TBIF: Thank book/blog it’s Friday! This week in bookery

BOOKKEEPING: The Reading Status Report


Book reviews posted:
Admission, by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Currently reading/Upcoming reviews:
The Weight of Silence: A Novel, by Heather Gudenkauf (for TLC Book Tours, scheduled for September 1)

Teaser: “Petra was explaining to Fielda and me how their first grade classroom conducted experiments on how far those little plastic sports cars, Hot Wheels, I think they are called, could travel, when we came across the Clark family huddled in a small, out of the way corner of the school building. Griff Clark’s face was purple with rage as he berated Calli and Antonia.” (page 209, ARC)

and right now, everything else is on hold. I’ve volunteered to help out behind the scenes with some of the preparations for Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW)*, and the next couple of weeks are going to be very heavy on that, so once again, book-reading and reviewing may fall to the wayside for a little while. And yes, I see the irony.

New additions to the LibraryThing “To Read” collection:
For me –
The Sister,
by Poppy Adams

Books added to the wish list:
The Day the Falls Stood Still, by Cathy Marie Buchanan

*It’s an Honor Just To Be Nominated; or, speaking of BBAW…

Thank you to everyone who nominated The 3 R’s for Book Blogger Appreciation Week Awards! The blog was nominated in three categories (and no, I did NOT nominate myself for anything! Sadly, I never got around to nominating anyone at all, so I hope some of my favorites were nominated by other people and make it to the voting round):

Most Chatty (“This blogger has a very ‘chatty’ style. You feel like you could be sitting together, sipping wine, and chatting about life.”)
Most Concise (“This blog gets its point across clearly and efficiently – it tells you just what you need to know.”)
Best Writing (“It’s not just what they say, it’s how they say it. This blog is almost as enjoyable to read as the books (and anything else) it talks about.”)

All nominated blogs will go through a “short-listing” process in their categories during the next couple of weeks, with the finalists announced and voting opened on September 7. The awards will be presented during BBAW (September 14-18). I don’t know if this blog will make it to that round – the competition is awesome! – but I’m thrilled to be in the running. Thank you for making it happen! (If I DO get to the finals, I’ll be sure to beg you for votes!)


Tuesday Thingers, hosted at Wendi’s Book Corner: “Are you a Groupie?”

This week, Wendi says:

I’d like to take a quick peek into the Groups section. For anyone who hasn’t visited the groups section, it is a place that is very much like a normal forum, or a place you can post comments and reply to what others have posted. Some groups are topic oriented, and others are more relaxed. LT has sections for Standing Groups (I think this means that they were created by LT and will always be available), Groups with the Most Members, Most Active Talk, Member Projects, etc.

The great thing about these groups?? If you want to talk about a book or author, there is probably a group or thread available for you to read, join, or comment in. There are even some great Book Challenges (75 Books Challenge for 2009)!! You can read about a group and then read the “threads” (topics/conversations), join the group, watch the group, or recommend it to a friend.

When you join or watch a group, you can have it show up on your home page on LT if you haven’t taken it off your settings.

Questions: Have you recently browsed any of the groups? Are you actively participating in any groups? Do you have any favorites?

My Answer: I’ve joined just a few of the groups on LT – Bloggers, 40-Somethings, and Early Reviewers, although I’m not sure that last one counts for this purpose. Well, my profile says I’ve joined them, and I’m sure that’s true…but I think I’ve mentioned before that I don’t really make much use of LibraryThing’s social-networking side. I’ve never been a big participant in online forums  – I used to lurk the Television Without Pity and BookCrossing boards, but never posted much. Unless someone wanted me to be involved in an LT group for a specific purpose, such as an online book discussion, I don’t really see adding them to my social-media mix at this point. There’s only so much time in the day – and blogging and Twitter have prior claims to enough of it already.


Booking Through Thursday: “Recent Best”

btt button

What’s the best book you’ve read recently? (Tell me you didn’t see this one coming?)

Define “recently.” OK, let’s say this summer. These are the books I have rated 4/5 or better since the beginning of June:

The 19th Wife, David Ebershoff (4.25/5) Fiction
The Unit, Ninni Holmqvist (4/5) Fiction (ARC)
Admission, Jean Hanff Korelitz (4/5) Fiction (e-book)

If I have to pick a single “best” from these three, it is The 19th Wife. The rating would seem to indicate that anyway, but the novel’s ambitious scope, riveting plot, and thought-provoking premise make it memorable, and it’s the title I’ve been most likely to recommend when people have asked me for book suggestions lately. I convinced my mother-in-law to buy it to read on her Kindle, and she’s enjoying it.


Friday Fill-ins #138

Serendipity

Questions this week are courtesy of Janet’s friend, Karen and her cousin, Maribeth.

1. I remember, I remember…oh, no, never mind, I forgot again!

2. Dear Diary, I want you to know that I’m leaving you to start a blog.

3. Is that my dog over there in your yard!!???

4. I’m trying to resist the temptation of taking in any more review books for the rest of this year.

5. I’m saving a slice of your favorite cake just for you!

6. If I made a birthday list a couple of days off would definitely be on it!!!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to relaxing at home, tomorrow my plans include getting some reading done and Sunday, I want to get a good start on the next couple of weeks’ work for BBAW!

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11 comments

  1. Poor diary and that better not be your dog in my yard! Congrats on you nominations and have a great weekend.

    I'll have to look into LibraryThing groups, but I'm not sure I have the time to participate either.

  2. Janelle (Brimful Curiosities) – We take the leash laws pretty seriously, so it's probably not my dog. It just looks a lot like her. Uh-oh… 🙂

    Congrats on your nom, too!

    Kathy (Bermudaonion) – Thanks! I was pleasantly surprised.

  3. Congratulations, Florinda! So very well-deserved, if I do say so myself.

    Completely agree with you on The 19th Wife. I've been recommending it to folks, too.

    And thank you for your behind-the-scenes work on BBAW! It's so much fun already and that's because of people like you putting in so much time to make it so.

  4. Jess – Thank you :-).

    Melissa – "If I do say so myself"? You didn't happen to nominate me, did you :-)? I'd really love to know who did, so I could give them an extra dose of thankfulness. But compared to some of the other folks on the BBAW team, I'm a slacker.

    The 19th Wife is quite a novel, isn't it?

  5. Congrats on the nominations! I really need to read Admission. Oh, and I'm SO glad that everyone is adding The Day the Falls Stood Still to their lists!!!