You’d think a normal person would react to the news that her novel had sold by getting – I don’t know – excited or something. Maybe dancing around the house in Supergirl underwear, or cracking open the bottle of champagne that’s been impatiently waiting to be trotted out for a special occasion.

But no one has ever accused me of being normal.

When I learned my debut novel had sold, I got scared. Really scared.  You see, I’m a former newspaper reporter, and I investigate things obsessively. And very quickly, I learned that books face a steep uphill battle. People don’t read as much these days, I heard over and over again. Tens of thousands of books are published every year, but you only hear about a fraction of them.

I pictured my poor little book – all those words I’d agonized over, bound neatly together with a pretty cover– bravely setting out on a wooden raft into a vast ocean, never to be seen or heard from again. The problem was, I’d loved writing my novel (at least during the times when I wasn’t yanking out my hair or banging my forehead against the keyboard). I wanted to write more books. But what if nobody bought my first one? What if nobody heard about it? My career would end, and so would my childhood dream of becoming a successful author.

Then one day, an email found its way into my in-box. It was from a book blogger. She wanted me to write a guest post about my favorite bookstore. She wanted to tell people about my upcoming book.

“Seriously?” I thought. But … there wasn’t really anything in it for her.  She just loved books so much, she devoted a lot of time and energy and talent to writing about them. In the process, she got people to discover books they might not have otherwise read. She got folks excited about reading.

Then I got a few emails from other book bloggers, all pinging into my inbox like happy confetti. They wanted to know about my upcoming novel. And they all invited me to check out their websites and blogs, and to learn about the books they were discussing. At first I was a little shy, but they were so welcoming: Come join the party, they seemed to cry out, handing me a glass of red wine and exclaiming over my new dress and shoes.

It was like coming out of a snowstorm, into the warmth of a roaring fire.

Since then, I’ve witnessed bloggers prop up countless authors and books, generating buzz and giving writers much-needed encouragement. I’ve read reviews that made me pick up a novel I would’ve otherwise passed by. I’ve laughed aloud at many zippy blogs, and found others lingering in my mind for days as I thought about the issues they raised. Even the less-than-positive reviews I’ve read have been almost universally respectful and thoughtful.

As I’ve learned how much book bloggers are doing for the publishing industry because of nothing but a sheer love of reading and their generous hearts, my respect and gratitude has grown. The grumpy, nasal voices I once heard – people don’t read as much these days – are being drowned out by the enthusiasm and joy of the book blogs that explode onto my computer every time I surf onto the Internet.

I’m not scared anymore. How can I be, when I’ve got so many fabulous book bloggers by my side on this journey?

Thanks for inviting me to the party, everyone.  I’m thrilled to be here.

Sarah has generously offered the following giveaway!  To enter, just leave a comment and tell us about your favorite place to read!

A box of goodies to warm the book lover’s soul—and feet!
Curl up with all the accessories you need for a delicious night of reading: gourmet herbal tea, incredibly cozy socks, and some decadent chocolates. This box of goodies will also include a pretty bookmark and a signed galley of Sarah Pekkanen’s upcoming debut novel, The Opposite of Me, which has already sold in six countries and five languages.

If you loved this comic as much as I do, you can find more along with wonderful book reviews at The Infinite Shelf.  Thanks Kay!

Thanks so much to all the book bloggers out there! As an author, you’ve been awesome with helping get the word out on my books. I really appreciate the time you’ve taken to read and review them, or to host contests for them. As a reader, I want to say thanks because I’ve found so many new authors through book bloggers! Also, the release notifications that many of you do when new books come out has been very appreciated. I tend to be forgetful, even with my favorite authors/series, so the reminders of when books come out has helped me keep up with the latest releases.

Please keep up the amazing work, bloggers!

Jeaniene Frost

Australians write good…well, perhaps not me, but there are many YA authors that prove they can string together words into a meaningful sentence.  Of late, Australians have been permeating the YA awards so much so that some American authors have suggested that the Printz be restricted to Americans.  I would argue that that suggestion is ridiculous; of course Australian should be contenders…we play to win…and we plan on winning more!

Melina Marchetta was the recipient of the Printz Award this year, a worthy winner with the spectacularly vivid and complexly structured Jellicoe Road.  I am anyway but impartial when it comes to The Marchetta (as I’ve enjoyed tagging her) as I have loved her work since she debuted with Looking for Alibrandi way back in 1994.  Alibrandi was the first YA book that I read that really connected with the contemporary Australian experience – I understood Josie Alibrandi, I admired her and wanted to be her.  Reading that book was a revelation and I have been exceedingly lucky to have had similar experiences with Saving Francesca and Jellicoe Road.

But it’s not all about Melina…we’ve got a veritable treasure chest of goodies on offer, some of which are available in your local bookstore.  Simmone Howell, Lili Wilkinson, Julie Gittus, James Roy, Kate Welshman and Sue Lawson are all authors that have grabbed me with their take on contemporary Australian life.  They are unflinchingly honest and unafraid to tackle the depth of pain and the tummy twirling humour that swirl throughout all of our lives.  Australian authors seem to be inordinately good at making the teen experience authentic with rich dialogue, complex characters and real issues – what more can you ask for?

Of late there have been authors that have really stretched my concept of YA and I am better for having read their work.  Michelle Cooper’s A Brief History of Montmaray is a fantastically adventurous novel about a tiny island kingdom facing the cold realities of poverty and World War 2.  It’s an absorbing read that one could compare to Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle and guess what, it released in the US next month.  Another is Into White Silence by Anthony Eaton, a gothic, creepy, vivid depiction of the desperate and horrific nature of a failed Antarctic exploration.  Margo Lanagan’s Tender Morsels is a novel that I haven’t had the pleasure of reading yet but plan to soon.  This year she was awarded a Printz Honour for this title and it has raised considerable controversy for its apparent disturbing content.  Regardless, on some level YA is about pushing boundaries and all content is welcomed, especially this award winning content.

Here in Australia, the YA sales account for sixteen percent of all book sales.  We’re an industry that is full of talented writers with great enthusiasm for telling Australian stories.  Blogging and Twitter have increasingly become ways in which the small Australian YA community has become strengthened.  As one of the few YA review bloggers from Australia I have been extremely fortunate to be supported greatly by many of the authors, the same can be said for my fellow bloggers – Steph Bowe and Rhiannon Hart.  Between the three of us, we make up the more prolific YA blogger group in the blogosphere but that number is slowly rising.

Author blogging isn’t as big as it is in America either, mainly due to the fact that many YA authors are supporting themselves by working full time jobs and raising their families.  Some writers are able to support themselves with their sales and public appearances (mainly school based) but most aren’t that lucky – blogging isn’t exactly a priority.  But in the past few months I have seen a more concerned effort by many Australian YA authors to blog.  Among some of the blogs you should check out are:

Post Teen Trauma – Simmone Howell
Musings from an Outer-Spiral-Arm – Anthony Eaton
Head vs Desk – James Roy
The Thinkings of a Lili – Lili Wilkinson
Justine Larbalestier
Eglantine’s Cake – Penni Russon
Stories are Light – Sandy Fussell
Doing the Compossible – Emily Gale
William Kostakis
Magic Casements – Kirsty Murray
Among Amid Whale – Margo Lanagan

I have been very lucky to meet a handful of these authors in person, mainly by attending the bienniel Reading Matters conference which is a selection of readings, discussions and performances for young people and professionals.  I was very lucky to gush over Michelle Cooper, joke around with James Roy, tease Anthony Eaton about his blue hair, hug Kirsty Murray and Mo Johnson and interview Mal Peet and MT Anderson.  I was VERY fortunate for someone only six months into blogging.  This past week I was able to meet Melina Marchetta for a coffee in the hour before her bookstore appearance and I died and went to book heaven.  Australian authors are amazingly approachable and very giving with their time, whether in person, on twitter or via email.

Ultimately it is these fantastic people, who just happen to be talented writers that made me want to blog.  I wanted to promote them amidst the international books that are being publicised on American-authored blogs.  It was also a meant that I could donate all my review copies to my school’s under resourced library – blogging has been a dream come true for this English teacher.  It has benefited me on a personal level as I have brought many more authors to notice and I have also been able to increase the amount of stories that my students have at hand.  I have also made many more friends in many fields from American high school students to Australian publishing personnel to Lady Gaga-fixated Canadian authors.  My initial plan was the blow you all away with my wit but since it’s taking a leave of absence I thought I would try sincerity.  Australian authors are a talented bunch and I haven’t even broached the sheer number of them – definitely check them out and visit Steph, Rhiannon or my blogs to see what’s debuting in OZYA (Australian YA).

A big thank you to Amy for allowing me to ramble on about my talented countrymen and women,  I consider it an honour to bring attention to these fantastic books (and my Melina Marchetta fixation) during this fantastic celebration of blog blogs.

Back in 1994 when I was hunting and pecking away at manuscripts on an old Brother electric typewriter, a friend of mine told me about this new-fangled high tech thing called “The Information Highway”. Being an information junkie, my ears pricked up immediately because as he explained it, for a small investment in a monthly Internet account, I could access newspapers from all over the world for free! Naturally, I just had to find out about what the heck he was talking about, so I paid a visit to his house and he logged on using a dial-up account (high speed internet was years away) and within three minutes, we were online.
As I recall, his web browser was Netscape 1.0 and the Internet at that time was really an amalgam of hundreds of thousands of personal web pages, newspapers, and university websites with links to research papers, faculty lists and of course, college football scores. We spent a couple of hours doing something he called “surfing the net” and I was very quickly hooked. In the following months, I scrimped and saved to purchase a second hand computer that was still working on Windows 3.1 and I got an Internet account – voila! I was cruising along on the Information Highway.

Well, a lot has happened in the past fourteen years. Indeed, the World Wide Web changed everything about our way of life and quite frankly, I’d still be a struggling author without it. (Wait a minute, I am a struggling author!)  As the web evolved, I first heard about blogs around 1999 and I recall finding my very first book review blog in 2000. It wasn’t pretty to look at, (a screaming fuschia background that could melt your eyeballs, as I recall) it was filled with grammatical and spelling errors, but I was impressed as heck that a fan of genre fiction had taken the time to share their enthusiasm for books by reviewing them and encouraging feedback from readers.

A lot has changed in the ten years hence. The blogosphere at present encompasses somewhere in the vicinity of 50 million blogs worldwide on topics ranging from wild fungi recipes to financial management. Heaven only knows how many book lovers are blogging about the latest title they picked up from the local bookstore or downloaded with their Kindle or Sony Reader, but my gut tells me its a growing number and this can only be a good thing for authors like me who have a debut novel coming out – if I’m going to actually sell my book, I need people who can influence other book lovers to order it from Amazon or pick it up at their local bookstore.

I currently read about twenty or so book blogs on a regular basis. Fifteen years ago, the only place a book could be reviewed was in the newspaper or a magazine and in the vast majority of cases, the books being reviewed were (and still are as we near the second decade of the twenty-first century) literary fiction and non-fiction titles. Now, I have nothing against literary fiction, but I write genre fiction and without bloggers, it’s pretty darned difficult to get the word when you’re an unknown quantity in the publishing industry.

Two things jump out at me as I express my sincere appreciation for book bloggers. First off, these are serious, serious book lovers. Think about it for a second: everyone has read a book they love, but how many of us love books so much that we’re prepared to daily write a review? How many of us are going to take the time to assemble a thoughtful assessment of a book’s strengths and weaknesses and most importantly, how the book made us feel? How many of us are going to commit to doing this, three or four times a week, still find time to read the next book on our list and of course, deal with an influx of fledgling authors like me who are dying to have our newest title read and reviewed? (Yeah, you heard me. Authors, even the bestselling ones, are hitting you guys up for publicity!) You really do have to be passionate about books to make that kind of commitment and quite frankly, book blogs are one of the top three book promotion venues that are available to authors of every stripe.

The second thing that jumps out at me is the impressive quality of reviews that I am reading. There is thoughtful analysis of a book’s plot not to mention extremely well-written thoughts about the main characters, the dialogue and even the cover art! This kind of attention to detail reveals that book bloggers aren’t mindless windbags who slapped up a blog so they could sound off on what’s bugging them. No, book bloggers are serious bibliophiles who look upon their blogs as a labour of love and an expression of the pure joy we all find in reading something we really enjoyed. There are author interviews, blog tours, contests and giveaways. There’s guest author blogging (like what I am doing right now) and blog rings that are specific to a genre. There’s social networking (vitally important if an author wants people to hear about their book) blog aggregates, geez… the list goes on and on and on.

How do we know that book bloggers have “arrived” in terms of their social significance? When literary agents and publishers are telling authors to vigorously market themselves in the blogosphere, that’s how. You heard me right: the industry has taken notice of you and they see book blogs as a critical element in not only helping drive a book’s sales, but also in promoting an author’s career path.

In closing I’d like to share some final thoughts: As an author just starting out, I can only hope that people buy my novel and enjoy it to the point where they will perhaps buy the next book I write. I also really hope that I can develop a fan base for my work because for me, that’s how I’ll know that I’ve arrived. As you book bloggers click away at your keyboards to share your feelings about what you’ve just read with other bloggers and book lovers, try to remember that while you might be a fan of what you’re blogging about, we authors are huge fans of what you’re doing. Your love of books is what motivates you to create a blog in the first place, and never forget that in a world where the written word has to compete with text messaging, reality TV, and Twitter, book bloggers are are actually promoting literacy. I can only hope the number of book blogs increases in the years ahead. You’re a barometer of trends in the publishing world, you’re a source of insight and most importantly, you’re all passionate fans of books. In my view, that’s pretty freaking cool.

Book bloggers rock!  You give authors a way to connect with readers worldwide, even when we don’t have giant promotional budgets or the ability to travel far.  I’m in awe of all the work you do to share your love of books with readers.  Happy Book Blogger Appreciation Week!

Jeri Smith-Ready
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Jeri has graciously donated a copy of either of her novels Wicked Game or Bad to the Bone to one lucky winner.  For a chance to enter, just leave a comment.

Hopefully this week you’ve been visiting a bunch of new book blogs and maybe noticing some things about them you’d like to try yourself.  Or maybe you’ve just had some ideas for improvements to your blog you’d like to put into place or new ideas for content.  But there’s also probably something you really love about your blog, too, something you’re really proud of.  It’s time to show off!  Tell us and this is really important, in 50 words or less what you love best about your blog!  And then in 50 words or less where you want your blog to be by the next BBAW!  Ready?  GO!

Once upon a time, there were these people.  These people liked to read.  A. Lot.  But when they turned to their families and friends to talk about what they read, they often received blank stares in return.  As much as their friends and family loved them, they simply did not understand this thing called reading.  Not to say that they didn’t support them, because they did, they really did, but sometimes these people needed somebody who spoke their language.  Who understood exactly what it was that reading did to them.

And then the internet happened.

Suddenly, these people could go online and find forums where they could talk about books without having to endure the eye-rolling and blank stares from their family and friends!  People just like them loved books as much as they did!

And then blogging happened.

Suddenly, forums weren’t enough.  These people could write their own book reviews and bookish musings for the entire world to see.  And then something amazing happened.

The. World. Wrote. Back.

A comment!  Somebody cared about what they had to say.  A connection was made regardless of their shared or differed social status, race, family background, wealth, or location.  This thing called blogging brought two people together.  People who loved books.  Pretty soon, it just wasn’t just two people.  It was three, then four, then a dozen, then a hundred, then thousands.  A community was formed.

Pretty soon they just weren’t talking about books anymore.  They were sharing in each others moments of happiness and moments of grief.  They celebrated engagements, marriages, births and deaths together.  All the while sitting in the comfort of their own homes.  And then some of the people started to get crazy ideas.

What if they *gasp* actually met?

Would it be weird?  Would it be awkward?  For many, this meant the return of the blank stares from their family members and, for some, outbursts of “But you could get killed!  What if these people are really crazy?!”  But these people knew without a doubt that book bloggers were among some of the most amazing people they knew.  They weren’t about to let a little eye-rolling or the threat of imminent death stop them.  For some this meant buying airplane tickets and flying across the country to attend book festivals or expos in which the highlight of the trip was inevitably the squealing as long lost friends were finally freed from the barriers of keyboards and computer screens.

I know many of us can relate to these experiences.  While I myself, have forked out a pretty penny to fly across the country to meet some amazing bloggers, I have been fortunate to literally be able to walk outside my door and within minutes be connected to dozens of local Utah book bloggers and authors.  I don’t know what we have in the water out here, but seriously, all of you need a taste of it.

Not only does Utah lay claim to amazing authors such as Shannon Hale, Sara Zarr, Brandon Mull, Brandon Sanderson, James Dashner, Carol Lynch Williams, Chris Crowe, J. Scott Savage, Ann Dee Ellis, Emily Wing Smith, Jessica Day George, Mette Ivie Harrison, A.E. Cannon, Anne Bowen, Richard Paul Evans and a dozen others that I fear I will be offending for lack of inclusion but Utah also boasts an amazing population of book bloggers.  Within a few hours of each other there are literally dozens of us who can claim that we blog exclusively about books.

It was during the following experience that I had a light bulb moment.  Myself, my husband and two kids attended a fun Children’s Literature Festival last spring.  It wasn’t until I got home and wrote my own post about the event and then checked my Google Reader to discover that Suey at It’s All About Books had also blogged about the event.  Both she and I comment regularly on each other’s blogs but it was then that I realized that neither of us knew what the other looked like!  Suey’s family was literally standing in front of us in one of the signing lines.  A friend so close but yet so far away.

I knew then that I wanted things to change.  No more of not knowing that we were unknowingly standing shoulder to shoulder with one of our friends (as strange as that sounds)!  Since then we have had two socials – The Utah Book Bloggers Bash and the Utah Book Bloggers Social – and our size has grown from half a dozen to literally 30+ bloggers.  Our local authors are very supportive of our grassroots literary scene and have attended our events as well.  As Suey says, “It’s great that we’ve been able to get our Utah book bloggers together and are now on the road to becoming in-real-life friends. It’s fun to be able to put a face and personality to everyone’s blogs. I love it!”

Utah Book Bloggers who should be on your radar:

• Booklogged from A Readers Journal
• Amy from Haiku Amy (@haikuamy)
• Angie from Angieville (@angiebookgirl)
• Cari from Book Scoops
• Edgy at Books are King
• Stephanie from Children’s Literature Book Club
• Lynn from Chronicle of an Infant Bibliophile (@I_bibliophile)
• Britt from Confessions of a Book Habitue (@bookhabitue)
• Drew from Books Lies and Alibis (@booksliesalibis)
• Shelly at Book Fanatic
• Lisa at Bookworm’s Library
• Emily from Emily’s Reading Room (@eellsworth)
• Framed from Framed and Booked
• Graham from Graham Chops (@GrahamChops)
• Kim from Good Clean Reads
• Patricia from Horror and Fantasy Book Review
• Suey from It’s All About Books (@sueysays)
• Cindy at Kiss the Book
• Natasha from Maw Books Blog (@mawbooks)
• Speedreader from My Favorite Author
• Janet from Newspaper Girl (@Newspapergrl)
• Melissa from One Librarian’s Book Reviews
• Becky from One Literature Nut (@mjmbecky)
• Sharon from SherMeree’s Musings
• Alison from So Many Books, So Little Time (@utahalison)
• Jessica from The Bluestocking Society (@thebluestocking)
• Mellissa at The Reckless Reader (@Aelysium)
• Heather at The Secret Adventures of Writer Girl
• Tristi from Tristi’s Takes
• Sharla at WinterWrite (@WinterWrite)
• Stacy from Stacy Whitman’s Grimoire (@stacylwhitman) – Children’s Editor

We can be found at the Utah Book Bloggers Group and you can subscribe to our own feed which will also keep you updated on new blogs as they enter the Utah literary scene.

If you have book bloggers in your area, I would highly recommend organizing yourselves and having meet ups.  It’s a great opportunity to relax and feel as though somebody is truly speaking your language.  And we are proof that book bloggers truly are the kindest type of people – nobody got killed.  And that’s a good thing.

Natasha blogs at Maw Books and can also be found on Twitter at @mawbooks

For those who never had the chance to know her, Dewey was the person behind the blog the hidden side of a leaf.  The hidden side of a leaf has been down for some time, but you can still read Dewey’s personal blog, Snippets. Dewey started her main blog in March 2007 and remained very prolific until she passed away on the 25th of November 2008. This year and a half was more than enough for her to have a spectacular and lasting impact on our community: she started Weekly Geeks, the 24-Hour Read-a-thon, and the Bookworms Carnival, events that are still around today. She hosted reading challenges devoted to graphic novels, Printz Award winners, and Booker Prize winners. She had a talent for bringing people together, and she would successfully encourage even the most shy of us to come out of our shells. She was approachable, generous, and of course, very passionate about books. As four of the several bloggers she befriended, we wanted to take some time to remember not only Dewey the superblogger, but also Dewey the person and Dewey the friend.

This is Chris! Personally, I didn’t know Dewey as long as everyone else seems to, but she made a lasting impact on me right away. She was one of those bloggers that you just connect with and you know you have a good friend from the first time you laid eyes upon her blog. She was so warm and welcoming and she had a sense of humor that was just refreshing. I first met Dewey about three months before the first 24 hour read-a-thon, so I only had the privilege of knowing her for about a year and a half. I remember the first time she left a comment on my blog, I was so excited. And she was so sweet. I really got to know her better during and after the first read-a-thon. I remember her encouraging me to participate even though I hadn’t officially joined and she stopped by my blog all day to see how I was doing! I loved Dewey’s sense of humor, her passion for worthwhile causes, her love of literature and all things related to books. So many, many things. She was just an all around wonderful person. She inspires me still and I suspect she always will. She showed me the Printz Award, and for that I’ll always be grateful! I had never even heard of the Printz before I met her and I’ve read some amazing books that have been the recipient of that one…and they all make me think of her now. I think she inspires me most in letting me know that life is a precious thing that should be lived every day. She certainly made the most of her too few years here on Earth with us. She also reinforced the idea that the best thing to do when blogging is just to be yourself. She was so honest and sincere in all of her posts. I felt like I was having coffee with a friend when I was at her blog, and I try to do the same thing with my blog now. Another thing I’ll remember about Dewey was her wonderfully eclectic taste in books! She singlehandedly added SO many books to my TBR pile and it still makes me smile whenever I pick something up that was suggested by her. They’re never bad books! I think the first book I read that she recommended to me was Bonk by Mary Roach and oddly enough, I’ll always think of Dewey when I think of that book :p I think Dewey would like that in an odd sort of way. Miss you Dewey! You’re always loved and always with us!

(It’s Renay! Writing long paragraphs! tl;dr time! That’s okay, Dewey liked my tl;dr time!)

I met Dewey in April of 2007 when I started my first book blog on LiveJournal, then moved to self-hosting. I closed both down because I had Too Many Journals, but she stuck with me. My attachment to Dewey was less I-became-her-friend, and more Hi-it’s-me-again-remember-me-it’s-Dewey! She was the first book blogger to make an effort to come to Livejournal. I’m not kidding when I say LiveJournal is a PARIAH, but she crossed the streams for me over and over and over again: she learned how to comment, she installed confusing things, she would not give up. When she passed, I was really missing interacting with her out in BookLand, so I was thinking of restarting a review blog on my domain; I kept waiting for her to get online and give her the news and badger her for ideas.

Therefore, in a lot of ways, YA Fabulous! as a review blog exists because of Dewey; she would have said YES, DO IT and WHO CARES WHAT THE NAME IS JUST START.

She anchored me in the book community when I felt fabulously unwelcome by the nature of my publishing tool and the amount of expletives I used when I posted. More than anything, Dewey didn’t care about barriers, unless it was to stomp them down and bring people together, regardless of race, religion, political affiliation or number of cock jokes per entry. That’s more than inspiration to me. It’s something I can’t name, or explain. She always trusted my voice and wanted me to shine; she always told me I would fit in if I reached out and people would like me even though I’m blunt and swear like a pirate and have the sense of humor of a twelve year old. She was right. I feel like sticking around with all her friends, making them my friends, helps me keep the promise I made to her to at least try: to be outgoing, to be friendly, to be honest. She was all of these qualities, and I want to live up to the standards she set. Blogging about books isn’t simply blogging about books anymore—it stopped being just that for me last December. It’s also about a good friend who loved YA literature with me, who wanted more awesome stories, and who I keep with me by talking about them with other people. It’s about the friend who told me I had a gift for writing, and to not let it go to waste, and encouraged me and offered me money to stay home and start my novel. Everything I do here, with books, with reading, will forever be touched by her. If there was something Dewey was great at, it was Encouragement, complete with pom-poms.

True facts: she shook a mean virtual pom-pom!

Debi here. You know, I must have met Dewey at about the same time as you did, Chris. It was a couple months before the very first read-a-thon. Truth? At first I was so intimidated by her! But you know, the same can be said of all of you…hmmm…revelation time…those who intimidated me most have become my closest friends in the world. Seems as if there’s a lesson there, huh? And a lesson Dewey would be very proud of me for learning, I’m sure.

But why did she intimidate me? Aside from the fact that I’m a wimp (to use Ana’s word). She was so damn intelligent. And she cared about the same stuff I cared about…only she wasn’t afraid to talk about it. But she never did so in a way that would turn anyone off. I admit that at first I didn’t comment a lot on her blog because I would get so tongue-tied and not know what to say. I figured she’d think I was really creepy if I just kept saying, “Yes! You’re absolutely brilliant! Why can’t I put things into words like you can?” And she not only read a mind-boggling amount of books, she read such a wonderful, rich variety of books. Someday I should seriously count the number of books on my shelves thanks to her.

Anyway, luckily I finally wised up. I began commenting more and more. The more I talked with her, the more I realized what an idiot I was. (How many times do I have to relearn this same lesson anyway?!!) It turned out we had a lot in common. (Of course, she was still smarter and more well-spoken and way cooler than me.) And really it didn’t take long to see that Dewey wasn’t just intelligent and together and cool. No, she was probably the kindest, most giving, most caring, most beautiful-to-the-very-core person on the planet. She was generosity personified. On every level. I think we all were the recipients of her selfless acts on a personal level. And as priceless as that is to me, and I’m sure to each of you as well, there was so much more to her giving. You know, it’s bittersweet to think of the impact she still has on the book blogging world today. In ways, she’s a part of people’s lives who never even knew her! And, of course, to all the many who did know and love her, too. Even watching her in action, actually seeing the things she managed to accomplish, it’s still hard to believe that any one person could be such a dynamo! But what made everything she did so incredible was the spirit of openness and inclusion and welcome for all. Renay, I just love so much what you said about her smashing down barriers…seriously, you just said it perfectly! And I swear I can picture her in my head in superhero costume doing just that. 😀 (I did offer to sew her a superhero costume once, because honestly that’s how I saw her.)

I’m not sure what I ever did to deserve her incredible gift of friendship, but I do know that I will forever treasure it. Just as I treasure my friendships will all of you, friendships that Dewey helped to grow. And I know that we’re not alone…Dewey’s friendship helped brighten a lot of lives in this big old blogging world.

Nymeth: Dewey probably inspired me more than any other blogger. Very often, the things she wrote or the way she acted would make me go, Yes! This is how I want to be when I grow up. Except, of course, that I have already grown up. Only I’ve always had a bit of a tendency to let my fears get in the way of being the person I want to be. Dewey was not afraid though – or rather, that’s not the point. The point is that even if she was, she didn’t let it get in the way of being herself. She reached out, she was welcoming and friendly (I love what Renay said about how she was all about stomping on barriers), and she spoke her mind about the things she cared about. And people liked her anyway. They liked her all the more because she was so completely herself.

So I decided to try too. During my first few months as a blogger I was pretty reluctant, but Dewey was one of the people whose example encouraged me to force myself out of my shell. She made me stop worrying that I might be rejected because of my views or opinions; because of being me, really. I think I became, even if in a small way, a better person and a better blogger because I met her. I never really told her she’d had such a big impact on me, but you know what, I think that’s okay. For Dewey, doing things was its own reward. Still, I have to wonder if she knew just how good she was at making others feel encouraged, welcomed, and at ease. I have never met anyone quite like her in that regard.

And I haven’t even started telling you about the impact she had on my reading life. Like Chris, I think she was the one to introduce me to the Printz Award. I know for a fact that it was through her that I discovered John Green and Meg Rosoff, two authors I now love with all my heart. Also, she got so many people to read comics and graphic novels for the first time! She’d be my hero for that alone. We might not have had the exact same taste (unlike me, she wasn’t too crazy about fantasy), but I always knew that any book with the Dewey Stamp of Approval was a book worth my time. Even today, whenever I finish a book she recommended, I do a search on my google reader so I can reader her thoughts on it again – this happened twice recently, with Alias Grace and Copper Sun. I so wish I could tell her I read those books, and thank her for what is almost always a great discovery. I just miss talking to her, and I often wonder what she’d think of the books the blogging world has been discussing this year. Tender Morsels, for example: I’d love to have had the chance to talk about it with her.

She will always be missed, but I’m so grateful I had the chance to know her, even if for a short period of time. You were the best, Dewey.

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I think what we’ve seen here is that we all have our own unique memories of Dewey, but there’s one uniting thread…that she was a warm person, a caring person, an open and accepting person. She made everyone feel welcomed and comfortable right away and she made each of us feel special. I can’t help but see Dewey as this wonderful community builder who started so many friendships and traditions without even meaning to. It was just part of who she was. So we extend an invitation to everyone who was lucky enough to have known her…what are your memories of Dewey? Feel free to share them with us in the comments! There’s bound to be tons of great stories For those who never knew Dewey, you can visit the Weekly Geeks site and read some of the wonderful tributes that were written in the weeks after she passed.

Around this time last year, Queen Amy the Super-Marvelous threw us all a lavish love-in.  And while some douche-holes pulled out there nits and began picking, the rest of us enjoyed our bash enough to demand a Round II.

And because nothing says love-in like rehashing where you’ve been, please enjoy this list of Shit That Went Down In The Last Four Months of 2008 and the First Eight Months of 2009!!!  *sigh*  It appears Twitter has taught me nothing about brevity.

Despite the mousey, bookish reputation of litnerds, the bookbloggonets were awash with STRONG OPINIONS LOUD VOICES this year.  Like when Bloomsbury lied about their Liar cover lying, 

and much rabble was roused and they changed it, proving that despite the #gameondiet bookbloggers still have some serious weight to throw around.

I mean, not that we’re bullies.  SPEAKING of bullies (and the award for best segue goes to…), Alice Hoffman demonstrated her clear ignorance of How the Internet Works by tweeting her rage against a tepid reviewer.  When she realized that NO ONE in the review-o-sphere was going to help champion her cause and barrage the reviewer with hate-mail, she sent in half her ass to apologize.  At least she didn’t send in her husband.

Quirk Publishing likewise tried to hogtie its constituents with a condescending letter commanding us to, among other things, not post quotes from their Pride and Prejudice zombification, perhaps not realizing that 95% of PPZ was directly cribbed from La Austen herself.  But then, contra Ms Hoffman, they said sorry in a heartfelt and sincere way that made us kind of want to make out with them again.

In some lighter dueling, the Nerds pitted YA against itself and generally geeked out until they squeee’ed up a winner.  Teams Gale and Peeta picked up where Teams Rochester and Darcy left off, and abandoned Teams Edward and Jacob to battle Team AndthenBuffystakedEdwardTheEnd (go team!).

And then there were epic rivalries that people had no idea they were a part of.  Old-skool vs. new-wave, cool vs. uncool,  ARCs for everyone vs. you-are-a-book-grubbing-whore and so help me I am not going to flog this dead horse ANYMORE!  I would rather make out with a mer-pire than debate blogger integrity.

Speaking of ARCs (last time, promises), even though Hatchett continues to have extravagant giveaways (do those guys not know that we’re in a recession?) the FREEBOOKTSUNAMI of 2007-8 seems to have slowed to a manageable flood, no?  BUT HEAVEN FORBID THAT WOULD SHRINK MY TBR STACK STOP RECOMMENDING THINGS TO ME YOU GUYS!!!!

*phew*  Ok.  And if we got fewer books read this year it’s because we were all on the Facebook finding out what kind of cocktail we are, or on Twitter hashing out whether The Time-Traveler’s Wife movie was going to be Really Good or Total Dreck or, to a lesser extent, ninging or Digging or stumble.upon.ing or del.i.cious.ing or otherwise falling into the whirling vortex that is social media.  So sue us.

Because we actually met in real-life sometimes (and by ‘we’ I mean ‘everyone except me’ *cries into Cheerios*), like at BEA and the LA Times Festival of Books and in Oregon and Utah.  And everyone who wasn’t meeting IRL at these things was meeting to #tweetsulk about not being at these things (and again, by ‘everyone’ I mean ‘everyone except me’ because I was not yet hip with the twitter).  And twitter proved what a soulless bastard it really is by not being able to differentiate between a bot and, say, a party hostess or a really enthusiastic Cheer-a-thonner.

And even though we never had enough time for reading, there was always, you know, Time For Reading.  24 Hours to Read-a-Thon, 48 hours to Read-a-Mystery-Thon and also to Read-a-Mother?  To Read-as-a-Mother?  To Mother-Reader?  Whatever, we were reading and there were snacks involved and a great deal of cheering and some midnight madness.

There was also time, surprisingly, to get our collective asses in gear and have a ship-shaping Bloggiesta.

And the kidlitosphere became an actual thing, and various bloggers dared various other bloggers to do various scandalous things (ok, mostly just to read more YA or to watch a chick flick), and we all continued to read Philippa Gregory even though she’s pretty much just having monkeys write her books now.

And a lot of people lied about their lives and we kind of got our knickers in a knot because if a memoir is mostly double-un-true, does it still count for our Non-Fiction Challenge?

And then Dewey shocked us all by up and dying, and we all looked at each other like, Is this ok, that I’m sad?  What do we do now?  Can I shed actual human tears for this person I’ve never met IRL?  And then we flung our collective arms around each other and wept, because Dewey was a Force To Be Reckoned With and we will never see her like again.

But if Dewey’s death impressed on us nothing else, it is that we are all still alive.  Stephanie had The Cancer this year, and she’s still alive, and I had The Cancer this year (maybe), and I’m still alive, and Dawn walked 60 miles to ensure that others who have The Cancer will also be still alive, which HAD BETTER WORK because 60 miles is far.  And you, bookbloggers and readers both, despite sickness and tragedy and an mysterious plague of zombie-vampires, YOU are still alive, and I feel that deserves a general HUZZAH!

So huzzah for all the things we’ve accomplished!  Huzzah for Reading Dangerously and Imbibing Peril.  Huzzah for having Salonned our Sundays, Mailboxed our Mondays, Teased and Thingered our Tuesdays.  Huzzah for Wednesdays both Wordless and Wondrously Wordy.  Huzzah for having Booked through Thursdays and Followed Fridays with a well-earned Saturday nap.

Huzzah for the books dnf, the tl;dr, and the books tbr.  For the posts to be written, the comments left, and the donuts shared between friends.

Huzzah, my friends.  You are the very best ones.