Tag: BBAW

BBAW Day 2: Blogger Interviews.

Posted September 13, 2011 by Rowena in Discussions, Features | 5 Comments


Like with everything in my life, I was late to the party with the whole BBAW thing so I didn’t set up any blogger interviews to post nor did I set anything to get interviewed anyone else so instead, I’m going to post a round up of blogger interviews around blogland that I read and enjoyed.

It’s always nice to read more about the bloggers you know from the books they read. I really do enjoy reading a lot of the interviews, getting that inside look into my favorite blogger’s. So let’s see what I’ve seen around blogland today.

Alex over at A Girl, Books and Other Things did a nifty interview swap with Kristen from Beneath Shining Stars, I Read that’s good for a read. Kristen’s blog is a new to me blog so thanks bunches to Alex for introducing me to another book blogger, I look forward to stalking Kristen’s blog which (is definitely a handful to say) looks like a great blog. She’s got to have good tastes in books since she’s looking forward to Lola and the Boy Next Door and she loved Anna and the French Kiss, total win!

Melody from Melody’s Reading Corner did an interview swap with Julia from Julia’s Book Corner that was great to read as well. It’s always nice to find out what happened to each book blogger that made them want to start their blogs. I’m nosy so of course I’m all about those stories.

The lovely Fiction Vixen did an interview swap with Damaris from Good Choice Reading which was another great interview. Damaris was spot on with her answer to what it’s like being on a collaborative blog. Having teammates really takes the load off your shoulders and doesn’t bog you down with the enormous job of keeping a blog afloat on your own. Lately, I find that if I’m not into a book, I’ll stick it on my DNF shelf and move on. Like Sophia, I wasn’t always like that. It’s neat to see that there are so many other people that have the same reading quirks as me.

There are so many other blogging peeps out there being interviewed so make your blog hops rounds because you’re missing out if you’re not reading all of this blogging goodness. I’d be here all day linking to my favorite blog interviews but I’ll leave you with just a taste. =)

Happy blog hopping!

..and that’s your scoop!

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BBAW Day 1: Community.

Posted September 12, 2011 by Rowena in Discussions, Features | 10 Comments

While the awards are a fun part of BBAW, they can never accurately represent the depth and breadth of diversity in the book blogging community. Today you are encouraged to highlight a couple of bloggers that have made book blogging a unique experience for you. They can be your mentors, a blogger that encouraged you to try a different kind of book, opened your eyes to a new issue, made you laugh when you needed it, or left the first comment you ever got on your blog. Stay positive and give back to the people who make the community work for you!

BBAW has started and I thought I’d make it an annual thing around here to participate in the festivities. Amy and her team do a great job with everything BBAW, so I thought I’d support but participating. Here goes nothing…=)

I don’t care what anyone says, blogging is hard work. It takes a lot of time to write up these posts, read these books, update these sidebars, etc…and sometimes it can feel pretty lonely on your blog when you don’t get very many comments. You really do need to be blogging because you love it and not because you want free stuff because sometimes it can feel like you’re blogging for yourself. Lots of bloggers love seeing comments on their blogs because they make them feel like all of their hard work is being acknowledged and it’s enough.

There are a few bloggers who comment on my blogs all of the time, whether I have time to blog hop and comment on theirs or not and I’ll forever love the heck out of them for it because they keep me going.

These special bloggers are:

Alex. Alex is one of the most constant commenters on my blog and I think she’s freaking awesome for it, she’s always got something nice to say and she’s just one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met online and offline. She makes my blogging job so much easier and if you guys aren’t reading her blog, why the heck not? Her blog is pretty awesome!

Mollie. Mollie left the very first comment on this blog and it was so simple and yet brought a smile to my face because she was excited for me and it’s always nice to have someone aside from yourself excited about something that means a great deal to you. Mollie is another one of my favorite online people and you need to read her blog because she’s always honest and she has a way of putting thoughts out there that always makes me wish I said it first, she’s awesome like that.

Isabel. One of my best friends. She’s been such a constant support to me in everything that I do (and I do a lot of things, start a lot of blogs, etc…) and really, my addiction to blogging is all her fault. She introduced me to the world of blogging and no matter what she’s got going on in her life, she’s always here and I couldn’t have asked for a better best friend.

Ames. Ames is my partner is crime. We do a lot of things together, we blog together, we watch TV shows together and we discuss everything that we’re doing, watching and lusting over every single day. My days just aren’t the same without Ames there. I met her through blogging and it’s people like her that makes me so hot dang grateful to be apart of such an amazing blogging community. There needs to be more people like Ames. =)

There are a lot of other people who make blogging fun, lots of other people who inspire me to be a better blogger but these people listed above have embraced me and this blog and they’re part of the reason why The Book Scoop is still alive and kicking so thanks for the comments, the posts and the support, you guys really rock!

..and that’s your scoop!

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Book Bloggers Appreciation Week Is Coming!

Posted June 8, 2010 by Rowena in Discussions, Features | 2 Comments

Over at Book Binge, we participated in BBAW the first year that My Friend Amy put it together and I thought it was great fun but last year, our lives were much too busy to participate but I’m going to be participating this year, here at The Book Scoop.

It’s always fun to participate in blogger events like this and I’m pretty stoked.

Right now, registrations are open so if you want your blog to be considered for an award or whatever, click here for more details. I’m not registering my blog for any awards because TBS is brand spankin’ new and I haven’t done much with it yet but I will be participating in the blogging adventures.

I will be voting so if your blog is up for an award, GOOD LUCK!

Should be fun!


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We’d Like to Thank the Academy….

Posted September 21, 2009 by Holly in Discussions, Features | 24 Comments

When we saw who we were shortlisted with in the BBAW Awards for Best Romance Review Blog, we knew we’d win had serious doubts that we’d win. The bloggers we landed in that category with are seriously not good reviewers like us so wonderful and ones we avoid like crazy read as often as possible. We were not at all surprised shocked when the announcement came out on Friday that we won!

We are so appreciative that you all made the right choice thought we were worthy of such an award. You have restored our faith in humanity humbled us.

We also want to congratulate AnimeJune, Katiebabs, Marg and Jessica for their nominations it was balsy for them to enter knowing they didn’t stand a chance against us. We read their blogs regularly and think you should too even if they aren’t quite as awesome as us!

More than anything though, we are so thankful that so many finally recognized our greatness thought we were worthy of such an esteemed award.

So thank you. You really validated our awesomeness made our year!

Joking aside, we really are thrilled that we won, especially considering the company we were in. If you haven’t already, go check out the other shortlisted sites. You won’t be disappointed!

Babbling About Books and More
Gossamer Obsessions
Racy Romance Reviews
Reading Adventures

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Paid Reviews and BBAW

Posted August 31, 2009 by Holly in Discussions, Features | 20 Comments

Yesterday I read a post on the blog Rat’s Reading where he complained about a site he recently came across that charges for reviews. Dedicated Book Reviews apparently charges for reviews, guest author posts and etc. You can check out the site and their fees here.

I looked over the site and I don’t really understand what they have to offer – what authors and/or publishers would want to buy – but I didn’t spend enough time on there to make an informed decision about the site itself. I will say I think charging for reviews is ridiculous and unethical. That’s a practice I’ve never agreed with. I’m sure many of you agree.

The issue Rat had with this site is that they were nominated for several awards in conjunction with Book Blogger Appreciate Week (BBAW). He requested that the site be disqualified based on the fact that they charge for reviews. BBAW responded that they won’t be disqualifying the site, though they’re confident the site won’t make it into the final rounds based on the process they’re using this year to judge the nominations.

I have several issues with this.

1) The site in question doesn’t seem to be established yet. Unless I’m missing something, I don’t even see where they have reviews or promotional posts up. At this point the only thing I see on the site is their reviewing/promoting policy and their pay scale.

2) BBAW and the way the nominations/awards are being handled. Last year the nominations were sent in and then the general public voted for their favorite (I’m sure the process was long and drawn out, I’ve condensed it here). This year they have panels of judges (made up of bloggers, authors and other publishing professionals) who are deciding which blogs will make it to the final rounds and which ones won’t. They base this information on 5 posts sent in by the nominees that they believe are the best representation of their sites.

Although I understand with over 1000 nominated sites the process needed to be modified from last year, I don’t necessarily feel comfortable with the system in place now. Let’s say I have a falling out with a blogger who is chosen to be on a panel for an award I was nominated for. What’s to say that person won’t reject my nomination just because s/he doesn’t like me? Things like that make me wonder.

3) Should BBAW automatically disqualify the site in question based on the above information? I think so. Saying they’re confident the site won’t make it past the judges seems like a cop-out to me. Why not just automatically disqualify the site and move on?

On the other hand, I don’t really put a lot of stock in the BBAW awards. I mean, it’s wonderful to be nominated (we received half a dozen or more and we’re so thankful our readers thought we deserved the awards), but I’m skeptical about the awards in general. Especially based on the scenario I listed above with the panel of judges. Not to mention the fact that there were no guidelines in place to regulate who could be nominated and subsequently win (not that I’m aware of anyway. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong).

What do you think? Is this a big deal? How do you feel about the site being nominated for awards when they charge for reviews? Should they be disqualified out of hand?

Of course, you can always choose not to participate, as BBAW said today:

We understand that not every blogger will feel comfortable with this process. Please know that you are welcome to withdraw your nomination and association with BBAW at any time. We hope that the rest of you will understand that BBAW is a labor of love built by and for the book blogging community.

In regards to the site and charging for reviews, I think it’s unethical and shouldn’t happen. When you start charging for reviews or promotional posts I feel you lose objectivity and your motives should be in question. One of the best things about book blogs (in general) is the honesty and enthusiasm they offer. I would hate to see that tainted because sites start offering reviews for money. Especially since I doubt an author will pay for a bad review..if you know what I mean and I think you do.

How do you feel about the fact that they charge for reviews/promotional posts in general? Are you as annoyed over it as I am?

(as an aside, I think the concept behind BBAW is a great one. We participated quite a bit last year and have been following along somewhat this year [personal issues kept us from joining in this year]. I’m just not convinced the awards are as meaningful as they should be)

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