Tag Archive | blogging

Hello, June! Howdy, Blogathonners!

Jun1
image of runner with computer mouse for Blogathon

Blogathon HQ banner courtesy of
Michelle Rafter of Wordcount

Howdy, book fans and Blogathonners!

If you’re new to the BooksYALove party, please note that I love young adult books, love connecting the right book to the its perfect reader, and never (ever) give away the ending!

On June 6-8, I’ll be participating in Mother Reader’s 9th Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge, this year celebrating Diversity in Kids’ Books by reading and writing about young adult and middle grade books with characters of diverse race, cultural heritage, and family. My 48 hours will include writing about some of the books I’m reading that weekend for future BooksYALove posts – so many good books with diverse casts, but so many more needed. #weneeddiversebooks for all ages

I’m also doing a year-long challenge hosted by Bookish blog, trying to get my TBR shelf under control.

For most folks, TBR signifies “to-be-read” books, but for me and other bloggers, it means “to be reviewed” – in other words, all those great books from last year (or earlier) that we still haven’t talked about, even though we liked them a lot. The siren song of the newest book is so compelling, you know.

I’ve recommended 30 books with pre-2014 publication dates so far (like these), but added none to that list in May (I was resting between April AtoZ Blog Challenge and June Blogathon) – I will introduce a few more in June, for sure.

Of course, I’m looking forward to our traditional Blogathon features like Haiku Day and Word Cloud Day, as well as alerting y’all to each summer week’s free complete audiobooks available for download through the SYNC Audiobook program (Thursday-Wednesday).

Please subscribe to email updates or follow BooksYALove using the links in the right sidebar.

Happy June! Happy reading!

**kmm

 

 

 

Let’s Blogathon, like we did last summer!

May27
image of runner with computer mouse for Blogathon

Blogathon banner (c) Michelle Rafter/Wordcount

It’s nearly time for my favorite blogging event of the year – Blogathon!

This free exercise to build up our blogging muscles – one post a day, every day in June – was founded by Michelle Rafter of WordCount and is being hosted this year jointly by Michelle and Freelance Success.

Sign up here by the end of May to join the blog roll = lots of new blogs for you to read and follow! lots of new readers for your blog!

Then Like the 2014 Freelance Success/WordCount Blogathon page on Facebook where we’ll share links to our daily posts, find inspiration and guest bloggers, and get tips for theme day posts (like these “25 Ideas for Daily Blog Posts” by Michelle). We’ll also tweet links to our daily posts on Twitter with the hashtag #blog2014.

And there are prizes! To qualify for the prize drawing, you must be registered for Blogathon2014 and must post on your blog every day in June. Since there are bloggers covering many subjects, the prizes are varied as well; I donated a couple of boxes of YA and middle-grade books.

So c’mon and join the fun! You don’t have to write a huge article every day – Haiku Day and Word Cloud Day are two much-loved Blogathon staples which help us get to our 30-in-3o goal.

See you at #blog2014! Lots of great books ahead on BooksYALove in June, too.

**kmm

J is just amazing – books & authors at Texas Library Association conference!

Apr11

letter J of Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2014What happens when 7,200 librarians, authors, publishers, and library supporters get together?

It’s book heaven!

This year’s Texas Library Association conference in San Antonio has been filled with discussions about books, authors, reading, writing, and information in our lives.

I listened to Rae Carson and Melissa de la Cruz share what they must have in order to write their bestsellers and Deb Caletti and Elizabeth Eulberg talk about writing strong characters.

Tom Angleberger taught 200+ Nerdy Book Club members how to fold an emergency Origami Yoda and dramatically read aloud the instant haikus written by folks in this huge Twitter community which celebrates reading and books (@NerdyBookClub).

We celebrated 5 years of the TLA Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List, which includes several BooksYALove faves on the 2014 list (click link for my no-spoiler review of the title)  like Will & Whit,
Peanut,
Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant,
Astronaut Academy: Re-Entry,
Boxers and Saints,
Little Fish, and
Relish.

And I visited publishers large and small, seeking out the underappreciated gems in their recent and upcoming books. Lugging bags of advance reader copies back to your hotel is great exercise, you know!

The book world is just amazing! Get ready for some phenomenal reads in the months ahead!
**kmm

My to-be-reviewed shelf is slowly shrinking… TBR2014 Challenge update

Feb28

For most book-folk, TBR means “to be read” (as in “My TBR stack is taller than I am”), but for me it means that lonnng shelf of books that I’ve already read, but still need “to be reviewed” here!

Moving right along, I added recommendations of these books with 2013 or earlier copyright date to BooksYALove in February (click each link to open my no-spoiler review in a new tab/window):

book cover of Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason published by Chronicle Booksbook cover of Go A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design by Chip Kidd published by WorkmanThe Clockwork Scarab – Egyptian curse stalking young women in steampunk London or merely murder? Eva Stoker and Mina Holmes investigate!

Go: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design – from color to typography, noted graphic designer Chip Kidd shares info, insight and project ideas.

book cover of Team Human by Sarah Rees Brennan and Justine Larbalestierbook cover of Flygirl by Sherri L Smith published by PenguinTeam Vampire – when transforming to vampire can leave you a zombie, why wouldn’t Mel want to keep her best friend among the living?

Flygirl – passing for white so she can fly during WWII, Ida Mae will face even more dangers on the ground than aloft.

book cover of How Not to Be a Dick by Meghan Doherty published by Zest BooksHow Not to Be a Dick – this common-sense (with a sense of humor) everyday etiquette guide will help you be a better person.

So far in 2014, I’ve 8 recommended of my targeted 50+ pre-2014 titles for this year’s Bookish 2014 TBR Reading Challenge – onward!
*kmm

A2Z Blog Challenge this year? My TBR shelf says yes!

Feb18

logo of A to Z Blog Challenge April 2014 Every spring, I agonize over whether or not to participate in the April AtoZ Blog Challenge.

Twenty-six posts in 26 days…

By no means impossible, but it sure is tough for me to get all the posts’ subjects to align with the A-through-Z daily schedule in April (we have Sundays off, thank God!).

However, my to-be-reviewed shelf of worthwhile reads is so overflowing that I  easily set aside 26 great books, each with a wee-bitty alpha tag, just waiting for April – and I still have scads more to write about in the meantime!

So yes, I’m committing myself to 26 A2Z posts in April again – third time’s a charm? See me at #785 on the AtoZ list?  (This will also help immensely with my pre-2014 books backlog as part of the Bookish blog TBR2014 Challenge)

Are you up for the Challenge too?
**kmm

TBR2014 Challenge – catching up on YA books!

Jan31

Wait a minute…
How did January race by so fast?

Thankfully, I did squeeze in some recommendations of pre-2014 published books for the TBR2014 Challenge on Bookish blog (I’m number 30 there).
(the newest books are great, but the best books of any time are better, right?)

Be sure you check out these recent BooksYALove faves (each title link goes to my no-spoiler recommendation):

book cover of Coda by Emma Trevayne published by Running Pressbook cover of Winter of the Robots by Kurtis Scaletta published by Alfred A KnopfIn Anthem’s future USA, personal music is illegal, but he must play anyway! Coda, by Emma Trevayne (Running Press, 2013)

Something eerie and deadly stalks the old junkyard in Winter of the Robots, by Kurtis Scaletta (Alfred Knopf, 2013).

 

book cover of Relic by Heather Terrell published by Soho TeenTechnology lust killed the earth, say the elders, but the Relic which Eva finds says otherwise in Heather Terrell’s 2013 Soho Teen release.

So that makes 3 of my hoped-for 50+ TBR2013 titles… gotta step it up during February!

What 2013 books are still on your to-be-read shelf?
**kmm

Multicultural Children’s Book Day – many viewpoints, many stories

Jan27

January 27 = Chocolate Cake Day, Holocaust Memorial Day, birth anniversary of Mozart and Lewis Carroll.

Chase’s Calendar of Events will tell you that every day (and week and month) of the year has many holidays, anniversaries, and observances associated with it.

Add Multicultural Children’s Book Day to that list for January 27th, thanks to bloggers JumpIntoABook and Pragmatic Mom! Fewer than 10% of children’s and young adult books published in the US annually feature main characters of color, multiple ethnicities, or varied cultural heritages, even though nearly 40% of American children and youth share these characteristics.

So Valarie and Mia decided to gather up lists of great kids’ and YA books which bring strong multicultural characters and stories into our lives by creating MCCBD, joined by publishers whose books fill this niche – Wisdom Tales Press, Chronicle Books, and Lee & Low Books (including their Tu Books imprint).

In anticipation of MCCBD, I linked several BooksYALove multicultural recommendations on Pragmatic Mom, including:

Book cover of My Basmati Bat Mitzvah by Paula J. Friedman published by AbramsBook cover of The Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson published by Margaret McElderry Books Tara tries to balance Hebrew school, Bollywood movies, and the expectations of her Punjabi and Yiddish grandparents as she prepares for My Basmati Bat Mitzvah.

As nightmares-made-real stalk Toronto’s streets, Canadian-Jamaican teen searches for her brother and answers in The Chaos.

book cover of Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac published by Tu Booksbook cover of Ask My Mood Ring How I Feel by Diana Lopez published by Little BrownLike her warrior women ancestors, Lozen is Killer of Enemies to save her family in this chilling future tale, named American Indian Youth Literature best YA novel today!

Struggling with her mom’s cancer diagnosis and her own school difficulties, Chia says just Ask My Mood Ring How I Feel when other situations arise.

And today is also Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, so pop some virtually here!

Which multicultural book would you name to a “best of the best” list today?
**kmm

Looking back, peering at the future

Jan13
mounted pheasant in flight wearing Santa hat

Somehow, I pictured Santa as a larger flying critter…

You’ve heard the saying, ” Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans,” right?

Yep. It does.

My good intentions for posting at least once weekly through the holidays got nibbled away daily by everything from a leaking water heater to an ailing older dog (who’s much better now).

January is for new beginnings, so I’ve decide to ignore the blank expanse of recent weeks on BooksYALove and work through the ‘new normal’ of unquiet house and odd schedules as best I can.

No promises of how many books I’ll recommend weekly, but I do have so many great ones that I do want to share – perhaps in a shorter format…

So that you get new posts as soon as I release them, please do subscribe to BooksYALove by email or using your favorite feed reader (see right sidebar for options). I also announce new posts on Twitter as @BooksYALove.

And a big thank you to everyone who visited BooksYALove in 2013 – from 77 countries, WordPress tells me!

**kmm

On the road again – from KidLitCon to the Carolinas

Nov15

logo for KidLitosphere CentralAfter a wonderful and energizing KidLitCon weekend in Austin, I’m taking Sarah & Jen‘s advice regarding “Blogging Burnout” and slowing down a bit.

Hoping to add at least one book recommendation weekly from now through year’s end as we travel to see family and friends (yes, all sorts of great books are along for the ride, some already-read & needing write-up to post, others just waiting for me to read!) – but don’t be surprised if that only turns out to be an average…

What YA books are on your holiday wish list? Remember to use the categories list and tag cloud in the right column to find more books to wish for!
**kmm

Headed for KidLitCon!

Nov8
photo of Congress Street, Austin Texas by Mister-E Chris Eason

(c) Chris Eason

Austin, here we come!

Yes, the Kidlitosphere is descending on the capital of Texas to talk blogging, kids’ books, middle grade books, young adult books, and reading as KidLitCon begins tonight with a meet-and-greet (plus ARC swap), followed by a full day of breakout sessions on Saturday, including keynote by Cynthia Leitich Smith!

Charlotte, Melissa, and I will start the conversation about Blogging Middle Grade Books during the last breakout session. Can’t wait to hear what the bloggers, authors, illustrators, and librarians there to have to say about its challenges and joys.

“On the road again…”

*kmm

Photo of the State Capitol (c) Chris Eason (Mister-E), used under Creative Commons license.