BBAW: Treasure Catch Up (New, Unexpected, Forgotten, Future) + Giveaway

I fell woefully behind in Book Blogger Appreciation Week festivities. I truly adore this community-building lovefest between book bloggers :) The posts range from funny to inspiring and I like that mix. I didn't participate much last year either, but this year I took the time to make sure I at least commented on other blogs and tried to discover new ones.


Anyway, my form of participation will be catching up on the theme from each day this past week and sharing my thoughts on it. It won't be too long I promise. And if you read the whole thing, you'll discover a treat at the end ;)


This year's theme is BBAW 2010: A Treasure Chest of Infinite Books & Infinite Blogs

Monday: First Treasure. New to me blogs. There are SO MANY! I decided to include four.

A Few More Pages-Katy is such a dedicated and fantastic blogger. She gently reminds me when I forget to announce the monthly winner for the PoC Reading Challenge, introduces me to new blogs (I really like A Literary Odyssey, thanks Katy for shining a spotlight on Allie!), writes in depth reviews and shares awesome videos (plus we both love history).


Bookalicious-Creator of the PoC Reading Challenge and blogger extraordinaire (aka Pam). We didn't start talking until after she created the challenge because someone mentioned it and I knew nothing about it. But it's sorta up my alley ;) I offered to help in any way I can and I was put in charge of rounding up prizes (to be clear: if we couldn't have any prizes that would be OK, I thought it would be fun to have prizes). Working with Pam has been a joy and whether or not we continue the challenge, I will continue to visit her blog. She writes excellent reviews and is unafraid to speak out about issues affecting the blogging community. She rocks my socks =)


One Big Adventure-Newest-to-me blog for sure. I only recently discovered Najela and One Big Adventure and not a moment too soon! Probably one of my favorite things about Najela is her comment interaction. If she leaves a comment on one of my posts, she will come back to see if I responded. We then have a little conversation in the comments. She does the same thing at her blog, she always replies to comments and that is cool =D Sometimes we continue her conversations via email (she will help keep me sane once I have to start the dread college application process next year). Her reviews are short, sweet and quite helpful. I'm in awe of her 101 goals in 1001 days list. Najela is a writer and I enjoy reading about her writing classes and her writing process/tips. I like the fact that not only does Najela review books at her blog and post about racefails in publishing but she also talks about her goals and her life. And oh yeah, I interviewed her for All Eyes On (thanks for asking!)


Gal Novelty-I honestly can't remember if I first discovered Ah Yuan and the awesomesauce that is Gal Novelty in 2010. I think I knew about it earlier than that but we didn't become friends until 2010. We email each other a lot and I can ALWAYS count on her to understand when I need to vent about some teen/race/book issue. I don't really talk to that many teenage bloggers (I've always connected better with adults) and even though Ah Yuan is a few years older than me, it's nice to be able to talk to someone so close to my age. And as I said Gal Novelty is awesomesauce. This means it has great (and critical!) reviews, discussion posts that REALLY make me think, fun posts and tidbits of randomness. She talks about k-dramas, j-dramas and manga and I just learn SO MUCH from her and her blog. It makes my head spin and I sincerely believe I am a better person because of my interactions with her, even if they are only online. She's currently in France so she's not posting as frequently, but read up on her older posts, it will be rewarding. Why yes, I did interview her for my (recently named All Eyes On) Blogger Spotlight


Go.Visit.The.Blogs.I.Mentioned. Then check out my blogroll for other blogs that make my day including, Bookish Blather, Bibliophilia-Maggie's Bookshelf, Good Books & Good Wine and Book Gazing. <3 you all!

Tuesday-New Treasure: BBAW Interview Swaps! I got to interview Lynne from My Word Playground. She is so sweet and her first picture book comes out in May 2011 (Hedgehog Goes to Kindergarten). Hooray for Lynne, hedgehogs, picture books and tea parties (read the interview to know what I mean) :)


Wednesday-Unexpected Treasure. This was tough. An unexpected treasure is a book you wouldn't have tried without the influence of another blogger. I can think of several books bloggers have influenced me to read. But ultimately, I realized that hands down I have to credit Doret, Jeanette, Lisa for influencing me the most in what I read, it's because of them that I really got in to reading adult fiction. And without them, I would not have read 32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter (one of my favorite books of the year! READ IT). That would have been a tragedy. Besides 32 Candles, I've read other fabulous books in the adult fiction category and I've added many many more to my TBR list. Thank you ladies!

Also I don't remember who first recommended this book to me but Perfect Chemistry was surprise read. I don't read romance, but I very slowly attempted to wade in the waters of YA romance. Perfect Chemistry was a great way to be thrown right in, it was a very authentic and even though it's mostly about romance, it had great sub-plots.


Thursday-Forgotten Treasure. This was tough because there are many books that I review here that receive less coverage. I decided to pick two books, one YA, one MG, both published in 2010.

8th Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday Perkovich. I wish I could give every single middle school student a copy of this book. I read the book back in January but the characters have remained with me even to this day. They are an absolute delight and the writing is just...lovely. I don't know how to describe it. Just read my review. Plus I love all the topics that are brought up in the novel and I like how it shows young people in a more positive light, helping others.

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves-Another fantastic debut. Everyone should just give this book a chance. It is so unique and the cover is gorgeous (matches the content within). I see some reviews of this book, but not many. More, more, more! It''s not creepy as in scary (i.e. monsters jumping out at you, nightmares, etc.), it's more of a bizarre world that showcases the author's creativity.

Friday-Future Treasures. I didn't really participate in BBAW this year (yet again. *heavy sigh*) but my favorite part that I did participate in was the interviews. I loved looking at the creative questions asked (I wish I could steal them! haha sort of) and seeing the fun/informative/inspiring responses.

Blogging Goals: If you look at my 2010 New Year's Resolutions you can see that I fulfilled some of my goals (well fulfilled part of them). I finally got three columns and pages so the blog looks more organized. I'm doing a slightly better job at replying to comments via the blog or through email. There are two goals on the list that I really want to focus on

1. More author interviews. Ideally one a month. Not as many authors of color have an online presence (at least not YA/MG authors of color) but there are still plenty who do and there are so many authors I want to interview!

2. Have more guest posts. This is especially vital during the school year. Feel free to email me anytime with guest post ideas.

I also want to work harder at responding to comments and fix my header!

Happy BBAW!

What was your favorite part? Share the link with me, since I don't know where to start in order to catch up on the week's festivities!



I'm late on this but giveaway time! In honor of BBAW (if it counts). International giveaway (as long as The Book Depository ships for free to your country. Or you can pay for shipping). The Prize? $20 worth of books from the Book Depository. No requirements. Just fill out THIS FORM