Events » Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

Book Bloggers Holiday Card Exchange 2011

Posted by Anastasia on November 2, 2011 32 Responses »

Nov 022011

It’s that time of the year! I’m hosting the Book Bloggers Holiday Card Exchange once more (see the 2010 post here) and I’m hoping this year will go much more smoothly. Last year was fun but it took me forever to come up with partners; this year I’ve simplified things so hopefully I won’t have people getting more cards than they send out again.

Info

1. Sign up for the exchange by November 30, 2011.
2. Partners go out December 3, 2011.
3. You have until December 13, 2011 to send your card(s).
4. Since it’s a book-lovers card exchange you have to include something book-related in your card. Some ideas:

5. Since this is a book blogger holiday card exchange, you need to be a blogger who blogs at least sometimes about books to participate.
6. The swap is open internationally. Since last year I got a big headache trying to pair up people who did/did not want to send internationally, this year everyone must be willing to send internationally. Okay? Okay.
7. You can exchange up to five cards. You won’t always get a card from the same people you send your cards to. It will nevertheless be an awesome thing.

Some Things to Remember

1. You HAVE to send a card. A card is something like this. You can make it yourself or buy it at the store. Everything you write must be contained in the card itself. Letters are not cards. The card doesn’t have to be book-themed OR holiday themed (but it might be nice if it was). I would personally refrain from sending specifically religious-themed cards, because that sort of thing tends to offend people, even if you didn’t mean to offend them.
2. You HAVE to write something book-related in your card (see above). You can’t just say “happy holidays.” You COULD just write a list of books and that’s all, but I don’t think that’d be a lot of fun, do you?
3. You DON’T have to send anything else but the card, but if you want to stick in something else that’d be fine. A bookmark, for instance, would be really nice. Whatever you send: it has to be flat enough to fit in the envelope– no upgrading into package territory, here.
4. The most you should spend is $5. The point of the exchange is that it’s cheap enough for us money-less people to participate in, so everything should cost $5 and under. I don’t know if you can even buy a card that costs more than $5. Can you?

Quickie Privacy Policy

I’m doing this by myself, so I’m the only one who will see ALL the information. You partner(s) will be the only ones besides me who will see your address/email/etc. After the exchange is over all the info will be deleted.

Questions/Comments

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment here or email me about them! I’m sure I’ve forgotten something.

Also, please do spread around the link for this post! Feel free to take the graphic at the top of the post (if you click it there’s a bigger version) and post it on your blog, etc. The more people know about the BBHCE the more fun it’ll be!

Sign Up

Fill out the form below to sign up for the exchange! You’ll notice the form is way less complicated than last year.

SIGN-UPS ARE NOW CLOSED! Partners will go out December 3rd. Hopefully.

Oh, and the Twitter hashtag is #bkcardex. Much easier to remember!

Edit 11/12/2011: Changed the banner to something less directly related to Christmas (thanks for the tip, Broche!). If you still want to use the Santa banner, it’s available here.

Fall 2011 Readathon: Wrapping Up

Posted by Anastasia on October 24, 2011 10 Responses »

Oct 242011

I accomplished nearly all my goals for the readathon! I only fell short in hours spent participating and doing mini-challenges. I read a really good amount of books, though, and I’m especially proud of myself for keeping really good track of how long I read. You can see my totals, plus books read/food eaten/etc., at my main readathon post.

I felt really awesome reading so many books in one day! I don’t think I could do it every week, but I’m thinking I may try to do a readathon of my own one Saturday a month. It’ll help to cut down on my TBR pile, even if I read only one or two books instead of six, and I think it’s good to dedicate a whole day to reading, if you can.

End of Event Meme

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
Probably hour 21. I needed to stay up to support the next cohost, but I could barely keep my eyes open. I ended up watching Youtube videos the whole time, haha! Continue reading »

Fall 2011 Readathon: The Post

Posted by Anastasia on October 22, 2011 22 Responses »

Oct 222011

This is my sixth readathon, so while I have many tips for newbie ‘thonners, I’ve also already said them all in previous posts. So go read them!

About this post: I will be posting ONCE during the ‘thon. This is that post. I will be updating this one post throughout the day. After the ‘thon I will be doing a wrap-up post (maybe). Probably this will show up on Monday. Maybe.

Goals for this readathon: make it until at least 3am (the end of my hosting shift), read at least three books, comment on at least 10 blogs, and do at least two challenges (not including the memes). The last time I read for the ‘thon I managed to meet all my goals, so surely I should be able to do it again! Right?

To all cheerleaders stopping by: Thank you so much for visiting and cheering me on! I ♥ you muchly.
To my fellow ‘thonners: Good luck! And don’t forget to say “hello” if you want to and/or can spare the time!

You can also find me on Twitter for more up-to-the-minute updates!

Note: all times are MST.
Last updated: 1:17am .

I can’t concentrate on reading any longer, so I’m going to bed soon! Thanks to everyone who visited me today!
Continue reading »

The October 2011 readathon!

Posted by Anastasia on October 20, 2011 15 Responses »

Oct 202011

…is in one-and-a-bit-more days! I’m cohosting again this year, and it’s just as nerve-wracking as it was the first time. I’ll be “on duty” relatively late in the game, which means I have the morning hours to do other stuff. Other stuff like…read a few books, maybe?

I wasn’t actually going to, you know, read during the readathon, but now I’ve changed my mind. I miss doing the reading part– it’s been a year since I did it last– so I’m going to make an effort to participate in the whole thing, not just the cohosting bit.

I may even try to get up nearer to the starting time. Woah now!

Okay, so, I need a pile of books, right? My pile of books (in list format, because I’m lazy):

Magic Knight Rayearth omnibus. This is three books in one, I think?
Attack of the Green Goo. I have no idea what this is about, but I bought it (why?), so I should read it.
The Boneshaker. Because I’ve been wanting to read it for almost two years now, I think.
Whatever that one book is that I requested for review on Netgalley but have forgotten to read for about a month or possibly more. Whoops.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated the thing (not its actual title), even though I’ve been saving it for when I feel blue. I should just read it now, right?
Miranda’s Big Mistake. Chick lit or whatever, yay!

Eight books! And several of them are either short or graphic novels, so I think I have a real chance to read at least four of them (especially if I wake up earlier than I normally do).

Are you participating in the readathon this time around?

Classics Circuit: The Devil’s Elixir by ETA Hoffmann

Posted by Anastasia on October 17, 2011 13 Responses »

Oct 172011

Okay, so, I totally MEANT to have finished volume 1 of The Devil’s Elixir by today, but…then I got distracted by some reality shows and cat videos and stuff. So instead I’m just going to talk about the first 70% of volume 1 of The Devil’s Elixir.

Initial impression of volume 1 of The Devil’s Elixir:
1. Why are all these gothic novels so long ~~and boring~~?¹
2. I don’t know nearly enough about monks and Catholicism and so on as I probably need to in order to understand this book.
3. Lucky thing I have this dictionary in my Kindle, then.
4. This kind of reminds me of The Club Dumas.

Let me explain number four: The Club Dumas is two things. It is a) one of my favorite books ever, and b) a story about Satan and insane people who want to meet him/get power from him/etc.² The Devil’s Elixir, meanwhile, is about various people who are lured into drinking the Devil’s, uh…elixir, which makes them powerful and also insane. Or they’re already insane, and the elixir is just some old wine that acts like a placebo to make them THINK they’re more powerful.

Oh, and then they all try to kill each other.

Basically this is what happens in TCD, except instead of old wine/elixir they’re lured into reading a book and then doing a devil-y ceremony. Continue reading »

2011 BBAW Daily Topic #5: Blogging

Posted by Anastasia on September 16, 2011 22 Responses »

Sep 162011

Today’s post is about blogging:

The world of blogging is continually changing. Share 3 things you are essential tried and true practices for every blogger and 1-3 new trends or tools you’ve adapted recently or would like to in the future.

I tried to think of things that newbie bloggers both a) might not already know and b) might not have already been told. It was really hard! I’ve come up with five things, though, that I think are useful to know and haven’t been said too many times before. Unfortunately they don’t really fit with the prompt above, but, well. We can’t have everything.

1. DO go to as many book events as you can and/or that you’re interested in. I know some of you live in places that don’t have a lot going on in the way of book events, so, if you can, save up for a big one like BEA or ALA and go to that. Not only will it be awesome, but being around so many book lovers will make you feel like you’ve returned to the mothership.

2. DO be proactive in stuff. If you want a book, an interview, to write a guest post for another blogger, for more people to join in on your meme or event or challenge, or anything that involves people other than yourself getting in on it– be proactive and ask! Through email, preferably (it’s more professional). Politely, of course. And don’t be too upset if you’re turned down. It happens.

3. DO keep track of your books in some way. You probably all do this anyway, but having a catalog of your books (or even just of books you’ve read) will be really helpful later on when you’re wondering how you ended up with three copies of The Story of the Trapp Family Singers.

4. DON’T be afraid to make friends. Book bloggers are, on the whole, very nice people. If you want to be someone’s friend, do what I said in point no. 2: be proactive! Talk to them on Twitter, comment on their blog, be nice to them and soon you’ll no doubt have a new friend. Don’t worry about “cliques” or whatever– there aren’t actually cliques of people wandering around being snobby. Really! (Not that I know of, anyway.)

5. DO ask questions. Even older bloggers have questions about how stuff works, so you newbie bloggers shouldn’t feel bad about asking about things, either. Even if it’s questions that’ve been asked a million times before!

Happy end of BBAW, everyone! I’ve been trying to visit people who’ve commented here, but I’m a bit behind (understatement!). Still, if you’d like me to visit your blog– leave a comment here and I promise I’ll come over for a visit!

If you’d like to read my other BBAW posts, here they are: Day 1 | Day 3 | Day 4

2011 BBAW Daily Topic #4: Readers

Posted by Anastasia on September 15, 2011 28 Responses »

Sep 152011

Today’s topic is about readers:

Book bloggers blog because we love reading. Has book blogging changed the way you read? Have you discovered books you never would have apart from book blogging? How has book blogging affected your book acquisition habits? Have you made new connections with other readers because of book blogging? Choose any one of these topics and share your thoughts today!

It’s actually been kind of interesting how much my reading has changed since I started book blogging. If you look at my reading list from 2008, I read a total of 163 books, most of them graphic novels and YA. If you look at last year’s list, I read 238 books and the genres were all over the place. Also, I’ve started getting a lot more review requests than I did in my first year.

So, basically:
- I read more books total now
- I read a wider range of genres (which is either good or bad, depending on how I feel)
- I read more newer books

The first two points are pretty much fine with me (I do enjoy reading more/different books) but the third one is a bit troubling. I don’t want to read only new books, after all. I’ve been trying to read more stuff published pre-2000 but the newer stuff is overwhelming. Partly that’s because of the review copies, but also it’s because I get wind of so many interesting new books from other bloggers that I want to read, too. I don’t think I’ve ever paid as much attention to what books are coming out when as I do now that I’m a book blogger!

Sort of related to that, I think I’m also more deliberate about what I read now. The library is far away and all my books come from either my buying them or accepting them for review (or winning them in contests!). The books I read now are once I picked out for myself because of deliberate, specific reasons– not just because the cover looked cool. I may not remember the reason once I actually get around to reading the book, but it was there.

I’m assuming the more I blog the more my reading will lean towards newer books, but I don’t see myself reverting to only one or two genres and/or reading fewer books…unless something drastic happens, I guess! (I get a job, maybe? Please let it be so.)

[Sidenote: I'm actually kind of thinking of starting a series next year where I highlight truly forgotten childrens/YA/etc. books. Like, I have a few in my collection now that I'm pretty sure haven't been talked about since they were first published. If I can do it right, I think it might be interesting. What do you think?]