Book Tag: Would You Rather?

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! I could do another book review, but I saw this on open invitation on The Written Word and thought it would be fun!

So.... Would you rather...

1. Read Only Trilogies or stand-a-lones? 

Stand-a-lones, definitely. I like series, but I'm terrible at following up.

2. Read Only Female or Male Authors?

Uh, I don't really look at the names. Female? Maybe? I can live with just reading Sarah Dessen and Hilary Mantel and the like.

No wait. That means I have to give up Chesterton and C.S. Lewis and Tolkien.

On second thought, I'll pick male authors.

3. Show at Barnes-n-Noble or Amazon?

Amazon. I've never been to a Barnes-n-Noble, because I don't live in the the States.

4. All books become movies or TV shows?

I always thought TV shows are for series and movies for standalones. Um, I have to pick? Movies, I guess. I mean, like Question 1, I'm terrible at following up, and I'll quickly get swamped with things I want to watch.

5. Read 5 pages per day or 5 books per week?

Five books a day! Ok, week, but I think I already do that...

6. Be a professional reviewer or author?

Weird as it may sound, author! But ideally, both! And a superhero-businesswoman! (I was the weird kid)

7. Only read your top 20 favourite books over and over or always read new ones you haven't read before?

I'll be doing the re-read, although deciding on the top 20 favourite books will be really hard.

8. Be a librarian or a bookseller?

Bookseller! (One of my many dreams) There'll be a lot more freedom to decide what to stock, how to decorate the store seasonally, and install a snack corner/cafe.

9. Only read your favourite genre, or every genre except your favourite?

I'm not sure if I have a favourite genre. Uh, but I guess I'll stick to just that one if I have to choose. It'll be interesting to see what I like to read.

10. Only read physical books or e-books?

I know we're in the midst of the ebook revolution, and I have way too many physical books as it is, but physical books all the way!

End! Feel free to join in if this catches your eye!

BloggerBlackout: Because Stalking is Not Cool.

Image from Bookthingo

Ok, I know that I'm really really late to the bloggerblackout, but in my defence, I just heard about it today from The Passive Voice. And once I heard about it, I knew I had to join.

Wait, what's this bloggerblackout whatchamacallit? 

Recap of the incident (and why I don't believe what Kathleen Hale says). Feel free to skip if you've already read it. 

Simply put, it's a response by bloggers to the atrocious behaviour of Kathleen Hale. Kathleen Hale received a one-star review from a reviewer who initially liked the book, but was then turned off by PTSD jokes and statutory rape that seemed to be condoned (in her piece, Hale says that there is no rape [she fails to specifiy statutory rape]in the book, but it's mentioned in that reviewer's thread several times by more than one person that there is statutory rape. Hale also completely fails to address the PTSD joke, instead going on and on about the rape, so I assume that it's in the book and she doesn't want to admit it). Hale is so upset that she pays for a background check, visits her house and even calls her at her place of work. This is clearly harassment. But according to Hale, she was being catfished by the blogger.

To quote Inigo Montoya, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

The definition of cat-fishing is (according to dictionary.com) "to deceive, swindle, etc, by assuming a false personality online." (when used as a slang verb). Please take note of the word "swindle". It's most commonly used for cases where the victim was cheated out of money. From what I can find on the net, the blogger simply used a pseudonym, and didn't actually try to get the author to give her money or free books or something like that.

Personally, my suspicions of the piece were first raised by the fact the author used Stop the Goodreads Bullies (STGRB) as source of information. If you didn't know, STGRB is a bully side dedicated to doxxing "bullies". In other words, bloggers who post critical reviews. I guess to them, the function of book bloggers is to love every single book and promote it for free.

And the second thing that convinced me that there were serious holes with the stories were the lack of screenshots. Or even a link to the offending review. Evidence is everything, especially on the internet, where you can capture webpages straightaway.

So what we have is an extremely one-sided piece, with indications that there are serious doubts as to how truthful the author is being. From searching on the net, it seems that there's no evidence to support her case.

So, what's with all the bloggers up in arms? 

This concerns our safety. Of course we're going to be worried. I'm lucky enough that I live far far away from most writers I review (and anyway, I don't really do snark because I'm atrocious at it - and I tend to pick books that I like so....). But other bloggers aren't so lucky.

If you don't believe what I'm saying, take some time to read this blogger's account of how she was hit over the head with a wine bottle by an angry author.

We book bloggers spend our time reading and reviewing books not because we're trying to be rich or famous, but because we love reading. We love reading, and we want to spread the word. We're not in this for the money or fame, and we shouldn't have to be afraid for our safety because we dare to speak our minds about books.

Hence, the #haleNo and #bloggerblackout trends on twitter.

So what's your blogger blackout going to entail? Are you posting non-reviews? Only reviews of authors long gone? 

My blackout will last till Nov 1 and I will not be posting anything new. I know some bloggers are posting non-review posts, and I might do that (if I find something to say), but for now, I want this post to stay at the top of my blog.

So give me something to read when you're gone! 

Gladly. Here are the most useful links:
Brianna from Pages Unbound did a wonderful post discussing "Who has the "Authority" to review books?"
Bibliodaze has two great posts, an Open Letter to Kathleen Hale and more about #HaleNo, blogger blackout and the non-existent war between bloggers and authors.
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books talks about The Choices of Kathleen Hale
Dear Author explains why pseudonyms are used by some bloggers (and why the pseudonym should be respected) in On The Importance of Pseudonymous Activity

Happy 200th Birthday Pride and Prejudice!

Dear Miss Austen,

Thank you so much for Pride and Prejudice! It's the first book of yours that I've read, and the book that made me fall in love with your works. I bought a cheap green Penguin copy on a family trip to Kuala Lumpur  and I probably spent more time reading that actually enjoying the sites (don't worry, we go there quite often). And when I got back to Singapore, I was distraught when I lost it one day on the way to school. It's one of the only two books that I've gotten upset over losing.

Well, at least this feeling went away when I bought an exact same copy.

I know Pride and Prejudice must be the favourite of many people (and rightly so), so I don't dare claim that I'm your biggest fan. I will say that I love Pride and Prejudice, and that I read it over and over again.

Love,
Eustacia

And that's my love letter to Jane Austen! This is part of the Pride and Prejudice 200th Anniversary blog hop, hosted by Alyssa Goodnight and Stiletto Storytime. You can find out more, and a list of participants here.

In addition, I have something else to contribute! While I can't narrow down my one favourite quote from Pride and Prejudice (I might as well quote the whole book), I did make one quote picture by picking a random quote an a (hopefully) matching photo that I took. Enjoy!

February Issue of An Excuse For Company

Hey everyone! The February issue of An Excuse For Company is out and yours for free at this link!

This month's issue is about The Other Three Loves because, well, Valentines day is overhyped. Do you know in Japan, girls have to give things like giri-choco (obligation chocolate) to guys? And yes, only girls give chocolates on Valentines day here. I think I'll skip this year.

There are a lot more original materials in this issue (like poems~), and we have two authors speaking up - one about smashwords and the other showcasing her latest work.

If you want to participate (through a review, providing a cover image, through an original poem/story, etc), let me know and we'll work something out!

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Today turned out to be a good day. I managed to drag myself out of my room around noon and make it to Church, which meant I wasn't alone.

Also, I have a Christmas present for you guys - The January issue of An Excuse for Company!

You can download the free magazine here. This is the largest issue yet, and I hope it'll keep growing in 2013! The next few days will be used for reading challenges and such, so reviews will be (regretfully) scant.

An Excuse For Company Volume 2

Last month, I debuted the An Excuse For Company magazine. Earlier this month, I asked for submissions. And now, I'm very proud to say that I haven't given up and in fact, have published the second volume!

It's a Christmas Volume (since it's for December after all) and I'm so happy that there's actually a present! It's not a free book, but it's a discount on a really interesting book. Plus, you can sleep happy knowing that your profits don't go to the author, they go to a really worthwhile charity.

Of course, there are plenty of book reviews inside, and even two author posts! I hope you guys enjoy them!

You can download your free copy at Smashwords

Looking for Contributors to the December issue of An Excuse For Company!

Hey friends,

If you remember, last month, I debuted the book-ish e-magazine An Excuse For Company! I hope you downloaded it and enjoyed reading it!

Now, I'm looking for contributors for the December issue. It's Christmas-themed, but you don't have to submit only Christmas related posts. You can submit any of your blog posts/book reviews/book news that you want to share with everyone. Even photos are welcome (as a cover photo)!

Submitting is really easy. Just leave me the link to your blog post and an bio in the comments by the end of this week (16/11/2012) and I'll include your post in the next issue. Please note that I won't accept LGBT or erotica book reviews/news.

^_^

An Excuse For Company - Volume 1

HEY FRIENDS(: I have something I want to share with you! It's the first issue of what I hope will be a monthly magazine - An Excuse For Company (Link to smashwords page). And by the way, it's free~

I'm starting to think that my motivation for doing most things come from when I'm bored. Before I had the rush of exams/sick, I was being bored and suddenly felt like making a magazine! But I didn't want to do it alone, I wanted to have lots of people doing this, because it would be more fun, and you guys would get to see news and reviews that I don't know about.

So I posted on Goodreads where I got.... one response (thanks Jesse!). And then, I remembered Google+, and voila, the rest of the contributors appeared. I'm really so glad to have worked with them, and I hope that they become regular contributors!

But really, the hardest part of the magazine was the formatting and cover. The theme was easy, I already decided to do NaNoWriMo (ok, maybe I could have worked on the novel preparations instead of the magazine), so making that a feature was natural. Finding an appropriate photo (that I took, since I really don't want copyright issues) and doing the whole word document thing, was much more tedious.

I'm really not a tech person.

Still, I hope you guys download and read the issue (the formatting is the best on pdf, but ePub works too). And tell me if you have any comments or (better yet), if you want to be a part of the next issue. Heads up: The next issue will be Christmas themed, so I'll gladly welcome posts on Christmas and Christmas-y books, although any sort of book news/reviews are also welcome(:

UPDATE: Giveaway Contest

Hi everyone, I have more good news for you! Today, my copy of Warrior came, along with two surprises:

Yes, you saw that right! Two extra copies of Liberator and Aldo's Fantastical Movie palace. Unfortunately, this copy is an ARC version and I don't think I'm allowed to give it away. But, what this means is that now, apart from winning books 1 and 3 of the Dragons of Starlight series, you will also win book four of the series "Liberator". Sorry everyone, I just noticed that this book is also an ARC. So unless you don't mind receiving a used book (I'm reading the final copy instead of the ARC), it's only going to be book 1 and 3. But to show how sorry I am, I'll be including a small present in your package.

So, what are you waiting for? You can post your entries either one of the giveaway posts.

Liebster Blog Award

I can't believe that it's the first day of July! Where did the first half of the year go to? And more importantly, where have this last two months gone? It still feels as though I've just arrived in Japan. And to celebrate the first day of the second half of the year, I'm so happy to say that I've been tagged/won the Liebster Blog Award from Rie (thank you!).

The Liebster blog award is for "small" blogs (below 200 followers). Those tagged have to share 11 things about themselves, answer 11 questions and then tag another 11 people (oh dear, I always have a problem with the tagging part....). But anyway, without further ado, here are 11 random things about me:

1. I actually enjoy reading business textbooks/case studies.
2. That doesn't mean I enjoy studying though.
3. I started getting an interest in Japan not from anime/manga (though that is a fairly big reason), but from reading Silence by Shusaku Endo
4. And of course, the only reason why I came up with the topic I had for my Extended Essay (it's a graduation thesis) is because I insisted on analysing Silence.
5. I spent the first 12 years of my education in the same school system (basically, the same family of schools - so around the same school culture) but for university, I ended up in Japan (which is the most unexpected thing that I could have done).
6. I decided at Secondary 3 (age 15) that I wanted to come to Japan on this scholarship (I applied for it last year, when I was 17 going-on 18).
7. And I told everybody that I was -definitely- going to do this (I didn't even apply for my back-up plan of University in England)
8. I'm in Kendo
9. Even though I was in Robotics, I can't do programming (I'm better at presentations and writing proposals)
10. I love Hello Kitty
11. I don't know/don't like putting on make up or other (what I call) "girly stuff". But I wear lots of dresses because they're the most convenient thing to put on.

11 Questions from Rie
1. When did you discover your love of books?
Umm... I don't know! I grew up loving books (I remember being scolded for reading under my desk when I was 7). But it definitely intensified as I grew older.

2. Where do you read the most?
I don't have a reading nook (sadly). I tend to read anywhere I can.

3. Can you read whilst listening to music or whilst the TV is on?
Music yes, TV.... um, I won't be able to tell you what the programme was about. I think generally, I can read and listen to something, but my eyes can't focus on two things at one go.

4. What do you eat for breakfast?
Right now? Cornflakes. Last wee? Anko Donuts, Next week? Depends on what is cheap/on offer at the supermarket. :D

5. Why did you decided to start blogging?
Honestly, I needed a way to keep track of the books I read, and I hadn't heard of Goodreads or LibraryThing back then. That's why most of my posts are reviews and not much of author interviews or memes and such.

6. Why do you blog about books?
Well, I actually have a blog about my life in Japan. I didn't want to mix the two up. And well, most of the personal blogs I started before (when I was about 12?) all stopped because I got too lazy to post. But I'm forever excited about the books I read, which gives me motivation to write.

7. Tea, Coffee or Hot Chocolate?
Hot Chocolate for sure! Green Tea is second though(:

8. What is your worst habit?
Reading too much. Either that or Reading-and-(something). E.g. walking, eating, chatting with friends, etc.

9. Hardback or paperback book?
The prettier one. And nowadays, the cheaper one.

10.Who is your favourite author?
...
...
...
I can't decide! It really all depends on my mood.

11. What do you want to be doing / where do you want to be in 5 years time

Hopefully, graduating from University (I'm graduating late because of the language year). After that, well, anything goes!

Before I announce the list of bloggers, here are my questions
1. Do you have a favourite genre or do ignore genres when you choose your books?
2. Most overrated book you read
3. Most underrated book you read
4. Cats or Dogs
5. How many languages do you read it?
6. How do you make time to read
7. If you have 10 000 (insert home currency), what would you do with it?
8. What are some stereotypes about bookworms that you think aren't true
9. iPad or Kindle (or Nook or other tablet
10. If you had to run out of a burning library, which books would you save
11. Speaking of burning books, have you ever read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury?

Ok, so here are the winners
...
...
...
I'm sorry, apparently, all the blogs I want to give awards to have above 200 subscribers

... O...TL

Please wait while I try to find bloggers (I'm currently looking at blogs I comment on the most because if I don't feel like commenting...

Alright, so here are some truly noteworthy blogs I can't believe I overlooked (I'm slowly adding them):
1. Sandee from Books, Books and more Books
2. Brittany from A Pursuit of Happiness
3. Charlene from The Literary Word

Featured Friday with Random and Booky

I'm not sure if Sadiya has managed to place her Featured Friday with me, but here's mine, slightly late(:

The second meme I’m participating is all due to Sara-Sadiya from Random and Booky! Yay! If you haven’t been to her blog yet (and it’s one of the first few blogs in the “Fellow Bibliophiles” section), you should. It’s a really pretty, really positive blog that lifts my spirits whenever I read it.

She also created quite a few meme’s, which are really well known. And Featured Friday is another brilliant idea, since it allows two bloggers to get to know each other better, as well as readers to know more about the people behind the blog. So here’s my interview with her:

Me: I'll start with a very old/overused question: why did you start a book blog?

R&B: I started blogging back in July because I thought it was an excellent way of sharing books and because of the already out there amazing blogs. Another reason I started a blog was because since I was muslim I faced some discrimination from certain people and thought it'd be a good way of showing people that just because I'm muslim doesn't mean I'm going to blow something up. Overtime though I realized that people who discriminated me were not worth my time and are just really immature.

Me: Some bloggers I know are secretly (or not so secretly) writers, and use their blog to polish their writing skills. I know your blogging style is really casual, but I do want to know, do you have any ambition to be a writer? 

R&B: Not really. I can write, I just don't really write for fun or consider it a career possibility. Though without noticing my blog has improved my writing skills, which is a very useful skill in life. Though I consider myself a reader, not writer. =)

Me: Here's a blog specific question for you: What is the inspiration/meaning behind your tag "Dream! Live! Discover!" ?

R&B: Yeah I like to make the blog me as an extension of myself. =) It makes all blogs more unique and fun! =D

Good question! Well DLD is my personal saying about life that I thought of myself one day. I can't remember exactly how/when I thought of it but about a month ago I was on a quote frenzy. So I think after reading a few inspirational ones I just thought of it.  But I just made it up because that's what life is about: dreaming, living your dreams and discovering new things. And everyone needs a bit of that in life. It's just a small positive message I like to spread to people.=)

Me: Well, DLD was really unique, and I think it's great to spread the positivity around ^^ Does the cover of the book matter when you're deciding if you want to read it?

R&B: Thanks!Not really. I usually judge a book by it's title. But sometimes a cover will catch my eye at the library or book store and I may pick it up. Like recently the cover for Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon caught my eye and the title and summery sounded good so I decided to read it, turned out to be extremly cliche and I put it down. But sometimes if the cover is very 'romancy' ((i don't know how else to describe it)) like a book called Chemical Romance(?) I won't read it.

Me: What kind of character do you think is the hardest to accurately portray in stories?

R&B: Hmmm, I've never really thought about that. Well I think maybe a character that has suffered a lot. Like someone who has gone through abuse, is depressed, lost a loved one etc etc. I mean we know they are feeling extremely upset and traumitized but we never really know what is going on inside their head unless we've been where they have

Me: What blogs do you like to read/is an inspiration to you? (doesn't have to be a book blog)

R&B: Ummm, well actually all the blogs I read, which are all actually book blogs, give me inspiration. Sometimes I'll see these ideas from blogs, all different and it makes me think of one big idea. Like FF, I saw a lot of blogger interviews and I thought 'wouldn't it be great to interview the person back? and actually interact with them?' So yeah, FF was made

Me: What are your thoughts about ebooks and ereaders? I personally prefer paper books but they are useful to bring on holidays...

R&B: I personally do not like e-readers. I mean they're cool and useful but I just like the hard copy of the book better. Something about actually having the book is just . . . I don't know how to describe it. But having the book is a lot better than on a tiny screen, digitally. Not to mention how much better it looks to have the books on your bookshelf. =)

-End Interview-

And like all good conversations, Sara’s questions to me were completely different from the ones I asked her. So hop over to her blog here to see what her interview with me was like

The Versatile Blogger Award

The impossible has happened. I managed to make enough of an impact that I won the Versatile Blogger award. Thanks so much Pragya! I'm going to be adding her to the Fellow Bibliophiles page by tomorrow (I'm so sorry for being this slow), but in the meantime, you can check out her beautiful blog here

So here are the 5 simple rules:
1. Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post .
2. Share 7 things about yourself .
3. Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs you enjoy reading.
4. Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

Let's move on to the 7 things (reminds me of the Miley Cyrus song - Note: if you're bored, any music, even Miley Cyrus, will not put you to sleep. Rather, the song will get stuck in your head, making you want to scream even though you're a crowded plane. You should do better things like read)

1. Even though I'm Chinese, I'm more proficient at English.
2. I love reading and writing. But I can't write well (I hope to improve though)
3. I'll be going to Japan for university next year. For 5 years. (Yes, it's extremely long)
4. Thankfully, I'll be going there on a scholarship.

5. I play golf. Even though I've stopped since the begining of IB, it still counts k?

6. I'm hopelessly behind time in everything except possibly current affairs. The only time I know about new book releases is from other bloggers and the newspapers.

7. I have awesome friends (yes, you know who you are)

Alright, for the more interesting part, on to the 1510 recently discovered bloggers (although some of them have been around for some time) -drumroll-

P.s. Not all are book bloggers :D

1. Musings of a Bookish Kitty

2. Random and Booky

3. Tais Toi

4. Books, Biscuits and Tea

5. Figures/TicTackToe
6. Tofugu
7. Twntysmthg
8. One Upon a Wanderer
9. The Inkberry Diaries

10. One Chocolate Box

I'm sorry, I can only think of 10. While I follow (and love) many different bloggers I can only think of 10 who fit the criteria at the moment.

Reading Wishes has a Giveaway!



Santa is looking suspicious here.... Santa, are you here
to steal presents or to give them away?



I'm very bad with technology, so it always impresses me how other bloggers manage to put together such a professional looking blog. One of them is Rebecca@Reading Wishes, who started only in May this year, but already has a really professional looking blog and book reviewing system running. Me? I'm just muddling my way through, and the most I can do in the way of "planning" is to decide ahead of time what to post (review, or quote or something unrelated).

And now, she's even got a Christmas Giveaway! I have no idea how giveaways are run, so this just makes me respect her (and the other bloggers) even more. I guess after exams, I should really put in some effort into making this blog look presentable.

Anyway, the details of the giveaway are like this:

It's from 9th to 23rd November and you must be a follower of her blog to enter. And since bookdepository ships to Singapore, there's no need to worry about anything else.

So what are you waiting for? You should join the Giveaway! (Yes, I'm joining, of course, but apart from that, I need to find bloggin mentors. Or something like that).