BBAW: Book Meme

Okay. I know I’m a day late for all the activities so I hope the powers that be at BBAW are forgiving. :) 

The Book Blogger Appreciation Week continues with a fabulous reading meme. Here are my answers to the questions:

Do you snack while you read?

No.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

I don’t write notes but I do use highlighters to indicate quotes that I love so that its easier to refer to once I’m done reading.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?

Gawd….No to dog-ears! Bookmarks puhleeeez!

Fiction, non-fiction or both?

Both

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of the chapters, or are you able to put the book down at any time?

Depends on the book.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up straight away?

Nope. Read first, check later.

What are you currently reading?

We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver.

What is the last book you bought?

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?

One book at a time.

Do you have a favourite time of day and/or place to read?

Anytime, preferably in bed or my favourite sofa at home.

Do you prefer series books or standalone books?

Both are ok as long as they are good.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

Neil Gaiman, Stephenie Meyers and Dale Carnegie.

How do you organize your books?

With great difficulty :).

BBAW: Interview Swap with Bookworming in the 21st Century

For the Book Blogger Appreciation Week, I’ve been given the privilege to interview Kristen from Bookworming in the 21^st Century. Kristen’s blog reviews mostly young adult fiction so if you have a thing for YA, then head on over to her site. She’s already on my Google Reader!

I also found out through the interview that both Kristen and I are getting married on the same date! How cool is that! LOL...

Kristen, thanks for taking the first step to initiate the interview. It was truly a pleasure to 'meet' you. I’m so glad we managed to do the interview swap despite the fact that we did it last minute! :) … Plus, good luck on your wedding preparations.

What’s your name?
Kristen

Do you use an alias?
Bookgoil

What’s your blog name?
Bookworming in the 21^st Century

Your blog URL?
http://www.bookworminginthe21stcentury.com/ 

Can you give a quick bio about yourself?
I’m a 24 year old elementary school librarian. I just started that job this year and I really love it. I love reading and especially reading Young Adult books. I’ve worked in a public library and a college library before as well- can you tell I like being surrounded by books? I’m getting married on October 24^th this year to the man I love. He also likes to read- but mainly adult sci-fi and fantasy. (I’m trying to convince him to do some guest reviews on my blog right now.) No pets, but we want a dog eventually.

What’s on your nightstand right now?
Right now, Willow by Julia Hoban and Anastasia’s Secret by Susanne Dunlap are sitting on my nightstand.

When did you start your blog?
I started my blog on June 9^th of this year. So I’ve only been blogging about 3 months now.

What is your favourite genre and/or genres?
I love Young Adult books and really tend to read fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, and historical fiction.

Who is your favourite author?
I have a ton.. but Francesca Lia Block really can’t be beat. I’ve read every single one of her books.

What’s your favourite book of all time?

That’s a tough one. Probably Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens- the ultimate action-adventure book.

What book do you wish you could read all over again for the first time?

The Hunger Games- it was such a stunning read.

Have you ever “Faked It”? As in pretending to have read a book but not? For school possibly?

Definitely.. for school mostly. I never got through Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and I gave up on Into the Wild.

Name & describe your blog features:

Well, I review books first off. I participate in a ton of memes, a few of which I created. What are you reading Mondays, Teaser Tuesdays, Waiting on Wednesday, Link a Contest Thursday (created myself!), Friday Finds, and Saturday and Sunday Spotlights (created by myself as well..).

My Link a Contest Thursday are a great way to find out about contests as well as letting other bloggers give their contest some promotion. It’s also easy to manage because I use Mr. Linky.

I started Saturday and Sunday Spotlights because I LOVE finding new blogs. Especially less known ones. So, I figured I’d start with Saturday Spotlights and then it exploded into a ton of interedted bloggers and I made it a weekend special- Saturday AND Sunday Spotlights.

Describe your review system:

I actually need to revise my review system a bit. I have a 5 rose system, but I rarely get down to 3. Right now, it’s basically running like this:
5 Roses: Loved or enjoyed the book, highly recommended.
4 Roses: Some flaws, but good read.
3 Roses: I didn’t like it, but someone else might.
2 Roses: Not sure how I got through that book- *cough*Skimming*cough*
1 Rose: Gave up. Completely.

How is your blog unique from other blogs?
I am an update-a-holic. I love posting and I love getting the word out there about other things going on in the blogging community- such as contests, cool sites, and more. I try to read and review promptly and I’m always trying to “fix-up” my blog. I like to show my enthusiasm on my blog and hope that shows through on my posts. I’m probably the calmest person around, so I don’t get worked up about much and there’s rarely anything negative written on my blog.

How do you market your blog?
Well, I run a lot of contests and I sue twitter a TON. I also love being interviewed, note yet another interview… I finally created a button that people can use. But, I really think my main marketing strategy is friendliness. I try to get chatting with other bloggers, authors, etc. and so far it seems to have worked. (Note the crazy amount of followers I have…still don’t know where they all came from *swears blogger is broken*)

Can you give us 3 tips about content?

1. Be honest when reviewing, but make sure you add something good in there as well.
2. Proofread- I know, I hate doing it too – but typos are painful to read and will make people less likely to follow you.
3. Make sure you’re saying something meaningful- not just “it was good”.
   

Can you give us 3 tips about blog promotion?

1. If you can, run a contest. It can be for homemade bookmarks or something small if you can’t afford books or types of giveaways.
2. Put yourself out there- find some blog lists like the YA Blogosphere and get yourself listed so people can find your blog.
3. Comment, comment, comment. I know whenever I see a new name, I have to check out who it is. So keep commenting and you’ll find some new blogging friends following you.

Quotations of David Ogilvy

Anyone who is in marketing or advertising would have heard of David Ogilvy. When I first started as a junior ‘suit’ in an international advertising agency about maybe ten years or so ago, a lot of the senior staff recommended us to read books by Ogilvy.

Though long gone, he is still known as the guru in the advertising industry and Ogilvy’s ideals are still relevant in today’s world. He has written books like Ogilvy on Advertising and Confessions of an Advertising Man.

I happened to stumble upon a book on my colleague’s desk called Quotations of David Ogilvy. The book featured quotes by Ogilvy himself compiled from the many notes and books that he has written. This book is not available in the market and is apparently provided as a starter kit for those who have just been employed by Ogilvy & Mather. (I’m wondering why I never got a copy when I was in Ogilvy…)

I of course loaned the book from my colleague to read some of the quotes. The book covers all aspects of advertising from creatives to account management to branding and even other quotes related to leadership and excellence.

The book was easy to read and the quotes pretty insightful and I feel still relevant in today’s working world not just advertising. Here are some of my favourite quotes from the book:

On leadership:

“Do not summon people to your office- it frightens them. Instead go to see them in their offices. This makes you visible throughout the agency. A chairman who never wanders about his agency becomes a hermit, out of touch with his staff’- Principles of Management

On work:

“I believe in the Scottish proverb: “Hard work never killed a man.” Men die of boredom, psychological conflict and disease. They do not die of hard work.”- Principles of Management

On efficiency:

“In the best establishments, promises are often kept, whatever it may cost in agony and overtime” – Confessions of an Advertising Man

By the way, many thanks to Creative Ramblings for loaning me the book.

Note: This book counts as the fourth book read for the Non-Fiction Five Challenge.

Book Review: Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

I have to agree with Chick Loves Lit, after reading the first book Dead until Dark I was completely obsessed and was impatient to read the next one, Living Dead in Dallas. The second instalment finds Sookie in Dallas helping the undead to look for a missing vampire. Her adventures however did not end there as there were two mysteries entwined in the book and she finds herself solving another mystery when she arrives back in Bon Temps.

I absolutely love Living Dead in Dallas. It was a good read, even better than the first book Dead until Dark. I find the two separate mysteries and the relationship between Sookie and the vampire community very entertaining to read. Harris’s introduction of the supernatural is very unique and the pace and suspense surrounding Sookie was addictive and exciting.

Coming soon: my review on Club Dead. (I read all 5 books in a row within two weeks that’s how obsessed I am with Sookie’s adventures!)

Note: Book 2 completed for the Sookie Stackhouse challenge. If you'd like to participate, please visit Beth Fish Reads blog.

BBAW: Thank you book bloggers!

It’s been a while since I participated in activities related to blogging since I’ve been so busy trying to balance the wedding preparations and the crazy hours at work. But this week, I am going to dedicate time for BBAW to pay tribute to other book review bloggers who have inspired me to read more than the norm and have taught me so many new things.

Coincidentally, September marks my one year blogiversary… yes it’s been a year! So I think it’s timely to mention a few of the blogs that I love to read since I started:

J. Kaye’s Book Blog: One of the first book review blogs that I stumbled upon is of course J.Kaye’s Book Blog and I found reading her blog to be inspiring. How anyone can read as many books as she does within a week is beyond me which I just find completely amazing.

All About {n}: Nely is one of the first book review bloggers I made friends with when I first started blogging. Her reading selection is almost similar to mine and we’ve exchanged views and thoughts on books we’ve read. Unfortunately, since I haven’t been active with my blog, I haven’t been able to catch up much with not just Nely but also updates from the rest of the book blogging community. I hope to be more active once the wedding frenzy is over in October.

Hello, My Name is Alice and Betty’s Books: The only other Malaysian book review bloggers that I constantly keep in contact with. Alice provides great book reviews and has an eye for photography. As for Betty, we both share a love for music and she reads all sorts of books and has inspired me to read books that I don’t normally read… yes! I blame you for all my new book purchases! LOL!

Beth Fish Reads: I blame Beth for getting me hooked on Sookie!... :) plus I just love the variety of books that she reads and reviews on her blog.

I have so many more blogs that I follow through Google Reader and I wish I could mention them all. Thanks to the book review bloggers community, I now read books other than those that are featured on the best sellers list which would normally be my selection criteria (I use to play it safe and never read anything else other than general fiction... I was so boring!) Anyways, I look forward to reading more from other book reviewers in the future to expand my reading experience and I’m glad to be part of such a diverse community of readers. Peace!

Book Review: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney

I stumbled upon the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid sometime back at the bookstore and it was so hilarious it left me in stitches. The second book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid Rodrick Rules is equally a good read.

This book mostly features sibling rivalry between Greg and Rodrick, always clashing over little things like house chores etc.

Greg’s frustration with his brother was funny to read but yet it felt realistic. Though there was sibling rivalry there was also a show of brotherly love amongst the three siblings which was quite sweet in a way.

I enjoyed Greg’s antics of playing pranks on friends but the main event that I could relate to was the cover up of Rodrick’s house party while the parents were away.

I love Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It takes me back to when I was about Greg and Rodrick’s age. Though I never played pranks on friends and never had a house party without my parents knowledge (…IT’S THE TRUTH MUM!) I completely related to their experiences.

I love this book and already have the third book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid the Last Straw in my TBR pile.