It's My Blogoversary!!

It is hard to believe its been 3 years today that I started this book blog. Although when I began I don't think I knew what kind of blog it was going to be. I honestly didn't think anybody would really read my blog. I just thought it would be a fun place to express my thoughts. Then I discovered book blogs . . . and the rest is history!

Over these last three years, I have met and become friends with some amazing people. I am so grateful for those relationships. And through the wonderful array of books I've read, I know that I've also grown as a person. I can't imagine why anyone would not want to be a reader! To me, its a never-ending learning experience. My non-reader friends ask me sometimes how I know about certain topics or even little useless facts and my answer is simple: I'M A READER. it's amazing what you can learn if you only allow yourself to be opened up by a book. I've always been interested in geography and when I read certain books that take place in faraway places, I get out my atlas and I find it on the map and I learn about that area. To me, that is part of the enjoyment of reading.

Even though I've lost some of my sight and the freedom to drive or to venture out on my own, it isn't keeping me from learning about the world around me. Recently, I looked at the stats on my blog and I was excited to see that I had visitors from such faraway places as South Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Sweden and India to name a few. That gives me such a sense of joy that my little 'ole blog is reaching people all over the world. I'm so thankful that my book blogging has given me that joy and sense of accomplishment.

I'd like to thank the many visitors for your continued support of Books and Cooks. You all are like old friends to me and I don't take that lightly. You all inspire me to want to do better. Book people are exceptional people and I am proud to be in your company. I am really excited about this new year and I hope to make my blog an intesting place for you to visit.

Today Is My Blogoversary!

I can't even wrap my head around the fact that I've been blogging for two full years as of today! The decision I made back in January of '08 to create a blog centered around something I love to do - reading and talking about books - is one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. But I have to admit that back then, I didn't have a clue about blogging! (I didn't even know what a 'comment' was!) And I most certainly didn't have a clue about all of the extraordinary people that were going to come into my life because of blogging. I consider myself very lucky to have stumbled into something that has brought me so much joy, not to mention many wonderful friendships.

In December of 2007, after hearing more and more about blogs on the internet, I got curious and decided to create one of my own, but I had no idea what I should write about, so that's when I started nosing around. I remember the actual day I ran across a book blog for the first time. It was Books On The Brain hosted by Lisa M. I remember I was at work (I know, my bad!) taking a break from what I was supposed to be doing, and somehow I landed on Lisa's blog. My first thought was 'WOW! THIS IS SO COOL!' I was so impressed with the professionalism of her blog, the amount of books she read, her wonderful reviews (and of course, her great sense of humor!) and all of the regular visitors that came and left comments for her on a daily basis. Obviously, I had been living with my head in the sand and had no idea of this whole other world out there. I knew then what I wanted to do. I started visiting her blog every day and I slowly began to learn. I learned about comments and blogging etiquette and through reading all of the other comments, I discovered other book bloggers who were doing the same thing Lisa was doing! It was FABULOUS! I had finally found my home on the internet!

I know I've said this before, but I have to say it again - THANK YOU LISA! You will always be #1 in my book. Whenever I had a question, Lisa graciously helped me and offered invaluable advice. I'd also like to thank all of you who stop by and visit my blog regularly. I know that I'm not the most current blogger who reads all the latest releases and I don't read a massive number of books each year, but I do love sharing what I do read and I appreciate all of you and I love reading your comments. They make my day!

I'd like to wish everyone a belated Happy New Year and wish you all the best in 2010!

Five Changes Meme

In catching up on my blog reading this weekend, I came across a meme that was interesting to me. My blog buddies J. Kaye and Beastmomma each posted the Five Changes Meme. The tagging rules do not apply to me as i wasn't tagged by anyone, but I still wanted to participate. So, here is my list of 5 ways blogging has affected me, either postively or negatively.

1. Since the fourth grade, I've always been a reader. Of course there were years in my late teens that reading took a bock seat to other things, but I always went back to my books. Before blogging (BB), I would typically only read a book every couple of months, but since I began blogging, the quantity of books I've read is what has changed the most. I became aware of so many other book bloggers and read their reviews and recommendations and my TBR list was born! Now I'm reading at least 4 books a month!

2. The next biggest change would be in my reading choices. BB I was stuck in the rut of only reading one particular genre. For instance, there was a Danielle Steele phase; later there was a John Grisham phase - you get the picture. I am happy to say that through blogging, I have read some of the most entertaining books that without blogging I wouldn't even know about. For that, I will always be grateful.

3. I've never taken any writing classes, but writing has always interested me. I used to write poetry in my teens and early twenties and dreamed about being a writer. I always wanted to write a short story, but never got around to actually finishing one. Blogging about the books has given me an outlet for that desire. I enjoy writing the reviews as much as I enjoy reading the books themselves. I take my review writing very seriously and really think about what I'm going to say about each book. I try never to give anything away so as to not spoil anything for the ones who haven't read the book yet. And I keep it honest. I think that's what people want and expect from book bloggers. Not to take anything away from the mainstream professional book reviewers, but as non-paid reviewers who do it because they love it, its a more non-biased review. That is sure to bring on a whole other debate, so I'll stop there . . . for now.

4. Another way blogging has changed me is that I've learned so much about the internet and computers in general and all the little things like chiklets and snipets and widgets that I never knew anything about before! I don't know how I survived without my Google Reader BB! I remember when I first learned about it. I dedicated a whole post to it! In other words, blogging has made me smarter!

5. The most important change to me is that since i began blogging my world has grown immensly. As some of you may know from reading my blog regularly, I suffer from an eye disease that is slowly stealing my sight. My life has drastically changed in the last few years and I'm confined to my home a lot of the time. I don't have the freedom to just pick up and go like most people. Not only do my books take me places I can never go, but the blogging world has introduced me to some of the most wonderful people. My first Blogger friend was Lisa at Books On The Brain. When I first saw her site, it blew me away. She has always been so kind to me and I honestly feel she is my friend. And there are many others. Without blogging I would never have met these wonderful, caring people. I don't have to leave my house to have a warm chat with a book buddy or get some laughs from others. Before blogging I didn't have such a positive outlook on my future, but that all changed in January when I found blogging.

Book Bloggin' & Garth Stein

Something really cool happened to me this evening and I just had to share my excitement. Last month I read a great book that I've been telling everyone who will listen about. It was THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN by Garth Stein. (You can read my review here.) It's a wonderfully written story about a family, narrated by Enzo, the family dog, whose love for his master, Denny is imeasurable. I absolutely loved this book! There's not many books told from the prospective of mans best friend with the honesty and warmth that this book has. It's one of the best books I've read in quite some time. I've been watching it hover on the New York Times best seller list for the past few weeks hoping it'll break into the top 10. (It's at 15 right now.) Anyway, a few weeks ago there was a comment left here on my blog from the Marketing Director at Folio Literary Management. She indicated that she works with Garth Stein. She wanted me to know she saw my review and had forwarded it on to Mr. Stein. I was so excited! Well . . . imagine my surprise today when I actually got an email from Garth Stein!! He simply wanted to say he was happy I liked the book so much and that he visited my blog and he appreciated my post about it on my blog. He was so nice! I know it may not be a big deal to some, and I realize I'm such a book-geek, but that little email made my day!!

This is just another reason I enjoy book blogging so much. Not only do I read some really great books and meet some wonderful people who do the same thing I do, but sometimes you get an added bonus of one of the authors you really like acknowledging you. I never realized before starting my blog in January that authors were so approachable. I think that is a really cool thing. A few weeks ago, Meg Waite Clayton, author of THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS stopped by my blog and at first I didn't even realize who it was!! I felt so silly when I put it together! I'm a little slow sometimes!

Due to some circumstances in my life, I spend a lot of time at home and having my books, the internet and the blogging friends I've made helps to keep my world from being so small. I really enjoy all of the blogs I read daily and am always anxious for the next great read to come along.