BBAW1: Appreciation

It's Book Blogger Appreciation Week! This week is all about the people who make this community work – book bloggers! It was (according to the BBAW site) "started by Amy Riley of My Friend Amy in an effort to recognize the hard work and contribution of book bloggers to the promotion and preservation of a literate culture actively engaged in discussing books, authors, and a lifestyle of reading.” Each day will have its own featured topic, and today we're out to recognize fellow bloggers who have influenced us and made this whole web-writing, book-loving experience so wonderful for us. If you check out the blogs I follow, I could literally list a hundred or so.

But before I list my favorites, I have a confession to make.  Several of these lovely people have listed my blog as one of their favorites--for which I am very thankful and very humbled.  Particularly humbled because this year I have felt pretty unplugged from my previous blogging habits.  I haven't visited you all nearly as much as I intended to and I haven't even kept up with the participants in my reading challenges the way I like to.  But you all have stuck with me and keep coming back and saying nice things about me.  So, thank you very much to all of you wonderful bloggers who follow, comment, just read and appreciate what I do here, and participate in the challenges I sponsor.  If I'm following you, then I love what you do.  I may not say so as often as I should--but I do.

And, now, a list of the best of the best ('cause you're all great!):

Cheryl at CMash Loves to Read. Cheryl is an awesome blogger. She's one of the first blogging friends I made out here in the blogosphere. A lovely lady with a wonderful sense of humor who encourages us all. And she reads the books I'm too scared to read (all those thriller-type books). And keeps me in line over my classics and vintage mysteries. If I read something too recent, she mother hens me and wants to take my temperature. :-)  And--if all that weren't enough to keep her busy, she's now the CEO of Partners in Crime Tours and its sister book tour business Providence Book Promotions.  She's one busy lady, but always has time to check in and see how I'm doing.

And Adam at Roof Beam Reader. Adam keeps me in touch with the Classics. He and I don't always agree on the classics we read (*cough* Hemingway *cough* for instance). But he has an absolutely awesome blog and always has interesting things to say.  He's also a very nice guy and terrifically supportive fellow blogger.

And Amanda at Dead White Guys who often has me snorting at my desk and making my co-workers wonder what I'm up to. She has the most hilarious, yet in-depth reviews for all those classics I love.

And John at Pretty Sinister Books. One of the most awesome sites for vintage mysteries (and supernatural and adventure stories) around. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of vintage books.  I said last year that I've made it my mission in life to find a vintage mystery author that he hasn't already got the goods on. And I also said that it's going to be a long mission....Yep, still working on that. He's also a pretty fabulous guy.

And Sergio at Tipping My Fedora.  Another blogger who is incredibly knowledgeable about those vintage mysteries I adore.  His reviews are insightful, indepth, and incredible.  

And Yvette at in so many words. Her blog is gorgeous. She loves the vintage mysteries like I do.  In fact, she posts lists about them that makes me add tons to my already too big TBR list--that's not a bad thing for a book blogger, by the way. And she's a marvelously supportive fellow blogger. 

And Ryan at Wordsmithonia.  Who--if he has done nothing else (and he's done plenty else)--has taught me to love Mary Roberts Rinehart.  He also writes very thoughtful, indepth reviews of those Rinehart books (and all the other things he reads).  He's a wonderful fellow blogger and I'm so very glad that my Vintage Mystery Challenge brought him my way.  And...he plays a mean game of Words With Friends on Facebook.  

And Red at What Red Read.  One of the more eclectic readers that I follow.  I never know if Red will be posting about Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest or the classic detective novel The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins or The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks.  What I do know is the reviews will be well done and there will be a lot of humor.