Blog of the Week: What She Read

There are so many things I love about this week's blog of the week that I hardly know where to start.

1. The Name: I am a fan of The Office (TV show) and our family has a thing about 'that's what she said' jokes. I don't know whether the similarity was planned but every time I read 'What She Read' my mind leads me to a 'that's what she said' joke and I have to smile. 
2. The Profile Picture: I am also a huge Georgia O'Keefe fan. Anyone who uses one of her paintings as their profile pic is a kindred spirit.
3. The Blog Sub-Title. Read widely. Act joyfully. Change the world. Do I need to say more about that? Love it.
4. Poetry. Anyone who hangs around here much knows I love poetry. It doesn't show up to often in the literary blogs I've found but it does show up on What She Read on Saturdays. In fact the one posted today made me cry.
5. Laurie has a passion. Take a minute to read her 'About' page and catch the vision. Maybe we really can change the world.

Blog of the Week: Snowdrop Dreams of Books

Today's shout out goes to Chrystal over at Snowdrop Dreams of Books. Besides being a fellow Canadian, she is also a fabulous blogger!

One of my favourite things about this blog is the weekly feature 'Deserted Island'. This feature involves asking other bloggers and authors to 'share what five books and what five  other items they would want with them if they were ever stuck on a  deserted island and why they chose them.' Some of the responses are thought provoking and some are just plain fun. It's a great post every time.

Chrystal's blog also has a fresh and rather unusual look that I really enjoy. On top of that, she has a page that lists Canadian book events, which is a bonus for those of us in the 'true north'. Great job, Chrystal!

Blog of the week: Hippies, Beauty and Books Oh My (a little late)

I am sure many, many of you already know about this fabulous blog. There are like 300 million people following this blog - OK so I exaggerate a little but not too much. And there is a reason for this popularity. The posts are fun, organized and interesting. The reviews are broken down into categories: about the book; about the author; first impressions; first fifty pages; characters and plot; final thoughts. It makes it so easy to focus on what I find important in a review. So if you are one of the very few people who hasn't discovered Hippies Beauty & Books ... Oh MY! now would be a good time.

Blog of the Week: A Bookish Affair

Welcome to Blog of the Week! If anyone is new, this is a weekly post to introduce others to blogs I love. This week, I'd like to tell you about A Bookish Affair. Meg has this amazing way of doing her reviews and I love it! She starts out by telling us the basics (publisher, number of pages, etc) then moves on to the cover - and then the fun begins! She continues with the heading 'Why you are reading this book' which gives a bit of a peek as to who might be interested in this book. For example, under this heading there are a couple of points that may include: because you like historical fiction or because you like strong female characters - you get the idea. After that she moves into the review part. It is so nice to be able to tell at a glance what might interest me about the book.

To paraphrase the quote that heads her blog page: Sometimes reading a good [blog] can be like a great love affair. Check out A Bookish Affair and start yours today!

Blog of the Week: Bending the Spine

Wow! It has been a hugely busy couple of weeks. I even missed last week's blog of the week. We have bought a total of two houses in the past couple of weeks - one didn't pass the inspection. It has been a lot of travelling as well. Thank you all for bearing with me.

This week I want to introduce any of you that haven't met Rebecca yet, to Bending the Spine.




It is Bending the Spine's first blogoversary and I am amazed it has only been a year. This blog is so well done! The reviews are professional and interesting; the look is fabulous and it can change depending on the season which makes Rebecca my hero(ine)! There is no way I am that talented. She even has giveaways and hosts tours. If you haven't checked out this fantabulous blog yet - well, what are you waiting for?

Blog of the Week: The Write Game

For a change, this week's Blog of the Week is an author's blog. C. Lee McKenzie is the author of two YA books: Sliding on the Edge and The Princess of Las Pulgas and her middle grade fantasy, Alligators Overhead, will be published this year. Her blog is called The Write Game.

Lee's posts are always interesting and thought provoking. She doesn't shy away from the controversial subjects and is always open to the opinions of her readers. Right now she is participating in the A - Z Blogging challenge and I have been amazed at the subjects she has tackled. I'm always inspired when I stop by The Write Game. It is interesting to read a literary blog that doesn't focus on reviews but on other aspects of writing - give it a shot this week, you won't be disappointed. And if you are interested in her book website, check it out here.

Blog of the Week: Book Nerd Reviews

Hi, my name is Dana and I'm a book nerd. So it stands to reason that I would be attracted to a blog called Book Nerd Reviews, right? Don't you love the colours?

Melissa does fantastic reviews and besides that, she makes fantastic t-shirts, stickers and other stuff, that may or may not be book related. Most of her reviews are YA books and I know there are a lot of YA lovers out there. Whether you are or not, Book Nerd Reviews is worth a visit.

Blog of the Week: Moonlight Reader

Sorry, guys, it's been a rough week and I checked out of the blogoverse for a few days to deal with family stuff. I'm Back!! Blog of the Week is a little late but better late than never. And this blog is worth the wait. This week I invite you to check out Moonlight Reader. Here's why:

1. How many of us are moonlight readers? When my kids were little and finally in bed, I would pull out the book of the day and read well into the night. It was one of my favourite times. 
2. Ange is obviously an intelligent woman. She has a rating system very like mine - and I didn't steal it from her!
3. The blog is well set up, user friendly and beautiful. It has an old romantic feel.
4. Ange's reviews are well written and contain all the information you could ever want to know about the book. And she reads a wide and interesting variety of books. She also does memes and hosts giveaways.

 Hope you all have a great week!

Blog of the Week: Faded Parchment

I discovered a new blog this week and it was love at first sight! The blog is called 'Faded Parchment' and here is the little introductory blurb from the side bar: 

Welcome!Journey with me as we discover a world of vintage books, historical fiction and biographies.Celebrate women( factual and fictional) who forged ahead against the odds.

Sounds interesting, doesn't it? You'll love the look as well - very vintage looking. Plus - there is a giveaway happening right now! The giveaway is for Madame Bovary's Daughter. (I shouldn't have told you that. If very few people enter, I have a better chance of winning. Oh well.)

The oldest post I can find on the blog is from February, so it may be a fairly new bookish blog as well. Drop by, say hi and enter the giveaway. And have a great weekend all!!

Blog of the Week: The House of the Seven Tails

Saturday again? It seems to me the weeks are just flying by. This week's blog of the week is The House of the Seven Tails. The first reason to love this blog is the great wordplay in the blog name. (tails/tales ... get it.... haha) And Amy gives us lots of both - reading and reviewing books and also letting us share her enjoyment of her adoreable cats. Her Saturday post is 'snapshot Saturday' and fills my 'awww' quota for the week. Her cats are all rescues as well - and living in a household with one rescued cat and two rescued dogs, I feel a connection.

It's not all about cats, though. Amy also reads and reviews a ton of books. Her reviews are detailed, comprehensive and honest, which I really appreciate. As always - I suggest you check it out. Have a great weekend!!

Blog of the Week: Rose City Reader

This week's blog of the week is (as I'm sure you have already guessed) Rose City Reader. How can someone who is a compulsive list maker (that would be me) not appreciate a blog written by a compulsive 'list' reader? (that would be Gilion Dumas aka Rose City Reader) OK - different kinds of lists but you get the idea. 

I am also horrendously jealous of her review policy. It is possible that I will even take a 'page from her book' (sorry, couldn't resist) and modify my own. Because of this, though, the books she reviews are usually different from the ones that are popping up on every second blog as they hit the virtual tour circuit. It's nice to read a review and actually be able to find the book in the library. (not that I have anything against tours - I do them and enjoy them)

Gilion also hosts 'Battle of the Prizes' Challenge. There are actually two legs to this challenge - the British and the American. (Being Canadian I feel a little left out but I'll survive.) These challenges pit winning books against each other. British is Booker Prize winners vs James Tait Black Memorial Prize winners. American is Pulitzer Prize winners vs National Book Award winners. Seems like the perfect challenge for a compulsive list reader. Yup.

Speaking of challenges, here's yours: pop on over to Rose City Reader and give Gilion some love. Have a great weekend all!

Blog of the Week: Reflections of a Bookaholic

OK - I'm just going to put it out there: I love Alexis! She has this great blog, Reflections of a Bookaholic, and she is a very sweet person to boot. It has been almost a year of blogging for me and Alexis has been there pretty much the whole way. I have learnt lots about blogging and reviewing from reading her blog. She is great at it. And besides that, I have felt so much support from her. She always stops by and comments and lets me know what she thinks. (and we bloggers LOVE comments - all comments - no matter what they are)

The other thing Alexis does is host the meme 'Why I Love ... Wednesday.' I can't always fit it in but it is definitely one of my favourite memes. Each week there is a different bookish love to comment on: book worlds; titles; genres; etc. It is so interesting to get so many points of view on a particular subject. Plus she posts the topics ahead of time so that, if you get around to blogging before she does, you can just run with it.

Her little faces for ratings are really cute, too. So drop on by and meet this great blogger! Oh, and leave a comment for her - she'll appreciate it.

Blog of the Week: Bibliophile's Corner

Welcome to Blog of the Week. The hardest part of this post each week is narrowing down which blog to spotlight. There are a lot of really great book blogs out there. One of them is:

Bibliophile's Corner

"Books may well be the only true magic." ~ Alice Hoffman

Olga writes fabulous posts. She only writes about two a week but they have fast become highlights of my week. I love the special features! For example, on Wednesday, she did a beautiful post on reader art. The art she spotlighted was The Reader by Mary Cassatt. There are so many bookish things out there, aside from reviewing books, and I love that Olga goes there. 

She does also review books and her reviews are smart and interesting to read. She doesn't do horror or romance but the literature is fantastic. And, on a more aesthetic note, I also enjoy the simple, uncluttered look of her blog.

Blog of the Week: All Things Jill-Elizabeth

This week's blog of the week is All Things Jill-Elizabeth. I have been following this blog since I started blogging. I love Jill-Elizabeth. She is creative and funny. There is not one of her posts that has felt like a waste of my time to read.

She reviews books, sometimes rants or raves about a variety of subjects and occasionally favours her readers with bits and pieces (and especially poetry) that she has written herself. There is just a ton of stuff going on on her blog - she has even recently added a droid app!

If you like posts that make you think and smile and feel happy inside, check out All Things Jill-Elizabeth. You won't be disappointed.

Blog of the Week: The Paperback Princesses

It's that time again - time for the blog of the week! This week, I hope you all check out The Paperback Princesses. Why? Firstly because of the name. Again, some highly creative bloggers came up with an amazing name! My favourite Robert Munsch book of all time is The Paperbag Princess so any blog that plays off of the title is a friend blog of mine!

The princesses are two librarians who review primarily YA books. And they do it well. I love that the reviews include short quotes to make points. Another big plus is the amount of Canadian content included - especially lately. It's always nice to connect with book lovers - it's a plus when you share a culture. Now, I'm not 100% sure but I feel like the princesses themselves may be Canadian. I'd know for sure if they can tell me why Paul Henderson is a hero. (it's Canadian code)

For a well written, creative book review blog experience, stop by The Paperback Princesses this week.

Blog of the Week: Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell

 

Don't you just love this picture? Me too! That's the first thing I love about this week's 'blog of the week' - it looks FANTASTIC!! I only wish I had the talent to create a blog of such beauty. And just to make me a little more jealous ... the content of the blog totally lives up to the look of it: The reviews are thorough and honest as well as entertaining. This is one of the blogs I drop by every day. There is always something good to pick up and, if you look down the left hand column, she also spotlights a blog each week. In fact, there is nothing bad I can think of to say about 'The Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell'. Check it out for yourself this week!

Blog of the Week: Alternate Readality

This is fast becoming my favorite post of the week. There are so many great book blogs out there that the biggest problem I have is deciding which one to spotlight this week. I have decided! Alternate Readality.

Never having actually met Jenny in person, I can say - I love Jenny! She is so bubbly and fun and it comes through in her writing! I especially like checking out her blog during soccer season - lots of lovely eye candy!!

Other things I love about Alternate Readality:

1. The name. I have a terrible time naming anything and truly admire people who can come up with cute, relevant wordplay.
2. Her reviews are honest and fun to read.
3. The discussion posts and occasional personal post that really allow her followers to get to know her better and interact with her on a more personal level.
4. She comes by my blog often and leaves nice comments.

That's my blog recommendation for this week. Drop by and say hey! I know she'll appreciate it.