Tag Archive | blogging

Ta-da! Another April #A2ZChallenge in the books! (Reflective) #A2Z

Another April, another double-dozen book recommendations for y’all!

I pointed out 25 wonderful new books and a pair of free audiobooks this month (download them free by Wednesday, of course).

Was the effort of participating in #AprilA2Z blogging challenge worth it?

Well, it was good to get back in the groove of writing every morning early, before facing the news and email demands.

I posted a link to my blog post with the Challenge hashtags on social media – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Spoutible – every day. Every, single, day that I posted.

Got a nice handful of comments through the month, thanks to the AprilAtoZ Blog Challenge List here, a great place for you to find new blogs of interest to you.

I do wonder if anyone reads these recommendations which are my own summaries, not just copied from publishers or the book cover blurbs.

Going forward, I’ll aim for 3 posts a week, including the remaining 12 weeks of AudioSYNC summer free audiobooks.

Which AprilA2Z recommendation made you want to go grab that book?
**kmm

It’s A2Z time again!!

Mar31

April Blogging from A to Z challenge 2023 participant

Yep, it’s almost April, which means the big April A to Z Blogging Challenge is just hours away!

As I have for the past 11 years (over a decade?!), I will post 26 new book recommendations on an alphabetic schedule, starting tomorrow with A – and never give away the ending!

You’ll discover middle-grade and young adult titles, all-age picture books, and graphic novels from the US and abroad – beyond the often-duplicated bestsellers lists and well worth your time to read.

If you want to join the challenge, go here http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ before April 9th to sign up – it’s free and can bring lots of new readers to your blog.

Check out the wide variety of blogs participating in April A to Z on the Master List here https://tinyurl.com/3we8aa84 where mine is #148 – with 39 different categories, you’re sure to find interesting new blogs.

Ready to read?
**kmm

Whoosh! 11 years of BooksYALove, a decade of April A2Z!

May1

text reads: reflection- Blogging from A to Z April (2021) Challenge http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

Like that snowball rolling downhill toward a cartoon character, growing larger and faster as it goes, time seems to pass more swiftly as the calendar pages flip over.

Eleven years ago today, I stepped out into the then-new world of blogging, thanks to the encouragement of Michelle Rafter’s Blogathon in the early 2010s and the repository of book recommendations that I had written for Barb Langridge’s awesome kids’ book discovery site www.abookandahug.com (still going strong – be sure to take the Reader Personality Type quiz here!).

Ten years ago today, I looked back at a whole month of posts (every day but Sunday) pegged alphabetically from A to Z – wow, I really could create content on a daily basis… for at least one month of the year during the April AtoZ Challenge!

At the end of March every year since, I’ve pondered whether I could really complete another AtoZ, not missing a single alphabetical day (X is so hard). And for 10 years straight, I’ve decided that I should try, and I have succeeded!

Book bloggers don’t get medals or awards for our work promoting books, authors, and illustrators.

Most of us don’t get any money for our writing, some of us get review copies from publishers (thank you, thank you!), and many of us pay out of pocket to host our sites.

We all spend innumerable hours reading, deciding which books to write about, looking at our growing TBR (to-be-read) piles of books…and the books waiting for a review.

Book reviewers may never know whether our recommendation of a specific book led someone to read it… but one review and one book may be what makes life better for one reader – and that is enough for me as I begin my 12th year of BooksYALove.

Have you read any of the 1000+ books that I’ve recommended?
**kmm

Almost time for A2Z Challenge – 26 book reviews in April!

Mar31

Every year, I debate with myself about committing to the April A-to-Z Challenge – posting 26 alphabetic entries during April (every day except Sundays).

But after my recent posting doldrums (too much news, not enough sunshine), I knew that I could use my TENTH consecutive A2Z Challenge to refresh my writing routine and bring y’all wonderful books from my To Be Reviewed shelves.

If you want to participate by blogging A to Z about what you love, sign up on the Master List here by April 7 – or just keep on writing!

April #AtoZChallenge, here we come!
**kmm

Nine years of #books… did it!

May1

Yesterday, I wrapped up my 9th April A to Z Blog Challenge – 26 new books reviewed in a month. Nine years in a row!

Thank you to the A2Z organizers for providing annual graphics, badges, sign-ups, and promotion for free. During this pandemic, having a scheduled daily task was especially welcome.

Every year, I wonder if I should push myself to post every April day but Sundays, forcing books to fit into that A to Z progression (X, I am looking at you), and every year I am glad that I did it so y’all have 26 more books worth seeking out.

And today marks the beginning of my TENTH year of blogging about books beyond the bestsellers as BooksYALove!

Big thanks to Michele Rafter, whose Blogathon caught my attention in late April 2011 so I could start my very first blog on May 1st and learn the ins and outs of blogging during that May and several to follow.

Huge thanks to Barb Langridge, who asked me in 2010 to join other librarians in writing reviews for her book discovery site for kids www.abookandahug.com. Building up a digital folder of no-spoiler Young Adult and middle grade book reviews to post on my new blog was a true gift.

Much appreciation to the publishers who provide review copies and who have begun bringing us more books by #ownvoices authors, people of color, underrepresented populations – still a long, long way to go, but it’s a start.

All the love to my daughter Emily who designed the BooksYALove logo, helped me move this blog to self-hosting several years ago, and is the best kind of tech support always – mwah!

Will I post every day from now on?
Probably not.

Will I seek out books that are #ownvoices or beyond bestsellers, always worth your attention?
You bet!

Will I promote libraries and independent booksellers over other options?
Always, always, always!

What’s new in your book-reading world?
**kmm

K is Kels in WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU, by Marisa Kanter (book review)

Apr13

book cover of What I Like About You, by Marisa Kanter. Published by Simon Teen | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Kels blogs about YA books and baking,
Nash is an amazing graphic novelist,
their online friendship is epic, but IRL…

Halle wants to work in publishing on her own merits, not as famous Grams’ granddaughter, so online she is Kels who matches her exquisite cupcakes with talk-worthy books.

The 17 year old wanted her senior year in one place, not traipsing around the world with their famous filmmaker parents, so it was logical that she and baseball-playing brother Ollie stay with Gramps… in Nash’s town?!

At school, at synagogue, the attraction between Halle and one-quarter Korean Jewish Nash is growing – why can’t Halle tell him the truth about who she is online?

NYU will be Nash’s escape from his clingy parents, Halle’s ticket to becoming a publicist – what if they don’t get in? What if they both do?

Published just last week, debut novel What I Like About You is available from your local indie bookstore (order directly or through bookshop.org) or check WorldCat to see if your library has the eBook. Be sure to request it at your library so they order print copy, too.

So when is it okay to be two people at the same time?
**kmm

Book info: What I Like About You / Marisa Kanter. Simon & Schuster Teen, 2020. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

April AtoZ Challenge begins Monday – no fooling!

Mar28

It’s challenge time again!

For the eighth year in a row, I am participating in the Blogging A to Z April Challenge – 26 posts in 26 days!

So you will get 25 new book recommendations and one surprise during April – Sundays off to catch up!

Ready to kickstart your blog? Sign up at http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ and publish your A post on Monday, April 1st (no fooling!).

Want to find more blogs to follow? Visit http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ and search the categories on the Master List. The Challenge is also on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/atozchallenge) and Twitter (@AprilA2Z #AtoZChallenge).

Looking for my A2Z posts from earlier years? Click on the A2Z under Tags in the right hand column.

See y’all on Monday (and Tuesday and….)
**kmm

Another AtoZ Challenge completed!

May1

Happy May!

Happy Children’s Book Week! (yes, this includes #yalit!)

And another April A-to-Z blog challenge completed!

That’s 25 books and 2 audiobooks from A to Z recommended in one month – yay!

After a short break for a long journey, I’ll be back with more recommendations of great YA books that you probably won’t find on the bestseller lists.

Remember to bookmark the AudioSYNC website for free audiobooks all summer. You can even request a weekly text reminder to check the new titles!

Always glad to hear about your favorite YA books.
Thanks for reading!
**kmm

It’s A to Z Challenge time again!

Mar31

As I do every spring, I wonder whether I should sign up for the April A-to-Z blogging challenge.

Each April from 2012 to now, I have successfully written and posted 26 different blog entries running from A through Z on 26 days of that most hectic month.

Such a great opportunity to move books from my “to be reviewed (someday)” shelf into your view!

But tons of work to cover so many by writing a completely original synopsis for each book, along with links to related real-life info, as I usually do.

So this year’s April A to Z Challenge will feature super-short book intros and full links to publisher and author so you can find these great books for yourself.

The huge list of participating bloggers is available at https://atozchallenge.wordpress.com/ – the range of subjects covered is amazing!

And away we go to April – no fooling!
**kmm