Favorite Summer Reads Blogfest

It's time for my second blogfest of the week, the Favorite Summer Reads fest, hosted by Cherie at Surrounded by Books.

Since Cherie is hosting this Blogfest to celebrate the first anniversary of her book review blog, Surrounded By Books Reviews, I wanted to say Happy Blogoversary to Cherie before I get to my summer reads choice. Congratulations, Cherie!! :)

Now, to the fest, I couldn't really think of a particular book that I would consider my favorite summer read, so I decided to pick the book series I spent most of this summer reading, the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris.

I first tried reading this series back when I watched the first season of True Blood. Before that, I had never even heard of the books or of Ms. Harris. When I tried to read the first book I didn't care for it at all, and I don't think I even finished it. I quickly gave up on the idea of reading the books.

But this summer I decided to try them again, as I've continued to watch the show and wanted to give the books another shot. I picked up the fourth book in the series, Dead to the World, and started from there. I admit, my primary (okay, maybe only) reason for starting the books again was because I have a great deal of affection for the vampire Eric Northman.

I ended up reading the rest of the series, up to the most recent installment, which is the eleventh, and to me the books were all what I would consider a perfect summer read. Not great literature by any means, but they are fun stories with likeable and quirky characters, and they are quick reads. And, best of all, they have Eric Northman. :D

So that's my summer read. Thanks to Cherie for hosting this fun fest!

Three Fun Blogfests, and One Fun Blog Party

I don't know if it's a result of my summer sluggishness, or just laziness in general, but I've been having a terrible time coming up with post topics lately. So I was glad to come upon some fun blogfests, and a great blog party, to give me some inspiration. I thought I would share in case others have not seen these fests and want to participate.

1) First up, The Spark Blogfest at Christine Tyler's The Writer Coaster.

These are the prompts for the Sparkfest:

What book made you realize you were doomed to be a writer? 

What author set off that spark of inspiration for your current Work in Progress?

Or, Is there a book or author that changed your world view?

 

I love this fest because you only have to answer one of these prompts to participate, and you can post any time over the four day period. In addition, Christine is offering great prizes! So, it sounds perfect to me, and I'm interested in reading the responses of the participants. And in coming up with my own answer, as I'm not even sure at the moment what that will be. 

2) Up next, the Favorite Summer Reads blogfest, hosted by Cherie at Surrounded by Books.

Cherie is hosting the blogfest to celebrate the one year blogoversary of her book review blog Surrounded by Books Reviews.

Here is Cherie's description of the fest:

All you have to do is post on your blog between August 24-27 and tell us what is your favorite summer read. Please post a picture of a book's cover art, a description of the book and why it is your favorite summer read. Then we can hop around and find great books. 
 

Once again, I love that participants will only have to write one post in a multi-day period, as that is just the right speed for my summer laziness. :D 

 

And, Cherie is also offering great prize packs to participants! So I'm happy to have the chance to win a great prize, while possibly learning about some great new reads.  

 

3) To end the summer, Karen Gowen at Coming Down the Mountain is hosting a virtual blog BBQ over the 4-day Labor Day weekend, September 2nd through the 5th. Karen started this tradition last year, and the virtual BBQ was such a success she decided to host another one for 2011. I'm glad, as I wasn't blogging last year and am looking forward to the chance to participate in the fun now. 

This blogfest is very simple, as all you need to do to join in is share a comment with your yummy contribution to the BBQ, and follow at least three other participants. If you want to sign up, stay tuned to Karen's blog for more details. I think it will be fun to say goodbye to summer and welcome fall with my fellow bloggers!

4) Finally, I'm looking forward to Talli Roland's blog party to celebrate the launch of her new book, Watching Willow Watts. Yay, Talli!

 

Talli is throwing a party on September 14th, the big launch day. To go along with the theme of the book, the party is called "If I Could Be Anyone, I'd Be...."

All you have to do to participate is post a photo of the person you'd choose to be, and your reasons for your choice. Talli is going to share the links to all the participants, so everyone can hop around and party all day with other bloggers. And, Talli is also offering great prizes, so there's nothing to lose and lots to gain by signing up and helping Talli celebrate her book launch!

Thanks to Christine, Cherie, Karen, and Talli for these fun opportunities!