The Utah Book Bloggers Bash!
So I get these crazy ideas and then I can’t let them go. They just keep bugging me until I do something about it. This time, it was the fact that I live so very close to a lot of book bloggers and I wanted to solidify our online relationships with an in real life party.
They probably all thought I was crazy when I told everybody to save the date. I was actually going to do this! And did it, I did!
We all gathered at my house for dinner, laughs, fun, and a lot of bookish and blogging talk. And what I thought was so much fun was that whenever I opened the door, I knew who the blogger was without having met them before.
So, here we are! We joked around how the spouses need to create a book blogging spousal support group! I’m sure that they put up with a lot!
Following are photos of me with my new IRL friends!
Me and Jessica from The Bluestocking Society! Jessica has an amazing blog and just passed her one year anniversary. Jessica reviews a lot of literary fiction and is hosting the Lit Flicks Challenge, in which I’m participating. She’s also hosting the BookWorms Carnival in February to celebrate books to movies. Jessica was super nice, brought yummy brownies that my little boys had for dessert tonight and I found out both her and her husband are lawyers!
This is myself and Cari from Book Scoops! Cari and I met each other through a friend and while chatting I mentioned that I had a book blog and she perked up immediately. Now she blogs with her sister Holly about children’s books. They have fun conversational posts. She is off to an amazing start and has jumped into the kidlitosphere with both feet.
Suey from It’s All About Books! Suey was super nice! She mentioned that that all book bloggers talk about her blog everyday when they say, “I have a blog and it’s all about books.” You all know Suey, don’t you? I have to admit that it was partly due to Suey that I wanted to meet all the other bloggers. Last year we both attended the Provo Children’s Literature Festival and we were literally shoulder to shoulder. It was only after we both got home and read each others posts that we realized that we had been standing next to each other. Now, that won’t happen again! Suey already blogged about the fun evening here.
Guess who this is?! One of our local authors who is going huge places with his The Thirteenth Reality,The Journal of Curious Letters (reviewed and interviewed here) series and a new book called The Maze Runner coming out this winter. James Dashner! James was a welcome addition to our party and he keeps things funny! And he left his coat at my house! So James, if you’re freezing out there, you’ll know why. It’s being held hostage. I’d say I’d give it up for a ARC of The Thirteenth Reality, The Hunt for the Dark Infinity, but wait, I’ve already got one!
Next up is the lovely Stephanie from The Children’s Literature Book Club! Seriously, Stephanie is passionate about children’s literature! Some of you may remember how I joined a new book club, well, Stephanie is the woman behind the scenes! Not only does she have an MA in Children’s Literature but she also served on the Cybils picture book panel. Super nice, super excited! I’m so happy that she came!
Can you guess who is in the next photo with me? Everybody says that we look alike. That would be because we are sisters! This is Leisa! She is the entire reason I started blogging in the first place. I place the blame all on her and she taught me all I know. Leisa has probably a dozen blogs, but she is the founder of Rich Women Sisterhood and I’m the fiction book club moderator.
I first got to know Drew from Twitter and soon realized that he lived nearby. Drew is a bookseller at the University of Utah and blogs at The Bookmark at the U, in addition to several other blogs including a writing blog and at Books, Lies & Alibies, a mystery, crime and thriller book blog. Drew was very enthusiastic and you can read his thoughts about the night here.
This is me and Kim from Good Clean Reads! Kim is wonderful and I’ve been reading her blog ever since I started blogging. Kim’s blog is a great resource if you would like to know how clean a book is in regards to language, sex, etc. I forgot to tell Kim that I loved her soup that she brought. Thank you Kim! I couldn’t have imagined the night without you.
And last, was Jenn who blogs at The Inkblotter, the blog for one of our great independent bookstores, The King’s English. I didn’t get a photo with Jenn but she’s in the top photo above directly behind me. Jenn has the most amazing job, she’s their Marketing and Event Coordinatar which means that she gets to talk to authors all day long. And it was like Christmas when she mentioned that she has boxes and boxes of ARC’s that she literally has to recycle. She’s just a phone call away for any book we might be looking for.
And as if it’s hard to believe that we have that many book bloggers in the area, let me quickly mention even more in Utah.
- How could I not mention Amy from Amy’s Haiku Haven. Amy is in my top ten commenters from this blog, so how could she not be cool? I can’t imagine why people keep coming back. I was so looking forward to meeting Amy, so I only hope that she is able to come next time!
- Alison at So Many Books, So Little Time has a great book review blog. She’s into her third year and reviews a lot of great fiction and non-fiction and participates in a lot of challenges.
- I remember Framed from Framed and Booked was one of the first who regularly commented on my blog. She lives the furthest so I could hardley blame her the three hour drive! Do check out her blog.
- Gamila from Gamila’s Reviews is a great resource for young adult and LDS fiction reviews. She just celebrated her one year anniversary as well.
- Britt began blogging at Confessions of a Book Habitue about three months ago. Do go check out another book obsessed reader.
- One Librarian’s Book Reviews is well . . . . book reviews from a librarian! She reads a lot of young adults and also rates books by their language and sexual content as well.
- Sharon blogs at SherMeree’s Musings and is a children’s and teens librarian who loves fantasy and science fiction. Her goal is to promote and encourage lifetime readers. Do check her out.
- Edgy from Books Are King is a new to me blog and one day I might actually delurk myself! He reviews a wide variety of middle grade, young adult and fiction books including science fiction, fantasy, and non-fiction.
Oh my. I’m sure that there are Utah book bloggers not on this list! If you’d like to become involved with the Utah book bloggers and make sure you are invited to our next party please join the Utah Book Bloggers group to stay updated on news. It’s the only way I’ll be able to keep track of us all.
Anyways! I think we were all nervous to meet each other but with a room of book lovers and bloggers, there was never a quiet moment! We had a lot of laughs and fun. It’s my hope to do something similar either twice or once a year. Next time, I just need to get them to eat more! I had so much leftovers. And it was so much fun to have an author that I’d love to have a special guest at each gathering. I was *this close* to having Sara Zarr in my house! We have so many wonderful authors here in Utah. There must be something in the air.
If you are close to any other book bloggers in your area, I would highly recommend putting something together. It was well worth it and I’m sure it’s just going to get better!
So, have you met any other book bloggers? What was your experience like?
P.S. I realize that this is also a perfect Weekly Geeks post, a weekly meme founded by Dewey from The Hidden Side of a Leaf. This weeks post was to share some of our favorite blogs. I’d encourage you to check out these great Utah book bloggers!
Hey you! Yes. You! I've noticed that you've stopped by to visit a few times! But I don't know who you are. Why don't you take a moment and introduce yourself. Don't be scared. I try not to bite. I know you're a lurker but I'd love to hear your thoughts about what's been bringing you here. And if you haven't done so already, don't forget to never miss a post by subscribing to my feed or receiving updates by email. Thanks for visiting!
Category: Bookish Musings & Miscellany, The Community
Tags: Utah Book Bloggers
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Well done Natasha! It looks like so much fun and I’m so jealous…I really hope us SoCal bloggers get together soon!
on January 12th, 2009 at 12:27 amWhat a great gathering! I’m seeing more and more of this happening – isn’t it fun to meet face to face some of the people you spend so much online time with? Brava! Happy Weekly Geeks Return.
on January 12th, 2009 at 12:57 amWhat a great event Natasha. I’ve just dropped in from Weekly Geeks
on January 12th, 2009 at 3:17 amOh wow, this is so cool. I can only imagine how exciting it must be. Sadly I don’t know anyone who stays in my city or even my state and blogs…
on January 12th, 2009 at 3:53 amThere are a few book bloggers in Mississippi, but we live hours from each other! Can you imagine the Texas group trying to get together, too! ;D
on January 12th, 2009 at 5:36 amWow! That looks like so much fun. I’ve only run across one other book blogger in South Carolina and I know there must be more.
on January 12th, 2009 at 6:31 amToo bad my Utah trip wasn’t a smidge longer – sounds like a great time!
on January 12th, 2009 at 7:23 amWhat great pictures of a great event! It’s fun to see who’s behind the blog and see you all having such a good time.
on January 12th, 2009 at 8:24 amWow, I’m totally jealous!
on January 12th, 2009 at 8:32 amWhat a totally cool thing to do, Natasha!!! Looks like you all had a wonderful time…and well, that’s not one bit surprising, is it?!!
on January 12th, 2009 at 9:02 amI can’t believe you got everyone together like that! What a fantastic evening it must have been. That’s a great post, I hope that someday more of us book bloggers can get together!
on January 12th, 2009 at 9:13 amI would really have liked to have made it, but I had a prior commitment that night. All in all, from reading your and Suey’s posts, it sounds like it was a grand evening. Next time . . .
on January 12th, 2009 at 10:39 amThat’s it – I’m moving to Utah!
Except that I read in another comment above, something about getting all the Texas book bloggers together. Are there many of us? Someone really needs to enlighten me – we moved here from Oregon last year, and it would be great to make some book blogging pals in Texas!
on January 12th, 2009 at 10:48 amOh man, Natasha you are so nice. I feel really bad I couldn’t make it. That day was not such a nice one for me. Next time for sure I have got to come.
on January 12th, 2009 at 11:11 amWhat a fun bunch, and a good idea. I would have loved to have been there…
on January 12th, 2009 at 11:39 amI dont have an official book blog but I would loved to have been there.
on January 12th, 2009 at 12:34 pmWhat fun! It looks like you all had a wonderful time. Thank you for sharing the photos.
on January 12th, 2009 at 2:33 pmVery fun to read your whole perspective of the event! About the food, it was good, but I couldn’t eat much because I was so focused on the conversation and couldn’t concentrate on eating! That’s how it goes sometimes.
I can’t wait until next time!
on January 12th, 2009 at 3:55 pmGood for you for doing this, Natasha! I’ve done IRL meetings with other online groups and it’s so gratifying to discover that there really are real people behind that screen.
on January 12th, 2009 at 5:38 pmAmy – Thanks. If you can pull off a get together, I’d recommend it.
Terri – If you had told me a year ago that I would be meeting “online” people I would have said they were crazy. I’ve only had a online presence this last year and can’t believe how much I’ve enjoyed it.
Kerrie – Well, I’m glad you stopped by!
Violet – Where do you live?
Maggie – I suppose the good thing about living in Utah is even though it’s pretty big, all the cities are concentrated pretty close together.
Kathy – I started a group over at Book Blogs Ning and I was surprised at how often somebody new would join that I had never heard of.
Janssen – I know! Next time I’m in Texas I’ll have to give you a call.
Joy – It was. We had a great time!
Heather J. – He, he.
Debi – Put people who all blog about books in the same room and yep, you’ll have fun!
Kristina – I can’t believe that I did it either! I’ve been wanting to do it for months, it was just a matter of pulling it off.
Edgy – We would have loved to have you and I look forward to reading your blog more often. We definitely will have a next time.
Stacy – Where in Texas are you? There are a few bloggers there. But of course, you’d have to be in the same city to pull off a get together.
amy BTW M – Sorry to hear you weren’t having a good day. I did miss you and hope to have you there next time.
Melissa – We are just a hop, skip and jump away from Kansas.
Laura H. – Oh my. Please don’t tell me you live nearby. Why do I think you live in California? Did I just do a major goof? Oh, please no.
Literary Feline – You’re welcome!
Suey – I’m so glad you want to do it again! It was great to meet you. I loved knowing that there is a real person behind the blog. Now if we see each other at book events, we won’t ignore each other!
on January 12th, 2009 at 5:44 pmIt looks like so much fun! I’ve only met one book blogger – Bethany from B&b ex libris, and I’ve joined her book club. It was so much fun to actually meet a book blogger in real life. I wish we could all get together someday. I know that the idea of a conference was tossed around on the blogs at one point, and I hope that it will actually happen.
on January 12th, 2009 at 7:44 pmThis almost makes me want to move to Utah! What fun and thank you so much for posting everyone’s pictures. I almost feel like I was there!
I do know one book blogger – she was the one who inspired me to start book blogging. We’ve been online friends for three years now (we met through blogging!) and this February I’m going to meet her when I go to Florida for a conference!
on January 12th, 2009 at 8:27 pmI haven’t been able to meet any book bloggers in person yet. That is so cool that you were able to organize that! A really cool way to develop friendships since everyone will have at least one thing in common: love of books!
on January 12th, 2009 at 8:28 pmThat’s pretty awesome–and you’re so adorably cute!
I didn’t know there was a blog about the “cleanliness” of books. Don’t that beat all? (You can probably guess my initial reaction to this revelation).
I’d like you to keep this blog at least a little “raw,” uumkay?
on January 13th, 2009 at 11:56 amWow!! what a great event and to have so many blogging buddies near by!! Thanks for sharing this and the links to everyone’s blogs!!
on January 13th, 2009 at 5:27 pmNatasha, Thanks so much for hosting the first ever Utah Book Bloggers Bash. It was fun even though we arrived an hour late. It was great to meet the people behind many of the blogs I have been visiting. I also was like Suey, it’s hard to eat when your having so much fun and good conversation and I thought James was great.
on January 13th, 2009 at 9:59 pmNatasha, thank you so much for hosting this event. My husband and I had a really nice time meeting everyone.
on January 14th, 2009 at 9:50 amThanks again, Natasha. It was so fun and so great to meet everyone. I thought having James Dashner there was really great and I would love it if we could have authors come to future parties. Even my husband had a great time and is looking forward to future parties.
on January 14th, 2009 at 12:35 pmLooks like you had a great time! I’m jealous.
By the way, I just gave you an award – take a look at my blog to see!
on January 14th, 2009 at 1:15 pmNatasha: I read suey’s post. Fantastic get together. I’m glad you all met and had a great time.
on January 14th, 2009 at 6:48 pmAlyce – I remember you mentioning that you were going to Bethany’s book club.
Belle – It will be fun to meet someone you’ve known online for so long. And it can be a bit nervous too.
Kim L. – At least we never lacked for conversation!
Chartroose – I can picture your reaction to that news! But I have had a lot of conversations with people about how it’s so hard to find books that don’t have language, sex, etc. I, for one, am one of those people. I can stand a lot, but sometimes it does irk me.
Stacy – I don’t know why we have so many bloggers here. There were so many who didn’t even make it. I’m hoping we’ll be twice as big next time.
Cari – I’m so happy you came! It wouldn’t have been the same without you.
Jessica – It wouldn’t have been the same without you either! I’m so thrilled you were there!
Fern – Thank you!
Serena – We did have a great time. I wish we could have had all the bloggers there!
on January 14th, 2009 at 8:50 pmHow fun! My husband and were thinking about moving to Utah last year. Too bad we didn’t or maybe I could have joined you all.
on January 14th, 2009 at 9:03 pmToo much fun, Natasha! I don’t know of any bloggers that live near me, except Laura (and we work together), but it’s so nice to have a real life connection with people you “chat” with regularly on the blogosphere.
on January 15th, 2009 at 5:28 amThat looks like so much fun! I haven’t met any other book bloggers, but I did meet a fellow book reviewer back in November and had dinner with YA Author Linda Gerber this week.
on January 16th, 2009 at 9:50 amHow cool. It looks like your event was lots of fun. It’s nice to see some of the faces behind the blogs I read!
on January 16th, 2009 at 12:15 pmI’m so jealous! I wish I lived in Utah. Well, not when it’s snowing, just when the bloggers get together.
on January 16th, 2009 at 5:46 pmJeanette – Dang! Well, if you ever do you already have friends waiting for you.
Trish – That’s what I enjoyed about it so much. It bugged me that I knew these people were out there, so close but I didn’t know them IRL.
Lenore – Meeting authors is so much fun. I’d love to have more of them join us in the future.
Jeane – I’m glad that you were familiar with so many of them already! And why wouldn’t you? These are all great bloggers!
Trish – Ugh. I hate snow. I prayed that it wouldn’t snow on the evening that we got together. Luckily, it was nice and dry.
on January 16th, 2009 at 10:15 pmOh man. The party sounds like it was lots of fun. I’m so sad I missed it. Thanks for posting about the get together.
on January 18th, 2009 at 2:46 pmSharon – I really hope you are able to make it to the next one. We’d love to have you.
on January 20th, 2009 at 9:29 pmWhat a great idea! And it looks like you all had a fabulous time.
on January 21st, 2009 at 10:51 pm