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BBAW: Best Speculative Fiction Blog

Sep9

Voting is now open at the Book Blogger Appreciation Week Awards.

Bibliophile Stalker Charles Tan, The Bibliophile Stalker, is having computer issues; I can sympathize. He’s a promoter of Philippine speculative fiction, a niche that hadn’t occurred to me but sounds interesting. In addition to speculative fiction, he enjoys and reports on RPG’s, anime, and manga. He’s a Neil Gaiman fan, and it looks as if a lot of his links are directed toward aspiring authors.

Dribble of Ink Aidan Moher is also an aspiring author of fantasy/scifi, and the emphasis at his blog looks to be sword and sorcery, wizards and witches. He also has a BIG List o’ SF blogs here which would be a fine resource for those looking for more speculative fiction blogs.

Scifiguy.ca I entered SciFiGuy’s Catching Fire promotional giveaway because I’m ready to read the sequel that we’ve all been hearing so much about for months. Doug Knipe, the blogger at SciFiGuy, says he reads and reviews “Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, SciFi, and Fantasy.” Look at these pictures of his library, and you’ll see that he’s serious about the genre.

The Book Zombie Joanne Mosher, The Book Zombie and the first female blogger in this category, is an enthusiastic reader. She says, “I read constantly and I have been known to read instruction manuals, cereal boxes and the YellowPages if I am without a book.” It looks as if her tastes run to zombies, vampires, and mystery/horror with a few other kinds of books thrown in for spice, when those are available to substitute for the phone book.

The Galaxy Express is subtitled “adventures in science fiction romance.” So, probably not my cup of tea, but definitely another niche I hadn’t thought about. Of the many authors Heather lists in her sidebar, I know and have enjoyed books by Anne McCaffrey, Ursula LeGuin, Connie WIllis, Andre Norton, Robert Heinlein, and Stephanie Meyer. I have a lot of others to check out.

I’m going to vote for SciFiGuy in this category because he looks like the one with the closest taste to mine, and he’s giving away stuff! No, really, I just enjoyed his blog and his style and will visit again when I get through all the nominees that I’m visiting for BBAW.

BBAW: Best KidLit Blog

Sep9

Voting is now open at the Book Blogger Appreciation Week Awards.

OK, this category is the one I know best. All five of these blogs deserve an award for the great work they do to publicize children’s books and help adults and children choose children’s books that will pass on the love of reading to the next generation.

7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast 7-Imp, as it’s affectionately called, is the blog of Eisha and Julie (Jules), who excel at the author/illustrator interview. 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks is a “weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you.” Jules’ and Eisha’s place is great place to hang out and learn about children’s books.

Fuse 8 at School Library Journal Betsy Bird is a leader. She’s also a librarian in New York City. She’s the one who lead me to Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy, Mo WIllems pigeon books, the Opus shelving system (wish I had one), and just this week, Awkward Family Photos. Her Top 100 Picture Books project inspired my Top 100 Hymns project (which is currently in abeyance but will return).

Jen Robinson’s Book Blog Jen is a software engineeer by day, and a Literacy Advocate and Reader Extraordinaire by night, weekend, and whenever else she fits it in. Her reviews are long enough to be informative, but not too long, and she links to everyone who has anything of interest to say about children’s books and children’s literacy. Jen just runs an all-around fantastic and generous blog.

Maw Books Blog Natasha at Maw Books does it all: kids’ lit, inspirational fiction, challenges (The Bloggiesta), YA fiction, author recipes, and much, much more. She’s been a contributor to the Saturday Review, and she’s just all over the place helping out with and organizing BBAW.

Shelf Elf Kerry, sole eflin proprietor of Shelf Elf, is or has been or hopes to be a harpist, a pastry chef, a children’s books seller, a middle school teacher, a cookie artist, a groovy chanson songstress, and a nature photo-journalist. I’ve worked with her on a Cybils panel for a couple of years, and I can say she’s also an expert on children and their books.

My vote goes to Jen Robinson’s Book Blog, only because I have to choose. Jen has done so much work to encourage children’s literacy and the love of good books. Her reviews are thorough and readable. And she makes me want to read the books, all of the books, and then give them away to children and young adults and encourage them to read the way she does.

BBAW: Best Thriller/Mystery/Suspense BLog

Sep9

Voting is now open at the Book Blogger Appreciation Week Awards.

Kittling: Books Kittling “is a Gaelic word that means “anything that strikes [my] fancy”, and that pretty much sums up my reading tastes. Although I do have a strong perference for crime fiction (mysteries), I also love historical fiction, history, biographies, time travel…anything that satisfies my craving for strong characters, story and setting.” Cathy has a list of favorite mystery series that I would like to emulate, only mine would be different because I haven’t read any of hers –yet. Cathy also has feature called Scene of the Blog which show us pictures of where those bloggers we know and love actually blog.

A Work in Progress I’ve had Dani’s blog in my feedreader for a long time. I like her because she’s not pretentious, but she reads a lot. And often she reads the kind of books that I want to know about. Dani’s the one who introduced me to Persephone Books and to the Modern Library Top 100 list. I have several books on my TBR list because of her reviews.

Bookgasm is a prolific blogger, heavy on the news and giveaways and new releases and reviews of new books. I liked this list of 50 Reasons No One Wants to Publish Your First Book, kind of snarky but funny. Bookgasm is edited by Ron Lott.

Jen’s Book Thoughts Jen features Six Word Memoirs from famous and not as famous authors, a good way to to take a look at some authors and what they think about their life’s work. She’s also got author interviews, and lots of reviews

The Drowning Machine is “swimming upriver in the river of books.” But right now Corey Wilde, the blogger at The Drowning Machine, is busy with The Watery Grave Short Story Invitational. Sounds dangerous to me.

SInce I have to choose, I think I’ll go with Jen’s Book Thoughts on this one. Her layout is clean and inviting, and the content is spectacular. I especially the idea of the Six Word Memoirs.

BBAW: Best History/Historical Fiction Blog

Sep8

Voting is now open at the Book Blogger Appreciation Week Awards.

Age 30+ A Lifetime in Books Heather is one of the most faithful contributors at the LOST Books Challenge Blog, and she reads and comments here at Semicolon, too. Heather likes historical fiction, but she says she needs “to have a real connection with the characters; their stories need to be the focus of the book.” Me, too, I think.

A Reader’s Respite: “Book Reviews, Author News, and Hot Reads with a bit of Sassy Comentary.” Michelle’s blog is also nominated for funniest, most humorous book blog, and I’m leaning toward voting forA Reader’s Respite for that one. Definitely sassy.

Carla Nayland Historical Fiction Carla is an author of historical fiction and a blogger about same, and her blog includes architecture, recipes, reviews, historical notes, news –and that’s just on the front page.

Steven Till Steven Till is also a writer and a blogger. His novel is still in process as far as I can tell from a quick look at his blog. His focus looks to be medieval history and historical fiction. He’s a Lewis/Tolkien fan, so I’m sold on his excellent taste in authors, at any rate.

TOCWOC A Civil War Blog If you’re a Civil War (aka the War Between the States) afficionado, TOCWOC is the go-to blog. Lots of book reviews, all having to do with the War, and some dates and trivia thrown in to make it interesting.

I choose Heather’s blog, Age 30+: A Lifetime in Books because she’s a real reader who happens to visit here and whose reviews have made me want to read the following:
The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner.
The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne.

I’ve gotta get around to both of those soon.

BBAW: Best General Review Blog

Sep8

Voting is now open at the Book Blogger Appreciation Week Awards.

100 Scope Notes features children’s literature news and reviews, including all the news that’s fit to print concerning sock-related cover art. Good updates on the news in the children’s book world.

Books on the Nightstand “Books on the Nightstand is the blog and podcast of Michael Kindness and Ann Kingman. We are friends and colleagues who work in the publishing industry. That means that we talk about books all day long to other people who love to talk about books. But sometimes, those conversations have to end before we’re ready to stop talking. Thus, this blog.” This reading challenge introduced me to Beowulf on the Beach, a book I now must find to see what it’s all about. Great title.

She is Too Fond of Books Dawn writes great reviews (some have been linked to the Saturday Review), and her feature Spotlight on Bookstores will be a great resource when I get to go on my tour of the U.S., visiting all the bookstores I can in the process. It was Dawn who connected me with The End of the Alphabet by C.S. RIchardson

Rebecca Reads Rebecca has a List of Lists, too. What is it with readers and lists? Rebecca on classics: “I can’t describe why reading a classic feels like a relief, it just does. It’s great, and stretching it out makes it real and physical, rather than a by-passed pleasure. I’m not reading to turn pages. I’m reading to read.” I like that, reading to read.

The Zen Leaf Amanda shops at Half-Price Books; there’s a point in her favor. Amanda herself is “a slightly neurotic writing reading stay-at-home mom,” and she has “very particular tastes” in books. So do I, Amanda, so do I–I’m just not sure how to describe them. Ummm, I know a good book when I see it?

It’s hard to choose between all these great reviewers, but my vote goes to Rebecca Reads because of her love for books both old and new and because I enjoyed her recent post on John Donne.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week: Voting Is Now Open

Sep7

Semicolon has been shortlisted for one of the award categories: Best Spiritual/Inspirational or Religious Book Review Blog.

bestspiritThank you to the person who nominated this blog and to the judges who worked extremely hard and decided on a great shortlist of book blogs in various categories! Some of my favorites are listed: Mother Reader, Jen Robinson’s Book Blog, Shelf Elf, Fuse 8, Becky’s Book Reviews, Maw Books, 5 Minutes for Books, Collecting Children’s Books, A Work in Progress, and others I missed or have yet to discover.

Voting ends on Saturday, September 12 at 11:59pm EST. Please do go vote!

Over the next couple of weeks before voting is over, I plan to explore some of the many book blogs that were shortlisted and see what all the fuss is about. I hope you’ll go exploring with me as I post about some of my favorite finds.

For those of you who are coming here to see what Semicolon is all about, here’s the list of posts that I submitted to the awards panel for their judging:

12 Best Reading Lists for 2008

Under the Radar:Christian Fiction

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula LeGuin

12 Projects for 2009

Scroll down and KEEP SCROLLING for the Saturday Review.

Linking in Agreement

Aug28

To buy a skirt=torture: “My mental state slams into disaster mode. My eyes cross, my vision blurs. I feel unworthy, angry, and giddy all at once, at the same time as trying to get a grip. This is only the first store, and I can’t go home yet! I think of how annoyed at myself I will be if the day of the special occasion comes, and I have to assemble an outfit out of the stained, pilled rags and bags I already have at home. So I begin to try things on.”
This post at Conversion Diary details my opinion on shopping exactly. It’s not therapy; it’s torture.

Links and Thinks

Jul27

On paying for college, courtesy of Mental Multi-Vitamin.

What do Stephen King and Jerry Jenkins have in common? Well, they are both writers who’ve both sold a lot of books. Other than that, I’m not sure I would ever have thought of them in the same room, but Writer’s Digest did a joint interview with the two best-selling authors, and it’s a good read.

What happens when the doctor becomes the patient? It’s a brief trailer for the new season of House. I was actually afraid after the last episode of last season that the Powers That Be would just end it there. But it looks as if Greg House is not to be written off so easily.

Dutch researchers find that fetuses have memories. “A call to NARAL Pro-Choice America for comment on the implications of the research were [sic] not returned.”

And finally, little did I know that my Top 100 Hymns Project may have revolutionary implications. In Fiji, it’s looking as if the police and the government are afraid an annual hymn-singing contest and Methodist conference may spark a revolution or a change in government or something. If the Methodist choirs can’t sing in Fiji, what’s next?

Gospel Challenge

Jun3

Becky’s hosting a mini-challenge for the summer:

Operation Actually: Summer Studies Mini-Challenge

Host: Operation Actually Read Bible

Duration of the Challenge: June 1, 2009 – September 7, 2009

Description of the Challenge: Participants will choose one gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) to study for the summer. Study could mean reading it multiple times (once a month for June, July, August). Or it could mean reading the gospel and reading books about that gospel (commentaries, study helps, etc.). Or it could mean reading the gospel, listening to the gospel, watching a video drama of the gospel, listening to sermon series preached from that gospel, or participating in a Bible Study or Sunday School class discussion of that gospel. It might mean memorization of passages.

You do not have to have a blog to participate. You can keep track of your progress on the mini-challenge by commenting on this site. (If you want. No one is going to make you share what you learn or anything! But sharing does build community among participants, so it is encouraged!

If you have a blog and would like to ‘journal’ your studies, feel free to do so. But it’s not required.

Go to Becky’s place to sign up. I’m tempted, but what with the hymns and the urchins and the summer field trips and the projects over in the sidebar, I’m already on Project Overload.

Pseudogamy

May26

Anthony Esolen at Mere Comments is writing a series of essays that he calls “Pseudogamy,” reflecting the sham and pretense that we as a society have made of the sacred institution of marriage. It’s worth reading in its entirety, but here are some selected quotes to whet your appetite.

Marriage — marriage such as Jesus defined it — is the foundation of society not simply because it is the best environment for raising children, though it is. It is the foundation because in it man and woman commit themselves one to another, as if they were, so to speak, gods freely bestowing freedom upon what they create.

I return to the notion of cosmos: order. Man and woman unite in marriage to bring into being a new generation; and even when they cannot do so, because of age or some physical defect, they may well wish to do so, or they stand for others as exemplars of the act that naturally brings forth children. All of which is to say that marriage that is open to children is part of the order created by God. Then marriage that is not open to children violates that order, and introduces into our understanding of marriage a destructive chaos.

In these two posts, Mr. Esolen says eloquently and intelligently some of the things I tried to start talking about in this post on marriage: that we have already lost the meaning of marriage before the activists and anti-Christians came along to try to put into statute and law what was already broken. I’m not saying that it’s a losing battle but rather that we will have to re-examine the fundamental Biblical meaning of marriage itself before we will be able to speak truth to our culture and, perhaps, change the course we are travelling toward the destruction of both marriage and family.

Pseudogamy 101 by Anthony Esolen.

Pseudogamy 102 by Anthony Esolen.