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I was thrilled today to learn that a challenge I host, The Complete Booker, was nominated for Best Collaborative Blog in the second annual Book Blogger Appreciation Week, which takes place September 14-18, 2009. Here's BBAW's description of the Best Collaborative Blog award:
They say great minds think alike, and this blog is proof - while the individual members may not always agree, their collective whole makes for some of the best content on the web.UPDATE: Wow, another nomination! This very blog, Musings, has also received a nomination for Best Literary Fiction blog:
I am so excited! And I'm also so grateful to the participants in The Complete Booker challenge, because this nomination is due entirely to their efforts. Just being nominated puts us in some pretty fine company. This is a real honor; congratulations to all of the nominees, in all categories!
So, you might want to keep these important BBAW dates in mind:
- September 7: Shorlists are announced and voting begins
- September 12: Voting closes at 11:59 PM EST
- September 14-18: BBAW! Jon the fun here!
My Friend Amy is hosting the very first Book Blogger Appreciation Week. What a great idea! Here's Amy's description :
Book Blogger Appreciation Week: Acknowledging the hard work of book bloggers and their growing impact on book marketing and their essential contribution to book buzz in general, I am excited to announce the first Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Think of it as a retreat for book bloggers and a chance for us to totally nerd out over books together. And of course, shower each other with love and appreciation.
Register: In order to experience the maximum impact of the week, I invite you to register your participation (just like a retreat)!
To register, just send an email to bookbloggerappreciationweekATgmailDOTcom with your blog url and what you consider your niche...i.e, general book blog, classics blog, personal blog with a healthy dose of books, YA books blog, etc. Then, add one of the two buttons at the bottom of this post to your sidebar. If you are a reader (no blog) just send an email announcing your plans to follow along.
Why bother? If you register, you will be added to a book blog directory which will exist long after this week is over. Additionally, you will receive one raffle entry into the daily giveaways during BBAW here at My Friend Amy.
Awards: Oh yes, there will be awards. The Oscars of Book Blogging. :)
Sounds like something fun, so I'm in! How about you?
This week I finished Geraldine Brooks' March, which I found quite enjoyable. I'm currently reading The Leopard, by Giuseppe Tomasi de Lampedusa. Ironically, it is set in the same time period as March (1860-62), but the setting and characters couldn't be more different. Where the storyline in March takes place during the U.S. Civil War, The Leopard portrays a Sicilian prince in an age when aristocracy and the upper classes are in decline. At one point a priest describes "the nobles" saying, "They live in a world of their own, created not directly by God, but by themselves during centuries of highly specialised experiences, of their own worries and joys; they have a very strong collective memory, and so they're put out or pleased by things which wouldn't matter at all to you and me, but which to them seem vitally connected with their heritage of memories, hopes, caste fears." (p.153) The novel is extremely character-driven. Although the plot takes place over a few years, it meanders along slowly, like takingn a walk on a hot summer day. There is action -- conflict leading to Italian unification -- but it takes place with seemlingly little bearing on the characters. Lampedusa's prose brings each scene to life. Take for example, this bit that I read this morning, about guests arriving at a ball:
"Evoked, created almost by the approving words and still more approving thoughts, the Colonel now appeared at the top of the stairs. He was moving amid a tinkle of epaulettes, chains and spurs in his well-padded, double-breasted uniform, a plumed hat under his arm and his left wrist propped on a curved sabre. He was a man of the world with graceful manners, well-versed, as all Europe knew by now, in hand-kissings dense with meaning; every lady whose fingers were brushed by his perfumed moustaches that night was able to re-evolke from first-hand knowledge the historical incident so highly praised in the popular press. .... Above the ordered swirl of her pink crinoline Angelica's white shoulders merged into strong soft arms; her head looked small and proud on its smooth youthful neck adorned with intentionally modest pearls. And when from the opening of her long kid glove she drew a hand which though not small was perfectly shaped, on it was seen glittering the Neapolitan sapphire." (p.168-169).
Can't you just imagine the scene? It reminded me of a royal costume drama, like Elizabeth, or Marie Antoinette which, in fact, my daughter is loading into the DVD player as I write this. Maybe I'll go read some more with the movie as background ...
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I've been giving some thoughts to my rating system this week, thanks to some discussion with LibraryThing member tiffin, and Becky's thoughts on her blog, Becky's Book Reviews. Since I review books both here and on LibraryThing, I use LT's 5-star system. But a 5-star book to me might not be 5-stars to someone else. And I have to say, I rarely rate anything less than 3 stars because if it's not worth 3 stars, I might not get through it. So, bear with me while I explain the method to my madness. I've taken liberally from both tiffin and Becky to craft this:
- Those rare gems which knock my socks off, and give my brain a run for its money. Perfect in every way; completely unforgettable. 
- A great book, one you want to tell all of your friends about. 
- My interest didn't flag while reading, and I came out of the book with a bit of a "glow." Would recommend to others.
- Overall a nice read, but there were a few special places that made it "pop." 
- A good, solid, nice, enjoyable read. A respectable rating. Middle of the bell curve and all that. I might have drifted a few times. 
- Or, for that matter, anything less than 3 stars: Forget it! Life's too short! I'm likely not to finish. 
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Join The Sunday Salon here.
2009
- 1percent Well-Read Challenge (completed 2/10/2009)
- Book Awards II Reading Challenge (completed 4/1/2009)
- Book Awards III Reading Challenge (completed 10/31/2009)
- Unread Authors Challenge (completed 2/3/2008)
- Book Awards Reading Challenge (completed 5/9/2008)
- Themed Reading Challenge (completed 6/15/2008)
- Notable Books Challenge (completed 7/23/2008)
- "In Their Shoes" Challenge (completed 8/7/2008)
- Celebrate the Author Challenge (completed 12/6/2008)
2007
- Spring Reading Thing (completed 5/18/2007)
- Summer Reading Challenge (completed 7/15/2007)
- Southern Reading Challenge (completed 8/10/2007)
- Non-Fiction 5 Challenge (completed 9/8/2007)
- 50 Book Challenge (completed 9/19/2007)
- New York Times Notable Books (completed 10/7/2007)
- Classics Challenge (completed 11/22/2007)
- 2nds Challenge (completed 12/2/2007)
- Reading Across Borders Challenge (completed 12/24/2007)
mellow
