Bookish Community Links & News

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The Drama that is Rocking the Book Blogger World:

• Y’all, I don’t normally do “newsy” posts, but DISTURBING on so many levels is ‘Am I being catfished?’ An author confronts her number one online critic. I can’t even begin to talk about this.
• The Bustle article that is painting Hale as a victim ” – KATHLEEN HALE CONTROVERSY BRINGS UP MAJOR ISSUES IN THE NEW ERA OF BOOK BLOGGING, SOCIAL MEDIA – author of this piece, Caitlin White even tweeted #TeamHale – but later deleted her tweet  (nothing goes away) and then expects us to suck down her article as impartial…
• Digging deeper, book bloggers are digging up other “stories” by Hale, in which again, she paints herself as both “stalker,” “attacker” and “victim.” This is scary, because what if Hale wouldn’t have run away when she went to Harris’ door? #scary
• i4U paints a different picture – In Other News: Kathleen Hale Stalks A Reviewer finally an article that calls a spade a spade – “justifying criminal behavior doesn’t illustrate the mind of a rational person. Nor does joking about breaking laws for the sake of a bad review.”

In other news…

• Have you read any books on the 2014 National Book Award Finalists List?
• John Grisham stepped in dog poo big time with his thoughtless comments on child pornography. Read More on John Grisham and child pornography to get an idea of what happened, and reactions from others.
• Are you a fan of urban fantasies? I haven’t read many, so I’ve bookmarked this list of Bustiers, Bullets, and Black Magic: Four Urban Fantasy Series You Should Be Reading, for when I need recommendations.
• The lists of creepy reads for this month continue to roll in with October Books: A Reading List for the Month of Harvest and Horror and 13 Ultra-Creepy Books To Avoid Before Bedtime.
• Plus 3 On A YA Theme: Be Ready To Be Scared and Creepiest fiction of the year.
• Do you think you might be outgrowing Young Adult books?
• If you like books with ghosts, then check out What To Read After Anna Dressed In Blood.
• Who else loves bookish games? Here are some Bookish Games To Play at a Bookstore Sleepover.
• Have you experienced An evolution of reading habits anytime in the recently? Did you go from reading mostly contemporary to fantasy – or vice versa? From primarily young adult books, to incorporating more adult fiction?
• What books would be on your list of Con Artists, Sleuths, and Superspies: 5 YA Characters You Just Can’t Trust?
• Do you show any of the Ten Signs You Are a Book Junkee? Yup, yup, yup …
• I can relate to 8 Reasons I Struggle To Put Down A Book. It’s incredibly hard for me to DNF books. I know, life’s too short etc… but it’s still damn near impossible for me to do.
• Have you read any of the books on this list of YA Books That Will Make You Swear Off Social Media Forever?
• Here are 65+ of Your Favorite Vampire Romances. I like my vampires mean and blood-thirsty, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t love Vampire Academy too!
• Harry Potter book night announced for February 2015. Fans will be able to go along to a range of events in London and around the UK to share their love of the boy wizard!
• What are some of your Favorite Book Inspired Objects? I have a weakness for bookish tote bags.
• Which type of book blogger are you? … Which type would you LIKE to be?
• Do you belong to a book club … do you GO to the meetings? Me, yes and no, but I enjoyed reading One Year in a Book Club.

Upcoming Blog Events

• #ReadingCram Chills and Thrills Readathon will be Oct. 24 – 31, 2014. You have to read spooky themed books – and there will be daily challenges and they look like FUN!
• The Book Smugglers is hosting a read-along of Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson on October 29, 2014.They will post a joint review of the book and open the floor for discussion and linkage to your posts/reviews.
• The Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon is Nov. 6-11, and requires you to read a holiday (or winter) themed book.
• Sci-Fi Month is Coming (November)! Are You Ready? Link up to all your sci-fi love posts in November.
• Nonfiction November is also a-coming.
• So is the Semi-Charmed Winter 2014 Book Challenge which runs from Nov. 1, 2014 – Feb. 28, 2015.
• Bookish Blogging Tips
• You don’t find many people sharing the actual numbers for their blog stats, so it’s refreshing to see them in Let’s Get Real About Stats.
• Are you using any of the 26 Awesome Blogging Tools Used by the Pros?
• What device do you use for reading blogs and writing your blog posts? Do you have laptop, tablet & a smartphone?
• There’s an awful lot of goodness in How to Write Your Blog Posts Faster – An Easy Checklist.
• Amen to Why “Follow Backs” Are Pointless. You want ENGAGED readers, not just a “follow and never come back” visitor.
• There isn’t a blogger who doesn’t enjoy having more traffic to their posts. Here are Three Proven Traffic Tactics that Work Well.
• Want an Insanely Successful Blog? Perfect Your Process, Focus Less on the End Goal … “focus on the daily habits that are necessary for achieving positive outcomes we’ll be well on our way to success.”
• So many people are on Twitter, and if you haven’t yet mastered getting in the conversation there, here are some tips on How to utilize Twitter for maximum awesomeness.
• Here are some tips on How I shoot with my iPhone. These tips apply to Android phone users like myself too. Using a phone to take pictures for your blog is so handy, but they still need to look amazeballs.
• A web-designer shares 8 plugins I use on every site I code.
• Want to Hook Your Readers? Apply These 10 Principles to Create Captivating News Stories is applicable to personal bloggers too. Do you do any of the tips shared in this post?
• Just inspirational – 6 Things Internet Marketers Can Learn From Arnold Schwarzenegger.