Follow-on: War on the Margins

Congratulations to Libby Cone!

Last month I reviewed this well-written picture of the privation suffered by the inhabitants of Jersey Island during World War II.  Now I'm happy to see that this has been nominated for the People's Book Award in the UK.  I voted for her on the web page. If you've had a chance to read it, you might be interested in voting also.  Winners will be announced later but our congratulations go out to Libby Cone for this achievement.

The other good news is that it now appears to be available here in the States in the paperback format on Amazon.  It will be a great addition to any library.

The envelope please

After reading 175 books this year, it was hard to narrow down to choose the best.  I read some really good ones, and a few dogs. But the overwhelming feeling here is that it was a very successful year for reading, and for getting to know some great fellow readers. The list here is my personal judgement of the best books I read...they may not be on someone else's list, but these are my award winners. So without further ado...the envelopes please.

Best Children's or YA books:

    Sea chest by Toni Buzzeo
    The Secret Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Best Fiction
   Sacred hearts by Sarah Dunant
   Saudade by Kathleen Vaz
   Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Best Mystery

  Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey
  Rizzo's war by Lou Manfreda
  Brutal Telling by Louise Penny

Best Non-fiction

    Amazing Grace by Kathleen Norris
    The Dark Side: the inside story of how the War on Terror turned into a war on American Ideals by Jane  Mayer
    Night by Elie Wiesel
    The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough
    Rule Number Two by Heidi Squier Kraft

Best Short stories

    The Blackford Oakes Reader by William F. Buckley, Jr.
     Ship Fever by Andrea Barrett
     Our Lady of the Artichokes by Kathleen Vaz

Best poetry

     Dante's Divine Comedy - The Inferno
    
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Favorite new authors discovered this year:

Andrea Camilleri - the Inspector Montalbon series
Donna Leon - the Commissario Brunetti series
Kaye Gibbons
Deborah Crombie - Gemma James/Duncan Kincaid series

How does your list stack up?

Premio Dardos

From Kristen at BookNAround, I received the Premio Dardos Award. This award comes from the Italian (or Spanish) meaning "prize darts". She has flung this at me, and the idea is to single out and acknowledge the values that every blogger shows in his or her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day.

Well, Kristen, I try, and I appreciate your recognition of that. I'm just glad it's a paper dart that's incoming!

The rules to follow are:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award. Now this part is harder, because doing 15 new bloggers when all kinds of awards are flying around this week, is difficult. I'm going to put the passing on part on hold for a bit, while I investigate all these wonderful new blogs I'm discovering this week as part of BBAW. I'm sure I'll discover several that are candidates for a prize dart.

Again though, many thanks. Now party on....books are waiting.

I Rock!

Wow, this one is truly cool - especially for old ladies. I've been awarded the "Your blog Rocks" award twice! My children and granddaughter will certainly be impressed. Thanks so much to Kaye over at Pudgy Penguin Perusals for her recognition, and to Cathy at One Eyed Stuffed Bunny and.... Check out these sites for sure. Even the names rock! Thanks ladies for your enthusiasm and the honor I'll have to ponder this for awhile before I pass it on. I'm so behind on reading blogs (they don't do well on a blackberry) so by the end of the week when I'm caught up I'm sure I'll spot a worthy recipient or two or three.

Passing the Magic Wand

Last month Gwendolyn at Sea of Books awarded us the True Fairy Tale Award. I'm embarrassed that it has taken so long to gather my thoughts and pass on the magic. So here on a sunny Maine summer afternoon are my nominees for this accolade: Cathy at Kittling: Books - the magic of her posts always gives me a positive feeling. Jasmyn at Jasmyn's Stuff- Jasmyn has just started blogging and her blog promises to be a beautiful one. So a sprinking of magic goes to wish her luck and lots of friends. A Novel Challenge is the place to go for a sprinkling of encouragement to start a new book challenge. Whenever you're feeling a bit blase about reading check out Wendy's latest- she's always coming up with new ones.

Literary blogger awards

The Literary Blogger Award acknowledges bloggers who energize & inspire reading by going the extra mile. These amazing bloggers make reading fun & enhance the delight of reading!! I've taken way too long to pass this on, but here are my nominees. And the winners too! Gwen Dawson at Literary License short reivew with real opinions and a very diverse and eclectic list of books. I never miss what she has to say and often put her suggestions on my TBR pile. She's also 'spot on.' Miscellaneous Musings -Caty's wonderful blog full of reviews, links, memes, challenges, and an obvious love of books. Shhhhh I'm Reading Melissa's selection of books always has me adding more to my TBR pile. She writes intelligent and thoughtful reviews of a wide variety of genres.

bookfriends - pass it on...

As I promised earlier, I'm reciprocating the honor bestowed by Caty at Miscellaneous Mumblings when she handed me the Bookworm's Award for Bookfriends. Blogging has been a wonderful way to make new friends so here are my friends who can continue the link.

• Mary K. at Just One More Page. Her variety of reading, contests, and musings is truly awesome.
• Peter at KyusiReader. I love the international flavor of Peter's postings, and can always count on him to befriend me with a comment or two just when I think no one is tuning in!
• Kristen at BookNaround - in spite of her recent boating difficulties, she manages to provide us with hints about good reading, fun giveaways, and lots of interesting musing.
• Laura at Musings has consistently provided wide panapoly of reviews and ....well....musings! I love her blog.
• Jules is my kinda woman...a true book friend who takes care to give used books a home. Her blog Jules' Book Reviews is a treasure trove

Bookfriends

Oh my! Caty over at Miscellaneous Mumblings has befriended me with the Bookworm's Award for Bookfriends. I knew I liked blogging for the book ideas, but I like it even more for the wonderfully friendly and helpful people I've "met" online. These awards give us a chance to let our fellow bloggers know they're appreciated. I'll be passing out awards over the weekend, so stay tuned, and meantime THANKS CATY.

Dreams Come True in Books and Fairy Tales

Wow is my granddaughter going to be impressed! I'm just humbled, and tickled. Gwendolyn, over at A Sea of Books has bestowed the True Fairy Tale Award on this blog. I think we always get puffed up when someone recognizes the work we do, and in this case I found it fascinating that she has caught on to the fact that I'm a daydream believer. I may not ride a pumpkin, but I do believe that we can all find our dreams in good reading, and sharing those books with friends and families. Thanks Gwendolyn for touching me with your magic wand!

Lemonade Award - x 2!!

Is this not too cool?? I've been nominated for 2 Lemonade Awards by Harvee at Book Bird Dog, and also by Kathy at One eyed stuffed bunny.... Thanks to both of you. It's great to feel recognized. I think it came just in time because -----bells, whistles, loud applause---we are supposed to have bright sunshine and temperatures in the 80's tomorrow here in Maine. So the lemonade has arrived at the perfect time. The part about this award that I like best is that I can't keep it, it has to be shared by passing it on to other fellow bloggers who exhibit attitude or gratitude. I get to pick 10, but there are so many good ones, and I really had a hard time picking. These are the ones I really find inspiring. If you are nominated.... here are the rules for passing on the award to your favorite blogs: 1. Put the Lemonade Award logo on your blog or post. 2. Nominate up to 10 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude. 3. Link to your nominees within your post. Let them know they have received this award by commenting on their blog. 4. Link to the person who gave you your award. So my nominees are: Ruth at Bookish Ruth. "FL" at The Forgetful Librarian forgets. Stefanie at So Many Books. Melissa at Shhh I'm Reading.... and... Laura at Musings Jessica at The Curious Reader Caty at Miscellaneous Mumblings . Jules at Jules' Book Reviews Gwendolyn at A Sea of Books Michele at Michele--only one L So check them all out...they're each terrific for a different reason.