Book Blogger Appreciation Week Nominations!

I... I'm... I... I don't really know what to say. I'm kind of shaking. Also, my brain is a mess and has been because I swear this disgustingly hot and humid weather messes with my vibezzz. But seriously, guys: five BBAW nominations? FIVE???!!!??? [Edit 8/21: six now. SIX! *faints*] I'm absolutely bowled over. You've stolen my words. I can't thank those who nominated me enough. This is a great honor, both for me and my writing, and I can only hope that I don't disappoint you in the selections process, and that maybe--hopefully--I will make it into the shortlist for at least one of these categories.

I was nominated for the following two niche categories:

Best General Review Blog

Best YA Blog

Each nominated blog can only be shortlisted in one niche category, and since my focus is really on YA, I'm flabbergasted at the General Review nod and will try to dig up from the mound of archives any non-YA reviews I've done for that category (lol).

I was also nominated for the following categories:

Most Humorous/Funniest

Best Reviews

Best New Blog

Best Reviews?!?!? ZZZZZINNGGGGGG!!! (That's the sound of me electrifying myself out of the seat of my chair.) Wow! I'm not quite sure I understand the Funniest nomination; I figure the funny part is probably the part where I was nominated for that...? :) Just kidding. Anyway, THANK YOU THANK YOU. This is absolutely incredible.

[edit: 8/21] Just got a last minute email saying I was nominated for Best Writing! Ahhhhhhh!

I have to select 5 posts to send in for the judges' consideration for each category. The posts may overlap. I'm going to spend most of my free time today and tomorrow going through my posts and trying to find ones I think are most representative of me and my blog, but if you guys have any particular favorites that you think I should send in, LET ME KNOW, PLEASE! (Particularly for the Funniest one. I have a feeling that's going to require me unearthing my narcissistic side and rereading every single one of my posts, to find that elusive "funny."

Anyway, if you're interested, I'll probably be updating this space numerous times between today and tomorrow as I gather my posts, so feel free to chime in with your suggestions anytime!

And here is the BBAW meme, which reads like a brainstorming of a thank-you speech at certain points. Whoops. What can I say? I love every opportunity I get to give thanks to you guys.

1) What has been one of the highlights of blogging for you?

Easy question: meeting authors, other bloggers, readers... just being able to meet all these YA lovers! I've been reading YA since my middle school days, but this is the first year I've actually been able to find people with whom I can have a conversation about Sarah Dessen, or talk about how super nice Michelle Zink is, or how we all have a fangirly crush on John Green... and they know what I'm talking about!! Being part of the YA blogging community has made me continue to read and write YA in the face of scarily academic and "classic" college readings. It's like I was homeless and I didn't even know it... until I came into this community and found people who share my love of YA. It's utterly incredible.

2) What blogger has helped you out with your blog by answering questions, linking to you, or inspiring you?

Lenore has been there since the very beginning, commenting even when I was a wee little blogger just starting up. I don't know how she does it, how she manages to keep up her fantastic blog while simultaneously making friends and commenting and encouraging EVERYWHERE, but I thank her for doing it. Jenny and Thao were two of the first bloggers I befriended, and I still love them to death for being so sweet and talented. If the world suddenly shrank one day, I'd love to be able to find them in the melee that would follow. (Hehhhhh.)

I've also made a bunch of blogger friends whom I'd love to get to meet in person one day: Brooke, Beth, Aerin, Alyssa, Lizzie, Donna, Khy, to name just a few. The list of authors whom I've gotten to talk to is perhaps even longer, and they simply make my day. Thank you all!

3) What one question do you have about BBAW that someone who participated last year could answer?

I'm not sure what to ask because I feel like this year's BBAW is already so different than last year's in terms of volume and attendance! I guess I'm curious about what new blogs you discovered as a result of last year's BBAW. I'm primarily YA, and am curious to see what other book review blogs are out there.

For more information about Book Blogger Appreciation Week, check out their website/blog HERE!

Awards Pileup

Well, this post has just been piling up and piling up since the end of March. So it's not that I'm more loved than some people--I'm just incredibly behind on posting this! lol

First off, I've been interviewed over at Mrs. Magoo Reads! Sophie (better known as Mrs. Magoo to the blogging world) has no shortage of awesomeness, and her blogger profiles are always a delight to read and an honor to be proud of. If you still can't get enough of my, er, writing style and want to know about my reading, writing, and blogging history, as well as some of my thoughts about blogging and publicity, feel free to check it out. Thanks!

Secondly, I am absolutely bowled over that Malinda Lo, author of the upcoming exciting-sounding Ash, which I mentioned on one of my previous Waiting on Wednesday posts, has chosen my blog to be one of her Sites of the Month! Can someone help peel the perma-smile off my face, please? No, better yet, just leave it there. Happy is good! Malinda's a Wellesley alum so she's probably very familiar with the academic stress of small liberal arts schools, which she mentions. A really big thank you to you, Malinda, for the honor, and if you don't frequent her site, uh, why are you not? It's awesome. You should check it out. She's supremely friendly.

And now onto the slew of awards...

Thanks to Just Your Typical Book Blog, Iryna from A Garden of Books and Donna from Bites for nominating me for the Splash Award! I love water (clearly, as I am a swimmer), so I'm not afraid of this one. :)

Oh man, laaaaaame. They have now rejected my application for comedy school.

The Rules:

1) Put the logo on your blog/post.
2) Nominate up to 9 blogs which allure, amuse, bewitch, impress or inspire you.
3) Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4) Let them know that they have been splashed by commenting on their blog.
5) Remember to link to the person from whom your received your Splash award.

Jenny of Wondrous Reads and Wendy have given me the prettypretty Proximidade Award:

Rules:
This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY--nearness in space, time, and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to 8 bloggers who must choose 8 more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

Thank you to Jenny, Just Your Typical Book Blog, Donna, Stephanie , The Book Girl, The Epic Rat, AND H of About Books for Teens (whew! hope I didn't miss anyone!) for this snazzy Sisterhood Award:

Rules:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate up to 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award.
5. Remember to link to the person from whom you received your award.

Purplg8r at So Many Books, So Little Time gave me the Premio Dardos Award!

This award acknowledges the the values that every blogger shows in his or her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day.

The rules to follow are:
1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Bahaha, and H from About Books for Teens, thekoolaidmom from Mt. TBR and Sylvia gave me this (incredibly frightening) Zombie Chicken Award:

The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken - excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their words.

And Mishel from Mis(h)takes--which is an eye-catching blog name, by the way--my friend Jenny from Wondrous Reads, and Senfaye gave me this wonderful "Let's Be Friends" award!

"The Let's be Friends Awards stands for this: These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers."

Thank you thank you! This is what I aim for when I blog--to make friends and to spread my love and knowledge of reading. That's the best part about blogging. :)

Thank you to Sarah, the awesome librarian from GreenBeanTeenQueen, and Jenny at Wondrous Reads for giving me the You Don't Say/Super Comments award! Besides the fact that I will drool all over this award because the icon features a panda (pandas!!!!), I'm honored because this award is given to bloggers who take the time to comment on blogs, which I sincerely try to keep on doing.

A. K. Willett of Black Rabbit Ink, Liyana, Kay of InfiniteShelf, and MssJos gave me the One Lovely Blog award, which is really pretty in a pastelly, tea-and-crumpets kind of way (which I secretly love)!

The rules to follow are:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Thanks to the ever-cool Donna at Bites and Deltay at LucidConspiracy for this Your Blog Rocks award!

The rules are:

1. Rockin' bloggers who are awarded should pass it on to up to 5 blogs that rock your world either for content, writing, layout, or whatever!

2. Be sure to display the badge on your blog and leave a link to the person who gave it to you.

3. Write a post about it, and don't forget to thank the one who gave you the gig!

4. Oh yeah, and be sure to inform your nominees about their award by leaving them a comment. It's just good manners.

Thank you, Jenny, for giving me this Enchanted Blog Award!

The only requirement for this award is that you share it with whomever you like, sharing the love is always a good thing. The blog has to show only one characteristic, caring. So, start sharing this enchanted award with five other bloggers. Let your bloggers know they have received this enchanted award. (Remember, fairies are fickle wee things, don't incur their displeasure by ignoring their gift.)

Ashley at Books Obsession gave me the Kreativ Blogger Award! Ashley's a new blogger but she's already on fire. Thank you so much!

I've been charged with identifying seven things I love, and then passing the award on to seven other bloggers.

Seven things I love are:

1. Autumn. I want to have an October wedding. Foliage, and need I say more?

2. Shotglasses and postcards. One a current collection, and one an ex-collection (but still fun to receive).

3. Broadway musicals. So, the example is that while driving back home from school the other day, I listened through three musicals: Aida, Wicked, and Hairspray. Clearly I am part of the cool crowd.

4. The sun. I am dysfunctional on rainy days, or days that look gloomy and threaten rain. Bleh.

5. Stitch. Ya know, the fuzzy blue alien from the Disney movie. That's right. I currently have a collection of stuffed toy Stitches going. And I sleep with them every night!

6. Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli films. I have a crush on just about all the male characters in those films. And for reasons which you will see soon (check: layout)...

7. Heavy duty cardboard letter storage boxes. They're so much fun to carry around, and, uh, I just bought a bunch of them from Costco earlier today, so it's not like I was TOO influenced to choose this as #7...

And finally (and I'm pretty sure this is the big one), I am in awe that I have been awarded the People's Choice YA Book Blog Award for Best Newcomer.... and this is ALL because of you, lovely friends, authors, bloggers, and fellow lovers of reading. Thank you SO much for this great honor. I'll be sure to think of it when I'm having a bad day, and it'll cheer me up. And then in the meantime I can keep on blogging! Hehehe.

Congrats to the other deserving winners and runner-ups. Oh, and thanks to Steph Bowe for hosting these awards and for making these wonderful graphics. Can you think of someone who's incredible, and not just because she shares my name? :)

And oh dear God if I've forgotten you in the landslide that has become this post I deeply apologize. I'm NOT going to let things pile up like this again, and thus, next time, I can actually pass these well-worn awards on. It frightens me!!

<3

Blog and Contest News

Three matters of business to discuss. The first is the winner of a signed copy of Swim the Fly by Don Calame. Ya know, that contest that I held a long long time ago and ended around about the time all my end-of-semester work picked up. Heh. Buuuut in a fit of procrastination the other night I counted up the entries and picked the winner, via Random.org, who is:

MssJos!

Congratulations!

***The second order of business is the People's choice YA Book Blog Awards that are being held by Steph at Hey Teenager of the Year. Categories like Best Reviewer, Best Interviewer, Best Newcomer, and the Golden Book Blog Award. What a great way to show support for all the fantastic bloggers out there; keep up the great work! You should go over there and vote!

I'm also absolutely flabbergasted that I was nominated for Best Newcomer. Ummmmmm???!!!??? When I saw that, my mouth seriously dropped open. Wow! Thank you to whoever nominated me, and for all of you who read my blog and make me feel as if I'm not writing to thin air. I really, really, REALLY appreciate all your support, friendship, and comments, and hope that you find I reciprocate those feelings as well. The best part of blogging for me is finding a TON of people who share my reading tastes; this is something that has never happened to me before, even a few years ago when I could legitimately be called a teenager. (I've now passed on into the third decade of my life.... eeeeeeeeeeeuuuuuuurrrrrrgggghhhhh!) Again, THANK YOU so much, and I'm seriously excited about the blogging future, for me and for everyone!

***The third order of business relates to my Support Teen Lit Giveaway. (For those of you who have, unfortunately, not been on the bandwagon yet, check it out here and enter for a chance to win a great many books.) Two more opportunities for you to get entries for the giveaway:

1. Comment on my review of Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender here.
2. Comment on my review of Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter by R. J. Anderson here.

Stay tuned in case there are more opportunities for entries in the near future. Go go go!

LoveLoveLove

Awww big hugs go out to Jenny, Sophie, Ashley, Marie, Stephanie, and Donna for giving me this award! This is not nearly as big as the Oscars so it's not like I have an acceptance speech prepared, but what can I say? I am absolutely loving the people I've met since starting this blog and sincerely wish that I could meet you all, somewhere, somehow, someday.

I'm going to fail at nominating people because, well, lots of people have been nominated already and I like to nominate new people most of the time and I actually have to leave to drive back home soon so I'm going to use my lifeline and not nominate people. (Okay, okay, this is me ducking from the jeers.) But this goes out to all the people I've become friends with through the blogosphere. I don't know what I'd do without your support and friendship. <3

New things (plus more reviews, I'm about to finish several books) will be a-comin' to my blog soon and I'm excited about them. So stay in touch with me, please!

Oh, and thanks to Reverie for nominating me for the Proximidade award. You da man! :)

Proximity and Other Good Qualities

Brooke from Brooke Reviews gave me this "cleverly written" award which makes me snicker/giggle (sniggle? ya know, a synonym of "smile") because any description that self-congratulates its own ungrammatical cleverness is a level of slightly ridiculous HUH? "Cleverly written" is hyphenated wrong; there should be no hyphen in between the two words. Believe me, SpellCheck/GrammarCheck goes after me about it.

Ahh, okay, okay, the English major is going to shut up now. :) This award represents:

"This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this clever-written text into the body of their award."

The eight (okay, ten, I couldn't decide) charming bloggers whom I nominate are:

1. Thao of Serene Hours

2. Jenny of Wondrous Reads

3. Lenore of Presenting Lenore

4. Alea of Pop Culture Junkie

5. Aerin of In Search of Giants

6. Susan of Black Eyed Susans

7. Yan of Books By Their Cover

8. All the incredible contributors at Chicklish

9. Sharon of Sharon Loves Books and Cats

10. Carol(ina) of Bookluver-carol

Huzzah, friends!

Also, the lovely Thao gave me the following award! (And all of my snarkiness has heretofore run out for the time being, so no more making fun of blog award descriptions. Alas.)

Premio Dardos means ‘prize darts’ in Italian and it is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing.

Rules:

1) Accept the award by posting it on your blog along with the name of the person that has granted the award and a link to his/her blog.

2) Pass the award to another 15 blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgement, remembering to contact each of them to let them know they have been selected for this award.

I throw permios dardoses at (and yes, some of these will be repeats):

1. Susan of Black Eyed Susans

2. Carol(ina) of Bookluver-carol

3. Adele of Persnickety Snark (someone let her know, please, because I think our relationship is currently unidirectional? blerrghh. sad)

4. Donna of Bites

5. Kristi of The Story Siren

6. Steph of Reviewer X

7. Jenny of Wondrous Reads

8. Alea of Pop Culture Junkie

9. the lovely ladies of Shooting Stars Mag

10. Sophie of So Many Books, So Little Time

11. Nicole of WORD for Teens

12. Holly at Writer's Block Reviews

13. Chelsea of The Page Flipper

14. Lenore of Presenting Lenore

15. Yan of Books By Their Cover

Whoo boy, I'm wiped from that. Going back to fun (not required) reading now... :)

I'm, uh, fabulous?

Laura of Laura's Review Bookshelf and Taylor of For the Love of Books both nominated me to receive the "I'm Fabulous!" blogger award. And for that I can only say: THANK YOU! It's my first award, and it means a lot to me. :)

Rules:

List five things you are obsessed with/addicted to and then nominate five other fabulous blogs to pass on this award on to!

Oh, brother. This is going to be a difficult list to make...!

My Obsessions/Addictions:

1. Bargain gently used books or discounted new books. I admit, if I bought all of the books that I have at full price I'd be living in a cardboard box right now. And so I am indebted to used bookstores (especially the Book Barn near my house: $1 trade paperbacks and $2 hardcovers--nearly new condition!), online book-swapping sites such as PaperbackSwap and BookMooch which help satisfy the book-buying affliction of mine.

2. LibraryThing. It's. So. Much. Fun. I admit, I'm a little obsessed with it, and will spend hours and hours (re)organizing my library there, as well as looking at and answering forums and finding cool people there! (Speaking of cool people, you really CAN find a lot of us YA bloggers there. Lenore, for just one example. And Carol(ina)'s there too. [I'm stephxsu there, by the way, you should leave me a message! hehe])

3. Organizing. My boyfriend loves me. My parents love me. My brothers think I'm insane. My obsession with organizing used to be worse. Back in high school I'd totally change the layout of my bedroom at least once a season. Ridiculous, eh? It's a lot harder to do that now so I organize the best way I can: by vacuuming, Swiffering, and constantly reshuffling my stacks and shelves of books!

4. Gilmore Girls. This is perhaps the least debilitating of all my addictions. I own Seasons 1-6 in DVD (thank you, brothers, for getting them for me as a Christmas present!) and, two years later, am still only halfway through Season 2. (Yes, I am a terrible GG fan, I admit it!) But I simply love the dialogue and the characters of that show. I was never that much of a fan of Alexis Bledel's acting, but Lauren Graham...WOW! Her character of Lorelei is who I aspire to be like in terms of sense of humor and outlook on life.

5. Food. It's especially bad during the swimming season, when I just need to consume thousands of calories (especially carbs) per day. And yet I'm still hungry. So in addition to madly craving carbs during the season, I also have a permanent sweet tooth. I'm a big fan of chocolate. And baking. And baking things that contain chocolate as an ingredient. Yummmmm. If bloggers ever get together for a potluck party you can be sure I'll bring some baked goods.

The 5 fabulous bloggers I nominate for the award (with an emphasis on those new blogs who haven't gotten it yet):

1. Jenny aka ProphecyGirl at Wondrous Reads - simply one of the nicest people ever, with good reviews for books that I always look at, plus a really cool US vs. UK covers feature.

2. Donna of LitBites - she's only been blogging for a little while and is still rather unknown but I just love the way she writes her reviews; she's one worth checking out!

3. Aerin at In Search of Giants - In addition to having a great layout, she is also unabashedly a book fanatic and won't hesitate to make her obsessions about certain books (her desire to obtain a copy of The Forest of Hands and Teeth) known in the hopes that she might get copies of them. And that is something that I can only admire. Plus, she's open to the possibility of swapping books with me! Yay!

4. Deltay at Lucid Conspiracy - friendly and intelligent. :)

5. Thao at Serene Hours - I have to send her my love, international mail, and really really hope she eventually wins one of my contests, hehe.

Honorable mentions to Lenore, Carol(ina), and Alea, because they are some of the nicest people I have met here and because they have probably already been nominated numerous times over.

Yay, that was fun!