I’m so excited that The Estella Society brought back the lovely Book Blogger Appreciation Week! The event was started by My Friend Amy in 2008, and her intent was this: Acknowledging the hard work of book bloggers and their growing impact on book marketing and their essential contribution to book buzz in general, I am excited to announce the first Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Think of it as a retreat for book bloggers and a chance for us to totally nerd out over books together. And of course, shower each other with love and appreciation.
A full week to celebrate the incredible book blogging community? That gives me a lot of warm fuzzies. Let the love fest commence!
Today’s day 1 prompt is this: Introduce yourself by telling us about five books that represent you as a person or your interests/lifestyle.
I’ve decided to approach this prompt Netflix style, and introduce you to some of my favorite genres / books via the specific categories they fit into. Like Netflix:
Also, I can’t stick to five, so please forgive me. Here are my favorite hyper specific book genres, and one of my favorite books from each.
POETRY THAT MAKES YOU FEEL ALIVE IN THE SPIRIT OF NATURE
American Primitive by Mary Oliver
“I know a whale that will come to the boat whenever
she can, and nudge it gently along the bow
with her long flipper.
I know several lives worth living.”
COMING OF AGE STORIES FEATURING A STRONG FEMALE LEAD
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
“Dear God,” she prayed, “let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be gay; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be hungry…have too much to eat. Let me be ragged or well dressed. Let me be sincere – be deceitful. Let me be truthful; let me be a liar. Let me be honorable and let me sin. Only let me be something every blessed minute. And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost.”
RED-HEADED KINDRED SPIRITS
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
“It was November–the month of crimson sunsets, parting birds, deep, sad hymns of the sea, passionate wind-songs in the pines. Anne roamed through the pineland alleys in the park and, as she said, let that great sweeping wind blow the fogs out of her soul.”
BOOKS ABOUT BOOKS: THAT META LIFE
Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman
“Books wrote our life story, and as they accumulated on our shelves (and on our windowsills, and underneath our sofa, and on top of our refrigerator), they became chapters in it themselves.”
SCIENCE FICTION AUTHORS WHO BECOME YOUR SPIRITUAL GUIDE
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
“And I asked myself about the present: how wide it was, how deep it was, how much was mine to keep.”
PERFECT SENTENCES WITHIN PERFECTLY CRAFTED SHORT STORIES
Nine Stories by J. D. Salinger
“The fact is always obvious much too late, but the most singular difference between happiness and joy is that happiness is a solid and joy a liquid.”
NOVELS THAT ARE MEDITATIONS ON HUMAN MEMORY
Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald
“It seems to me then as if all the moments of our life occupy the same space, as if future events already existed and were only waiting for us to find our way to them at last, just as when we have accepted an invitation we duly arrive in a certain house at a given time.”
MEMOIRS THAT MAKE YOU GIGGLE AND FEEL MORE HUMAN
A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
“I later discovered that in order to be a good athlete one must care intensely what is happening with a ball, even if one doesn’t have possession of it. This was ultimately my failure: my inability to work up a passion for the location of balls.”
GOOD OLD FASHIONED SIDE SPLITTERS
The Code of the Woosters by P. G. Wodehouse
“There are moments, Jeeves, when one asks oneself, ‘Do trousers matter?'”
“The mood will pass, sir.”
BRILLIANT MEMOIRS BY BRILLIANT ARTISTS
Just Kids by Patti Smith
“No one expected me. Everything awaited me.”
ARMCHAIR TRAVELING AT ITS BEST
Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson
“I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can’t read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can’t even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.”
ART THAT MAKES LIFE MORE BEAUTIFUL
The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman
“Soon enough it will be me struggling (valiantly?) to walk – lugging my stuff around. How are we all so brave as to take step after step? Day after day? How are we so optimistic, so careful not to trip and yet do trip, and then get up and say O.K. Why do I feel so sorry for everyone and so proud?”
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Those are some of my most loved genres, and a sprinkling of some of my favorite books. What are your favorite hyper specific genres? Share in the comments below, and follow all the BBAW love this week on Twitter!
Love how you did this! And totally a reminder that I *need* to read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn very, very soon.
I’ve been needing a re-read of ATGIB as well – I found an old reading quotes notebook I kept when I was in college and I re-read all the amazing Betty Smith quotes in it.
I was surprised by how much I liked Just Kids; also, I love everything Kalman.
I was surprised too – I knew very little about Patti Smith before I read it, but now it’s one of my favorite memoirs. And yes! … Maira Kalman is simply the best!
I wondered if you are a fan of Adams’ Life, the Universe and Everything…I mean, from your blog title!
Yes! A big Douglas Adams fan! :D
Really good way of going about the challenge – I found it really hard to keep to just 5 books too. Glad to see Anne of Green Gables but am also delighted to see someone else who loves Kurt Vonnegut!
Yay! A fellow Vonnegut fan. :D He is so very wonderful, isn’t he?
Emily! I love how you did this!
I’m really kicking myself for leaving off A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Francie is my spirit animal.
Thank you Heather! :D I was pleasantly surprised how many lists I saw ATGIB on, it’s really one of the loveliest books of all time.
Great post! Love your approach to this. It is a good thing I wrote and posted mine before reading anybody else’s or I would be very stuck and indecisive… I now really want to read The Principles of Uncertainty. YAY FOR VONNEGUT!!
I’ve been meaning to read A Tree Grows In Brooklyn for FOREVER, and it’s been on my shelf over FIFTEEN YEARS. Thanks for the push! P.S. Love the way you broke this into categories… genius.
Love your “Netflix” approach and the quotes are superb. Especially love the Oliver, Salinger, and Bryson quotes!
Well this was amazing. Love your take on it.
I love this! And I think everyone should read A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. Such a wonderful, wonderful book.
This sounds fun! I just placed Ex Libris on my Goodreads TBR a few days ago. I love books about books. A hyper specific genre? Hmm… fantasy that makes you think of magical realism.
I just love A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Anne of Green Gables. I would put those in some sort of “warm fuzzies” category.
I am frankly amazed that any of us DID manage to stick to five. :p Love your super-specific Netflix categories. Anything that’s “with a strong female lead” will at least call to me, for sure. “Boarding school books” is one — I love them so much and will read infinity of them. Ballet boarding school books would be even better.
AAAHHH! I loved a Girl Named Zippy! I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard while reading! NIce to “meet” you Emily =)
Oh I love that passage from A Girl Named Zippy! Absolutely have to read it! I love the categories you came up with. I haven’t read any of these but I am eyeing several of the.
I love your categories, and I’m so with you on J.D. Salinger. It’s past time I reread his gorgeous short stories.
I love you take on it! And Slaughterhouse-Five – always.
Just Kids! A Girl Named Zippy! J.D. Salinger! I’ve read all of Haven Kimmell’s books…I’m waiting for whatever is next. I think she could write a grocery list and I’d buy it. Same with Patti Smith.
I think I read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn about five times when I was in middle school. Seems like it’s time for a revisit! :)
Hi, fellow INFJ? I haven’t read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but I always mean too. Great list and lovely meeting you!
Awwww I love that you’ve included Anne on here!! While I miiiiight be a bit fonder of the mini-series than the actual book (I know, I know), I adore her. I need to read more Bryson!
Hmm, there are a suspicious number of bloggers who can’t seem to hold their list to five which cracks me up because it is such a typical book blogger thing to do :D