Wednesday 29 September 2010

Review: On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta [Audiobook]

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta [Audiobook]



Genre:Contemporary > Social Issues
Age Group:13+
Publisher:Penguin
Release Date: 2006
Form: Audiobook on CDs
Source: Local Library
ISBN: 9780670070299

Rating: 

 

Cover love? The cover is of an artistic road, with figures in both the background and foreground. But, the road is not what I imagine the Jellicoe Road to be. However, I love the layout, contrasts and tone - the cover makes a beautiful artwork.






"What do you want from me?" he asks. 

What I want from every person in my life, I want to tell him. 

More. 

Taylor Markham is not a popular choice. She is erratic, has no people skills and never turns up to meetings. Not to mention the incident when she ran off in search of her mother and only got halfway there. But she's lived at Jellicoe School most of her life and as leader of the boarders that's her greatest asset. Especially now the cadets, led by the infamous Jonah Griggs, have arrived. The territory wars between the boarders, townies and cadets are about to recommence. 

But Taylor has other things on her mind: a prayer tree, the hermit who whispered in her ear, and a vaguely familiar drawing in the local police station. Taylor wants to understand the mystery of her own past. But Hannah, the woman who found her, has suddenly disappeared, leaving nothing but an unfinished manuscript about five kids whose lives entwined twenty years ago on the Jellicoe Road. - from Melina Marchetta's site.




I actually listened to an audiobook version of On the Jellicoe Road, lovingly borrowed from the local library, of course.

The narrator was Rebecca Macauley, and I believe that she is one of the best audiobook narrators out there. When you're listening to an audiobook, the believability and skill of the narrator is of paramount importance. No matter how good the book is, the person narrating it can alter the listener's entire perspective of the book.

For example, The Hunger Games is without question, one of the greatest books I have ever read. One of the reasons is due to the relatability of Katniss' voice. When I'm reading Suzanne Collins' words, I feel as if I am hearing Katniss. But when I heard the audiobook version, I felt that the narrator's voice didn't suit what I imagined Katniss to sound like. I couldn't relate to it, and so I stopped listening.

But with Macauley's reading, I felt that the Australian setting, the characters, and the moving story came through in her voice. It didn't feel like someone was reading a book to me; it felt as if Taylor Markham and Nanie were telling me their story. Macauley's voice captures the essence of On The Jellicoe Road in an authentic way that draws the listener right into the story.

The story alternates between the life of Taylor Markham, and the story of a group of friends in the eighties. Thus, the story is at times broken and a little confusing, but the end result is two complex, immersive storeis that join together to form one.

The characters and setting are distinguishably Australian. They feel natural to me - perfect characters in that they are imperfect people. The characterisation here is also beautiful - they each have thier individual voices, style and personality. There's never any confusion between the characters, despite their number. I loved each and every one of them - Taylor, Jonah Greggs, Raffy, Santangelo, Jessa, Nanie, Tate, Fitz, Jude, Web.

My one concern is that to me, Taylor felt a lot like Josephine Alibrandi from Looking For Alibrandi. Their personalities were very similar, and it felt like the same character in two different stories. They were both rebellious, confused, loyal, loving, Australian teens. They both faced some form of social issue, despite the two books being vastly different within the same genre.

Melina Marchetta's writing style is very characteristic in that sense, but it always speaks of truth, pain and love, and her use of words and dialogue propels the story forward, and paints the scene in the recipient's mind.

A story of discovering the truth, finding love, and making friends along the way.


Rating: 



200 followers

Waiting on Wednesday #6

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, where bloggers can spotlight and share "upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating".




What are you waiting on this week?



x

Monday 27 September 2010

Tina's Tutorials #6: Get LinkWithin below your posts


This tutorial will teach you how to get the widget LinkWithin below your blog posts.

Step 1:
Go to Link Within. Enter in your email address, blog link, platform (Blogger), and width (3 stories is recommended). If you have light text on a dark background, check the textbox.

Click on Get Widget:





Step 2:

Click on the Install Widget link, and a new tab will open up. Click on the blue button Add Widget.




Step 3:
Drag the LinkWithin gadget in the Edit Layout pages from the left toolbar to a space under your blog.


Step 4:
Click on SAVE and view your blog to see the changes you have made. Congratulations! You have now installed LinkWithin in your blog.



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More Tips & Tricks from Tina:


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Sunday 26 September 2010

In My Mailbox #5, 6 & 7

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren and inspired by the amazing Alea at Pop Culture Junkie.

I haven't posted my mailbox for the past three weeks, and but here it is, all in one go:

Sorry for the immensely bad quality - I had to use my webcam. I'll put up a better one once I take a photo with my camera.

Week 4:
Linger - from school library - I haven't read this yet, even though it's been sitting on my shelf for the past two weeks. Gah...I will get onto it, I promise!

Week 5:
Beat the Reaper - Won from From Me To You's contest. She is amazingly nice - she posted it to me from all the way in America. The postage alone was ~ $10 USD. Wow! Thank you!
Bookmark Days - gift from teacher - My year level coordinater gave me this. She had three in her office, she donated the other two to the school library, and I got to keep one. Thank you Ms H! (She is an awesome, kind teacher who always helps students out. She's never taught me, but she's one of my favourite teachers.)

Week 6:
Beautiful Creatures - from Penguin Aus for review on BTL as guest editor - check out my review of Beautiful Creatures here.
Vlad Tod 1 - from Penguin Aus for upcoming interview with Heather Brewer - I reviewed Vlad Tod 1on Book Couture here.
On the Jellicoe Road Audiobook - local library - (not pictured b/c I already returned it) review later this week.

And, finally...

Week 7:
MATCHED by Allie Condie - for review - I absolutely squealed with delight, danced around the room, hyperventilated a little and almost fainted from excitement.
It was the last copy at Penguin Australia and I am beyond fortunate to be given it. And this is my very first book for review on my blog. It's a monumentous occasion!


And that's about it, guys. What did you get? I'd love to know. Hyperlink to it in your comments below.
(If you don't know how to leave an easy-to-click link, check out my tutorial here.)

a

Saturday 25 September 2010

Review: Vlad Tod 1 by Heather Brewer

   Eighth Grade Bites (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod)



Genre: Paranormal > Vampires 
Age Group: Middle Grade (8+) 
Publisher: Penguin 
Release Date: 2007 
Pages:  182 pages (quite short) 
ISBN-10: 0525478116  
ISBN-13: 978-0525478119 
Source: Penguin Australia (BTL Guest Editor)

Rating:

Cover love?  
Love at first BITE. This cover is as delicious as, well, blood is for Vlad. I wanted to sink my teeth into it.
Okay, okay, I'll stop with the bad puns now.

Have you seen the rest of the Vlad Tod covers? If you look at them chronologically, you'll see that Vlad's face gradually emerges - from in the shadows, to the full light. Clever!

 





Junior high really sucks for thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: his mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he faces a much bigger problem: he's being hunted by a vampire killer. - from Goodreads




The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod (which will henceforth simply be known as Vlad Tod), are light, funny stories perfect for young readers, and will definitely engage the most reluctant of readers (not scientifically proven).  Vlad Tod is a series that can appeal to a wide audience - boys and girls, 8 year olds and 16 year olds. Your example? Me. I enjoyed it, I would have enjoyed it eight years ago as well, had it been released.

On a side note, I am thrilled to see a vampire series that isn't a piece of carnage in the Twilight Aftermath.
(And okay, I pined for this book after seeing it on BTL, and other blogs - which just goes to show that blogging is awesome - and when I received it, I could barely contain my joy.)

The writing is simplistic, but thoroughly captivating. Heather Brewer has a writing style that readers can easily associate with and feel immersed in. As I've said, the story is geared towards younger readers, and does not employ the type of poetic, lyrical writing often seen with more mature books. Instead, Vlad's voice is matter-of-fact, and thus feels real.

What I feel about the first book, though, is that the characters are not built as well as they could have been. Aside from Vlad, whohas a distinct, relatable voice, the other characters felt strange and awkward to me. I liked Henry, who was a good friend, but I didn't understand Aunt Nelly. She indulged in Vlad's thirst for blood, and seemed to be too lenient for a good mother figure. She wasn't a well-rounded character, because she had no perceptible flaws. Oh wait. Then again, she let a potential murderer into the house despite Vlad's misgivings.

SPOILER DISCUSSION: -------

I did not appreciate the way Vlad treated Henry at the end of the book. Henry, his best friend, the one who stuck up to him in times of crisis, was casually manipulated and exploited by Vlad. The concept of "drudges", humans who are controlled by vampires to do their every bidding, feels more wrong than compulsion. It feels like slavery of a supposed "best friend". The reason I felt that the concept of "drudges" is immoral is because this is a book for young readers, and they should not be taught that it is acceptable to treat another person like a slave.
 ----------------------------------

And Otis Otis', a creepy "is he the bad guy" character, had too much mystery about him. I didn't really know who his character was until the very end of the book. I wasn't surprised, I was shocked.

What didn't settle well with me was the fact that this book was so short. Time was spent on building up an image of Vlad's life in the reader's mind (in preparation for the sequels), without any real action happening until the last couple of pages. As a result, the characters were not developed to their full potential, and there was not much of a plot until the last section.

Overall, I felt that this book can be a good read if it's subject matter is not overanalysed (like I have done) - hence the appeal to younger readers. The series has a lot of potential for more, as Eighth Grade Bites reads like the setting up to a great series. The premise is great, the concept is original, and I look forward to more.

Rating:


Extras: 
How awesome are these pics?
On the left-  Vlad Tod T-shirt on an adorable Penguin penguin!
In the centre - Heather Brewer at the Book Expo America (BEA) standing in front of Vlad Tod steps.
On the right - Awesome Vlad Tod tote showing the cute smiley.


 Links:  
Vlad T-shirt on Penguin
Vlad Tod stairs
Awesome Vlad tote











HIDDEN MESSAGE: I ♥ VLAD

Friday 24 September 2010

Follow Hops: "Book Couture" featured!

Book Blogger Hop




Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee, where people spread the book love by following around the blogosphere.
And this week, I'm being featured on Feature Friday. Thank you so much, Parajunkee!

Three reasons why Parajunkee is awesome:
1. She has a great site and writes fab reviews that make you want to run out there and buy the book.
2. She's multitalented - a great reviewer and a design goddess. And she has her blog "Anya's Room".
3. She's charitable and kind - she hosts Follow Friday, Feature Friday, and writes the series Blogging 101 to help other bloggers.



Question of the Week (Follow Friday):  (What are some high-end book covers you like?)
This is hard - threre's so many book covers that I love. How about a little gallery?


Book Blogger Hop is a meme hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-For-Books, where book bloggers can "connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!"

Question of the Week (Book Blogger Hop): (When you write reviews, do you write them as you are reading or wait until you have read the entire book?)
I actually write them after I've read the book - it gives me time to recover from the mesmerising effects of the book, and dwell on the book as a whole. But I will occasionally take note of some interesting aspects I wish to discuss.

Recently on Book Couture: 
۩๑ Review of Beautiful Creatures on BTL
۩๑ Review of The Lonely Hearts Club on BTL
۩๑ Review of I Am Number Four on BTL
۩๑ Review of Thirteen Reasons Why
۩๑ Meet Kirsty Eagar at Penguin HQ


۩๑ How to get a Favicon

 





۩๑ Check out the Book Contest Directory
a directory of contest listings across the blogosphere.

Leave a comment below so I can check out

your blog and follow, and please stop by and have a look at a couple of my reviews in the sidebar.


●▬▬▬๑۩ Happy Friday! ۩๑▬▬▬▬●

Thursday 23 September 2010

Meet Kirsty Eagar at Penguin HQ

As some of you may know, I'm guest posting at Penguin BTL this week. And guess what?

Penguin Australia is giving one lucky Victorian BTL'er and a bff the opportunity to visit Penguin HQ, eat lunch with some "Penguins", and get this - meet KIRSTY EAGAR, author of Raw Blue and Saltwater Vampires!
 
Check out the post of pure awesomeness here, and get entering, Victorians!

We're offering one lucky BTL'er and a friend, the fantastic opportunity to meet and interview Penguin author, Kirsty Eagar!

Kirsty will be in Melbourne next week on Tuesday 28 September for the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Dinner where the winners of the awards will be announced. Kirsty's novel, Raw Blue, has been shortlisted in the Young Adult Fiction category.  

If you love YA literature and can get yourself to Camberwell on Wednesday 29 September by 10 a.m. AND you'd love to tour Penguin HQ then interview Kirsty Eagar followed by a lunch with Kirsty and some 'Penguins', then all you need to do is send us an email with your details and tell us what ten questions you'd like to ask Kirsty at the interview. The lucky winner will get to enjoy all of the above and their interview with Kirsty will be posted on BTL! 

An opportunity not to be missed! 

Competition closes midnight AEST, Sunday 26th September, 2010.  
Competition is open to Victorian residents only. 
Full terms and conditions here.








Wednesday 22 September 2010

Waiting on Wednesday #5

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, where bloggers can spotlight and share "upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating".

Check out Penguin Between The Lines, where I am guest posting this week - today, there is a poll on fantastic Penguin read.

This week I'm waiting on:


Anastasia's Secret 
by Susanne Dunlap- Penguin
"For Anastasia Romanov, life as the daughter of Russia's last Tsar is about to be torn apart by the violence of revolution. Ousted from the imperial palace when the Bolsheviks seize control, Anastasia and her family are exiled to Siberia, to await an uncertain future at their captors' hands. But even as the time stretches out, and the threat to their lives grows more menacing, romance quietly blossoms between Anastasia and a sympathetic young guard named Sasha. But will their secret love be enough to help her and her family avoid the firing squad? Inspired by the mysteries that have long surrounded the fate of Russia's last princess, this is a compelling and romantic interpretation of what might have been."

A Russian historical romance? I'm all for it!


Mice by Gordon Reece- Allen and Unwin
'Shelley, darling,' Mum said. 'Don't be frightened. He just wants money. If we do everything he says, he's going to go away and leave us alone.'
I didn't believe her, and I could tell from the trembling of her hands and the catch in her voice that she didn't believe it herself. When a cat gets into the mousehole, it doesn't go away leaving the mice unharmed. I knew how this story was going to end.

Shelley and her mum have been bullied long enough. When they retreat to an isolated cottage in the country, they think their troubles are over, and they revel in their cosy, secure life. But one night, an intruder disturbs their peace and something inside Shelley snaps. What happens next will shatter all their certainties.

 Sounds like a thrilling read - Mice is definitely one to watch out for.


What are you waiting on this week?



x

Monday 20 September 2010

Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

UK cover
US Cover

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Genre:Young Adult - Contemporary
Interest:Debut novel
Age Group:13+
Publisher:Razorbill Penguin
Release Date: 2007
Pages: 288
Cover love? My edition of Thirteen Reasons Why is the one shown on the right - the UK one. And I have to say that it looks a little morbid, which is probably the reasons why I didn't immediately pick it up and read it. But after reading the book, I think this cover is perfect. However, the US cover looks brighter, one I would probably pick up immediately. 


Synopsis
Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush—who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay’s dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

Review
Thirteen Reasons Why is a strikingly truthful account of teenage troubles. It's not a happy, fluffy comtemporary novel - it's a sad, haunting story with themes of sexual abuse and suicide. It will make your heart wrench and your tears flow, because it's filled with so much truth and sadness.

The book occurs over one night, as Clay Jensen is listening to Hannah's tapes. The format of this book is in alternating first person perspectives, from Clay's thoughts, to those of Hannah Baker, as told to us through what Clay hears from the cassette tapes. We get the story from Hannah's voice, and the reactions and alternate point of view from Clay. The alternating POVs were clear and served their purpose well, contrary to the confusion commonly induced with alternating first-person narratives.

Jay Asher's decision to tell the story in this way is both original and enticing, setting this book apart from many others that I've read. Hannah and Clay's voices are exceedingly believable. I could almost hear them in my mind as I was reading the book, and I credit this to Jay Asher's immense ability to give personality to his characters through their prose. Hannah was personified well - although she was in her grave, her voice in was witty, snarky and had a dry humour that made me like her immensely. I wanted to reach through the pages and console her.

Clay never receded into the background, because when he listened to the tapes, he was recounting and redefining his concept of Hannah. Although the book was from his perspective, Hannah was the main character.

Hannah told us everything that happened to her - all the events that in combination, lead to her decision to kill herself. The plot seemed like a string of unfortunate events, but there were twists and turns that caused me to gasp and clutch my book harder. Although two particular scenes dark subject matters, it was told in a way that wasn't perverse or explicit. It was told through the impact that it had on Hannah.

I can't quite put my finger on what exactly makes me love so much. I guess it was a combination of Hannah's resounding and real voice, the beautiful but sad tale and the unique format of the book. It's a beautifully emotive book that will forever remain in my heart.

Rating:

Tina's Tutorials #5: How to change your blog icon (favicon)


Tips/Tricks #5:
How to change your blogger icon (favicon)

See this? It's called a favicon. And you can change it.

By default, every blog on Blogger has that orange favicon. A favicon is located next to your blog name, and is displayed on tabs, next to the URL on the address bar and on blogrolls.
It's frustrating that Blogger doesn't have a default function for bloggers to easily change their favicon. And I was frustrated by constantly seeing that unanimous orange logo next to my blog name. So I put on my glasses and set to work trying to change it. And now I have a cute little cupcake next to Book Couture. Much prettier and much more individual, wouldn't you agree?

Most book blogs I see don't have their own favicon. And this tips and tricks tutorial is my attempt to try and change that: by teaching everyone to change their favicon.

So if you are successful in changing your own favicon through this tutorial, please spread the word by linking this tutorial in a blog post. Hopefully, everyone can learn to get their own favicon.

Friday 17 September 2010

Guest Posting at Penguin BTL

 Hey, everyone! I hope you're having a lovely Friday.

I just wanted to take the time to update you on some recent news on Book Couture:

*Cues drum roll* ... I am guest posting on Penguin Between The Lines!

I've got an introductory post at Penguin today, and hopefully you can learn more about me from that post, including a sneak peek into my bookshelf. For the next week, I'll be posting some reviews, and an author interview with none other than the amazing Heather Brewer (of The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod).

And that's one of the reasons why I haven't been posting that many reviews...I've been hard at work writing a few for Between The Lines.

Between The Lines is "is Penguin Australia's dedicated space for young adult readers, writers and books." It's a wonderful site where you can get the latest updates about Penguin books. And by latest, I really do mean latest...well, earliest. Penguin tells you about books in advance, and has some pretty sweet competitions as well, but they are only open to Australians.

So, if you're in Australia, and you didn't know about Between the Lines, check it out. If you sign up to their newsletter, Penguin will nicely send you a free book. Choose from The Enemy by Charlie Higson, The Luxe by Anna Godbersen, and Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Which are all pretty sweet books!

Also, if you're not in Australia, check it out anyway, because Between the Lines is pure awesomeness.

(Disclaimer: I wasn't compensated for any reviews, they were my honest thoughts. Although Penguin did send me two books to review for BTL.)

Hurrah for guest posting! Hurrah for Fridays! And hurrah for heading over to BTL!


.

Finding Friends on Friday

Book Blogger Hop



Follow Friday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee, where people spread the book love by following around the blogosphere.

Book Blogger Hop is a meme hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-For-Books, where book bloggers can "connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!"



Question of the Week (Follow Friday): (YA or Adult reads?)
Definitely Young Adult. I'm not allowed to read any adult novels yet, so I stick with YA.

I think the magic of YA is that people of all ages are able to enjoy reading them. e.g. The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, so I'll still be reading YA when I'm an adult. Because we're all children at heart, aren't we?

Recently on Book Couture: 
۩๑Guest Posting on Penguin BTL 

۩๑The Book Contest Directory launch

۩๑ Blog Awards

۩๑Mockingjay Review

۩๑Hunger Games Fanart


Leave a comment below so I can check out your blog and follow, and please stop by and have a look at a couple of my reviews in the sidebar.


●▬▬▬๑۩ Happy Friday! ۩๑▬▬▬▬●

Thursday 16 September 2010

Introducing...The Book Contest Directory!

Image from We Heart It

I've been doing a lot of surfing, and I always find fantastic contests from book bloggers, giving away books. But the problem is, there's never one big list of contests for people to refer to. And as such, contests that I see, but intend to enter later, I lose track of.

With this thought in mind, and inspiration from directories such as the YA Blogosphere and the YA Book Blog Directory to create a directory for contests, specifically, book contests. And I call it the Book Contest Directory.

I'm starting to compile a list of contests already, sorting them into their end dates, and whether they're International or US/Canadian Only. It's still pretty much a work in progress, as I don't know of many contests out there.

So I invite everyone to submit their contest (if you have any) to the Book Contest Directory, or even send me a list of contests that you might be linking to in your sidebar. It would really help me get this directory up and running.

This is the format I'm looking for:


International/US only, End date, Contest name/prizes (Book Blog hosting contest) ...all as a link

e.g. (A non-existent contest)

INTERNATIONAL, September 30th, 200 Followers Contest (Book Couture)

Please visit the BCD (as I have thus dubbed it), follow it for regular updates. It would also be greatly appreciated if you mentioned the Book Contest Directory in any contest-related post.

And if you're graphics-savvy, rack up a logo or button. That would be lovely!

Furthermore, I would also like to invite anyone out there to become an admin of the BCD. Drop me an email if you're interested. I will add you as an editor, and what you would have to do is just help update the BCD with new contests that you find. We could also bounce around ideas for the BCD, and be friends. :)

In exchange, your blog could be linked in the sidebar, displayed in a blogroll, or anything else you can think of. It's a voluntary job, and wouldn't require much effort, but would help a lot.

So, please let me know what you think about the BCD. Check it out, volunteer to help, submit some contests. After all, who doesn't love 'em?

Have a wonderful day,
Tina

Wednesday 15 September 2010

Waiting on Wednesday #4

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, where bloggers can spotlight and share "upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating".


This week I'm waiting on:

Matched by Allie Condie
"In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s barely any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one . . . until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion.

Matched is a story for right now and storytelling with the resonance of a classic."
 ●▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬๑۩۩๑▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬●


Matched is one of the most highly anticipated books of the year, with a 7-figure deal, after publishing houses battled for the rights to the book. Penguin snapped up the book deal, and it is due to be released in late 2010.

I couldn't wait to read it after I heard about it from Penguin's BTL site - dystopia, danger and decisions? Totally my thing...I can't wait for it to come out!! ><

What are you waiting on this week?

Tuesday 14 September 2010

Blog Awards


I've been a little behind on things these couple of days, but I'd just like to pass on some awards I've been sent by fellow lovely bloggers.


 Sent by Reads Everything (she has a lovely blog, check it out!)

Rules:
Thank the person who gave it to you with a link back in your post, and send this on to fellow bloggers who rock this summer. List 4 rocking bloggers to share this with, and post a note to them through their comments.

And I nominate - these people are wonderful bloggers whom I love reading:


One Lovely Blog Award sent by: 
About Books Blog, and The Know-It-All.
(They are both lovely bloggers who thoroughly deserve this award)
Awesomest Blog Award sent by:
(A great new blogger)

Rules:

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

2. Pay it forward to 15 other bloggers that you have
newly discovered.

3. Contact those blog owners and let them know they've been chosen.

I've already passed on A Lovely Blog Award before, but I feel that more people should have it too.
So I nominate the people below for BOTH the aboveawards:





That Chick That Reads









 Everyone listed above is absolutely amazing!! They all have interesting content, great reviews, and shining personalities. 

And this was not done in any particular order (but some of the bloggers on the left are Aussie).


Congrats!

Tina