Blogger Spotlight Archives - Introverted Reader

Book Blogger Appreciation Week: Community

Today kicks off Book Blogger Appreciation Week, a week all about celebrating the wonderful online community we have created! Book bloggers will be posting about daily topics throughout the week. I don't know how many I'll get to, but I'll try my best. Monday's prompt is: "Today you are encouraged to highlight a couple of bloggers that have made book blogging a unique experience for you." Well, whenever this kind of topic comes up, I have to mention Misty at Book Rat. We were friends on GoodReads first, and when she started linking to her blog, I faithfully followed her over. It wasn't long before I decided that I wanted to try that for myself. And here I am, almost two years later! Misty is always funny and encouraging, and she hosts amazing events like Jane in June and Helluva Halloween. She always has something new and exciting going on over at her blog! Jess at Tangled Up in Blue is also another GoodReads friend. She stays busy and doesn't get to spend much time in the book blog community, but she comments on my blog and on my reviews on GoodReads pretty frequently for all that. I pick up some great recommendations from her, as well as encouragement. (She commented that East of Eden is one of her favorite books when she noticed that I started it recently. I've gone into it with an open mind and enjoyed it more than I probably would have if she hadn't said anything at all.) I host my own meme, Character Connection. It requires quite a bit of time and I'm not a great self-promoter, so it's not very widely known. Suey at It's All About Books and Enbrethiliel at Shredded Cheddar keep encouraging me to continue! They don't even know they're…

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September 12, 2011

Blogger Spotlight

Interview with Nancy from Amusing Reviews: Book Blogger Appreciation Week

Today for Book Blogger Appreciation Week, I have the pleasure of interviewing Nancy from Amusing Reviews! I started blogging 2008 because it involved one of my favorite things to do; writing about myself and my perception of life around me. Somehow, seeing my work on the computer validates me. In my little reality, I trick myself into thinking someone agrees with me. Because I'm that stupid. Earlier this year, I decided to combine another of my favorite pastimes, reading, and started blogging about books. I discovered that there are two kinds of people; readers and non-readers. Non-readers just don't get us. Not only that, non-readers can't stand to NOT irritate the crap out of us readers. They feel the need to engage us in conversation. With the understanding that the non-readers believe us to be freaks of nature, I gave my regular site a sister, and Amusing Reviews was born. What I didn't understand is that there is an amazing community of book bloggers which validates me further and I have had a blast entering this new world, getting to know some amazing authors who have as warped sense of humor as I do and have turned into dear friends. My niche is not the kind of books I choose but my explanation of books. I add a lot of myself to my reviews, have no problem giving warnings of inappropriate content (particularly Young Adult fiction), and, I'll be honest here, I think I am hilarious. I am validated in this opinion every time I read one of my posts and laugh at myself. Lest you think I'm completely crazy, let me assure you that I have diagnosed my disorders many times. I have a master's degree in psychology and work as a high school counselor for a local school…

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September 14, 2010

Blogger Spotlight

The First Book Blog I Discovered: Book Blogger Appreciation Week

Today is the kickoff of Book Blogger Appreciation Week! This year's theme is A Treasure Chest of Infinite Blogs and Infinite Treasure. Today's blogging prompt: Monday—First Treasure We invite you to share with us about a great new book blog you’ve discovered since BBAW last year! If you are new to BBAW or book blogging, share with us the very first book blog you discovered. Tell us why this blog rocks your socks off and why you keep going back for more. This is an easy one. It's all Misty's fault at Book Rat that I'm out here blogging for all the world to see. We were friends first on GoodReads, and when she started posting links in her reviews to bonus material on her blog, I clicked through and was instantly hooked. I'll tell you about my blogging experience tomorrow. Let me tell you about Misty. She is freaking hilarious! I just love reading her reviews. She can easily make me laugh when she wants to, but she always has intelligent insights into what she's reviewing. Humor and intelligence? What a winning combination! If she doesn't like a book, she says so very clearly, but she's also very specific. When she loves a book, I immediately add it to my to-read list. She's also very kind and supportive to new bloggers and I see her commenting all over the place, both in the blogosphere and on GoodReads. Misty has great ideas for events and original content on her blog. I loved her Jane in June event, and I know many, many other Austenites did too. That was the first event I participated in. She did Helluva Halloween last year and is planning to do it again this year. She hosted Back to School Week recently, and shared her favorite…

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September 13, 2010

Blogger Spotlight

Interview with Charlotte’s Library: Armchair BEA

As part of the ongoing Armchair BEA festivites, I had the pleasure of interviewing Charlotte's Library. I love the answers she gave to my questions, so please read on, even if your reading taste isn't similar! Can you please tell my readers a little about your blog? My blog is somewhat specialized--I generally review science fiction and fantasy (sff) for children and teenagers, with a smattering of other children's books. About three times a month I publish lists, with blurbs, of the new sff releases for kids and teens. Every Sunday I do a roundup of middle-grade sff reviews and news from around the blogging world, and on Tuesdays I try to review time travel stories. I saw your TimeSlip Tuesday feature and it sounds interesting. Which book(s) got you interested in time travel? I've loved time travel stories for as long as I can remember. Some of my favorites from when I was young are The Story of the Amulet by E. Nesbit, The Ghosts by Antonia Barber, and Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer. Have you ever been or do you think you'll ever go to BEA? I've never been to BEA, and I'd like to go someday. I did get to go to ALA Midwinter last January,and found it tremendously exciting to rush from booth to booth seeing what ARCs were on offer. That was a much smaller affair, of course, than BEA, which might be too much for me, what with meeting authors and all. I would probably end up hiding in a corner, surrounded by more ARCs than I could carry....But I would like to go next year! I would have gone this year, but my husband got his way paid to go to Ireland to play music at a prestigious event. That was a once-in-a-lifetime…

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May 26, 2010

Blogger Spotlight

Thanks to All of You!

Alyssa from Teens Read and Write wrote a very positive post yesterday and asked us to share stories about other bloggers who have helped us or just made our days a little brighter. As I sat there thinking about who to write about, I realized there were too many to list in someone else's comments. So here goes. First of all, thanks to Alyssa! The comments on her post show that we were in need of a virtual group hug! I have been friends on GoodReads with Misty at Book Rat for what feels like forever. I haven't advertised my blog on GoodReads at all, other than posting a link on my profile page, but Misty found me and was one of my earliest followers and gave me a great big welcome to the blogosphere! She's one of my most regular commenters, and her posts and reviews are thoughtful but usually funny in a way that is all Misty's own. She also jumped in on my Character Connection meme right away and joins in as she has time. Thanks for everything, Misty! I recently emailed Jennifer at Crazy-For-Books and asked her where she found her nice, neat GoodReads and email buttons. She promptly emailed me back, told me what search terms she used and then told me I could just use hers if I wanted to. Thanks! Jan at Eating Y.A. Books emailed me just this morning to let me know that my commenting system wasn't working. She could have just moved on and gotten on with her day, but she took the time to let me know something needed to be fixed. Thanks! Misty also tweeted me about the problem. Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea, Jenn at Book Crazy, and Marce at Tea Time With Marce were some…

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April 27, 2010

Blogger Spotlight

I Won a Blog Button!

The fabulous Parajunkee of Parajunkee Design recently held a contest for a blog button. I was lucky enough to win! Yay! She asked what I would like and I rambled on about baby blue, fantasy, fairy tales, historical fiction, how much I love the design she did for Tina's Book Reviews, how much I love the mountains where I live, and then just generally threw it in her lap. Look what she came up with! I love it! It's like she more than read my mind, because I would never have thought of something this perfect. If you want to jazz up your blog design, go check her out. I definitely recommend her work! If you'd like to grab my button for your blog, you can find the code in my right sidebar. What do you think?

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January 21, 2010