Monday, September 13, 2010

BBAW Treasure #1-- Favorite Book Blogs Discovered in the Past Year


Book Blogger Appreciation Week is once more upon us. I'd wonder where the past year went, but this week is so much fun that I don't care.

One of the ways we celebrate is to participate in daily themed topics. Today's topic?

"For those of you who participated in BBAW last year, what's a great new book blog you’ve discovered since last year’s BBAW?"

Try as I might, I couldn't choose between two book blogs, so I decided not to fight it. Except for their overall excellence, they are very different blogs.


Desert Book Chick is the creation of Amanda, an Australian anthropologist, and it's obvious that her blog is a labor of love.

It's fast becoming a blogging resource for anything from blog design to writing book reviews to blog commenting programs.

Her reading is wide-ranging, and she has themed weeks on her blog-- Classics Week, for example, and the recent Men Don't Read Week.

One of the things that comes across so clearly in Amanda's blog is her passion, and this sometimes means that she's very blunt when voicing an opinion. Do I always agree with her? No, but that's part of what makes reading her blog so much fun.  If you've never visited Desert Book Chick, I certainly hope you'll make the effort to do so.

The second blog I want to talk about may not qualify under the strictest reading of the rules, but I'm going to talk about it anyway. Murder Is Everywhere is an author blog with alternating posts by crime fiction writers Cara Black (France), Leighton Gage (Brazil), Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip (South Africa), Yrsa Sigurdardottir (Iceland), Dan Waddell (England), and Tim Hallinan (Thailand). These alternating posts about their respective countries, their news items, their traditions, and their food have opened my eyes repeatedly. They've made me learn, they've made me laugh, and they've made me cry.

Their posts have persuaded me to go out and buy their books. Slowly but surely, I'll read and review them all on this blog. They may not be "book bloggers" in the strictest sense of the word, but they represent a few of the many authors who are responsible for inspiring me to give voice to my own passion: reading and writing about crime fiction. I feel they are more than deserving of acknowledgment on this first day of Book Bloggers Appreciation Week.

You don't have to like crime fiction to enjoy reading the posts in Murder Is Everywhere. What you do have to enjoy is reading well-written posts and learning about countries other than your own. This is another blog that I sincerely hope you'll take on a test drive. I think you'll like it. A lot.

22 comments:

  1. Murder is Everywhere sounds like a really nice blog and I really enjoy Desert Book Chick. I hadn't visited your blog before, but I hope to visit it again soon. It looks like you read some interesting books!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I follow Murder is Everywhere and I think it's such an interesting and eye-opening blog. Especially if you love mysteries! Desert Chick City is new to me, but I'll be checking it out.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cathy - I agree completely; Murder is Everywhere is a terrific blog. I'm so glad you've discovered it and that you like it as much as you do.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm headed over to Desert Book Chick - I can tell from her photo, she's got a great sense of humor.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This morning I've bookmarked several blogs to "test drive" and these two are included. Happy reading!

    By the way, your blog is one that I greatly appreciate. Love your sense of humor and the fact that you lead me to books I would never have found without you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oooh! Both of these are new to me! I'm rushing over to check them out now!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm already a fan of Desert Book Chick, but how did I miss the Murder Is Everywhere blog? Adding to the reader.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Cathy,

    Desert Book Chick is a new one for me. I'm on my way there right now.
    But, before I go, I wanted to thank you for your kind words about Murder Is Everywhere.
    All of us are most appreciative.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great picks! I have read desert Book Chick for awhile now.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I really enjoy Amanda's blog as well!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi -- I'm with my blog buddy, Leighton -- thanks so much for telling the world about Murder Is Everywhere. We all love posting to it, and it's great to know that people enjoy reading it.

    Timothy Hallinan

    ReplyDelete
  12. Iris-- Thanks for stopping by. I've been following your blog for a few weeks now. :)

    chasingbawa-- I hope you like Amanda's blog as much as I do.

    Margot-- Got to have my daily fix of MIE!

    Kathy-- Yeah, another one heading for Alice Springs!

    Barbara-- Thank you so much for your kind words. They mean a lot!

    Jenn-- Great!

    E.J.-- Same to you. Thanks for stopping by!

    Beth-- MIE is one blog that I think you'll really like.

    Leighton-- You folks do some wonderful work. You deserve praise.

    Sheila-- Good to hear from someone else who enjoys Amanda's blog!

    Gautami-- I'll be checking out your post soon.

    Carina-- Another Amanda fan... YES!

    Tim-- I won't be happy until I can get a lot more people reading it!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Awesome picks! I'm now following Desert Book Chick.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Desert Chick is excellent! Her blog is so informative and well written. I'm off to check out Murder

    ReplyDelete
  15. I really love Desert Book Chick! I'm off to check out Murder is Everywhere now :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Desert Chick is an informative blog, but I haven't had a look at Murder yet. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Cathy (and everyone),

    I have to say a huge thank you for this shout out.

    Kittling Books is one of my favourite book blogs -Cathy introduced me to Adrian Hyland (Gunshot Road & Diamond Dove).

    I hope I can continue to live up to all the bright promises you've written about me, Cathy!

    All I can say is that I'm humbled and blushing. I nearly quit my blog last week because it was hacked.

    I was feeling totally disparaged about what someone had done to my work -and in essence, a part of me.

    So to see this post -absolutely out of the blue- has encouraged me to keep going with it.

    Thank you, thank you and you really have made my day :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Great recommendations! Headed off to check them out!

    ReplyDelete
  19. You're not the only one who highlighted Desert Chick; I'm now subscribed, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Debbie-- I'm so glad!

    Kaye-- I hope you end up following it as well. It's an excellent blog!

    Amy-- Good!

    Chris-- By all means, take that look! :)

    Amanda-- I've been where you were last week. It's a horrible feeling. I'm just relieved that you decided to stick with it because you have an excellent blog. :)

    TRed-- Great! :)

    Hannah-- You're very welcome!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to make a comment. I really appreciate it!