   She is located in India.

Words Beyond Borders

Words Beyond Borders is a wonderful and delightful blog.  It is the only blog I know of that has posted on both Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day and the retirement of a great cricket player.  The curator of Words Beyond Borders posts on a lot of great literary topics, the most recent post is on One Hundred Years of Solitude.   You will find posts on lots of literary quality contemporary writers as well as posts on Homer and Indian literature.  You will find items on this blog that you will find no where else.    They are based in India.

I have left out a lot of blogs, which cannot be helped.

I hope there will be more participation from book blogs in South and South East Asia this year. There are at least 150 book blogs in the Philippines.   

My salute to the managers and behind the scene workers at BBAW.

I will not be participating in the interview swap but I hope to have a post on the other three days.

Happy BBAW.

Mel u

BBAW Day 5-Trends, Tips, and Techniques for Book Bloggers

The Final Day for BBAW 2011

Trends and Tips

Random Observations on the Book Blog World

 200 for  Dickens 200 Day

Here is today's topic for BBAW

Friday September 16th: Blogging

The world of blogging is continually changing. Share 3 things you  think are essential tried and true practices for every blogger and 1-3 new trends or tools you’ve adapted recently or would like to in the future.

Some Random Observations

It is kind of sad to see BBAW come to an end.    I have discovered a lot of great new to me blogs and had the pleasure of some new visitors to The Reading Life.   The Book Blogging Community is just a tremendous and wonderful group of people who all love reading.    Some of us love the touch and feel of a book and others prefer their Kindles, tablets, smart phones and reading on a PC.   I personally think in time E reading will allow or bring about a greater focus on the text of what we read and less of a focus on its bearer and produce a purer more, intense reading experience.

The book blog world has gotten a lot bigger since my first BBAW in 2009.    I really think there are many book blog communities besides the giant community most of us are a part of in one way or another.    We all love books and we see the value in posting about them and most of us want to interact with others who share our passion.    Some bloggers are very social, others are really mostly posting for themselves.   One of my core interests is the Japanese novel.   One of the very best  English language Japanese literature blogs is almost completely unknown and has maybe ten followers, counting me.   I do not list them as I think that is the way they want it.     But most bloggers want their readership to grow and want to feel they are part of something bigger than they are.   I know I do.  

TwoTried and True Practices

and The "T" Word

The most important step for building your blog audience and finding your place in the community is to leave comments on blogs that interest you.   Try to add value to the  post you comment on.   Make sure the blogger can see you read their post.   Normally I do not put a link to my blog in a comment with the exceptions being networking events like the hops and BBAW or when the host blogger says it is OK.     If someone wants to visit your  blog they can do it from your profile.   

Join challenges and events on things that interest you.   There are all kind of events  and challenges as well as read-a-longs you can join.   

Twitter

When I first started using Twitter two years ago it seemed almost pointless to me. Then I thought back around twenty years ago and I recalled that is what I thought of the Internet when I first signed into it.   Now I see Twitter as very important to my blogging and a great overall resource.   For example, tonight I joined in a conversation on Malaysian literature with a group of S. E. Asian book bloggers.   We meet every Thursday at #spbkchat.    That is just one of the many wonderful things you can do with Twitter.   If you are new to Twitter and are wondering who to follow, just look at who follows a blogger you respect and  who they follow.   Follow the ones that look interesting.   Many people, me included, follow back all book  bloggers, authors and publishers who follow me.   If somebody that follows 50,000  follows me I know to ignore them.   If someone has no profile I do not follow them.   I tweet all my posts.   It is a form of advertising.   Everyone does it and you should also.    

Future Trend and New Ideas for My Blog

Personal new idea I was way behind on-I am for the first time in two years plus as a blogger going to do some memes on a regular basis for a while.   I will see what feels right for me and my blog.   

In 2011 I had two events.  Irish Short Story Week and Indonesian Short Story Week.     (My blog is becoming increasingly about short stories).  I was very happy with how both of them turned out and hope to do them again next year in March and August.   

February 7, 2012

200th Birthday of Charles Dickens

We need to get ready and show the world how impacting we can be.  I have a hope, I hope it is not a fantasy, of at least 200 book bloggers all posting on Dickens on his 200th birthday, February 7, 2012.   Imagine if we had 2000, not that far fetched!    Dickens deserves this tribute and I think we could get lots of tie- ins and publicity for our community.    Leave me a comment if  you are interested.  

BBAW was really fun for me and I think I will profit from some of the ideas and have found some great new blogs to follow.   I thank all those who worked on it  and, God willing, see you all next year.

Mel u

Day 4-BBAW-How has Blogging Effected Your Reading Habits

Book Blogging and Reading Habits

BBAW Day 4

I am enjoying participating in BBAW.   On Monday I did a post on two bloggers that have influenced me a lot, on Tuesday I did a post on three short stories I learned about from readers of my blog, and on Wednesday I did a post on building and finding a community for your blog.   Here is today's topic:

Thursday September 15th: Readers
Book bloggers blog because we love reading. Has book blogging changed the way you read? Have you discovered books you never would have apart from book blogging? How has book blogging affected your book acquisition habits? Have you made new connections with other readers because of book blogging? Choose any one of these topics and share your thoughts today!

These are all good topics.   I will talk about how book blogging has changed 

in a huge way how I read.

I will keep this post short!   I had a life time aversion to reading short stories.   A suggestion from Suko that I join in a book blog event on short stories lead to me seeing how wrong I was and now I Iove short stories and so far this year have read 405 of them.   

I joined the Japanese Literature Challenge two years ago and fell in love with the Japanese novel.   This gave me the confidence to begin to read works from other Asian countries.

Thanks to blogging I hope to host as an annual event Irish Short Stories Week (march 12 2012) and Indonesian Short Stories week in August of 2012.    I now am trying to learn more about these two areas as well as South Asian short stories.


Book Blogging has in a very fundamental and wonderful ways transformed how I read and helps me keep my passion for literature awake.




Mel u

BBAW Day 3-Community Building

Day Three BBAW 2011

Some Thoughts on Community Building


Welcome to Day 3 of BBAW
on The Reading Life

I will follow back all who follow me-either via GFC or Twitter-

Whenever I think about topics like community building I always think back to a conversation I had with my wife when I began my blog in July 2009.   She asked me who will be reading the posts I will be doing and I told her I do not know and admitted there might be no readers.   (Of course this sort of made my plans seem  a bit senseless but that is another story!)

The organizers of Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW) have suggested topics for us to post on for every day of the event.    Today's topic is about a very important matter to most of us, finding and building a community for us and our blogs.   

"Wednesday September 14th: Community Part IIThe world of book blogging has grown enormously and sometimes it can be hard to find a place. Share your tips for finding and keeping community in book blogging despite the hectic demands made on your time and the overwhelming number of blogs out there. If you’re struggling with finding a community, share your concerns and explain what you’re looking for–this is the week to connect!"

This is a great topic and should produce some really interesting and useful posts.    

To me there is the grand international book blog community and then there are numerous sometimes overlapping sub communities, sometimes these can be huge and sometimes just a very few bloggers.      I think there are many book blog communities.    

One thing almost all of us want is comments on our posts.  Nobody wants to really feel they are writing for  exercise only.   To get comments you must leave comments on other people's blogs.   This is the very first step. I enjoy making comments where I think I can make a small contribution and if I cannot will normally not make a comment but I see no shame in leaving  a "nice post" comment.   Step one then is to leave comments.   One of the biggest causes of "blogger burnout" is the sense you are writing for no one who appreciates it.   Not everyone will return a comment, don't stress over that.   If you do find someone leaving comments on your blog, try very hard to return the comments.     Follow the blogs of those who leave comments on your blog.    One good reader is worth 100 Google searchers just looking for help with their school work!

When you are on a blog that posts on your core interests, go to the blogs of those who make interesting comments, leave a comment on their blog and see if they will return the comment.   If they do, follow them in Google Reader.   Be sure you have a very easy to find follow button on your blog.     

Also when you find a blog you like, look to see what other blogs they follow and check them out.  Leave a lot of comments, I really do not believe that anyone actually is annoyed by a "nice job" comment(I know I am not!) but try to add some value to your comments.  Join reading events and challenges on topics that interest you.   I do not personally do it  much but a lot of people are really into the weekly memes so I guess that is a good tool also.  

Join the three main book blog hops also (after looking them over as each one has a different set of constituents.)   

The Book Blog Hop-pretty much for all

Follow Friday Book Blog Hop-mostly but not all Young Adult and 

Paranormal

The Literary Book Blog Hop-for those into literary quality fiction and classics

Each of these blog hops can help you meet new bloggers and gain followers.

Add your name to Fyrefly's Custom Book Blog Search-this is a great service Fyrefly has done for the community and the more people who list their blogs the better it will be.   I use this search all the time and I have added it to my IGoogle page.   You can add your blog to it HERE.    


Set up a twitter account and twitter your own posts.   If you do not know at first  who to follow, find a blogger you admire and look at who they follow and who follows them for some ideas.   I might talk more about using Twitter on day five.   My twitter id is @thereadinglife and I try to remember to follow all who follow me.   Twitter, once you have enough followers and  if you accept follows from publishers and authors can also be a source of review copies.   I admit two years ago when I first set up a twitter account I did not see the point to it and you might feel the same way at first also.   


Google circles-I am still trying to figure it out but I can see one day big circles of book bloggers


Facebook-not over all crazy for it and I do not connect my book blog to it  


Goodreads-I have an account and I  try to remember to list what I read on it but I do not really use it to promote my blog blog.   I do read the reviews on there and trust them more than Amazon.com.   

From my growing interest in  South Asia fiction I am gaining readers from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,  and Bangladesh.  From reading events I  have added some great readers from Indonesia and Malaysia.   Because I am located in the Philippines I also get a lot of visits from there. Someone from a small town in northern Vietnam logs in every  day for a few seconds.  I have no idea who they are but they have been doing it for a year now so I consider them a part of my community.   

Stay true to what you like to read.   I read classics, lots of Japanese fiction, modern era writers like Virginia Woolf, Katherine Mansfield, Elizabeth Bowen, and Ford Madox Ford.   Recently I have begun reading through the novels of E. M. Forester and R. K. Narayan.   I am now very much a short story reader.  I  also like literary fiction and love discovering a new to me writer.   I think if you can communicate your passion, you will find your readers and your community.   I sometimes read poetry and nonfiction also and lately I have been lucky enough to be asked to post on some very outstanding brand new books.   

Mel u

"Ward 6" by Anton Chekhov

"Ward 6" by Anton Chekhov (1892, 56 pages, translated by Constance Garnett)

Welcome to BBAW Day Two

Reader's Suggestion Day

My Prior Posts on Chekhov

Today is interview posting day at BBAW.   In 2009 I did an interview exchange but I did not do one in 2010 or this year.   This does not mean I am ignoring BBAW today.   In fact I am having my own mini-event, "Reader's Suggestion Day", where I am posting on three short stories I probably would never have read were it not for a suggestion from my readers.   Earlier today I posted on two short stories about the Partition of India that readers from India suggested I read.   

"Ward 6" by Anton Chekhov (1860 to 1904-Russia) was suggested to me by Amateur Reader of Wuthering Expectations.   Amateur Reader has been a great source of reading ideas to me for the last two years.

"Ward 6" is a very dark work.    It is set in a hospital in the Russian provinces during the 1890s.   Ward 6 is the psychiatric section, it houses five patients.    The story begins with a brilliant and quite darkly funny description of these five residents, one might call them inmates.   The ward is overseen by a very rough porter who is not above beating his charges.   We learn how a highly educated man, Ivan Gromov drove himself to madness and wound up in the hospital.   

The doctor never really wanted to be a doctor, he wanted to be a priest, and he is getting increasingly unhappy with his work and life in general. He became a doctor to please his father.    At first he tries to have  conversations with his friend the postmaster but he does not find him "intellectual" enough.   The doctor is very well read in literature and philosophy and he begins to have deep conversations with his patient, Ivan Gromov.    The doctor seems to be losing his own grip on reality and a staff hearing is held on his mental fitness for work.     The doctor is very insulted by this meeting and he takes a trip to Moscow with his friend the postmaster but it does not help.   He becomes increasingly despairing and can find no value in life.    (There are some really well done conversations about Stoicism in "Ward 6".)    On his return he is tricked  into visiting Ward 6 and when he gets ready to leave, finds he is locked in.   He begins to reflect on the irony of this.   He is beaten by the warder and he dies of a stroke the next day.

"Ward 6" is considered among the very best of Chekhov's work.    There is nothing "cheerful" or "uplifting" about this story.   It is a brilliant look at the mind of one man at his edge.   It is also very interesting for the insight it gives us into the  the medical system in late Czarist Russia.     

The next Chekhov work I post on will probably be his drama, "The Cherry Orchard".   

Amateur Reader has a very interesting post on Chekhov in which he lists his consensus  best works.

Everytime I read Chekhov I tell myself I have to read much more of his work.   

What is your favorite Chekhov work?

Do you have a favorite short story a reader of your blog suggested to you?

You can read "Ward Six" online HERE.   

Mel u

Two Stories On The Partition of India by Two Very Different Writers Who Are Closer than we might Think

"Dog of Tithwal" by Saadaat Hasan Monto (5 pages, 1955)
"The Comments of Moung" by Saki  (1906, 4 pages)

BBAW Day Two
Reader's Suggestion Day

Two Stories Set in India 

both suggested by Book Bloggers  from India

Today is day two of BBAW.   Today has been set aside for posting of interviews with other bloggers.   In 2009 I participated in this event but this year I decided not to be interviewed or interview anyone else.    But I am not at all ignoring BBAW.   In fact I think my plans for today might be a good idea for next year!   Today I am going to post on three short works of fiction that I learned about through either readers of my blog or blogs I follow.   If it were not for these fellow bloggers I would have missed out on these three  works.   (I will do a separate post on Anton Chekhov's powerful and very dark work set in a mental hospital, "Ward 6".)

"Dog of Tithwal" by Saadaat Hasan Monto was suggested to me by Wordsbeyondorders who is from Tamil in southern India.   It is a very keenly observed story that finds a dark humor in the shooting of a dog during the war that resulted from the 1947 partition of India.

Saadat Hasan Monto (1912-1955-Samrala, Punjab, India) was a very prolific writer but it  is for his work as the literary chronicler of the terrible human consequences of the 1947 Partition of India into the two countries of Pakistan and India that he is best known.  (There is some additional background on him here)


"Dog of Tithwal" opens in a military camp on the Indian side of the Pakistan-India border in 1947 right after the Partition of India.    Both sides have military camps facing each other and every morning they go through the show of shooting some shots at each other.    One day a friendly stray dog wanders in the camp and the soldiers give him some food.   He then leaves and comes back the next day (compressing a bit here-I will have a link at the close of the post to read this work) with a note on his collar.   The  note makes no sense but the men assume he has been in the enemy camp.   They take the note and give it to  their captain.   The next day the dog comes back wagging his tail as he approaches the camp.   The Indians begin to yell at him that they will shoot any Pakistani, even a dog, who approaches their camp.   In sport first they shoot near him, then they shoot him in the leg but he comes forward still and still wags his tail in friendship.   He is then shot dead.   This story is a wonderful account of the absurdity of war.

"The Comments of Moung" by Saki was suggested to me by Rohan of Rest is Still Unwritten from Mumbai, India.  Here is the comment that lead me to this story

"Saki is master at twisted endings,it is trait of his writing. Irony is despite knowing this; in the end we are left nothing but to admire them.
Shredni Vestar is good,but being learner of a confused democracy,as India,I admire his "The Comments of Moung Ka" most of all. It is surprising to know that even after 100 years,his politically incorrect observations about democracy still stand time-test with no difficulty".

Before India was partitioned in 1947,  the large province of Bengal was partitioned along religious lines from 1905 to 1912 when the partition was abolished.   "The Comments of Moung" is not set in India, but in Burma (I prefer to use the old name) in a village on the shores of the Irrawaddy River.  (Saki was a military policemen in Burma from 1893 to 1895, just like his father was.)    Moung is a prosperous rice merchant who travels quite a bit in his business so when he comes home people ask him what is going on in Indian and England.   He tells everyone how the province of Bengal is going to be partitioned.   He says even though the people do not want it the English do and they must know best.     Now he explains that he heard that England is also to be partitioned into two countries.   I will quote a bit as Saki really does a great job with this:

‘The other matter,’ said Moung Ka, ‘is that the British Government has decided on the partition of Britain. Where there has been one Parliament and one Government there are to be two Parliaments and two Governments, and there will be two treasuries and two sets of taxes.’
Moung Thwa was greatly interested at this news.
‘And is the feeling of the people of Britain in favour of this partition?’ he asked. ‘Will they not dislike it, as the people of Bengal disliked the partition of their Province?’
‘The feeling of the people of Britain has not been consulted, and will not be consulted,’ said Moung Ka; ‘the Act of Partition will pass through one Chamber where the Government rules supreme, and the other Chamber can only delay it a little while, and then it will be made into the Law of the Land.’
‘But is it wise not to consult the feeling of the people?’ asked Moung Thwa.
‘Very wise,’ answered Moung Ka, ‘for if the people were consulted they would say “No,” as they have always said when such a decree was submitted to their opinion, and if the people said “No” there would be an end of the matter, but also an end of the Government. Therefore, it is wise for the Government to shut its ears to what the people may wish.’
‘But why must the people of Bengal be listened to and the people of Britain not listened to?’ asked Moung Thwa; ‘surely the partition of their country affects them just as closely. Are their opinions too silly to be of any weight?’

Both of these stories are very much worth reading.

"The Comments of Moung" by Saki  can be read HERE

"Dog of Tithwal" by Saadaat Hasan Monto can be read HERE

In the last few days my regard for Saki has gone up quite a bit and I wish there was more Monto online I could read.

Mel u

BBAW Day 1-Two Bloggers That Have Influenced Me

BBAW Begins First  in Asia, New Zealand,

and Australia

Welcome to Day One of BBAW 
on The Reading Life

I will follow back all who follow me-either via GFC or Twitter-

This is my 3rd year as a participant in Book Blog Appreciation Week (BBAW).   I have found the event to be a great networking opportunity, highly educational and a lot of fun.   There are also lots of give-a-way contests and who among us does not love a free book!   The awards process is exciting and always produces some controversy.   Maybe this year will be different.

The organizers of BBAW have setup "themes" for each day and asked us to write a meme related to the topic of the day.   Here is today's topic (From the webpage of BBAW):

Monday September 12th:Community
While the awards are a fun part of BBAW, they can never accurately represent the depth and breadth of diversity in the book blogging community. Today you are encouraged to highlight a couple of bloggers that have made book blogging a unique experience for you. They can be your mentors, a blogger that encouraged you to try a different kind of book, opened your eyes to a new issue, made you laugh when you needed it, or left the first comment you ever got on your blog. Stay positive and give back to the people who make the community work for you!

This was a very tough question for me and I not just saying that!  I follow five hundred plus book blogs.   Some I have more in common with than others but I enjoy and profit from  following  each one.   Even if a blogger posts on something far from my normal area of reading (and it is good to get out of your comfort zone once and a while anyway) they might have some great design ideas or have beautifully written posts.   I have come to appreciate that a book blog is much more than just a collection of "book reviews" (one of my least favorite terms now).   A book blog can be a developing work of art that takes on a life of its own.  

Not to long ago on The Book Blog Hop, a very good question was proposed.  It was "do you have anyone in your life to talk about what you read with?"   Some of the answers were from people who grew up in families where everyone was a reader, some had a reading spouse or close friend but one third of the people answered "No One".     This was my answer and it did hurt to think that  these other bloggers had no one to share one of our very most important interests with.  Many never in their lives ever have had someone to talk to about one of their deepest passions.    That is one of the reasons book blogging and the international book blogging community means so much to me.   I no longer feel like I am alone in my passion for reading but part of a very real every growing and adapting network.   

Two Bloggers That Influenced Me

Suko of Suko's Notebook was one of the very first commentators on my blog when I started it in July 2009.   I was so happy (as I still am) to see a comment on my brand new blog that I at once went to her blog to see who had left me this comment.  I found a beautifully designed blog with a deeply artistic sensibility behind it.  In some blogs you can feel the person behind it is very honest and sincere in their posts and I felt that on her blog. I have gotten a lot of good reading ideas from her and enjoyed her frequent author interviews.    Her biggest (and I mean it was big!) influence on me was when she suggested I join a reading event on short stories (I am still big into reading events).   Like the vast majority of bloggers I never read short stories because I felt they were not "substantial enough" for me.    Now 18 months latter I have read over 500 short stories and posted on many of them.   I think as result of this I have gained a lot of readers (and also homework help seekers from around the world).   I love short stories now and they are and will always be a big part of The Reading Life.    I am always glad when a new post from Suko comes up in my Google Reader. 

Dolce Bellezza opened up a vast new world of reading and learning to me. When I first got into book blogging, I joined a lot of reading challenges.   When I saw a post for the Japanese Literature 3 Challenge and saw you had only to read one book I decided to join.  In truth I had never read a Japanese novel prior to then.   It was not from prejudice or anything  like that it is just that when I was in college there were basically no Japanese works of fiction in translation available and by the time they were I already had a full "reading dance card".   I simply fell in love with the Japanese novel and will be reading them from now on.   The more I read the more I think I appreciate and understand them (my Japanese literature posts).   Dolce has great posts on all sort of literature and often talks about her experience as a teacher as well.   I totally endorse her blog to any and all.   She is the very epitome of a Reading Challenge Host.   

There are at least a dozen other blogs I could mention but I am secure in the two I have picked.   

Please join in with us for BBAW.   The more people that join in the more fun it will be.   

Mel u