Back At The Hop

It's Friday and that means it's time for the Book Blogger Hop sponsored by Crazy-For-Books. It's a time to talk about books and blogging and to venture out on the internet and visit other blogs. Hop on the link to participate.

I'm back in the Hop groove. Here's this week's question:

Do you ever wish that you had named your blog something different?

Not exactly. The only difference I wanted was to name it just "Reader's Block" instead of "My Reader's Block." But somebody out there had already claimed it. And posted like three times several years ago and then abandoned it. That kind of annoyed me. But I got over it. The idea behind the name was that I am a reader and a writer wanna-be. I wanted to get the flavor of "writer's block" and the fact that I'm reading and reviewing books (putting them on the chopping block so to speak).

Hoppin' Into the Weekend

It's Friday and that means it's time for the Book Blogger Hop sponsored by Crazy-For-Books. It's a time to talk about books and blogging and to venture out on the internet and visit other blogs. Hop on the link to participate.

I'm back in the Hop groove. This week's Hop subject is: Tell us about one of your posts from this week and give us the link so we can read it (review or otherwise).

I'm always up for way to push my vintage mysteries. I've opted for my review of The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katherine Green. This mystery is one of the first full-length mystery novels by a woman--published 9 years before The Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle!

Feeling Jumpy: Book Blogger Hop Feb 4-7

It's Friday and that means it's time for the Book Blogger Hop sponsored by Crazy-For-Books. It's a time to talk about books and blogging and to venture out on the internet and visit other blogs. Hop on the link to participate.

I haven't been out on the Hop for a while, but I'm feeling a bit jumpy this weekend and thought it was time to join in again. This week's Hop question is: What are you reading now and why are you reading it?

At the moment I am reading All Booked Up by Terrie Curran. I am reading it for a variety of Reading Challenges that I've signed up for (A-Z Mystery Author, A-Z Reading Challenge, 100+ Reading Challenge, Outdo Yourself, etc). I am also reading it because it's a mystery and not just any mystery--but an academic mystery (I love those!)--which has been on my TBR shelf for way too long.

Hopping into the Weekend

It's Friday and that means it's time for the Book Blogger Hop hosted by Crazy-For-Books. It's a time to talk about blogging and book topics and to venture out on the internet and visit other blogs. Visit the link to join in.

Last week Jennifer challenged us to find a new blog to followe and to post at least 5 different comments. We were to get to know the blogger and what they post about. This week we were supposed to report on our experience. I went out and found The Book Worshipper. When I read her "about me" I thought how much she sounded like me...she wants to either open a bookshop or be an editor at a publishing company. Both dreams of mine (although my husband said I'd need to be rich to have that bookstore, because I'd never make any money--I wouldn't want to let any of those books go...). I enjoyed her posts on the deteriorating abilities of the younger generation to produce complete sentences (blaming it on texting) and whether parents should censor their children's reading. Hers is a fairly new blog...but I expect good things to come in the future!

Also this week, we are asked: If you find a book that looks interesting but is part of a series, do you always start with the first title?

My answer: If at all possible. Sometimes (for reasons mysterious to me) the library will start in the middle of a series with no apparent hope of picking up the previous books. I'll look around and see if I can find the other titles. If I can't get them easily, then I'll go ahead and read the interesting-looking one. I've had mixed results with that. Sometimes, it doesn't matter...the author gives you enough background (without boring regular readers to death) that I can step right in. Other times, I'm just lost.

Book Blogger Hop

Since it's (almost) Friday again that mean's it's time for the Book Blogger Hop hosted by Crazy-For-Books. It's a time to talk about blogging and book topics and to venture out on the internet and visit other blogs. Visit the link to join in.

This week's question: What are your feelings on losing followers? Have you ever stopped following a blog?

As far as losing followers goes, of course I'd rather not lose anyone. I'd like all of my followers to be interested in what I'm doing and stick around and comment. Realistically, I know how hard it is to keep up with all the blogs I follow and it may be that a follower finds that s/he just can't keep coming back and might as well stop following or maybe I'm just not doing the kind of reviews and posts that they expected when they started. And...I tell myself that I didn't start blogging for followers. I started my blog as a kind of reading journal for me. I'm keeping much better track of my reading--not by the numbers or lists, I've always done that, but in writing up my reviews I keep track of my thoughts. That's important to me. If it happens to be important to other people who want to follow me, then that's a delightful bonus.

For part two of the question: Yes, I've stopped following a few here and there. So far I've only dropped blogs where the blogger has stopped posting altogether or who disappears for long (unannounced) periods of time. I'm due for a clean-up, though. I know I have some that I just don't follow like I should and I ought to clear out. It's not fair to the blog owner if I'm not going to be involved.

Which leads to the last part of this week's hop...Jennifer has a challenge for us. She says: "This challenge will take some dedication on your part this week. I want you to find ONE blog in the Hop list that you genuinely WANT to follow (try to find a new blog, if you can!) and make at least 5 comments on their blog this week on 5 different posts. Get to know this blogger and what they post about. Next week, as part of your Hop post, I want you to post about your experience with this challenge. Just tell us what you thought of the challenge, who you found to follow and link to the posts that you commented on I hope you will participate and help us all to build our community! Let's dig a little deeper and get to know each other! Remember, the point is to be genuine! Not to follow for the sake of following! Because, if you are genuine, you are much more likely to get people to follow you back. Trust me on this."

Friday Blog Hops

Hosted by Java at Never Growing Old

From Java's blog:

Are you a blogger over 40? Yeah, welcome to the club!

Please join in the fun and get to know your fellow bloggers!!

And since it's Friday again that mean's it's time for the Book Blogger Hop hosted by Crazy-For-Books. It's a time to talk about blogging and book topics and to venture out on the internet and visit other blogs. Visit the link to join in.

This week's question: What is the one bookish thing you would love to have, no matter what the cost?

Oh, that's an easy one. My own personal library--I would love to build on to the back of our house and have the library extend all along the back. Floor-to-ceiling bookcases with one of those lovely rolling ladders to reach to the top shelves, bookcases all in cherry, at least one deep window seat with plenty of cushions (not because th view is all that great, but just because I've always wanted a window seat to curl up and read in), and plenty of comfy chairs when I get tired of the window seat.

Hip Hoppin'

Friday's here and that means it's time for the Book Blogger Hop hosted by Crazy-For-Books. It's a time to talk about blogging topics and to venture out on the internet and vist other blogs. Visit the link to join in.

This week's question: What's your favorite beverage while reading or blogging, if any? Is it tea, coffee, water, a glass of wine, or something else?

It depends on time of day and what the temperature is like. During the day/warm weather: water or diet 7-Up or lemonade. At night/cold weather: hot chocolate or hot tea.

Hop, Hop, Hop

Wow, it's Friday already, so that means that it's time for the Book Blogger Hop hosted by Crazy-For-Books. It's a time to talk about blogging topics and to venture out on the internet and visit other blogs. Visit the link to join in.


This week's question: How do you spread the word about your blog? (e.g . Social networking sites, book blog directories, comments on other blogs...)

Well, maybe I don't quite have the hang of this blogging thing yet, but I don't really "spread the word." At least not intentionally. I'm in this for fun and to meet great people (which I have, everywhere I've gone in blogger-land so far). I guess you could say I advertise by participating in memes, trying to offer thoughtful comments on others' posts, blog hops, signing up for challenges, read-a-long & contests and offering give-aways of my own. If folks stop by my blog and find that I'm doing good and interesting things with the books I read and decide to keep coming back, then that's wonderful! But I don't think I'm going to start signing up on blog-networking sites or book blog directories just to try and reel people in.

Hippity Hop to the Used Book Shop

...Or anywhere that has books. We're looking at Friday, so that means that it's time for the Book Blogger Hop hosted by Crazy-For-Books. It's a time to talk about blogging topics and to venture out on the internet and visit other blogs. Visit the link to join in.


This week's question: When you write reviews, do you write them as you are reading or wait until you have read the entire book?

Most of the time I wait until I've finished the book. I let my thoughts simmer a while and thenput them together in what I hope is a coherent fashion. One in a while a brilliant (at least to me) thought occurs while I'm reading and I may jot that down to include in the final review. But that's fairly rare.

How about you? How do you do your reviews?

Hop to It!

Time once again for the Friday Book Blogger Hop (although it's not quite Friday where I'm at...). The Hop is hosted by Crazy for Books and this week bloggers are asked to link up their favorite review so fellowhoppers can stop by and check 'em out. Click on the link and set yourself up for some blog-hoppin' fun!

I had a hard time choosing this week. I wasn't sure if I should go for my review of Damnation Alley or Robert F. Kennedy: A Memoir. I finally decided on the Roger Zelazny science fiction classic, but you can check them both out from here.

Friday's Hoppin'!

Time for the Friday Hop, hosted by Crazy for Books. This week over at the Book Blogger Hop, a bookish meme designed to get book bloggers out on the 'net and checking out other blogs, Sarah wants to know:





Do you judge a book by its cover?

Sometimes. If I'm just browsing at the bookstore or the library (without my list of "must finds"), I'll let covers influence me. But--if the title has really grabbed me before the cover turned me off--I'll start reading the back of the book and inside blurbs to see if they sway me one way of the other. If I'm still not sure, I scan the first page or so. If I'm still not sure or the cover reaction gets confirmed, then it stays on the shelf. It's rare that I'll let a cover turn me off of a book that's been on my TBR/"mustfind" lists.

56 Hops

It's Friday so it's time for The Hop and The Friday 56.



Over at the Book Blogger Hop, a bookish meme designed to get book bloggers out on the 'net checking out other blogs and hosted by Crazy For Books, Jennifer is asking us: Do you use a rating system for your reviews and if so, what is it and why?

Well...my system is pretty simple 1-5 stars--based on the system from Visual Bookshelf where I first started rating books. One star means the book was just plain, stinking awful. If I finished it, I'm not sure why and there's a good chance that I didn't. If I bought it, it's leaving the house. If it was borrowed, it's going back where it came from asap. Two stars means it wasn't horrible, but it could have been better. There are a few redeeming qualities--maybe I like the characters or the plot but it doesn't all come together. Three stars: this was a decent outing. Enjoyable read, no real complaints--but nothing really knocked my socks off. Four stars: over-all pretty outstanding. Lots to like from characters to plot to style to setting.... A book I'd probably re-read (if there weren't so many on my TBR list already) and would recommend to others. Five stars: A must have, must read, must recommend book. Absolutely knocked my socks off on all counts. Even though I really don't have time to re-read books, I will re-read this one (probably more than once). I may bore my friends to death talking about how great this book is and will recommend it to everyone whether it's their kind of book or not. A book to obsess over.



And now on to the Friday 56 (a bookish meme hosted by Storytime with Tonya)....

*Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find the fifth sentence.
*Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (fi you do not have your own blog) in the comments section below.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog and Storytime with Tonya.
*Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Here's mine from my current read, Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth:

"We kept matzohs in our lockers. Not really, of course, but if we wanted to we could, and we weren't ashamed to say that we actually did!"

Blog Hoppin' Friday

It's Friday and time for the Hop. The Book Bloggers hop is sponsored by Crazy for Books and is intended to get you out there on the interwebs and checkin' out new blogs. To participate, just click on the link and jump right in!

This week's question from the Hop: How many blogs do you follow?

According to Blogger I follow 68 blogs (and the number is continually growing). Most are reading/book blogs and I follow some more religiously than others. Of the non-reading blogs, the best are Sleep Talkin' Man (absolutely hysterical), daily paxil (although, you really should keep it updated a little better, Richard) and Content in a Cottage (who has some book-related posts once in while--I lust after some of the bookshelves she's posted).

How many do you follow?

If you stop by on the Hop, leave a comment so I can return the favor!

iHop, uHop, We All Hop on Friday

It's Friday, so that means it's time for the Book Blogger Hop hosted by Crazy for Books. If you'd like to participate, stop by the main page and leave your info, so folks can visit your blog today. Be sure and check out all the interesting blogs already up for the Hopping.

If you're stopping by on the Hop, please leave a comment below so I can return the favor. Happy Friday & Happy Hopping!

Oh, and this is my 100th post. I'm pretty excited!

Todays' Question: How many books are on your To Be Read shelf?

I don't think I can answer that....Hundreds. Piled in precarious stacks around my room. Sitting on my shelves. Hanging out in the ether (on a Library wish list and in Visual Bookshelf on Facebook). It'd take me quite a while to come up with a real number. And that's time I could spend on actually reading one of the books on the list....

At the Hop

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Crazy-For-Books and is a weekly event designed to connect book bloggers and help you find other blogs you never even knew existed.

This week's question: Do you listen to music when you read? If so, what are your favorite reading tunes?

It varies...most of the time I don't listen to anything. But if I do, I prefer instrumental. Classical or blues/light jazz. If I'm really into a book, it won't matter what's going on around me & I can tune out anything, but I don't deliberately choose music with lyrics to listen to while read.

Hopping into the Weekend

It's time once again for Crazy for Books' weekly Book Blogger Hop. To take part, hop on over to the blog (click on "Crazy for Books"), read the rules, and jump right in. This week's question is: Tell us about the book you are currently reading.

Well, I just started The Green Man by Kingsley Amis. It's one of the books that I'm tackling for the Birth Year Reading Challenge (details can be found over at Hotchpot Cafe). I've read some Amis before, so I'm expecting this one to be good, but I really don't have a feel for it yet.

Here's a synopsis from Amazon: The Green Man is an English country pub run by a typical Kingsley Amis progatonist, a smart, ironical alcoholic philanderer named Maurice Allingham. The pub is haunted by a wicked seventeenth-century scholar and murderer in the Faustian mode named Thomas Underhill. In his truck with the supernatural dark side, Underhill also raised an evil spirit of the forest apparently made of tree parts, known as The Green Man, who rises again when Allingham tries to sort out the skeletons in his closets. Amis in gothic mode is very entertaining, if not very believable...

If you've read this one, I'd love to hear what you thought about it.

At The Hop

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted every week by Crazy For Books. This week's question: Right this instant, what book are you dying to get your hands on (past, present, or future).

I've got two answers:

1. I'm waiting ever-so-impatiently for Amazon to deliver my latest order which contains Dorothy L Sayer's translation of Dante's Inferno (in three separate books: Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise). I've been wanting these books for a looooooong time. They could come any minute now and I wouldn't complain.

2. The last two entries in the Philo Vance Series by S. S. Van Dine (The Garden Murder Case and The Winter Murder Case). Getting my hands on these would be both good and bad. Good because I would finally have and be able to read these; Bad because I would then have finished the series and there would be no more Philo Vances to read.

Let's Go to the Hop

The Book Blogger Hop at Crazy-for-Books is asking us this week to Tell us about some of your favorite authors and why they are your favorites.

It's really hard for someone who loves books and reading as much as I do to narrow it down (I assume Crazy-for-Books doesn't want me to go on for pages and pages)....but I'll try for a top five:

1. Dorothy L Sayers. The most literate mystery writer of all time. I read her books not only because they're classy mysteries (they are) and not only because I have a literary crush on Lord Peter (I do--he could talk piffle to me all day), but also because they are so well-written. Full of literary allusions and quotations and all kinds of interesting tidbits to dig up and examine (or if you're lazy--use the Lord Peter Wimsey Companion to look up). I have re-read her books more times than I could count and I am quite sure that I will read them again. She's also good for theological non-fiction as well. And her The Man Born to Be King is a wonderful play about the life of Christ.

2. David Lodge. Cannot beat this man for academic satire. Best British wit ever.

3. Jane Austen. Wonderful social commentary for her time. The comedy of manners school at its best. I would love her if the only book she had written was Persuasion.

4. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes. Need a mystery lover say anything more? Nancy Drew & Sherlock Holmes are responsible for my on-going mystery addiction. Not that I'm complaining. I can't imagine having never read The Hound of the Baskervilles (my all-time favorite).

5. John Dickson Carr (aka Carter Dickson). No one can beat Carr at the locked-room mystery game. The man was incredibly prolific and to my knowledge never repeated a trick. Who knew there could be so many ways to commit what appears to be the impossible crime? I love almost everything he wrote....if only he'd stayed away from those historical mysteries. They just were not his thing. Everything else? Pure gold.

If you're Hopping by, please leave a comment so I can visit your blog too.