From books, we go to characters! Today is the second day of the Faves of TwentyEleven series hosted by Nomes of inkcrush. :) Characters are my favorite part in a book, and sometimes I think they may even be more important than plot. I believe strong characters can revive an overused or boring plot, so I always pay attention to them. Here are some of the characters that stood out for me in the books I read in 2011. :)
Faves of TwentyEleven: The Books
I remember making my own set of best-of lists for last year, but this year I don’t have that same gimmick, so I’ll ride on other bloggers’ gimmicks instead. Ha. Here’s my first post for the Faves of Twenty Eleven hosted by Nomes of inkcrush! :)
Day One: The Books
30 Book-to-Screen Crossover at Female Network
So I finally watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 earlier. It was, as expected, very emotional, and well, epic. Now I have that urge to reread the last book just to remember how it was, but then maybe I should just reread the entire series, right? Harry Potter wasn’t the one that got me into reading, but it’s definitely one of those good books that will transcend time. So as with everyone else: Thank you, J.K. Rowling.
On another note, my fourth book list came out at Female Network last week, but I wanted until now to post about it because it involves book to movie cross overs in honor of Harry Potter. :)
Click image to go to the list! :)
I’m not much of a movie person, but I like watching movie adaptations of books. I think I have learned the art of not comparing the book to a movie, though. I find that I’m a bit more detached with the movie’s story, though and I like that because I end up enjoying the movie in an entirely different manner. Unless it’s an absolute favorite, of course. :)
Thanks to some Filipino Book Bloggers for their suggestions on this list. Drop by and leave a comment! :)
30 Fantasy and Paranormal Fiction Must Reads at Female Network
Ahoy there! I like using that term because the rains last week made me feel like I was living in an island. I did experience a lot of floods, but not as bad as the one we had 2 years ago. It’s still a hassle, though. Not to mention that our internet connection is wonky ever since the rains hit us, so yeah, I even felt more like an island last weekend. :/
So what’s a girl to do when there’s no internet? Read, of course. I managed to do a lot of reading last Friday night and yesterday. I loved it, because it’s been a while since I was able to lose myself in a pages of a book without getting distracted by the online world. So yeah, there was something good about that.
Then I remembered that I wasn’t able to post that I have a new book list up at Female Network! Eeps. So, in case you’re like me and you happened to end up with a rainy weekend with no Internet, stock up on these 30 fantasy and paranormal reads! Nothing like a little escapism to forget the rainy day worries, yes?
Click the link to go to the list!
This list wasn’t a hard list to write at all, mostly because I’ve read a lot more fantasy than I used to, and because of so many book bloggers who helped directly (by giving suggestions) and indirectly (from their book blogs): Chachic, Janice, The Book Smugglers, Kai, Ariel, Aaron, Jason, Monique and Tricia. :) Book bloggers help make writing about books so much easier — thank you friends!
So, hop on over to the list, talk about what books you have read from the list and share your own suggestions! :)
Armchair BEA 2011: Nurturing and Blogging
So last night and early this morning, I was able to join my first Twitter party, and what do you know, it made me stay an extra hour at work, and it made me wake up earlier the next day to attend the second Twitter party. I would not have done all that if it weren’t for Armchair BEA.
When I started my blog, I was pretty much of a lurker. I used to keep to myself and only read specific blogs and hardly leave comments, because it’s never really been a habit of mine, back even when I had my personal blog. It’s a strange thing, especially since I’ve been blogging for years, and the fact that very talkative in real life. :P
I think I tend to lurk because of two things: I’m not really someone who ask questions, and I kind of suck at keeping in touch with people that I hardly see in real life. I’m trying to work on those two things, and it extends to the book blogging world, too.
I guess for me, that’s how I’d nurture my relationships with other book bloggers. You just can’t take and take and wait and wait for people to come to you. You’d need to be able to reach out, too — you know, reply to comments, visit other people’s blogs, converse in Twitter, join in online events like Armchair BEA. I mean, what can you lose, right? As long as you’re respectful, I don’t think there’d be any problems. :)
And if there are online gatherings, offline, face to face gatherings are the just thing to seal the deal in nurturing relationships. I’ve always enjoyed the Filipino Book Bloggers meet-ups because it’s not often I get to talk to like-minded people. I found that book bloggers are a very nice and friendly bunch, whether online or offline. :)
First Filipino Book Bloggers Meet-Up
Like I said, what’s to lose? Who knows, these blogging friends could be not just that but true friends, people who you can talk to even if it’s not about books (like movies, make-up, and sometimes even english horse tacks, no matter how strange it sounds). :) I know I found some of those because of my blog, and I’m excited to find more. :)
* * *
Now, let’s go to blogging. I won’t ramble too much here now because I rambled above. :P In my almost 10 years (gasp!) of blogging, here are some things I learned and try to live/blog by:
- Be respectful. Respect goes a long, long way. Remember, the blogs you read are run by people, too, and everyone deserves respect.
- Unless you blog for a living, don’t be pressured to blog. Remember why you started your blog for the first time — because it’s fun. If you feel like burning out, take a break.
- Readable fonts. Nice, clean layout. It makes people want to visit your blog more.
- Content is king. Memes are fun, but don’t make a blog just full of memes. When writing reviews, don’t just write raves or rants without saying why you’re raving or ranting. Personally speaking, I like going back to a book blog when it contains good content, and I can rely on the blogger to have a review that I would like to read. Content is what makes people come back to a blog. :)
- But speaking of content: never steal content. Always give credit where it’s due. Always.
- Don’t make it hard for the people to subscribe or comment. Personally, if there are too many word verification thingamajigs, I skip commenting.
- Interact! Don’t lurk! Trust me — it’s fun to de-lurk and say hi to people. :)
- Finally, don’t be afraid to be honest. I admire bloggers who write what they think, even if their opinion is a minority. I think being honest in a review is the best thing a book blogger can give to the community and maybe even to the industry. Honesty with a lot of tact is very valuable in a place where opinions are given in every post. :)
So it’s been a fun week. :) This has definitely refreshed my book blogging mojo. I look forward to visiting and checking out the new blogs that I’m following, as well as interacting with the new-found friends I met from the entire week and yesterday’s Twitter party. I’m proud to be a part of this great community. :) Thanks so much to the organizers of Armchair BEA — you guys are more than awesome! Till the next!