The dangers of book blogs and what I learned tonight

Tonight I discovered 8 books to buy:
- over at an adventure in reading (from our own beautiful PEI!), I discovered Wine Bar Food, which normally I wouldn't be interested in. But the way Elizabeth blogs about it, I want this book! Actually, I want to go on the cruise AND buy the book to try the recipes.....

- over at Rhinoa's Ramblings, I discovered - accepted - she is the Queen of Challenges. Look how many she has almost completed! I bow to her, she is my role model. She also has the very cool 100 Things to do in 1001 days, which she is actually doing!

- Nymeth is back from her trip to Brazil, and is catching up on her book reviews. She has convinced me to read On the Road by Jack Kerouac, based on her answers to the mini-review....I quote from her post: 'I think On the Road is one of those love it or hate it books, and I stand firmly on the love it field. It has been one of my favourite books for a long time, and every time I re-read it I find new reasons to love it. I love it not so much for the story, which is a bit all over the place, but for Kerouac's writing, for the energy, for the enthusiasm, for the passion for life, for the earnestness, for the complete lack of cynicism, for the sadness, for the tenderness, for the unapologetic ways in which the characters live their lives, Doesn't that make you want to run out and buy a copy immediately and see some of that passion for yourself? And isn't this one of the main joys of blogging, discovering other people who are as passionate about a book, an author, books in general, reading, as we ourselves are? I know I am always thrilled when I come across someone who loves a book. Of course, someone who loves many books, like we all do, i think are a species unto ourselves - at least my family looks at all my shelves and books and they still gasp! after all these years! The very best books are passionate - even if dry, or witty, or sarcastic, or sweet, or funny, or loving, they are all written with love and passion. So I thank Nymeth for wanting to make me read Jack Kerouac, who I have avoided all my life because everyone was reading him in the 1980's when I first left home. That rebellion thing you know, I avoided the 'popular' books, back then.....
Also, she has made me want to read an economics book, here!
Freakonomics, an actual non-fiction book about money and people and culture.....if there were a persuasive blogger award, she'd get it.

- Chris at Stuff as Dreams are Made Of is back home. Read about his adventures during Gustav, and how he got his books read. I'm so glad he and his family made it through all right. My husband is puzzled about why I talk about my book blogging friends and care even though they are a world away. But we do, and that's what makes our book community so great, and so caring. So when a hurricane - or a snow storm, or drought, or England's record setting rains, hits close to where we know someone lives, we care, and wait, and hope they make it through. And, none of his books got wet or destroyed like they did with Katrina. And Chris has reviewed an author that everyone seems to be talking about, Lois Lowry, here, a book I've never heard about that features spirits and dreams, and yet another book is added to my TBR pile. That is the danger of book blogs!!!

- Over at Dog Ear Diary, Jeane reviewed a book about ravens, and is asking for help in finding a good book by Mercedes Lackey to try. If you know of a really good one, please let her know. This is not to put down any of Lackey's books, but to point out that those of us who commented on her blog found that in general, Mercedes has wonderful ideas and plots, but something about the writing itself doesn't measure up. In this debate, Robin McKinley's Beauty won out over Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey. It certainly does for me. And isn't that the beauty of book blogs, that as well as making connections and friends and learning about ourselves and books and people who read, we can have discussions about books, what we like, what we don't? Most of the time we are not out to hurt an author, or to weigh in against one genre versus another. I think in the book blogging community it's about discovering books, and in this particular post, if one book about the same subject (in this case Beauty and The Beast retellings) is better than another. I also love going to this blog for reviews about books on animals. If you are an animal lover, Jeane reviews at least one a week. Jeane has convinced me to try reading The Mind of the Raven, look at New Kitchen Garden (she says the photos are wonderful) and try to hunt down Notes from the Virginia Gardener, which since I collect gardening and cooking books for cooking and gardening lore, sound really interesting.

In one evening, I have found 8 books to look for!!!

So that's what I learned tonight. And if I didn't visit you tonight, or this week, I am dividing my time between blogging and reading so I can get more reading done! I am determined to read at least 60 books this year (and most bloggers put me to shame, since they are all nearing 100 books read already, but it's not a competition!!) - actually I want to read 80, but I'm trying to be realistic, so 60 is more like it - so I have to ration the hours spent blogging. Otherwise I would spend all my waking hours here.....you all are worth visiting on your blogs, Gentle Readers, and reading and spending time with.