Sep 14, 2009

My Favorite Blogs, Not on the Shortlist

Book Blogger Appreciation Week has kicked off, and all week long there are activities, scavenger hunts, and memes. Savvy Verse & Wit will be offering a ton of giveaways this week, and we hope that you will participate in BBAW, read reviews, enter giveaways, and other activities.

Today, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite book blogs that I read everyday. These are blogs that did not make the shortlists this year.

Let's start with my nomination for Best New Blog: Book Chick City

She has a great color scheme and the sidebars and post sections are streamlined. Enough of aesthetics though, what I really love best are her reviews. I wanted to provide you with some of the best reviews I've read on her site, and I hope you will check them out and add Book Chick City to your reader.

1. She's already started participating in the community here and here.
2. Passionate book reviews.
3. Insightful interviews.

Another blog that I feel should have been shortlisted this year is The Literate Housewife Review.

Jennifer's blog has a great design for her blog with a unique representation of herself, and this blog is easy to navigate as well. I love her honesty and her anecdotes about her girls and family. You really feel at home reading her blog, like you're sitting down to tea with her. Here are some of my favorite posts:

1. Her Dog Days of Summer challenge was exceptional.
2. Read her post about BBAW.
3. And she is creative in other ways, with her bookmark of the month club.

Have you checked out Bookgirl's Nightstand?

Iliana is one of the most creative bloggers I've come across, and you can easily check out her journal-making skills at her Etsy shop or on her blog. Her blog has a great color scheme and nice set up, where you can easily find what reading challenges she's joined and the progress she has made. Here are some of her latest, greatest posts:

1. A book review in pictures.
2. Her post on foreign bookstores.
3. Adventures in Bookbinding

You must have known I would talk about my buddy, Anna's blog, Diary of an Eccentric.

She works hard on her blog and on our joint venture War Through the Generations (but we're not talking about that because it is on the shortlist). Not only is Anna reviewing books, interviewing authors, and offering guest bloggers the spotlight, but also she shares her blog, on occasion, with her daughter, known as The Girl! Reading their joint reviews is fun, but let's not forget her hidden talent, knitting. Ok, enough blabbing, check out her posts for yourself.

1. Review of He Was My Chief
2. Knitting--maybe I'm biased since those are my feet modeling the goods.
3. A review by The Girl

Finally, I wanted to highlight is Everything Distils Into Reading.

Gautami has phenomenal tastes in books and poetry, she even writes her own. Yes, we have another multitalented blogger on our hands. Everything Distils is a reimagination of her blog that was "disappeared" earlier this year, and it has been a hard road back, but she has never let that slow her down. I, for one, am glad she decided to keep her blog going and build it back up. Here are some great posts:

1. Can of worms?
2. Wait Until Twilight
3. Mermaids and poetry

What are some of your favorite blogs that didn't make the shortlists?



26 comments:

Melody said...

Great post, Serena!
I enjoy reading Jennifer, Iliana and Gautami's blog too! I'll have to check out the other blogs you highlighted since they're new-to-me blogs. :)

Literary Feline said...

I love seeing all this blogger love going around. :-) You've listed some great blogs there--each one of them are regular stops for me too.

Ladytink_534 said...

I read Jennifer, Iliana, and Anna's blogs regularly too. Now I need to go check out these others!

gautami tripathy said...

When I came here, I wasn't expecting to see my name. Gee, thanks!

I read all the blogs you have highlighted here. I would miss those for anything!

BBAW: My very own shortlist

gautami tripathy said...

I am dyslexic today. It ought to have been:

I wouldn't miss those...

Sandy Nawrot said...

These are all phenomenal blogs, you are absolutely right! If I had to do a shortlist, every one of these would be on it!

Anna said...

Thank you so much for the kind words about my blog. You've made my day! I agree about the others you listed; I read them regularly!

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric

Unknown said...

Wow, thanks so much for including me on your list. I certainly didn't expect that :) I am now going to visit the rest of the blogs on your list. x

Memory said...

These posts are really, really dangerous. It's great to see bloggers I'm already familiar with highlighted, and of course I want to check out the others right away! The day needs a few more hours.

bermudaonion said...

Great list, Serena. I love some of these same blogs and was happy to discover a few new ones.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful post! The bloggers you listed are great. Happy BBAW!

Lezlie said...

Great list, Serena! I love all these blogs!

Lezlie

S. Krishna said...

These are some great picks - I think I subscribe to all of these except for one, which I'm going to check out now!

Jeanne said...

Thanks for your list--more to check out!

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

I didn't know Jennifer's blog, but I know the others. Haven't hung with Iliana in awhile (too busy!), in fact. And Gautami's a gem, of course. You know about her Poetry Train???

My fave non-shortlisted blog would be my own. But that's okay. Neither of my blogs fit nicely into any one category, and it's not really fair to make a category for one person!

Marie Cloutier said...

Nice list- a ton of my faves on there too! :-)

Jen Forbus said...

Serena, I couldn't agree more with you on Jennifer's blog at Literate Housewife. I was sure she would be short-listed somewhere, but especially for her giveaways. She's always so incredibly creative. I loved her Dog Days of Summer - she's inspired me plenty!! I'll have to check out the others on your list. Thanks and Happy Book Blogger Appreciate Week, girl! Keep up the good work!! :)

Meghan said...

Awesome choices! I love the three bloggers you mentioned that I already have in my reader. I'm very excited to go check out your other two suggestions!

Iliana said...

Serena, what can I say - Thank you bunches! I'm in some wonderful company here :)

Jenners said...

Great write up and choices ... and of course you must include Anna! : )

Lisa Roe said...

Awesome list, Serena! I'm a fan of all of those, and yours as well! ;-)

Have a great BBAW!

Literate Housewife said...

I cannot thank you enough for your kind words, Serena. I am so thankful for being in such wonderful company. I love your blog, too. I'm so excited about you being shortlisted and I'm happy that you and Anna were shortlisted for War Through the Generations. I have had fun taking part in that challenge. Isn't it so wonderful to be part of such a wonderful community?

Belle said...

What a great post, Serena! There are a few blogs here that are new-to-me. I'm going to check them out right now!

Lenore Appelhans said...

Whenever I see Anna's cat tattoo I have to smile :)

Dawn @ sheIsTooFondOfBooks said...

What a thoughtful posts - nice that you link to specific posts of theirs.

Most of these blogs are regular stops in my Google Reader, but Book Chick City is new to me; thanks for the introduction.

Anonymous said...

I really like when people are expressing their opinion and thought. So I like the way you are writing