Book Bloggers Appreciation Week (BBAW) is an annual celebration 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.  BBAW wrapped up at the end of last week.   View the  BBAW archives at the official blog.

Well, it’s over.  Everybody has wrapped up their week but I’m still sitting here trying to read everybody’s posts.  So I might as well wrap it up too. BBAW was a fun way to celebrate the book blogging community.

Each of the daily blogging topics was designed to learn more about my fellow book bloggers and to discover bloggers that we may not be familiar with yet.

I wanted to end BBAW with spotlighting a few blogs that made it into my Google Reader this week.  These are just a few of the hundreds of participating blogs.  Lots of great things out there.

From Paperback Reader I learned about Claire at Kiss a Cloud. I was immediately drawn to Claire’s blog because of the beautiful photographs of the book in the places where she read it.  Another blog that I discovered through Paperback Reader is Joann at Lakeside Musings.  I’m looking forward to getting to know Joann especially as she seems to visit a  lot of the same blogs that I enjoy.

Stacy at Stacy’s Books introduced me to the gals at PaperTigers. Not sure how bloggers like this stay under my radar for so long.  Seriously?  How have I missed them?  Have I just not been paying attention?  And how can I resist the tag line “Speaking of multicultural books for young readers, world literacy and more . . . ”

No Time for Flash Cards isn’t a book blog but a fun crafts for preschoolers blog .  I seriously need the ideas for my little boys.  And while I’m familiar with Anastasia, I wasn’t familiar with one of her blogs called 5 Great Books.   It’s a great idea.  Listing five books on one particular topic.  I always need book ideas too for my boys.  I discovered both of these blogs through Lynn at Chronicles of an Infant Bibliophile who is simply amazing.  If you have small children, especially a little boy, you have to check out her blog.

Jessica at Bluestocking introduced me to Rob Around Books.  I have to admit, I was drawn to Rob’s blog simply because of the design.  This is such a nice blog just to look at.  Luckily, he’s got some great content as well!

One Literature Book Nut introduced me to Cara at Oooh Books.  Just look at her cute profile photo and then check out her open letter to book bloggers.  Yep, that alone has me curious enough to check out where she’s going to be headed.   While checking out Oooh Books, I came across Lotus Reads. I know I’ve visited this blog before but after exploring around a bit, I kow that it’s a place that I want to return to again.

Through Susan at Bloggin’ ’bout Books I met Kristen at The Readers Chat.  Kristen is a brand new blogger at four posts in.  Go pay her a visit!

Melissa at Book Nut introduced me to not one, not two, but three new bloggers.  Dawn at My Thoughts Exactly got put into my reader based strictly on this post which had me giggling.  And I need to giggle more often.  Melissa also had be browsing over at Cass’s at Bonjour, Cass! and Alysa at Everead.  Two blogs that I look forward to reading.

And the last blog that I wanted to mention was Terri at Brown Girl Speak.  I’m not sure how I came across this one during BBAW but another blog worth checking out.  Terri’s also created a longterm challenge to read one book based in every single African county.  One that I’m thinking I’d love to do as well.

How fun to have discovered these blogs sooner rather than later thanks to BBAW.

__________________________________

And last I need to acknowledge and thank you for Challenge Host and Kidlit Blog awards.   Do check out this post to check out the other amazing blogs also shortlisted.

Bloggiesta was a thrill to host and I’m excited that you thought the same.  I’m currently planning on hosting the challenge again mid-January or so.  And seriously, kidlit?  I have a feeling that a few in the kidlit community are shaking their heads and wondering, Maw Books who?  Do check out the Kidlitosphere community.  They are simply amazing and worth your effort in discovering if you aren’t following their blogs already.  Because you are, aren’t  you?

Thanks to all those involved.  Until next Book Blogger Appreciation Week . . . now let’s see if I can get some reviews posted!

I’m thrilled that Amy from My Friend Amy asked me to guest post not only about the friendships we create through blogging but also about the wonderful community that we have here in Utah.  Go check it out at the Book Blogger Appreciation Week blog.  I must admit that I have no shame in promoting the awesome book bloggers we have here.  There are more than 30 of us now.  Not kidding.  Go forth, read the post, comment, and visit them!

(P.S.  If  you are a Utah blogger – I would highly recommend promoting the post!)

Book Bloggers Appreciation Week (BBAW) is an annual celebration 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.  BBAW is happening right now!   To fully participate in BBAW visit the official blog.

How many books do you read because of a book bloggers review?

I was curious as to how many books I’ve read since I began blogging have been influenced from blogger recommendations so I pulled some out.  This list is actually much larger; I didn’t include any review copies, blog tours, or requested books.  Each of the following are books I either purchased or borrowed from the library after a bloggers review piqued my interest:

(Click on a book cover, to be taken to my review.)  I’ve lost track of who exactly recommended yet but I know that a few of these include Becky’s Book Reviews, My Friend Amy, Shelf Elf, Booking Mama, Small World Reads, and Trish’s Reading Nook.

How about you?  How much of your book selections are based on a book bloggers recommendation?  And did you agree with it?  I must admit, I’ve had a few come back to me after I recommended a book to say they hate it.  Sigh . . .

This was the first time I’ve participated as a panelist on a call-in show and I’m thrilled to have been asked to do so.  I had no idea what to expect and topics were all over the place.  Funny enough, my book club was meeting just a half hour into the show so I was in the car and then sitting outside our host’s house (Sharon who blogs at SherMeres’s Musings) while finishing up.  Cari from Book Scoops had a fun time listening in while she was driving.  What can I say, I didn’t want to miss book club because I love it so much!

I’m almost scared to listen to it because my voice never sounds like how I think it is.  And hopefully, I didn’t say anything that when I re-listen to it will make me think – what in the world was I thinking!  And no wonder everybody tells me they can never hear me on my phone.  Now I can hear my terrible connection.

I had fun! Did you listen in? If not, you can listen now, just hit the play button above (or Blog Talk Radio if it doesn’t load).  Any other questions?  Thoughts?

Book Bloggers Appreciation Week (BBAW) is an annual celebration 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.  BBAW is happening right now!   To fully participate in BBAW visit the official blog.

Book Bloggers Appreciation Week (BBAW) is an annual celebration 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.  BBAW is happening right now!   To fully participate in BBAW visit the official blog.

Today’s blogging topic is a hard one.  And that’s to share with you some of our favorite and best blogs that were not shortlisted for the BBAW awards.  Where does one even start with this?  My blog is a fairly eclectic, general review blog so I feel that I have my toes dipped in the kidlit community, the YA community, and the “adult” community.  What this means is a Google Reader that is simply overflowing (I won’t disclose the number of blogs which I subscribe too) and the nearly impossible task to narrow it down to a few favorites, which I am not going to attempt here.

I truly believe that while I find certain blogging practices do make for a better blog, it’s near impossible to say that this blog is better than this blog simply because I love different blogs at different moments in time.  Each blog contributes something different and unique to the blogosphere, thus creating a rich and diverse community.  My personal best is not somebody elses’s personal best.

Speaking of being able to define who are your favorite bloggers, I read a snowball of posts about this topic.  First was Colleen at Chasing Ray, in which she said:

You’re all part of my shortlist which will not result in wide accolades or even a button for your sidebar. However there is also no drama here either. And you’ve got me plus a lot of other dedicated readers who have been there all along and will continue to enjoy your thoughts, literary and otherwise. Awards come and go but faithful readers, we’re the real achievement.

Liz at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy launched her post off of Colleen’s and wrote:

A favorite can depend on many things. Who are my favorite bloggers? Those I link to. Those I comment at. Those I follow. Those I email and tweet with. The ones I read and don’t comment at, but my reading shows in your statistics. Basically, it’s those I read.

Liz goes on with a fantastic cafateria analogy and then continues with this thought:

Do I have favorites? Hell, yes. It may be someone who just by mentioning a book, I want to read it. Or someone sharing industry news. A wry take on things that makes me laugh. A great voice. Interesting interpretations on books. Writing that shakes me up. Writing that makes me welcome. Should I begin listing all my favorites, I’d leave someone out, and who wants to do that to a favorite?

Jen at Jen Robinson’s Book Page continues the conversation at her blog and muses about being a floater, having different places that she likes to visit depending upon her mood.

But they’re all people I’m happy to hear from when they post, or email, or Twitter. They’re people I look forward to meeting face-to-face, if I haven’t already. They’re people who inspire that moment of connection when they write exactly what I was trying to say, or have the same reaction I did to a book. They’re my colleagues, in this book blogging world. And they are my friends.

She ends by saying she can’t list favorites because “You all know who you are, don’t you?”

Each of these bloggers struck a chord with me and I found myself saying, “Yes, that’s how I feel too.”  These wonderful bloggers opted to not share some of their favorite blogs because the task was already impossible and plus, “they already knew who they were” anyways.  But that’s the thing, they know who they are but I don’t know who they are.  BBAW is about celebrating blogs and furthering their exposure.  How would you stumble upon these blogs if we don’t talk about them?  (Although I do admit that I follow these three bloggers closely enough that I can take a pretty easy guess as to who their favorite bloggers are – but you may not).  I must admit that I’m a fan of link love.

I’d like to share some blogs with you not because they need the pat on the back (although I’m patting their back all the same), but rather for you, the reader visiting me here, the chance to further explore the richness of the book blogosphere.

That said, I have no idea even as I type these words out which blogs I’m going to spotlight.  I’m going to give a huge shout out to all of my Utah book bloggers.  I have a guest post about our group going up later this week on the BBAW blog, so make sure to check that out.  And now, in no particular order and knowing full well that I’m not even touching the surface of my favorite bloggers, here are a few that I think you should check out:

• Jeannette from  A Comfy Chair and a Good Book has been spotlighted on my blog before but I wanted to mention that she’s due to give birth this week!  Very exciting!  I just wanted everybody to be aware of that little fact.

• I was seriously surprised that Joy at Thoughts of Joy didn’t make the cut for most concise blog.  Whenever I see that she’s reviewed a book that I’ve also read, I have to know what she says simply because she doesn’t beat around the bush.  I always know immediately if she liked it or hated it.  Short and sweet.   Sometime I wish I could blog like that.

• I usually want post titles to be clear and straightforward with name of the book and author, but whenever Susan at Bloggin’ ’bout Books posts a review, I have to stop and check it out because her titles always catch my eye.  She doesn’t beat around the bush either.  I always know exactly what she thought of a book.  One of my favorite bloggers.

• I love Tara’s from Books and Cooks farmer’s market posts.  Such beautiful pictures and beautiful food.  Let’s not forget the books of course.

• I love following Janssen at Everyday Reading because she’s so funny and full of life.  Not only do I get to check out her great book reviews but read fun posts about her random tidbits of her life.  In hindsight, it seems that I’m not very exciting at all.

• I have to give a shout out to Jen Robinson’s Book Page and Terry at The Reading Tub for their literacy round-up posts which I think are singlehandly one of the best features around and one that I always click on first when I see it come up in my reader.

• Jill at The Well Read Child has always been one of my favorite kidlit bloggers.  I can always count on her blog to give me some great recommendations for my two boys.

• I just discovered Dawn at Moms Inspire Learning during the judging process for BBAW.  I put her blog into my reader right away as it focuses on simple resources and strategies to inspire lifelong learning, reading, and leading.  I’m looking forward to getting to know her.

• Hands down my favorite author blog is Shannon Hale.  She puts up so many thought provoking posts that it’s just crazy.  I get all excited when I see a new post go up over there.

• Have you guys seen the new blog called Awful Library Books?  Hilarious!  Seriously, subscribe to this one and then sit back and plan to be amused.

• Another blog that I think is really entertaining is The Worst Review Ever where authors talk about the worst reviews that they’ve received.  Love it!

• Adele at Persnickety Snark probably doesn’t even know that I exist.  But she’s another blog that I just discovered and I was really impressed.  I seriously wonder where these people have been hiding and how do I not know about their greatness?  Adele reviews YA and I am looking forward to following her blog.

• Becky at Becky’s Book Reviews is hands down the most prolific blogger that I know.  Honestly, I don’t think anybody could keep up with her if she tried.  And you never know what you are going to get.  Shakespeare on day, graphic novel the next.  Something for everybody.

• Melissa at Book Nut has always been on of my favorite blogs.  What can I say?  She’s simply full of awesome.

Okay, well.  I think I better stop.  I could keep going all day and by no means is this list even close to listing my favorites.  Rather, it’s a small random selection of bloggers from my reader.

This day is just about over and I need to make my way over to see who everybody else is posting about.  Do you follow any of these blogs?  Which ones are you going to go check out?

And really, in all honesty the past three months have not been up to par.  I pretty much postponed all of my features and didn’t conduct a single author interview.  And you can see that I’m really behind on my book reviews.  I’d like to blame it all on the warm weather and vacations.  I’ve just been playing a lot more than I have been blogging.  I’d like to get back into the swing of things around here while trying to find a balance in my personal life.

As always, skim this post and see if you missed anything interesting and for me, it’s nice to do housekeeping every once in a while.

Summer Books Read & Reviewed

Fiction

• The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale
• The Blue Notebook by James A. Levine
• A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman
• Wife of the Gods, An Inspector Darko Dawson Mystery by Kwei Quartey
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
• Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross Review
• Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy
• Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea

Young Adult Fiction

• Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
• Miracle’s Boys by Jacqueline Woodson
• Feathered by Laura Kasischke
• I Know It’s Over by C.K Kelly Martin
• Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (a preview of sorts and a gushing on release day)
• Everything is Fine by Ann Dee Ellis
• Gym Candy by Carl Deuker
• Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
• The Teashop Girls by Laura Schaefer
• Love, Lies, and Texas Dips by Susan McBride
• Love You, Hate You, Miss You by Elizabeth Scott

Middle Readers

• Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking and Other Natural Disasters by Lenore Look
• Dork Diaries: Tales from a NOT-SO-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renee Russell
• Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
• Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom by Eric Wight
• Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
• My Teacher is an Alien by Bruce Coville
• Chess Rumble by G. Neri
• Charlotte’s Rose by A.E. Cannon
• Escape Under the Forever Sky by Eve Yohalem
• Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
• Dessert First by Hallie Durand
• Long Shot by Mike Lupica

Picture Books

• Travels with Tarra and Just for Elephants by Carol Buckley
• 14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy in Collaboration with Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah, Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez
• Unite or Die, How Thirteen States Became a Nation by Jacqueline Jules, Illustrated by Jef Czekaj
• Heroes by Ken Mochizuki, Illustrated by Dom Lee
• Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully by Julianne Moore, Illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Non-Fiction

• Zlata’s Diary, A Child’s Life in Sarajevo by Zlata Filipovic
• First Comes Loves, Then Comes Malaria by Eve Brown-Waite
• That Went Well, Adventures in Caring for My Sister by Terrell Harris Dougan
• Tone Deaf in Bangkok and Other Places by Janet Brown
• I Am a Star, Child of the Holocaust by Inge Auerbacher
• Picking Cotton, Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton with Erin Torneo
• The Mistress’s Daughter by A.M. Holmes

Guest Posts

• Guest Post: Interview with Kaleb Nation, Author of Bran Hambric
• Guest Post from Hannah of WordLily: Author Recipe, Leslie Patricelli’s Espresso and Cardamom Rub
• Guest Post and Giveaway: On Quotes and Inspiration by Kathryn Fitzmaurice, Author of The Year the Swallows Came Early
• Guest Post, Carol Hampton Rasco: Parents and Youngsters Together for Stories, Songs, Rhymes, and More at RIF.org
• Guest Post: Marsha Jacobson on Reading With Feeling
• Guest Post: Thomas Fortenberry on Judging Literary Contests
• Guest Post: Book Chick City on Launching a Blog and Her Ever Increasing Obsession With Books

Vlogs

• Video Chat: Being Overtaken By the Number of Books Read But Not Yet Reviewed
• Why Read Book Blogs?  Three Book Bloggers Vlog the Answer
• The BookExpo America Box Arrival

More Posts During June

• Do Some Picture Books Teach Our Children Irrational Fears and Behaviors?
• The Utah Book Bloggers Summer Social – Photos of a Few of Your Favorite Bloggers and Authors
• Book to Movie Trailers – Upcoming Releases I’m Excited About
• Technical Difficulties – I Might Be Back Up
• Frank McCourt, Pulitzer Prize Winning Author of Angela’s Ashes, Dies at Age 78
• On Book Borrowing: Do You Lend Out? I’ve Got Questions!
• Why Do I Own Books When I Rarely Reread?
• World War II Rationed Chocolate Cake from Mary Ann Rodman, Author of Jimmy’s Stars
• Nerds Heart YA Book Tournament: I Know It’s Over vs. Feathered
• Do Books Make You Cry? Or Am I the Only One With a Heart of Stone?
• Ten Reasons Why Book Blogger Appreciation Week is So Cool!
• Talking Library Fines – Somebody Please Make Me Feel Better
• The Nerds Heart YA Tournament = Awesomeness
• Twilight Fans! A Graphic Novel is On It’s Way!
• Tomato Aspic from Mary Ann Rodman’s, Jimmy’s Stars – Perhaps Our Nastiest Author Recipe to Date
• Catching Fire Preview
• New York Times Bestsellers – August 2nd
• New York Times Bestsellers – July 19th
• New York Times Bestsellers – June 14th
• New York Times Bestsellers – June 7th
• Reading and Blogging Review for April & May

Flashback:  The Maw Books Blog a Year Ago

What was I reviewing a year ago: So according to my monthly review report from last summer, I reviewed way to many books to list here.  But a few of that are worth highlighting are: Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, We Are On Our Own: A Memoir by Miriam Katin, Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center, The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway, If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson, Not On Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond by Don Cheadle and John Prendergast,   Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and Escape by Carolyn Jessop.  Last summer I interviewed Mary Ann Rodman, author of Jimmy’s Stars, Sara Zarr, author of Sweethearts and Story of a Girl, and J. Scott Savage, author of Far World, Water Keep.

Challenge Updates

I finished four challenges this summer:

I finished the Support Your Local Library Challenge hosted by J. Kaye by reading 51 out of 50 library books.  I should have signed up for a larger number.  LOL   I still have a stack of unreviewed library books as well.  Out of curiosity, I’m going to continue to list library books, just to see what I get too, but this one is officially finished.  Thanks J. Kaye for a great challenge!

1. Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking and Other Natural Disasters by Lenore Look
2. Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross (since purchased)
3. I Hadn’t Mean to Tell You This by Jacqueline Woodson
4. Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas
5. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
6. Feathered by Laura Kasischke
7. I Know It’s Over by C.K Kelly Martin
8. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (since purchased)
9. On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck
10. The Sisters Grimm, The Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley
11. Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad by Waris Dirie and Cathleen Miller
12. Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
13. Always by Ann Stott, Illustrated by Matt Phelan (since received as gift)
14. There’s a Wolf at the Door: Five Classic Tales Retold by Zoe B. Alley, Illustrated by R.W. Alley
15. Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil by Deborah Rodriguez
16. Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Hudson Talbot
17. Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West
18. Shooting the Moon by Frances O’Roark Dowell
19. Alvin Ho:  Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look
20. Snow by Cynthia Rylant, Illustrated by Lauren Stringer
21. Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka
22. Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult
23. Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki, Illustrated by Steve Rolston
24. Chiggers by Hope Larson
25. Fade by Lisa McMann
26. The Way He Lived by Emily Wing Smith
27. The Lightning Thief, Book One of Percy Jackson & The Olympians by Rick Riordan
28. Jellaby by Kean Soo
29. Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
30. Holbrook: A Lizards Tale by Bonny Becker
31. My Brother, The Robot by Bonny Becker
32. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
33. Mary Veronica’s Egg by Mary Nethery, Illustrated by Paul Yalowtiz
34. A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker, Illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton
35. An Ant’s Day Off by Bonny Becker, Illustrated by Nina Laden
36. The Christmas Crocodile by Bonny Becker, Illustrated by David Small
37. Ella the Elegant Elephant by Carmelia and Steven D’Amico
38. Ella Sets the Stage by Carmelia and Steven D’Amico
39. Ella Takes the Cake by Carmelia and Steven D’Amico
40. Ella Sets Sail by Carmelia and Steven D’Amico
41. Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki, Illustrated by Dom Lee
42. Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine, Illustrations by Kadir Nelson
43. Be Water, My Friend: The Early Years of Bruce Lee by Ken Mochizuki, Illustrated by Dom Lee
44. Passage to Freedom, The Sugihara Story by Ken Mochizuki, Illustrated by Dom Lee
45. Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
46. The Voice That Challenged A Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights by Russell Freedman
47. The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles, Illustrated by George Ford
48. Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope by Nikki Grime, Illustrated by Bryan Collier
49. Freedom Walkers, The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman
50. Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges
51. Frogs by Nic Bishop

Themed Reading Challenge hosted by Wendy at Caribousmom wrapped up in July.  Dang.  I wish I had the full year for this one because I’m definitly not stopping especially considering that I still have 4 books in my to be reviewed pile that would count for the challenge and several more in my TBR.  My theme was to read books from my local Utah authors.  This challenge wrapped up with 5 out of the 4 required books reviewed.  So officially it’s completed but this will be an ongoing challenge for me.

1. The 13th Reality, The Hunt for Dark Infinity by James Dashner
2. The Way He Lived by Emily Wing Smith
3. The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
4. That Went Well: Adventures for Caring for My Sister by Terrell Harris Dougan
5. The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale

I also finished the Non-Fiction Five Challenge hosted by Trish at Trish’s Reading Nook which was to read five non-fiction books between May and September. Easy enough for me.  I’ve got at least that many sitting in my review pile.

1. That Went Well, Adventures in Caring for My Sister by Terrell Harris Dougan
2. Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad by Waris Dirie and Cathleen Miller
3. First Comes Loves, Then Comes Malaria by Eve Brown-Waite
4. Zlata’s Diary, A Child’s Life in Sarajevo by Zlata Filipovic
5. Travels with Tarra and Just for Elephants by Carol Buckley

Susan at Color Online hosted the Color Me Brown Reading Challenge in August which encouraged participants to read and review POC books.  I was late to the game but thrilled with the challenge.  During August I reviewed three books which qualified for the challenge:

1. A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman
2. Wife of the Gods, An Inspector Darko Dawson Mystery by Kwei Quartey
3. 14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy in Collaboration with Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah, Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez

This summer I hosted my very first challenge!!  The Bloggiesta wasn’t a reading challenge but rather a 48-hour blogging challenge and if I say so myself, I think it went fantastic!  Thank you to everybody who participated.  I’ll be doing it again.  If you missed it, you can check out the following links:

• Bloggiesta Wrap-Up
• Bloggiesta: The Finish Line!
• Bloggiesta Pinata Time!
• Bloggiesta: In Which I Reveal the Sad State of the Maw Books Blog
• Bloggiesta! Let’s Begin the Festivities!
• Bloggiesta! The Unveiling of a New Upcoming Blogging Event

And it now seems a distant memory but this summer I also participated in my first 48 Hour Book Challenge hosted by Pam at MotherReader. It was awesome and I can’t wait to do it again.

• 48 Hour Book Challenge – It is Finished!
• 48 Hour Book Challenge – 12 Hours to Go
• 48 Hour Book Challenge, Hour 21-ish Update
• The 48 Hour Book Challenge – And It Begins

Still plugging away on the following challenges.   Click to be taken to my list and then to be taken to challenge blog.  So far I have resisted from signing up for anything else.

• A-Z Author & Title Challenge – Runs all of 2009.  11 of 52 books completed. Must read faster!
• Dewey’s Books Reading Challenge – Runs all of 2009.  1 of 5 books completed.
• New Author Challenge – Runs all of 2009.  70 out of 75 books completed.
• Read Your Own Books Challenge – Runs all of 2009.  22 completed – open ended.
• War Through the Generations Challenge – Runs all of 2009.   6 out of 5 completed.  Not willing to wrap this up yet.
• Diversity Rocks! Challenge – Runs all of 2009.  23 out of 40 completed.

Awards

Thanks everybody!  As many of you know (or may not know) I don’t pass on awards (the pressure!) but I like to give you recognition in return for your thoughtfulness and kind words.  Do check these kind bloggers out!

• Mari from Bookworm with a View passed on the Kreative blogger award.  Her latest review of Love, Greg and Lauren makes me wanting to go out and pick it up.

• Mark from Absorbed in Words also passed on the Kreative blogger award.  Although it seems like I should totally know about this challenge, but Mark pointed me to the China Reading Challenge which is one that I just might not be able to resist.

• Tif from Tif Talks Books also passed the Kreative Blogger Award.  Tif just changed her blog design after some discussion about it on Twitter.  Go check it out and tell her what you think!

• Tam from Bailey’s and Books passed on the Let’s Be Friends Award.  Tam has been blogging for three months now (really? seems like you’ve always been on my radar!) and I highly recommend that you check her out.  Plus, she’s a freelance photographer.  Double p0ints!

• Emily from Emily’s Reading Room and Sheila from One Person’s Journey Through a World Of Books both passed on the Humane Award which recognizes bloggers who are kindhearted.  I could say the same thing about both of these awesome bloggers.  I’ve been able to meet Emily as she lives locally to me and she’s just as cool in person on her blog as she is on her blog.  Sheila has hit the blogging world with a whirlwind.  I don’t know how she does it.  Everywhere I go, she seems to be one step ahead of me.

• Amy from Park-Avenue Princess passed on the Humane Award as well.  If you are not following Amy, you are missing out on one of the most inspiring bloggers ever.  Her enthusiasm is amazing and I get a little thrill every time she comments on my blog.  Love ya Amy!

• Melanie from Melanie’s Musings passed on the Promixidade award.  Melanie’s a teen in Florida and she has a horse!  Sorry, I think that is pretty darn cool!  Melanie has been blogging since May and to tell you the truth, blogging teens are pretty awesome.

• Desert Rose Booklogue passed on the Literary Blogger Award which recognizes blogs who energize and inspire blogs by going the extra mile.  What a hard month over at the Desert Rose blog, as she’s recently lost both her father and her father-in-law.  Go pay her a visit and check out the great books she’s reading.

• Grace from Books Like Breathing (love the name of that blog!) passed on the infamous Zombie Chicken Award which still makes me giggle.  Grace’s favorite author is Jane Austen and she has over a hundred of Austen books and its sequels.  Hmm . . . this is making me wonder if I should pick up an Austen book.  I haven’t since high school.

• Jenny from Take Me Away awarded the Bookin with Bingo.  Seriously, just look at Jenny’s about page.  I have no clue how she even manages to read and blog.

• Natalie from The Book Inn passed on the Humane Award.  Natalie’s family just got a puppy.  Need I say more?

Carnivals

Send me your book review links! I’m hosting!

For those of you who may not be familiar with carnivals, a carnival is a blog event where a host collects links from participating blogs and then rounds them up on their blog.  If you are a blogger, carnivals are open to anybody to submit their links and if you are a reader, carnivals are a great source to find great new blogs and book reviews.

Narineh at The Novel World will be hosting the the next Bookworms Carnival which will focus on banned books.  I neglected to send in a link of my own but I love the theme (I plan on reading banned books later this month), I recommend that you check it out as soon as it’s posted.

I’m thrilled to let you know that I will be hosting the next edition of the Bookworms Carnival!! The theme is book reviews about Africa, set in Africa or with an African theme (not books simply written by an African American though).  So if you review books and you have a review that fits that criteria please send them to me by September 25th!  After that come back here for a great round up of book reviews!

Other Items of Note

• Book Giveaways. Lots of books were given away over the summer!  And yes, many of them are still sitting here, so if you have not received them yet, don’t lament.  I’m just lame.  And slow.  Congrats to Melissa at The  Betty and Boo Chronicles, Janssen at Everyday Reading, Melissa at One Librarian’s Book Reviews, Haley, couchpotato, Carol M., Hannah at Word Lily, Nicole at Books and Bards, Nicole from Linus’s Blanket, Melanie from Melanie’s Musings, Nan from Nan’s Corner of the Web, Avis from She Reads and Reads, Kristen from Bookworming in the 21st Century, Drea from Book Blather, Cindy from Cindy’s Love of Books, Melissa from One Librarian’s Book Reviews, J.C. from The Biblio Blogazine, Pam from MotherReader, Joanne from The Book Zombie, Amy from Haiku Amy, Liyana from Liyanaland, Sheila from One Person’s Journey Through a World of Books, Jennie from Biblio File, and Jacqueline from The Undercover Book Lover who all won something over the summer.

• Blogging Tips Group on the Book Blogs Ning. So if you are new around here (or not) I wanted to remind you about the Blogging Tips group that I moderate over at the Book Blogs Ning.  I know a lot of people have been frustruated from the spam but I wanted to ensure you that I’ve got our group under control.  Visit often for great blogging tips from getting advice about your theme, putting buttons on your blog, or how to best conduct an author interview.  I want the forum to benefit everybody so feel free to contribute!

• Utah Book Bloggers Summer Social One of the highlights of the summer was the social that the Utah Book Bloggers had with many of our local Utah authors.  I’m very fortunate to live in a location with such a strong literary presence.  Check out this post for all the details and links to all the Utah book bloggers.

• Not subscribed at all? As you can see from this recap, there is always something going on.  Although I admit that it’s usually more.  Don’t miss any of it by receiving updates via email or through your favorite reader.  Also follow me on Twitter.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW)

Tomorrow is the kick off of Book Bloggers Appreciation Week (BBAW) which is an annual celebration 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. The week spotlights and celebrates the work of active book bloggers through guest posts, awards, giveaways, and community activities. The theme for the week is Celebrate Books!  It all starts right now and everybody, bloggers and non-bloggers alike, are encouraged to participate.

During this next week, I will be supporting BBAW through daily themed posts on my blog, perhaps a giveaway, visiting and discovering new bloggers, and writing a guest post for the BBAW blog about the awesome community of Utah bloggers.  On Wednesday I’m really excited to be contributing to a special Blog Talk Radio hosted by Miriam Parker of Hachette with Amy from My Friend Amy, Kathy of Bermuda Onion, Kate of Babbling About Books and More, and Adam of Letters on Pages!  I’ve never done anything like this before so be sure to check in on Wednesday at 9pm EST on the Blog Talk Radio site or check back here where I’ll post the recording the next day.

I’m sure I’m forgetting something but as it’s the middle of the month already and I wanted this posted on the 1st, I’m going to hit the publish button.

Let the madness begin!

The week spotlights and celebrates the work of active book bloggers through guest posts, awards, giveaways, and community activities. The theme for the week is Celebrate Books! and will run from September 14-18th (this coming week).

I’m thrilled that the Maw Books Blog was shortlisted for the following awards amongst some amazing other bloggers.  Each blogger submitted five posts to the judging panel, which I disclose mine below.

Best Kidlit Blog

This blog covers children’s and middle grade books. The reviews are great and you’ve even gone out and bought books on this blogger’s recommendation for your own children or other children.

• 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast – Have you seen their interviews alone?  Amaaazing!!!

• Fuse 8 at School Library Journal – Besty is a riot!  I met her in NYC and her passion alone is amazing.

• Jen Robinson’s Book Blog – I know I nominated Jen in this category.  I always trust her reviews and her round-ups alone are worth her weight in gold.

• Shelf Elf – I must admit that Shelf Elf is one of the very first kidlit bloggers I discovered and linked to.  I discovered Deborah Ellis purely on her recommendation.

• Maw Books Blog – And then there is little old me.  Blogging is what turned me on to middle grade fiction titles and my own two boys inspire my love for picture books.   For those who may not be familiar with my children’s reviews or interviews these are the posts I sent to the panel:  Chicken Butt!, 14 Cows for America, Shooting the Moon, Interview with Ken Mochizuki, and the LA Times Festival of Books.

Best Challenge Host

This blogger sets the bar for challenge hosts. They’ve come up with a great idea, stay involved in the challenge, and cheer on those who are participating in the challenge.

• Stephanie’s Written Word – Stephanie is hosting the Everything Austen challenge and I see links for it everywhere!  From the excitement I see on Twitter alone, I know she’s got a good thing going!

• Find Your Next Book Here – Jenners hosts the Take a Chance Challenge which is really creative.

• Mother Reader -  Pam’s 48 Hour Book Challenge was so much fun!  I did it for the first time and had a blast.  In all honesty, the Bloggiesta was patterned after the the 48 Hour Book Challenge – that’s how cool the set up was.

• War Through the Generations – Anna and Serena are who I nominated for this category!  To tell you the truth, their challenge is the most organized and supportive of their participants of any reading challenge that I’ve personally participated in.

• Maw Books Blog – I was nominated for hosting The Bloggiesta, which for those new to my blog,  is a 48 hour blogging marathon with blog improvement in mind.  You can catch up with the event with the Bloggiesa tag but it basically includes these five posts:  the unveiling, let’s begin the festivities, pinata time, the finish line, and wrap up.

Best Blog Post

This is hands down your favorite blog post you read all year. It made you laugh, it made you cry, or it reminded you of truth.

• Hey Lady, Whatcha’ Readin’?: This Blogging Thing Reminds Me of High School - Oh yes.  I remember this one on the title alone.

• Things Mean a Lot: On Fantasy and Why I Read It - Fantastic commentary on the fantasy genre.

• My Friend Amy: Write the Words of My Heart – On how a book finds expression for the longings, secrets, desires, wounds, and hopes of our hearts.  Amy always has a way with words.

• The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker (Maw Books Blog) – It’s funny because I considered this the worst review I had ever done!  Goes to show you!  Just go read it to find out why.  And wow – the only book review of the bunch.

Most Extravagant Giveaways

You wonder how the blogger comes up with such fantastic giveaways! You want to win these giveaways, and you also wish you’d thought of these great giveaways for your own blog.

• Anna’s Book Blog – I must admit that I’m not familiar with Anna’s blog.  I’ll be off to check her out myself.

• Stainless Steel Droppings – Carl has some awesome giveaways!

• The Story Siren – Yeah, I wish some of Kristi’s giveaways were my own as well.

• The Tome Traveller’s Weblog – I met Carey in NYC at BEA.  Random tidbit.  Go check her out!

• Maw Books Blog – While I have a HUGE stack of books still waiting for me to mail out and may not be the most timely mailer (you know you are), I always get excited to put together fun giveaways.  The posts that I submitted to the panel for this were a signed Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, seven signed Jodi Picoult books and a signed The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. And I do want to mention that these particular giveaways were not publisher sponsored. I had the opportunity to meet each of these authors at different signing events and couldn’t help but pass on the love.

Most Altruistic Blog

This blog doesn’t just focus on itself but seeks to make a difference in the lives of others through raising awareness and funds for various causes.

• Color Online – Susan aka LaTonya works with young girls at a local non-profit and runs a library of more than 3,000 titles comprising 80% of works from women of color about people of color.

• Guys Lit Wire – This is who I nominated for their initiative in the Book Fair for Boys which puts books into the hands of incarcerated boys  In all honesty, I would have been seriously upset had they not been shortlisted.

• My Friend Amy – Whether it’s her recent Beth Kephart book drive, or Buy Books for the Holidays, Amy is always a strong supporter of literacy, authors and putting books into the hands of readers.

• She Is Too Fond of Books – Dawn blogged about walking 60 miles over 3 days, raising funds and awareness about breast cancer detection, treatment, and the search for a cure.

• Maw Books Blog – If you’d like to vote for me simply because of the Darfur Awareness Campaign, well . . . don’t.  I received this award last year for the same thing and certainly don’t need the recognition twice.  I do, however, always try to use my blog to raise awareness of various causes be it child abuse, modern slavery, or genocide.  It’s been awhile since I’ve raised funds.

Best Series or Feature

This series or feature is the one thing you always read on another blog. You may or may not participate in it, but you think it’s a great idea and love reading the posts on this series or feature.

• 451 Fridays at As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves – Inspired by Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury each Friday Elizabeth asks bloggers which book thy are so passionate about that they would save by memorizing to pass on to future genarations.

• Scene of the Blog at Kittling: Books – Every week Kathy showcases a different blogger and their space in which they blog.  It’s always fun to see just where those blog posts are created.

• Spotlight on Bookstores at She Is Too Fond of Books – Dawn runs a weekly series of guest posts spotlighting various bookstores and sharing anecdotes about what makes them special.

• What a Girl Wants at Chasing Ray – Every week Colleen rounds-up an awesome group of authors and posts a single question and then their answers as they talk about what a girl wants and what she gets – when it comes to reading.

• Author Recipes at Maw Books Blog – In every author interview I conduct, I ask an author to share a recipe with us, particularly if the recipe plays an importance in their book.  I must admit that these are some of my favorite posts to write.  And I love it more when I hear back from bloggers who have made the recipes.  The five posts in this series that I submitted were:  Katherine Center’s Mexican Tomato Lime Tortilla Soup, Shana Burg’s Butter Bean Cookies, Donna Gephart’s Lemon Square Bars, Mary Ann Rodman’s Tomato Aspic and Kirby Larson’s Lemon Lenquine. So far I’ve collected more than 30 recipes which you can find in my author recipes archive.

Best Community Builder

This blogger inspires community through their posts, their comments, and their work on book blogging events.

• 5 Minutes for Books – Jennifer and the other gals over at 5 Minutes for Books are awesome and always have so much fun stuff going on.
  

• J. Kaye’s Book Blog – J. Kaye has always been known for helping other bloggers.  While browsing through the BBAW meme, it seemed everybody mentioned J. Kaye for helping them one way or another!
  

• My Friend Amy – Let’s be honest.  With Amy in this category, nobody else has a chance!  And honestly?  That’s the way it should be.
  

• Maw Books Blog – I’m thrilled to have nominated and shortlisted.  It’s the community that makes this whole blogging thing worth it and I’ll do anything to help bring it together.
  

In addition to these categories I thought I would mention the other categories that I was nominated in simply because I haven’t yet said thank you to those who nominated my blog.  I  mostly want to recognize you for being so kind to me.

Thank you for nominations in:  Best General Review Blog,  Best Challenge (Bloggiesta), Best Post (On Library Overdue Fees), Most Prolific Blog, Best Commenter, Best Reviews, Best Writing, Best Cultural Review Blog and  Most Eclectic Taste.

Receiving sixteen nominations and shortlisting in seven *faints*  is certainly humbling, and yet, gives me the drive to continue to bring you content that you enjoy.  If nobody read this blog, I wouldn’t be doing this.  Seriously, thanks for sticking around and giving me a pat on the back!  Although I don’t know who nominated me, you know who you are.  Thank you.

So what do you do now?

Peruse the shortlisted bloggers and then caste your vote before THIS Saturday, September 12th at 11:59 EST.  Whether it’s for myself or for others, go support the book blogging community with your vote.  You do not need to be a book blogger to vote.  So if you are reading this, well, I’m calling you to action.

And as Amy, the amazing Amy, reminded us, the awards are only a part of BBAW and are not meant to be the only thing that BBAW is about.  It’s fun to recognize the blogs we love, yet ultimately our personal favorites may likely not be shortlisted.  If you are a book blogger and participating in BBAW, then I encourage you to participate in the daily blogging topics, including recognizing your favorites this Monday.

I’ll be participating each day in BBAW, so if you follow or subscribe to this blog regularly, I hope you look forward to the daily posts that will introduce you to some more great book bloggers who are always good for a great book recommendation or two!

Ten reasons why I’m excited for the second annual BBAW:

1. Amy from My Friend Amy is the wonderful brains behind the whole thing and if that’s not enough to make it super cool then I don’t know what is.
2. Because book bloggers are more than happy to party no matter the occasion.  We just love having fun!
3. Tons of fun guest posts, interviews, and daily blogging themes!
4. Recognize the hard work of your favorite blogs by nominating them for a BBAW award!
5. Giveaways! Because everything is more fun when there are prizes.
6. Because people who blog about books are in one word:  cool.
7. Because last year I was fortunate to be recognized with a couple of awards myself.  So yeah, that was fun and exciting.
8. Because the blogosphere is getting bigger and bigger and it’s fun to pull us all together.
9. Because I have a billion blogs in my reader already, so adding in a new favorite is never a problem!
10. Because it’s Book Blogger Appreciation Week!  It needs no other excuse to be cool!

From the Book Blogger Appreciation Week website:

• WHO: Anyone who blogs about books is invited to participate.  In fact, we want everyone who blogs about books and reading to be a part of this week!
• WHAT: A week where we come together,  celebrate the contribution and hard work of book bloggers in promoting a culture of literacy, connecting readers to books and authors, and recognizing the best among us with the Second Annual BBAW Awards.  There will be special guest posts, daily blogging themes, and giveaways.
• WHEN: September 14-18, 2009
• WHERE: At the new Book Blogger Appreciation Week Blog!  (Please note that this year there are three separate blogs and feeds—one for the main event, one for giveaways, and one for awards.)
• WHY: Because books matter.  In a world full of options, the people talking about books pour hard work, time, energy, and money into creating a community around the written word.

Register your book blog by filling out the registration form! Registering ensures your inclusion in the BBAW 09 Database of Book Bloggers and enters you into the drawing for the BBAW 09 Grand Prize!

Nominate your favorite book blog in a myriad of awards.  BBAW Award Nominations will be open until August 15, 2009.  At that time, the nominees will be shortlisted by a preselected panel.  Nominees will be asked to submit their best content for review by the panel.  Final voting will begin in September. 

Note:  you do not have to be a book blogger to nominate your favorite blog. You just have to enjoy reading them!  There are a lot of different categories and you can write in others as well, so it’s going to take me some time to go through and fill out my nominations.  There are so many who are so deserving!  Decisions, decisions.  I thought the awards were really fun last year and I’m looking forward to discovering more blogs this year through BBAW.

So to recap quickly, what do you need to do now?

1. Subscribe to the blog.
2. Follow @BBAW on Twitter
3. Register your book blog if you have one.
4. Make your award nominations.
5. Spread the word via your blog and twitter accounts if you have either.
6. Wait anxiously for the week to begin to party like rock stars!

Excited.

Well, I’m now happy to announce that my losing days are over!!

It all started when I won a lovely bookmark from Dewey at A Hidden Side of a Leaf.  I couldn’t believe it!  My first prize.

And then a couple of weeks later, Amy at My Friend Amy held a giveaway on Twitter in honor of BBAW to the first few people who DM’d her.  And she sent me not one, but two books!  (You are on Twitter aren’t you?  Seriously, there is this entire back conversation with book bloggers that I didn’t even know was going on.  But now I’m in the know how.  Follow me).  I was sent A Tale Out of Luck by Willie Nelson and An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination, A Memoir by Elizabeth McCracken.  Both look good.

Right after that I was ecstatic to win a book from Jessica at Bluestocking Society from her Lit Flicks Challenge.  She sent me Atonement by Ian McEwan, which is on my challenge list and I happened to have checked out from the library when I received it.  Back to the library with that copy, I have my own!  Now, I just need to sit down and read it.

I was getting giddy. I won stuff!   But then it got better!  Jen at Devourer of Books held her awesome 100th Review giveaway and I won not one, not two, but three more books!  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, which I’m really excited about after it’s rave reviews.  I had this on hold at the library, I gladly canceled it.  Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay which I had just finished reading when I received this copy.  I’m very happy to have my own copy for my personal library!  This one is one worth having!  One can never have to many books can they?  And The River, By Moonlight by Camille Marchetta (I may already have this one in my review pile.  I’ll have to check, if so I’d like to pass it on when I review it.  Keep spreading the love!)  Thanks Jen!

After that I was seriously thinking, wow, I can’t believe I’ve actually won something!  How long could it last?  Apparently, just a little longer because I snagged one of Hatchette’s Spooktacular Box of Books giveaway from Rebecca at Rebecca Reads! That alone was something like 10 books!  After this, I thought I was tired of Halloween.  But now I can’t wait to dig into these next year for some themed reading around Halloween time.  They are:  THE HERETIC’S DAUGHTER By Kathleen Kent, ISOLATION By Travis Thrasher, THE 13 BEST HORROR STORIES OF ALL TIME By Leslie Pockell, THE MONSTERS: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein By Dorothy Hoobler and Thomas Hoobler, THE MYRTLES PLANTATION: The True Story of America’s Most Haunted House By Frances Kermeen, Ghostly Encounters: True Stories of America’s Haunted Inns and Hotels By Frances Kerm, THE TERROR By Dan Simmons, DRACULA By Bram Stoker, WHEN GHOSTS SPEAK: Understanding the World of Earthbound Spirits By Mary Ann Winkowski, and THE HISTORIAN By Elizabeth Kostova (my husband was really excited for this one, when he saw it he said, “Hey – this is the book I want to read!!”).

How cool is all of that?  Cool.

Thanks all!!  I can now confidently say that I have now won something from a blog!  Yay!