Thursday, September 15, 2011

BBAW: Readers

Welcome to Day 4 of BBAW! Here's the daily topic for today:

Book bloggers blog because we love reading. Has book blogging changed the way you read? Have you discovered books you never would have apart from book blogging? How has book blogging affected your book acquisition habits? Have you made new connections with other readers because of book blogging? Choose any one of these topics and share your thoughts today!

My reading has definitely changed as a result of blogging. It's hard to believe that when I started blogging I didn't really read any fantasy, very few short stories and I didn't read a lot of YA (although to be the fair there wasn't anywhere near as much out there).

I thought though that today I would talk about more recent changes to my reading related habits - short stories.

In the past I would read anthologies only if one of the stories in a book was part of an ongoing series. It used to annoy me because often there were stories from other series also in the anthology and because I couldn't not read the whole book (it's the completist in me!)  I would be reading series out of order. Other than that I most certainly didn't make any effort to read any short stories and I was quite content with that!

I am trying to think how my short story odyssey began this year.

I think it was that I started talking to a blogger on twitter (I am thinking it might have been Sean) who then posted about the Galactic Suburbia podcast which is where I heard about Twelfth Planet Press who have published three (and a half) of the collections that I have read so far this year. I have enjoyed them all, and I have already pre ordered the next three collections that are due to come out later in the year.

In addition I have also discovered the awesome short stories of Margo Lanagan and I have a couple of different collections/anthologies sitting on my book shelf waiting to be read!

One thing I haven't yet figured out is how to count and record the short stories that I read online for example, or that I listen to on podcasts. When I read a complete collection or anthology I just count it as a book read, but when it is single stories I haven't quite worked that out! How do you do this?

I would encourage everyone to occasionally follow the links as you never know where you might end up and how your reading may well be changed as a result!

Click on the images below to go to the reviews of the short story collections that I have read so far this year.

And the best thing about all of the collections I have read so far - all the authors are Australian and with the exception of the Sprawl anthology they are all female authors!




10 comments:

  1. I dig book blogs. I dig reading! Lethal combination!

    :D

    Reading is a part of life. Any kind of reading. Be it research papers or book blogs. They always keep us going, the dear book bloggers!

    Here is my post:

    BBAW 2011: Readers

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  2. I do like how book blogging challenges the reader to try something new. I always enjoy reading your reviews.

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  3. Absolutely true. Blogging has definitely widen my reading choices. Before blogging, I kept a reading journal with notes. But once I started sharing my thoughts publicly, I found I was reading more closely. No more quick -- "I liked it" assessments. I had to think about *why* I liked it and then how to express that to others.

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  4. I read many more short story collections now than I ever did before blogging, but I still don't read all that many these days. It's funny, because some of the best posts I have read lately seem to be focused on short story collections, but I can never get on board and just pick them up randomly! I particularly enjoyed your post on White Time. It was excellent.

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  5. I am so awful when it comes to short stories. I just don't like them. They are too fleeting!

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  6. Short stories are something I would really like to read more of. I always thought I disliked the format until I came across Simon Van Booy, who made me realize I really could love some short stories. I've been anxious to try some more and have even acquired several collections, but my silly review schedule has me tied up for the next couple of months. After that, it'll be fewer review copies and more of what I want to read. I'll have to check out some of the collections you've shared!

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  7. I love short stories! After I graduated college and before I started my blog (a gap of about three years), I didn't really read them on my own. Now I read at least one every week. Short stories are so dynamic and often showcase the best of an author's writing abilities. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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  8. After reading all the posts today I am thinking I should have not rushed mine this morning! There were so many things that I didn't even think about...

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  9. >I would encourage everyone to occasionally follow the links as you never know where you might end up and how your reading may well be changed as a result!<

    I think that's wonderful advice!

    Shelleyrae @ book'd Out

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  10. Oh thanks for the mention. Book blogging has certainly changed my reading, though being a dedicated review has forced me to broaden my reading as well.

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