Tag: Book Blogger Hop Page 1 of 6

Book Blogger Hop: Back-to-School Time

Book Blogger Hop

 

This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:

It’s back-to-school time. What book would you recommend to students, whether it’s an educational read or an enjoyable diversion from textbooks?

Let’s start with the “enjoyable diversion” bit, it’s the easiest (and the toughest to implement sometimes). Find something that appeals to you–because of the cover, because of what the back cover promises, because you’ve read something by the author, because someone you know liked it.

Now, for the “educational read” part. I don’t think I can limit it to one, really. But if I had to, I’d go with:

Cover of Dreyer's English by Benjamin Dreyer
Dreyer’s English:
An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style

by Benjamin Dreyer
Cover of Dreyer's English (Adapted for Young Readers) by Benjamin Dreyer
Dreyer’s English (Adapted for Young Readers):
Good Advice for Good Writing

by Benjamin Dreyer
Cover of The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs
The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction
by Alan Jacobs
Cover of How to Think by Alan Jacobs
How to Think:
A Survival Guide for a World at Odds

by Alan Jacobs
Cover of Breaking Bread with the Dead by Alan Jacobs
Breaking Bread with the Dead:
A Reader’s Guide to a More Tranquil Mind

by Alan Jacobs
Cover of Surviving Religion 101 by Michael J. Kruger
Surviving Religion 101:
Letters to a Christian Student
on Keeping the Faith in
College

by Michael J. Kruger

Dreyer’s English (pick the version most appropriate) is going to be my pick if I have to limit it to one. Getting language, punctuation, and other details about writing down will help in all sorts of courses (and life)–and Dryer’s book will help greatly in that way, and is entertaining enough that you won’t mind learning something outside of class.

I feel like I should have some other suggestions for Elementary and Middle School readers, but I don’t. Sorry.

For High Schoolers and above:

The trilogy of Alan Jacobs books there are ever-so-helpful. The first helps you remember that reading should be a pleasure, and not the equivalent of eating your vegetables. The second book is so helpful to train you to think clearly and charitably–something we all need. And then Breaking Bread with the Dead, helps the reader see ways they can read, profit from, and enjoy books and writers from the past, even if their lives, politics, morality, and so on, is different from our own.

Lastly, Michael Kruger’s book is a very handy book for College or High School students to read as they interact with non-Christians and anti-Christians socially or in the classroom. It’d probably be handy for non-Christians to read so they understand what they might be decrying.

As (almost) always when I’m asked for a book recommendation, I overshot. Oh, well…

What did I leave off my list?

Book Blogger Hop: Our Library Journeys

Book Blogger Hop

 

This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:

September is Library Card Sign-Up Month. What role have libraries played in your reading journey? Do you have any recommendations for books or fond recollections involving libraries?

First off—Library Card Sign-Up month? I didn’t know that was a thing—glad I got to do something to commemorate it.

What role have libraries played in my reading journey? That’s sort of like…man, I don’t know, I should be able to come up with a snappy metaphor. Maybe by the time I’m done with this.

As far as I recall, I didn’t really use a Public Library until I was at least semi-literate—maybe it was after I was reading things at the Fun with Dick and Jane level. I have one or two very vague memories of that first library (mostly chaotic) before my family moved across the state.

I’ve repeatedly told the story about when my family and I realized how important reading was to my young brain—once we settled into our new town, it wasn’t long before I got a card—and boy howdy, did I use that thing. We didn’t buy a lot of books then (that got underway when I discovered used bookstores and thrift shops in junior high…but that’s a story for another time), so the public library—with a little supplementing from various school libraries—was how I got my reading material. I visited at least monthly, I think bi-weekly was the norm, although there were summers I walked there daily.

The librarians got to know me pretty well—as well as my shy/timid near-pathologically introverted self would allow, at least they got to know my reading habits. Looking back on it, I know it was small—I may have known it then. It certainly didn’t get a lot of new books—particularly in the “Juvenile” sections (except for the very Juvenile books). That selection probably led to my love of re-reading. I knew where my friends were found on the Fiction and Non-Fiction shelves, and visited them often. But I enjoyed the variety it did have—especially when I could start reading the things in the non-Juvenile section. I honestly don’t know if my being unable to go there was a parental rule, a library rule that I aged out of, or just an impression that I had that no one corrected. But Ian Fleming, Erle Stanley Gardner, Eric Van Lustbader—and soon Robert B. Parker, Rex Stout, and Mickey Spillane—were waiting for me to discover.

In high school, we moved to a larger town—the library was bigger, and the collections were, too—I was able to read a new-to-me book or two from authors I loved that I hadn’t been able to find in my old library and I was able to find some new friends, too. The catch was that we lived outside of city limits, so my parents had to pay for my library card to make up for the taxes we didn’t pay. What a relief it was (for my conscience) the next year when I got a job there, so I got that fee waived.

Obviously, I was in hog heaven working there—and it exposed me to so many new authors, new topics, new…everything. Reshelving returned books helped me see what people were consistently reading, and eventually, I’d get curious, too. Or putting one boring-looking book back next to something else would get me to pick up the something else. Dave Barry Slept Here is one that I distinctly remember coming from that. That’s also how I learned that C.S. Lewis wrote things other than the Chronicles of Narnia, I’m inexplicably embarrassed to note.

Other than the University library, I pretty much stopped using them for a decade or so after High School. I wasn’t going to pay for a card just to use over the summer months as I scrambled to save up money for the next year—also, I was buying enough by then that I could keep myself in books when I found/made time to read things that weren’t for class.

Fast-forward to the time when my older kids could write their own name—which was the library’s standard for getting their own card. I’d let them browse for something that’d catch their eye, and while they were doing that…I’d go browse myself. This got me experimenting more about what I was reading—oh, also, this library was bigger yet than the last one—and kept growing. That experimenting—plus my reading priorities shifting and freeing up—led to me reading more and more, and…well, here we are.

I read my first Jim Butcher, Kevin Hearne, Benedict Jacka, Faith Hunter, Patricia Briggs, Seanan McGuire, Lee Child, Rainbow Rowell, David Rosenfelt, Rick Riordan, Mick Herron, and Ian Rankin because of that most recent one. I could go on and on, but I just thought I’d pick a few names that show up time and time again here. I don’t browse the stacks too much anymore, I have lists of books I want to get—and usually place requests via the website. But I’m still using that library regularly, and my not having at least two books checked out from there at a time is strange (I have two on my desk now and two waiting for me to pick up as I write this).

Really, I wouldn’t read what I do now if I hadn’t read something in the library that sparked me to look for more like it—or encouraged me to move far away. Which would lead to/from something else, and something else, and something else for 4+ decades now. And I hope that continues for decades more.

I’m not going to spend a lot of time on the “do you have any recommendations for books…involving libraries” part of the prompt—I covered that in my Books about Books and the People Who Love Them post last month (along with a few other things).

Are your stories about libraries sound similar? Or have you had a different experience with them?

Book Blogger Hop: Fireworks or Reading?

Book Blogger Hop

 

This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:

Which do you enjoy doing more on the 4th of July: watching fireworks light up the sky or reading an inviting book?

I know when I was younger, I enjoyed fireworks—but that ended at some point in my teens. Outside of one night at Disneyland about 18 years ago—I don’t get the appeal of them anymore. I can appreciate them for about 40 seconds nowadays.

Even if I enjoyed them, I think anyone who knows me would expect me to say “reading an inviting [or even simply not-unappealing] book” is what I enjoy more. That’s pretty much the case when the choice is “X or reading” for most values of X, truth be told.

However, on Thursday, I’ll be commemorating—as has been my habit for the last several years—Scare-The-Crap-Out-of-Your-Dog Day. It’s not that fun—and it frequently leaves me in rough shape for work the next day. But, good quality time with my dogs (even if they’re certain the word is ending) is one of those values of X that can beat reading.

Do you prefer pyrotechnics, the printed word, or perhaps another option?

Book Blogger Hop: Collector or Hoarder

Book Blogger Hop

 

This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:

Do you consider yourself a book collector or a book hoarder?

To my ear, a collector is someone who gets pristine, early/rare editions, and displays them like a hunter displays taxidermy trophies. Ew, that sounds loaded with negative connotations there–I’m not trying for that, but I’m also too lazy to go back and edit. Collectors are serious about this, put a lot of effort into tracing down certain titles/editions—they’re the kind of people that Oliver Darkshire talks about in his memoir. The financial investment is also greater than I’m interested in.

Hoarders*, like myself, on the other hand, go for quantity. We just want all the books we want to read, those we can’t bear to give away/sell/trade, and others, too. Sure, we might get some rarities, some specialty editions, and whatnot—we might even find the wherewithal to get our hands on some Subterranean Press or The Folio Society special editions and reprints—but mostly it’s about surrounding ourselves with processed dead-tree carcasses filled with writing and characters we love. I’ve got some in nearly every room in my house, and it won’t be long before I’ll legitimately be able to remove the “nearly.” I’ll be content when I have amassed a cache fit for Smaug, and not until then.

* I’ll note that countless memes (the great and binding authority of wit and expression of vox populi to which everyone must bend the knee today)—and the sign my wife bought for my office door—insist that it’s not hoarding if it’s books, soooo ¯_(ツ)_/¯ .

What about you—collector, hoarder? Or do you have a healthy number (read: more than Marie Kondo’s 30, but not enough to nap on?)

Book Blogger Hop: Happy Publication Day

Man, it’s been too long since I’ve done one of these. Time to get back in the swing of things, I generally have fun with these.


Book Blogger Hop

 

This prompt was submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver’s Review:

Do you post Happy Publication Day posts for books you read?

Not as such, no. I do see plenty of people tweeting that kind of thing—or posting to Facebook, etc., etc. But I rarely do that.

I try to do a blog post on the release day for books I receive an advanced copy of—hopefully a repost of my already written thoughts on a book or I’ll sometimes get a post up on the day itself if I didn’t have my act together in time.

I also make a practice of noting the release of books that I’m interested in or am excited to read in my Saturday Miscellany posts.

I’ve thought about moving that to Tuesdays, but that seems like too much work, and just one more thing for me to keep track of.

If you do, how do you commemorate publication day for books?

(authors need not reply, we all know you’re obsessively clicking refresh to see sales numbers)

Book Blogger Hop: The To-Be-Read List

Man, it’s been too long since I’ve done one of these. Time to get back in the swing of things, I generally have fun with these.


Book Blogger Hop

 

This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:

How many books are on your “to be read” list?

It’s Schrödinger’s List…there are too many and not nearly enough at the same time.

Technically, right now it’s:

Audio E-book Physical Goodreads
Want-to-Read
NetGalley
Shelf
6 49 68 155 5

So…283, I guess. Blech. I need to work on that. I should be at 279 or less by the end of the month.

(unless of course, I add something between now and then)

How healthy (however you want to define it) is your list?

Book Blogger Hop: Review Rating System

Book Blogger Hop

 

This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:

What review rating system do you employ?

I’m just copying and pasting my About My Ratings page for this answer—why reinvent the wheel? I did take the opportunity to rephrase a couple of things a little, correct a typo or two (and I’m trying really hard not to think about how many years those typos existed without me seeing them), and generally brush it up for this answer and on the page. So, I’m glad this question made me look at the page.

I will talk about my love for Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin books at any excuse I get. As an alternative to the ubiquitous 5-Star schema, I’ve thought about adopting Wolfe’s Rating System (or Archie’s take on it). From Plot It Yourself:

I divide the books Nero Wolfe reads into four grades: A, B, C, and D. If, when he comes down to the office from the plant rooms at six o’clock, he picks up his current book and opens to his place before he rings for beer, and if his place was marked with a thin strip of gold, five inches long and an inch wide, which was presented to him some years ago by a grateful client, the book is an A. If he picks up the book before he rings, but his place was marked with a piece of paper, it is a B. If he rings and then picks up the book, and he had dog-eared a page to mark his place, it is a C. If he waits until Fritz has brought the beer and he has poured to pick up the book, and his place was dog-eared, it’s a D. I haven’t kept score, but I would say that of the two hundred or so books he reads in a year not more than five or six get an A.

If I knew how to portray that graphically, I still might adopt it. Seriously, if anyone reading this has any ideas—I’m open.

Actually, I’m of a mixed-mind about rating books, it seems demeaning (and pretty subjective) to grade them like this. But it’s also handy to be able to tell at a glance what someone thinks of a book. So, here’s my approach. For now, I’ll stick to the seemingly standard star ratings, but I regularly think about replacing it.

5 Stars = Grade: A. I loved it. Blew me away. Knocked my socks off. The stuff that dreams are made of. Get thee to a bookstore/library and put this on the top of your TBR pile!

4 Stars = Grade: B. Highly recommended. Very entertaining (where applicable), well-written, and whatnot. More than worth the time to read.

3 Stars = Grade: C. I liked it. It’s good. It gets the job done—entertains/educates/keeps your interest/whatever the job is. The book as a whole might not be dazzling, but it’s worth your time. I’d continue the series/reading books by the author. Recommended. I want to stress this word here: Recommended. I suggest you read this book.

2 Stars = Grade: D. Don’t bother. It’s not bad per se, it’s just not good.

1 Star = Grade: F. This is not a book to be lightly tossed aside. It should be thrown with great force.

I also use half-stars for something that’s almost the next whole number, but I can’t quite justify it for this space (but will round up for places like Goodreads/Amazon/NetGalley).

Comments, quibbles, suggestions?

Book Blogger Hop: Author Questions

Book Blogger Hop

 

This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:

What questions would you ask any author if you had the chance?

This question got me going in a few different directions—if we defined “any author” as a particular one: what would I ask? Like what do I want to ask Jim Butcher about? What would I ask Lisa Lutz?, and so on (although we do know what I’d ask Nick Kowlakowsi, K.R.R. Lockhaven, Noelle Holten, etc.). Or are these generic questions you’d ask any author you found yourself talking to?

Then I started thinking—is this for publication or for my own benefit? (in other words—can I get into spoilers and further details?)

I think if I started coming up with fantasy questions for a particular author, this post would be too long to finish (for you or me). Once I got past the Chris Farley stage with Seanan McGuire, for example (You remember that time that Toby got stabbed in Rosemary and Rue? That was cool…Remember that time Toby got stabbed in [virtually any other title]?…) I could go on for hours with her.

So let’s go with the questions I find myself asking just about everyone—because I like hearing the variety of answers (not because I’m lazy*). I know authors get tired of answering, “Where do you get your ideas?”, even if most of them don’t react as antagonistically as Rachel Wallace does, so I ask, “What was it about the idea behind [insert title here] that made you want to spend X months with it?” I also like hearing answers to, “What challenges did you experience in writing [insert title here], and are those particular to this book, or is it the same stuff you struggle with all the time?” I borrowed those notions from Anton Strout’s podcast, the answers he got from those were some of the more interesting in the interviews. Honestly, at the end of the day, just sitting down and talking to an author about any/all parts of the process would be rewarding. I’ve done it once outside of the Q&As I do for the blog and had a great time.

* Well, I am…but it’s not applicable here.

I’m not sure I actually answered this week’s prompt, but I talked around it a lot. Good ’nuff.

What would you ask an author?

Book Blogger Hop: Plot or Characters?

Book Blogger Hop

 

This prompt was submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver’s Reviews:

When you write your reviews which do you discuss more – the plot or the characters?

I’d liked to say it’s about 50/50—and perhaps overall it is.

My initial reaction to this question was, “It depends on the book.” There are some books where the plot is the star—because of the inventiveness, the intricacy, the unexpected X + Y of the ingredients, the hook, or whatever. When it comes to other books, it’s all about the character—the protagonist, the antagonist, or best friend/sidekick are what’s captured my imagination.

But after a little reflection,* I think I typically talk about character more than plot. There are two reasons for that—first, it’s easier to be spoiler-free when talking about characters. But the second reason is the big one—it’s characters more than story, setting, magic, science-y fiction bits, gross murders, or whatever that we connect to. We want people we can connect with, relate to, and live vicariously through—and it’s those characters that draw a reader to a book. Obviously, we all want great plots and the rest—don’t give me a P.I. novel without any action or plot, or a fantasy novel without some sword-play or spell-casting or whatever. But give me people I care about doing those things. I think most readers are the same way, so that’s what I write toward.

* Not much, because I have the feeling if I think about this too much, I’m going to spend 3 hours doing an audit of 10 years worth of posts and be able to give hard numbers.

Do the scales balance in your reviews?

Book Blogger Hop: Do You Read Children’s Books?

Book Blogger Hop

 

This prompt was submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer:

Do you still enjoy reading children’s books?

I have relatives that would consider 90+% of what I read to be childish, but that’s probably not the same thing.

Even before the new feature I started this year, Grandpappy’s Corner, I’ve always gladly accepted requests from Children’s and Picture Book Authors to talk about their books–and I’ve even bought a few for myself over the last couple of years. There’s something about them that just sparks joy (also, it’s pretty low investment of time and energy in return for that spark).

Some of my favorite books over the last few years have been written for kids–and several of my favorite books ever fit have been, too.

There’s that oft-quoted line from C.S. Lewis

I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s story.

I’d absolutely agree with that.

I think a better question is why wouldn’t you like children’s books?

When I started this, I thought it was going to be a longer piece. But, eh…who needs that?

Do you still read children’s books?

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