Book Blog Hop XIV*

Another Friday (almost anyway), another blog hop, hosted by Crazy-For-Books.  The questions this week are: What are your feelings on losing followers? Have you ever stopped following a blog?

I'm sad when I lose followers.  There are questions asked: Wasn't I good enough for you?  What do you want from me?? But then I realized I'd rather have followers that actually want to read what I write instead of someone that started following me solely in the hopes that I would follow them back.  I know my blog isn't for everyone and that's fine.  

To answer the second question: yes I stop following blogs.  As I just said, I want people to follow me if they want to actually read what I write.  Keeping with that line of thinking, I only follow blogs if I like to read them.  When I first started blogging I would follow anyone that followed me.  Eventually my blog list was huge and I realized I wasn't really reading the majority of them.  Since then I only follow blogs if I like what I see, but sometimes I still end up with blogs that I'm not really engaged with.  So every once in awhile I'll go through the list and do some purging.  That doesn't mean the blogs I stop following are bad; it just means they aren't for me.  It's not you it's me, I'm setting you free, you'd be better with somebody else.**

Do you stop following blogs?  How do you decide what blogs to follow?

*Once I don't know the roman numerals anymore I'll switch to some new blog title for these.  

**There's a song called "Welcome to Dumpsville, Populate You" by the band Caustic Soda and it's now stuck in my head

Book Blog Hop XIII

Another Friday, another Hop, hosted by Crazy-for-Books.  I've missed the last few hops due to friend's weddings and concerts and a desperate need for sleep, but I'm back this week!  I know, you missed me.

This week's question is: Where is your favorite place to read?  Curled up on the sofa? in bed? in the garden?

As I've mentioned a number of times, I do a large amount of my reading during my commute.  Not my ideal place to read but there you go.  However, when I read elsewhere I usually do it curled up on the couch.   I also enjoy wandering around the city and reading in a park somewhere.  Reading in Central Park is one of my favorite places to be in the spring.

What about you?  Where do you like read?

Book Blog Hop XII

Another week gone by and another hop to join, hosted by Crazy-for-Books!  This week's hop question:

How do you spread the word about your blog?

Right when I first started blogging I joined Book Blogs Ning to get the word out about my blog and then I started joining in this hop, which has helped a great deal.  From both of these places I was able to find lots of fellow book bloggers I was interested in.  I comment on posts/blogs I like which has opened a great dialogue with a few bloggers out there I enjoy.  I do have Twitter and Facebook but I don't use either of them for the blog.

What do you do to promote your blog?  What's worked (or not worked) for you?

Book Blog Hop XI

Once again, it's time for the book blog hop, hosted by Crazy-for-Books.  This is really a great way to find other bloggers so if you have time to take part, you should check it out!

This week's question is: "When you write reviews, do you write them as you are reading or wait until you have read the entire book?"

I usually post a couple entries about a book as I'm reading it.  I want the blog to be more like a literary conversation than just straight reviews and I tend to write general overall impressions while focusing on certain elements in the different posts.

What about you?

Book Blog Hop X

Once again it's Friday and time for the blog hope, hosted by Crazy-for-Books.  I missed the hop last week due to lots of travel but I'm around this weekend and ready to find some new blogs.  So this week's question is: In honor of Book Blogger Appreciation Week, let's take time this week to honor our favorite book bloggers and why we love them!

I actually started a post about this the other day so this hop seems like the perfect reason to post it.  That and it means I've pretty much already answered it, so less work for me!  Below are some blogs I love checking out, though this is far from an extensive list.  I will get back into the habit of following up the Hop with a list of blogs I love to read but if you'd like to see my previous entries about other bloggers you should read check out my posts here, here and here.   And now onto some other bloggers:

When I first started blogging I saw all of these book blogs getting these snazzy awards.  Anytime I saw someone get it I would scan their list of blogs to see if I was one of them.  When I finally was I did a little happy dance.  I know that these awards are pretty much chain letters: you don't have to do anything special to win, other than to be awesome in one of your reader's eyes. I still get this little blogger high when I see an award but I have been failing in terms of thanking people on my blog.  I want everyone to know how thankful I am for the awards so I wanted to do that here!  This list will hopefully also give some of my other readers some other amazing blogs to check out.

A Thousand Books with Quotes - This is great collection of quotes from books.  I love that this isn't the typical book review blog and I always enjoy checking it out.  You find great quotes and new books to check out.

My Reader's Block - She participates in some fun memes (read: ones I actually enjoy reading instead of ones I sigh and skip over) and her reviews of mostly mystery books give me a whole new genre of books to look for!

Sarah Reads Too Much - Sarah reviews some books I wouldn't normally pick up but her descriptions make the book sound like something I would enjoy.  I've added The Nanny Diaries to my unofficial TBR list.

The Far Too Important Blog - Geophrie's blog covers a little bit of everything.  At least a little bit of everything that I like to read about.  The book reviews are fun and I love the Project Runway recaps and the post about how bachelorette parties need to get out of the gay bars.  Wonderful funny stuff!

The Book Stop - CurleyGeek mentioned me as part of the Blogger Appreciation week and I was so flattered I sent Boyfriend to read the post so he could see people do seem to like my ramblings. (Not that he didn't believe me but he made me blog so he wanted some credit.)  Her reviews are very thought provoking and she opens up intelligent conversation.  It's always a treat when I see she has a new post.

Book Blog Hop IX

I was debating skipping this week's hop, hosted by Crazy-for-Books, but then I realized that hurricane is supposed to hit the East coast all weekend and I'll probably be trapped inside so what better to do with my time than hop around and find some new book blogs.  So there you go, a hurricane induced hop.

This week's question is "Do you judge a book by its cover?"
Yes, I definitely do.  If I'm not already familiar with the author or the book a cover will either make me walk on by or pick it up.  I have not (yet) bought a book based entirely on the cover but a good cover will be a way for the book to get a foot in the door.  Or a page in the door I suppose. 

What do you think?  Do you judge books by their covers?  Do covers matter?

Book Blog Hop VIII

Eventually I'm going to stop remembering the Roman numerals and will need to change these headers up.
It's that time of the week again!  Time for the book blog hop hosted by Crazy for Books!  This week's question is "Do you use a rating system for your reviews and if so, what is it and why?"

I never really intended this blog to be a review blog.  I really wanted a space to write and discuss books I was reading.  Sort of like a book club but online.  I've found that whenever you're discussing books you can't help but to review them a little, even if what you're writing isn't a traditional review.  Even so I've never had an actual rating system and I've no plans to add one.  As it stands I figure I'll just keep writing as I have been and some posts might be reviews and others might just be ramblings.  It's working for me so far.

What do you think of rating systems and do you use them?

Blog Hop VII

Once again it's Friday and time for the blog hop hosted by Crazy for Books.  This week's question is how many blogs do you follow?

According to Google Reader, I'm subscribed to 80 blogs.  Out of those I closely follow about 36 of them and the others I'll glance at the others to see if there's a topic that interests me.  Most of the blogs I follow are book blogs, usually found through this hop, and then a few are some random ones.  I try post weekly about other blogs that I enjoy that I think other people should check out, but I'm no good at keeping up with any sort of schedule so they're happening more sporadically now. 

Blog Award and Hop VI

Before we get onto the hop I was very pleasantly surprised this morning when I saw The Book Bee gave me the Versatile Blogger award.  I know it's a bit like blogger chain letters but I still did a happy dance when I saw it!

So here are the rules for this award and I suppose if I screw them up I get it taken away.

1) Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them when creating the award post.

2) Share seven things about yourself.
3) Pass the award on to 15 recently discovered blogs.
4) Contact the bloggers to let them know about the award

7 things about me!

1. Despite my red hair I'm not actually Irish.  I'm mostly Italian and French with a bunch of other stuff thrown in for good measure.
2. I studied for a semester in Italy and I got pretty good at speaking Italian.  I even have a copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream in Italian.  I've since lost the majority of the Italian I knew, which is just a great excuse to head back out there.
3. My degree is in English but I describe my current job as "IT like".  It's an oversimplified description and it unfortunately makes people think I can help them with their computers.  I can't even figure out how to change the background on my blog while keeping the layout the same.
4. I have a horrible attention span.  Reading is one of the few things I can do without trying to do 8 other things at the same time.
5. I also have a terrible memory.  Or rather I remember ridiculous things and forget the important ones.  I forget people's birthday's all the time but I know all of the lyrics to Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back".
6. When I was younger I had purple and sometimes blue streaks in my hair.  I was so punk rock.
7. I love Shakespeare and you'll probably see a lot of his stuff and related works on my blog.

 
And now here are 15 blogs. 

1. A Thousand Books with Quotes
2. Estella's Revenge
3. Krista Hidden in the Stacks
4. Lit Addicted Brit
5. Literary Musings
6. Ordinary Reader
7. Pens with Cojones
8. ProSe
9. Roof Beam Reader
10. Shelf Life
11. Somewhat Literate
12. The Curious Reader
13. The Raven Paradox
14. The Space Bard
15. The Tower of Stories

And now to the second part of this post: the weekly Blog Hop hosted by Crazy for Books!  This week's question is "How many books to you have on your 'to be read shelf'?"

I don't really have a shelf or list or anything official marking a to be read pile.  I have a list of current reads and upcoming titles on the left of my blog screen, but even that is subject to change on a whim.  Usually I decide on the next book I'll read as soon as I finish my current one.  I never know what I'll be in the mood for so I like to go with the flow.  I'm too disorganized to have any sort of real list.

Book Blog Hop V

At some point I'll come up with a more created Blog Hop title than that.  But most people have already used all the good puns (is there such a thing? to paraphrase Sports Night) so for now this will do.

We have another blog hop this week hosted by Crazy-For-Books.  This week's question is: Do you listen to music when you read?  If so, what are your favorite reading tunes?

I do the majority of my reading during my work commute and I always have my headphones in, though I'm hardly paying attention to what I'm listening to.  The music is mostly to block out the noise of other commuters.  If you're curious my iPod is a mix of punk, ska, show tunes, classic and folk rock and then random songs here and there, in case the previous mix wasn't quite random enough. 

If I'm reading at home in general the TV will be on but I'm awful at focusing on one thing at a time so it, like the iPod, is mostly just background noise.

Book Blog Hop IV

Once again it's time for the weekly Blog Hop hosted by Crazy for Books.  So this week's question is who is your favorite new-to-you author of the year?

I wish I had an answer that didn't involve an author I feel like I'm constantly talking about here but it does.  I don't know how I missed him before but Christopher Moore is my newest favorite author.  A friend hounded me for the longest time to read Lamb and once I finally go around to it I understood why.  Since that point earlier in the year I've read 5 more of his books.  I've only gotten around to posting about one of the books, Coyote Blue, but more are certain to follow.  I'm trying to take a break from Moore for awhile but I'm sure I'll be drawn back soon.

Edit: I didn't notice until Bookangel pointed it out but I didn't describe Moore's work at all.  His books can be categorized as satirical, absurdest, humor and literary.  Lamb's full title is Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal.  He has another work, Fool, which is King Lear told from the Fool's point of view. 

Blog Hop III

I was away last weekend and couldn't partake in the previous blog hop, so I'm happy to get a chance this week.

This week's Blog Hop question, as determined by Crazy-For-Books.com is "Tell us about the book you're currently reading"

For those of you that follow me, or else just glanced at my recent posts, you can see I'm primarily reading Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke.  I'd seen the book in book stores and on my friends' shelves for awhile, but I didn't actually know much about it when I picked it up from the bookstore.  Really the only thing I knew was the cover looked familiar and it was on the bargain table, my favorite table at any bookstore.  I'm about half way through it and loving it!

Because Strange & Norrell is long and heavy, I've so far taken one break and re-read the play The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged) by the Reduced Shakespeare Company which I can't recommend highly enough.  I'm on my second copy after losing my first one during one of my many moves.  I decided I couldn't go much longer without reading it again so I bought a new copy as soon as I found it. 

I'm going to be taking a second break from Strange & Norrell so I can pick up the book I'm supposed to be reading for my book club What's My Name, Fool?: Sports and Resistance in the United States by Dave Zirin.  I haven't found it in any bookstores yet but I'll be ordering a copy soon.

Book Blogger Hop II

I enjoyed last week's hop so I figured I would give it a go this week as well.

This Friday's Book Blogger Hop question is who are some of your favorite authors and why?  I have 3 favorite authors, at the moment anyway.

Bill Bryson: A friend of mine (the same one that recommended Kitchen Confidential and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell) lent me Bryson's book Made in America: A Brief History of the English Language in the United States and I have been hooked since.  I'm pretty sure he could write about paint drying and it would be funny.  He mostly writes travel books but he has a few language books, a memoir and even a science book.  I constantly re-read his work.  It's my go to book when I'm in the mood to laugh.

Jasper Fforde: Another author I was introduced to do via a lent book.  It's my favorite way to learn about new works.  Anyway, his works are generally a mix of satire, dark humor, fantasy, lots of literary allusions and overall hilarious.  One of the first books I re-read for this blog is The Eyre Affair the first book in the Thursday Next series, which I'm pretty sure I've read at least 5 times.  I anxiously await his latest work Shades of Grey to come out in paperback.

Christopher Moore: This is a relatively new favorite author, for me anyway.  A co-worker had been bugging me to read Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal for months before I finally got around to it and I don't know what I was waiting for.  I loved that book.  I've since read 6 of his other works and have had to hold myself back from buying more each time I go to the bookstore.  I'm taking a little break to read someone else's work, at least for a little while.  I wrote a couple entries about his book Coyote Blue for this blog.

One other thing I love about these authors is they all reference Shakespeare and I love Shakespeare.  Bryson wrote a biography on him, Shakespeare: The World as Stage.  Fforde references Shakespeare in at least some small way in all of his books I've read so far and Hamlet is even a character in Something Rotten (see, there's one of those references).  And Moore retells the story of King Lear from the point of view of the Fool in his book Fool.  Fool is a close second to Lamb as my favorite Moore book.

If you are looking for a book, I recommend anything by the author's above.  I'm yet to be let down.

Book Blogger Hop I

I've seen a number of other blogs I enjoy taking part in the Book Blogger Hop and thought I would give it a try.  It seems like a good way to connect with other bloggers and find some more books to add onto my growing reading list.

Part of the rule for this hop is to include my name and why I started blogging.  My name is Alley and I started blogging because my boyfriend was tiring of me complaining that my English degree was going to waste but not doing anything about it.  I love to read and thought a blog about reading would be a good place to exercise my atrophying writing skills.  Rather than posting general reviews of the books I read I try to find a particular scene, character, line, theme, etc and discuss that.