And another short post - because I have been musing, for some time, on the possibility of having a UK Book Blogger Meet-Up. We live on a small island, and it makes sense to use that to our advantage. One of the loveliest things about blogging has been meeting lots of bloggers in person - using blog names, I've met Random Jottings, Cornflower, Other Stories, Savidge Reads, Geranium Cat, Oxford Reader, Dovegreyreader, Pursewarden, Embarrassment of Frivolities, The B Files, Books Please, Harriet Devine, Paperback Reader, Writing Life and the Universe, and apologies to anybody I've forgotten.
What's been wonderful about every single meeting is how much online friendliness and book enthusiasm carries over into face-to-face encounters. And, thought I, this would incredibly fun to make into something even bigger!
I haven't been in touch with anybody else about this yet, not officially, but in my mind I'm thinking somewhere in London on Saturday May 8th 2010. That just sounds far enough away to mean we can get sorted.
This is open to absolutely anybody, and to express interest please email me at simondavidthomas@yahoo.co.uk with the subject heading Book Blogger Meet-Up. You're not committing yourself to anything yet (haven't even thought about venue!) but once I've begun to gage (or perhaps gauge, I can never remember) interest, I'll Get More Organised and hopefully you'll all be on board, inviting other bloggers, ready to meet, greet, and possibly even wear name badges...
Obviously not all UK Book Bloggers read my blog, so when we've got a venue and things a little more organised, I'll be asking people to advertise the event on their blogs - between us we know a lot of people!
good thinking! email on the way.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea, I'll email you now!
ReplyDeleteSounds great! I'll be there!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds so fun! Too bad you aren't doing it a week earlier or I could crash the party as I'll be on holiday in the UK that week :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, what fun - me too! Email on the way.
ReplyDeleteI have already emailed you, I couldnt do the 9th but see you have put the 8th which I can... I will look into venues as requested! Sounds like it could be really good fun!
ReplyDeleteLove your blog! Which I found while reading Lizzy's Literary Life. And what a wonderful idea, to gather UK book bloggers for a meeting. I would attend, but it's a long swim from the Atlantic Coast of Maryland, USA.
ReplyDeleteAbout book-choosing techniques: I usually start with others' recommendations, too, e.g., in newspaper book reviews, Cuddons' Dictionary of Literary Terms (the entry on the novel), James Woods' list in How Fiction Works. Then I go to my shelves or a bookstore and read the first few pages. If it doesn't click, I don't buy it. I don't have to LIKE it, necessarily, not right away; some novels take a while to get going. But there is something, I don't know what, that says "yes."
Ooh what a fun idea! I will need to check the diary etc. etc. but I'm sure you'll be getting an email from me before long!
ReplyDeleteYou should have my email by now!
ReplyDeleteJust about to email you, Simon!
ReplyDeleteIt's during the next Persephone Reading Week so sounds like the perfect way to round off the week!
This sounds like a lot a fun :)
ReplyDeleteTwo days after I turn 24...sigh. I'll be sending an email!
ReplyDeleteWhy a sigh, Rachel, 24 is a great age to be! I'm enjoying it so far...
ReplyDeleteAttention UK bloggers!
ReplyDeleteWanted to take advantage of this post to let you know that I'm having giveaways for my 1000th post on my blog on Jan 31 and one of what I'm giving away is a YA fiction book to a UK winner from Simon and Schuster UK. Come check it out.
I wouldn't want no UKers to show up!
Sounds like fun - emailing now :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a really fun idea - I've sent you an email :o)
ReplyDeleteHey thats a very good idea Simon, hope will have lots of fun with that.
ReplyDeleteSo, Simon, should I start making travel arrangements, while the flights and hotels are still affordable? (And can we visit the Big Green Bookshop .....)
ReplyDeleteHi Lizzy - I'm currently trying to think out venue ideas, as I've realised I don't really know where it'll be! More info going out soon... it'll be an afternoon thing, to allow people to head back that day if they need to, but if you're coming a long way then you might want to find accommodation. It'll also probably just be a meet-and-greet thing, because I don't know how to organise anything fancier!
ReplyDeleteFantastic idea! Emailing!
ReplyDeleteSomehow I missed reading this post. I'd love to come if I can.
ReplyDeleteOMG. For much of January I have been mulling over this idea myself, but having returned to the world of work and been consumed by all manner of other things that have needed my attention, I put this on the back burner, thinking that I'd wait until I had a bit more bandwidth. So, yes, I think this is a great idea and well worth pursuing.
ReplyDeletePS> Do let me know if I can help in any way.
Hello! I'm sorry to bother you all but I'm attempting to set up something that could be pretty awesome! As you might already know a lot of the ARC tours are exclusive to Americans and I believe that the UK should have it's own too. If you're from the UK and interested, please go here:
ReplyDeletehttp://comacalm.blogspot.com/2011/02/calling-all-uk-bloggers.html
Thanks for your time. :)
Open to authors too?
ReplyDeleteLouise - it was a year ago, I'm afraid!
ReplyDelete