22 posts tagged “links”

We Love You So has been hosting contests surrounding the release of Where The Wild Things Are. The entries have been fabulous, here are the Where the Wild Things Ought To Be entries, and here are the winners & notable mentions of the Fort Contest.

I always make homemade pie crusts when baking pies, and I'm intrigued by this No Roll Pie Crust recipe from Joy the Baker. It looks yummy, and I love how easy it looks to make. I'm going to try it soon when I make my first pumpkin pies of the season.

From MobyLives - How the Hitchhiker's Guide got its name...maybe...

From How About Orange - how to make a gift bow from a magazine page.

This week is the second annual Book Blogger Appreciation Week, and this year is my first time participating in the Interview Swap!

The Interview Swap pairs two book bloggers together so they can interview each other on their blogs, and celebrate Book Blogger Appreciation Week by helping others discover and share new book blogs.

I had a lot of fun discovering fellow book-lover Serena and her blog, Savvy Verse & Wit. Please check out Serena's answers below, and say hello to her on her blog or here in the comments below.

She's posted her inteview with me, and in conjunction is offering a book giveaway this week! Check out her blog to win a copy of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro! 

Serena of "Savvy Verse & Wit"

Tell us about your reading background: when did you develop your passion for reading and how has it grown or changed throughout your life?

I’ve always read.  I think it started with my first books when I was an infant or toddler.  My nana was a big influence in that respect.  She always made sure there were books or National Geographic magazines about her house for me whenever I had an occasion to say I was bored.  Suffice to say, I’ve been devouring books ever since.  It’s probably one of the reasons I love to write—fiction, poetry, articles, etc. 

I started out with poetry books and Shel Silverstein as a kid, and then grew into reading Shakespeare and Jane Austen as a 10 year old.  I started with the older authors and moved to a focus more on contemporary realm.  I’ve always had eclectic tastes when it comes to books, but I have moved away from certain genres, like those bodice-ripping romances.

Savvy Verse & Wit actually was a blog I started after I had been blogging for about a year on another site.  I started it exclusively to talk about writing, poetry, and books, and left the other blog to more personal stuff.

Having a book blog has been enlightening.  I knew that a number of books are published annually, but I really didn’t have a concrete idea of just how many.  When publishers, etc. began asking me to review books I was elated.  But then, I ended up with way more requests that I would have ever expected before I started reviewing my own books and books from the library.

Additionally, since becoming active in the book blogging community, I’ve noticed that bloggers have a strong influence on the books I buy or take out of the library these days.  One recent example is when I read about Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas on Life in the Thumb, I knew I had to read this book for the World War II Reading Challenge.  I have to say that the book was just as spectacular as the review made it seem.

How is reviewing a novel different from reviewing poetry? Do you take a different approach to each?

Reviewing novels and reviewing poetry is much the same thing for me, only because I try to review each piece from my own writing perspective.  It’s really about language for me; in terms of how it is used, structured, and connected to provide readers with a clear picture of the story or poetic theme.

However, reviewing novels takes more time in most cases because the work is lengthier and it has not only characters, plot, scene, etc., but also there are thematic elements that can be addressed.  Poetry is often harder to review for some people because they “don’t get it.”  But I think that the more experience you have with poems, the better you are at understanding the overall feeling or theme of a poem.  Each poem often has a story of its own; there are just fewer words.

I don’t currently have a favorite independent bookstore because the closest ones are in locations I don’t get to very often.  I really loved Olsson’s Books, but they went out of business just at the start of the recession.  I loved their recommendations from the staff, the friendly atmosphere, the chairs all over the store that you could sit in for a lunch break and read.  Their rewards program was fantastic.

I’m not an e-book fan.  As someone who loves the feel of books in her hand, it’s hard to think of that personal library dream involving e-books on a reader or computer.  But in addition to that, I work all day on a computer, and honestly prefer not to read that way.  I spend more than 40 hours of my week on a computer for work, when I want to relax, I want to curly up with my book on the couch.

Having said that, I do see the benefit of an e-reader on plane trips.   It would open up a lot more suitcase space for me to purchase souvenirs and fit in more clothes.

Five favorite authors?  Are you serious?!  Ok, I will do my best!

1. Anita Shreve
2. Amy Tan
3. Christopher Rice
4. Christopher Moore
5. Tim OBrien

Anita Shreve does excellent work with multiple POVs, while Amy Tan has her fingers on the pulse of mother-daughter relationships.  Christopher Moore’s humor is dark, but never fails to make me guffaw.  Tim O’Brien’s cathartic work involving the Vietnam War and its aftermath for soldiers is untouchable.  Christopher Rice weaves haunting tales and incorporates gay and lesbians into his work with ease.

Ok, I can’t just name five.  Sorry.  I’ll give you my top 8.

1. Emily Dickinson
2. Robert Frost
3. William Blake
4. Yusef Komunyakaa
5. Arlene Ang
6. Ted Kooser
7. Kay Ryan
8. Billy Collins

What do I like about each of them?  We could be here all day with this question, but I’ll give some insight on why I like some of those on my list.  For instance, I enjoy Blake because even though he is considered a Romantic Poet, much of his poetry has a darker undertone.  Kay Ryan, on the other hand, often has lighter and very short poems; I enjoy the economy of her words and how there is almost always a larger theme at play among those few lines.  Arlene Ang has some great experimental poetry, which just wows me with its creativity.

I haven’t been on Twitter very long, but I generally only tweet 5 days a week in the morning.  And usually those tweets have to do with posts on the blog, giveaways I’ve seen on my blog and others, or articles about books, authors, etc. I’ve written for Examiner.com or seen elsewhere on the Internet.

(You can follow Serena on Twitter here.)

Big thanks to Serena for her great answers! Don't miss her interview with me and giveaway, and check out the BBAW homepage for links to other interview pairs in the book blogging community!

Here's a site with many fun desktop wallpapers to download, and includes very large sizes for those of us with large  screen resolutions. (found via How About Orange)

A hilarious McSweeney's feature that imagines a literary critic reviewing a resume.

Many of you have probably seen the Domino's commercial that claims people prefer Domino's sandwiches to Subway's 2 to 1. It didn't come as too big of a shocker to me then that Domino's sandwiches all include more calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium than comparable Subway sandwiches. Amazon's Al Dente blog breaks down the nutrition information from each restaurant.

I just found out that one of my favorite kid lit bloggers, Fuse #8, is originally from my hometown - Kalamazoo! She recently went back to tour the main branch of the Kalamazoo Public Library and wrote a great post that features the library and includes lots of pictures. This is the library system that I grew up with - I was a frequent user of the library during my childhood, and when I was in late elementary school my mom got a job at one of the branches. Then I spent even more time there, and volunteered there constantly - shelving books and helping with the children's programs. When I was in high school my mom got promoted and moved to the Main branch (the one pictured) and I got a job at the Oshtemo branch. I still love visiting my mom there every time I'm home, and I loved looking at these great photos and great comments by Fuse #8.

Very funny XKCD comic about Windows 7.

As I went through my Google Reader starred items I found even more wonderful desktop wallpaper that was featured on How About Orange.

Awesome website - Beard Revue - about all things Beard related. (found via I Like)

More gorgeous editions of classic literature that seem to only be available in Europe. (found via Kimbooktu)
 

Video of a very sweet, and very funny, Mario Kart love song.

How to make homemade marshmallows.

The best book covers of the year, according to The Book Design Review Blog.

Extremely awesome Infinity Book Case.

Fine Taco Photography. (Thanks Ryan!)

Absolutely gorgeous new  penguin classics. They are totally worth drooling over online - unfortunately they are only available in the UK. So unless you want to pay the exhange rates and overseas shipping, we'll have to just be jealous and hope they release them here.

Beautiful 2009 calendar - I've already pre-ordered mine. :)

Photos of gorgeous bookstores from all over the world. (Found on Books on the Nightstand.)

Funny McSweeney's article that imagines a university library getting the attention it deserves.

Interested in reading a blog that was written 70 years ago? The Orwell Prize has created a site that is reposting all of George Orwell's diaries as a blog. The entries were written between August 1938 to October 1942, and will be reposted on the blog on the same days of the month that he wrote each entry. I think this is idea is so much fun! Big thanks to my Rory's Book Club friend Carma for sharing the link.

Amanda, from the blog Life and Times of a "New" New Yorker that I recently discovered, wrote a fun post that continues the theme of buying books you already own. I'll let you click through to find out what novel she likes to collect. :)

NY Mag's Vulture blog posted a funny list today of Ten Other Entertainment Events That Should Happen Once Every Four Years.

I'm pining for this set of four Gothic Dessert Plates. (found on MightyGoods)

My favorite design blog, Design*Sponge, has a great recurring feature called "sneak peeks" that consist of many photos of designer's or artist's homes. I almost always like the home featured, but today's I positively adore. I'd move in right now if I could. The house itself is amazing and the decor is exceedingly charming.

Used booksellers share the funny, interesting, and odd things they've found in books. (found on Kimbooktu)

Beautiful and whimsy decorating project on Design*Sponge: using your computer to create printable wallpaper with camo-photos hidden within the design. I wish I had a staircase (besides the four flights of stairs up to our walk up).

Way too expensive, but still fun: Pimp My Billy (IKEA bookcase novelty shelf). (found on Kimbooktu)

Fun human calendar. (thanks Ryan!)

If you click on only one link, I recommend this one: Extremely fun art project alert: a blogger creates real life photographs from pictures kids have drawn. (found on How About Orange)

....and in case you missed this, Stephen Colbert's dance off with Rain.

An amusing web page that shows many examples of a single painting being used on a variety of different book covers. (Thanks Ryan!)

On McSweeney's, Ernest Hemingway blogs about the top teams in college basketball.

From the NY Times blog Paper Cuts: the Seven Deadly Words of Book Reviewing. Funny because it's true. I struggle when writing about books I've read, and I fear that I sound like the examples given on this post far too often.

A great bookcase/book storage roundup on Design*Sponge.

Gorgeous new editions of children's classic novels, from Puffin UK. (Via the Book Design Review Blog)

A church that was remodeled into a gorgeous bookshop seemingly "made in heaven." (Thanks again Ryan!)

A librarian's visit to DOK, an amazing library concept center in Holland. (Thanks Elisa!)

Yesterday at Barnes and Noble I got curious about what newsstands do with magazines that don't sell. I was pretty sure that they don't pay for copies that don't sell, but I didn't know how the process worked. I googled it, and found an informative post that's quite interesting. The ultimate lesson? Subscribe to your favorite magazines if you want them to survive.

Easy DIY gift tags (inspired by the great Ed Emberley)

Very fun "Book" parking garage at the Kansas City Public Library. More pictures of the gorgeous new library in Kansas City. 

A blog I found recently and love: 3191. Two people on opposites sides of the country take a photo each morning. They don't talk about what photo they are taking in advance. They put them together and post them. Such a simple idea, but the result is gorgeous. The photos often compliment each other naturally, even though they are unplanned. This post is one of my favorites, and puts me in a very merry holiday mood.

Mental Floss has a very fun list of their 10 favorite Facebook groups. The groups they found are pretty hilarious.

Fun quiz that determines what your design style is. I like the way the quiz is designed; the visual element is neat (and relevant).

My favorite link of the day is a blog post by Stuart McLean of CBC's radio show Vinyl Cafe. It's an (at first glance) ambitious declaration of the end of his book purchasing days. He has too many books, and most are packed up in boxes in his basement and impossible to access quickly. He declares that he will never buy a book again, only to  discover many necessary loopholes. It's alarming how much I can relate to his goal and his exceptions.

My favorite part of the post:

And I am allowed to buy books if it is a book that more than one person says I should read...like say five people mention it. Okay, maybe five is a lot. Make it three people. Three people and they don’t necessarily have to tell me to read the book, but if they mention it in some way, even if they aren’t speaking to me. Like if I overhear them talking about the book at a dinner party. Or say, see them reading the book on an airplane.

The Birthday Star finder is interesting - you enter in your date of birth and it finds your "birthday star" - a star whose light "set off on its journey at about the same time that you were born." My birthday star is in the constellation Bootes. (found on Neatorama)

Very awesome "House of Books" - click through the slideshow to see all the pictures.
(found on Outside of a Dog)

Krueger Books has a large internet index of author autographs. Quite amusing to click on all your favorite authors and see their signatures.  (found on  Amazon's blog)

And finally, a great review of one of my favorite book series that I read while growing up - Anastasia Krupnik - on Bookshelves of Doom.