Celebrating Book Blogger Appreciation Week

As I mentioned earlier this week there are several blogs I've chosen to follow because I find them interesting and useful as a reader or as a blogger. The following is a list of only 10 blogs. I could list all the blogs I follow, but it would make for a very long post and I wanted to keep this one short and to the point. Forgive me if you're not on this list. It probably means: 1) I don't know about your blog, yet, so leave a comment. 2) I've mentioned you in the past and so didn't this time. 3) I plan to mention you at some point in the future when I get a little more familiar with your blog. Or 4) You don't blog enough to warrant being mentioned. :)

And so without further adieu... Here are (in no particular order) ten blogs that I am currently following on Bloglines:

Semicolon. Even though Semicolon posts some great book reviews, my favorite aspect of the blog is the resources that she makes available to other bloggers, such as Saturday Review. Each Saturday book bloggers go to Semicolon and link to their top reviews or posts from the previous week by way of a Mr. Linky. I have found this not only to be a great way to spread the word about my blog and the books I've found, but also a wonderful resource for finding other book lovers and bloggers and wonderful books to add to my TBR list.

5Minutes4Books is another great blogging site that has both a diverse selection of reviews and an assortment of resources to bloggers. My two favorite resources on this blog are the monthly What's On Your Nightstand collection page and the Classics Book Club.

Fireside Musings and Never Jam Today are two blogs by two cousins. I don't remember how I came upon them, but it was some time last year and I've enjoyed reading their reviews and find their blogs both entertaining and insightful and sometimes our reading tastes overlap.

I admire both Reading to Know and Rebecca Reads for their daily devotion to reading and reviewing. I wish I had more time to read every day and more time to post reviews. I also wouldn't mind having the fan following that these ladies have at their book blogs.

Last, but not least, the following are four book blogs I've only just discovered. I've not been following them for long, but what I've read thus far has been informative and interesting:

My Individual Take (On the Subject)
To Live Fully Is To Become Multifarious
A Chair, a Fireplace, & a Tea Cozy
Jane Austen's World

Well, that's it for now. Happy Book Bloggers Appreciation Week to all of you!

Book Blogger Appreciation Week

If you follow any book blogs at all then it is very likely you already know this week is Book Blogger Appreciation Week.

From the various blogs I follow it's clear everyone has a different idea of how to celebrate. Some are posting interviews with bloggers, others are posting book or reading related memes, some have book give-aways, and others just a variety of details about themselves or the book blogging world.

After thinking it over I've decided to post two BBAW related posts. The first, today, is a meme I found over at My Thoughts Exactly entitled: 5 Words or Less, which I can tell you already I will turn into a 15 Words or Less Meme. The second post is set for Friday and will include a short list of book blogs I follow and why I think they're so great, so be sure to come back and check it out.

And now without further adieu... here is my 5 Words or Less meme...

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?
Not on a regular basis. If I do it might be apples and cheddar cheese.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
No! I do jot down quotes in my Book of Books.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?Bookmarks, post-its, tissues even!Laying the book flat open?
Bookmarks, Kleenex, or random scraps of paper.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
I like both, but have been on a fiction binge for sometime.

Hard copy or Audio Books?
Hard copy. Audio Books are great for long car rides, but I haven't had any of late.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?
I can do both, but prefer to stop at the end of a chapter.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?
Depends. If the book is too hard to set down I wait.

What are you currently reading?
Check out my Shelfari shelf: http://www.shelfari.com/semehrens

What is the last book you bought?
The Real Mother Goose with Pictures by Blanche Fisher Wright

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?
I have more than one book going at a time, but can only read one at a time. :)

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?
It depends, usually stand alone books, unless it's a great story plot.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?
There are three: Elizabeth Gaskell and Frances Hodgson Burnett, and Maud Hart Lovelace.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)
I'm such a nerd, they're by genre (i.e. fiction vs. non fiction) and then author's last name.

What about you? Leave a comment and link to your own 5 Words or Less meme. And Happy Book Blogger Appreciation Week!

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If you're interested in learning more feel free to click on the Meme label to see other Memes I've posted about books, me and my reading habits.

Blogger Appreciation Week & Tuesday Teasers

First, as a reminder this week is Blogger Appreciation Week and over at the blog My Friend Amy there are tons of free give-aways and other contests for book readers, book writers, and book bloggers. To join in the fun click on Amy's link or the "Blogger Appreciation Week" button on my right-hand sidebar.

Today is Tuesday and it has been a couple weeks since I completed a Tuesday Teasers so I thought I'd post one today.

As a reminder here is how Tuesday Teasers work:
1. Grab your current read.
2. Let the book fall open to a random page.
3. List the book Title and author.
4. Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.

My current reads consist of four books: The Wind in the Willows (which was included in a previous Teasers, so I will not include it this week), Washington Burning, The Gentle Grafter, and Anne of Green Gables.

Washington Burning by Les Standiford (Page 211)
"And as to the possibility of making any use of those old fort walls that remained from the days of the Revolution, it was out of the question. while they might go ahead and build the new fort without bothering with the old walls for the time being, L'Enfant said, the moment his men were finished, those ill-conceived fortifications would have to be removed."

The Gentle Grafter by O. Henry (Page 121, Chapter: Innocents of Broadway)
"For,' says I, 'this money of his is an eyesore to my sense of rectitude and ethics. We can't take it, Andy; you know we can't,' says I, 'for we haven't a shadow of a title to it -- not a shadow. If there was the least bit of a way we could put in a claim to it I'd be willing to see him start in for another twenty years and make another $5,000 for himself...."

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (Chapter 28)
"But it's so ridiculous to have a redheaded Elaine," mourned Anne. "I'm not afraid to float down and I'd love to be Elaine. But it's ridiculous just the same."