Blog Name: The Fourth Musketeer
Blog URL: http://fourthmusketeer.blogspot.com
Twitter Name: (I don’t tweet!)
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3671939
Amazon Vine Reviewer: http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/AJ1JLGR8IDN61/ref=cm_aya_pdp_home

When did you start your blog and why? Give us a little info about your blog too.
I started my blog in May 2010; I learned about book blogs in a library school class and as I was exploring what was out there in the blogosphere, I said to myself “I can do that!” I had been reviewing books for Amazon Vine for several years, as well as writing book reviews for an on-line toy journal, and of course, I’ve been an avid reader ever since I can remember. I really enjoy writing—it’s not a chore for me like for some people, and I love “booktalking,” so blogging is a natural fit.

When I decided to start a blog, I took a good look at what was out there in kid lit blogs; because there are so many terrific general ones to read, I decided to specialize in a niche. I tossed around all kinds of ideas (including a blog specializing in books about dogs!) but finally decided to specialize in reviewing historical fiction for young people. Since I’ve started I’ve branched out a bit into also reviewing non-fiction history-related titles once a week for the meme Non-Fiction Monday. I try to review only new titles, since I felt that would be most useful for readers. I also occasionally feature author interviews.

When I was thinking of starting the blog, I took a research trip to our local Borders and almost changed my mind about the blog’s focus when I saw what was on display for teens and kids (vampires, werewolves and zombies, all the time!) but when I reviewed the publishers’ catalogues, I realized there’s still plenty of good historical fiction out there, just harder to find at the chain bookstores. All the more reason to plug these books in a blog, I thought!

Tell us a little about yourself outside of your interest in books.
I was born and raised in L.A., but have lived for more than 20 years in Claremont, California, which looks like an East Coast college town except the sun shines almost all the time. I share a house with my husband, two teenagers, and our noisy but adorable miniature poodle. I’m a magic-mom (my son is a magician and I’m the one chauffeuring him around to different gigs!) and a debate mom (my daughter’s a debate wonk). At the moment I’m in library school and am doing an internship at the Monrovia Public Library’s wonderful children’s department. My other interests include movies, traveling, and the theatre.

Your favorite book from your youth and the story behind it.
This is almost impossible for me to answer since I was a voracious reader as a child, so if you’ll indulge me I’ll reminisce about three different books. One of the first books I remember asking for is Charlotte’s Web; my second grade teacher read it aloud in class and I demanded my own copy! I also remember staying up way past my bedtime reading Island of the Blue Dolphins when I must have been 8 or 9; I couldn’t put it down. And of course, a bit later there was The Three Musketeers; my father recommended it to me when I was 12 and I devoured not only that volume but the four sequels as well, and then went through all the Dumas novels in the local library (there were quite a few!) I was entranced by the adventure, romance, and camaraderie in these novels, and remember crying when the last one ended, not so much because of the death of the hero, D’Artagnan, but because there were no more musketeer adventures to read! Those are the books that really got me hooked on historical fiction.

“First of all thank you so much for stopping by today Margo!

“I have to say, quite honestly, if you aren’t reading Margo’s site you truly are missing out. She’s honed in on a completely neglected portion of literature in the book blogging community and she does an excellent job bringing these excellent titles to life for her readers. Not only that, but because of her passion for great books I think she’s going to make an excellent librarian. The school or public library that swoops her up is very lucky indeed!

“So…definitely make sure to stop by Margo’s site, The Fourth Musketeer, as soon as you possibly can! Discover a whole new world of books as well as an absolutely wonderful book blogger! Thank you again Margo!”

Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our affiliate relationship with IndieBound.

Blog Name: Girls Gone Reading
Blog URL: http://girlsgonereading.net and http://girlsgonereading-bookclub.net (our online book club site)
Twitter Name:@girlsgonereadin
Goodreads (and/or others): Girls Gone Reading (at Goodreads and Library Thing)

When did you start your blog and why? Give us a little info about your blog too.
I started the blog in May 2010 because I wanted to talk to more people about books, and there wasn’t a way to discuss books online like I wanted. So, I created a site that allows you to join or create an online book club with friends or strangers. The blog is supposed to be another way to have an online community of people who love books talking together and getting ideas about what to read next.

Tell us a little about yourself outside of your interest in books.
Well, I am a high school English teacher, a wife, and a mother. I have taught college classes, but I prefer high school age students. I can knit, but I do it so sporadically that it takes me years to finish a project. I have a problem with naps-I love them!!! Then I complete my nerdiness with the fact that I like to do crosswords, and I am working on writing a book for YA.

Your favorite book from your youth and the story behind it.
My favorite childhood book is Miss Nelson is Missing. It is by Harry Allard and illustrated by James Marshall. I loved this book, and still do, because of my mother. She was a great reader of books aloud. She did all the voices, and she always put a lot of drama into. Miss. Nelson was perfect for her because the substitute teacher was so mean, that my mother could do a scary voice for the sub and a sweet, gentle voice for Miss. Nelson. I loved it. I loved it even more when I took my maternity leave from school and had a sub that all the kids said was mean. I felt like Miss. Nelson, returning triumphant and appreciated.

“First of all, don’t you love it when someone reminds you of a book you’d once loved and treasured, but with time had forgotten? I do! Maybe because I have a terrible memory and things from my childhood are often resurfacing when I least expecting them. Well, Jennifer’s mention of Miss. Nelson is Missing reminded me of  when I was addicted to this book as a child. I loved it! I know I probably drove my mother crazy reading it over and over as well as my librarians because of the late fees I acquired keeping it passed the due dates. I even remember where I picked it up on the shelf! Love it!

“So, besides our shared love of Miss Nelson is Missing I have to say that Jennifer is fantastic! She loves to read and is also, obviously, and incredible High School English teacher. I may think this because I’ve always held a special place for High School teachers, they have to deal with a lot more than I think I could handle and the good ones can work miracles (which I’m sure she does). Need an example of her awesomeness in the classroom? Take a look at this post: Top Five Things I Learned About My New Students. Incredible right?

“I’m so happy to have Jennifer on today and I hope you will stop by her site to find a new great read and some wonderful discussions.You won’t regret it, I promise!

“Thank you so much Jennifer!”

Blog Name: Reading Through Life
Blog URL: http://readingthroughlife.ca
Twitter Name: @readthroughlife
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reading-Through-Life/248531527843

When did you start your blog and why? Give us a little info about your blog too.
I started my blog right at the end of December 2009, over winter break. Why? Well … for starters, I had just started getting back into reading more after a long hiatus, caused by being forced to read lots of stuff in university that I just didn’t find interesting. I was “turned off” of books, so to speak, and had finally gotten back into the swing of things, and wanted somewhere to keep track of everything that I’m reading. In part, this is for myself, but it’s also in part to find a kind of community of like-minded book lovers to share these experiences with, and in part to have a place to write down my thoughts on books for students that I can use either to refresh my memory to recommend books, or to send students to directly to peruse and find books that might interest them. My blog covers a wide variety of books, mostly young adult and adult fiction, graphic fiction and non-fiction, and adult non-fiction. I tend to gravitate towards books that interest me and also that might interest reluctant, urban teenage readers. Aside from reviews, I post some discussions about book-ish things, a weekly compilation of links to literacy-related articles, and participate in reading challenges and blogging events. I started my first hosted challenge in June, the Summer Slimdown, and am hosting my own month-long event, Ramadan Reading, from August 11th to September 10th.

Tell us a little about yourself outside of your interest in books.
Outside of books, I spend a lot of my time biking around, geocaching, and watching movies. I also really love to salsa dance, but don’t get much of an opportunity to do it because I don’t like nightclubs, and I don’t live in the Caribbean. During the summer months, I spend a lot of time at softball games, mostly umpiring but also getting back into playing a bit. I just finished my second year of teaching high school, which definitely takes up a lot of my time and energy these days, but it’s a good kind of pre-occupation. Everything sort of ties into everything else – things ebb and flow to fill my time depending on what mood strikes me and how much energy I have after everything else is said and done.

Your favorite book from your youth and the story behind it.
My favourite books when I was a kid were the Berenstain Bears picture books. My father used to read those to me and my siblings before we went to bed, which is one of the best memories I have from when I was a child. In later years, I realized that my dad really isn’t a reader – I think he’s read two books since I was born! – which has made me realize just how much more special those bedtime stories were, since he was really just reading the books to us for our enjoyment and to have some quality time together, not necessarily because he liked books or reading on his own. One of my favourite books from the Berenstain Bears series was The Berenstain Bears and the Truth, which was a consistent read in my house given that I had three younger siblings and we always tried to blame each other for whatever we had done wrong. My parents were quick to pick up on that, and made sure that this book was repeated quite often. I really loved the way that Brother Bear and Sister Bear keep re-telling the story of how the lamp was broken with slight differences, sort of like one of those deja-vu episodes that television shows like to do. It’s definitely a book – and a series! – that I’ll be reading to my kids one day.

“It’s fun to see how many people grew up on the same books I did. The Berestain Bears were an everyday occurrence in my home when I was a child, in fact I think I read them so much the binding broke on quite a few copies. I also love that I relate so well to Carina, having been forced to read numerous books throughout my youth and only recently have I rediscovered the joy associated with falling in love with a great book.

“Carina’s site is constantly full of bits of lovely insight that delves deeper into the books we love to read. She reads quite a few different genres and so I’m positive that no matter your taste in literature you are bound to find something you will fall in love with. So take a look, you may just find your next great read!

“Thank you so much, Carina for stopping by There’s A Book today!”



Blog Name: Bookish Blather
Blog URL: http://bookishblather.blogspot.com
Twitter Name: @angelacraft
Goodreads (and/or others): I’m boring and not really active anywhere else!

When did you start your blog and why?
I started my blog in December of 2008. I had moved to New York City just a few months before and was under-employed, working at a Banana Republic rather than in publishing like I wanted. I was reading tons and tons of books at the time, too, thanks to having a branch of the library in my neighborhood, a long subway commute, and more time on my hands at home than I knew what to do with. The blog served three purposes for me: 1) I had a place to record my thoughts about all of these books I was reading 2) it gave me something to *do* rather than sit at home feeling sorry for myself 3) I figured I could use it as a sort of professional portfolio to show when I did start getting publishing industry interviews that I have stayed up to date with what’s being published in YA lit.

My blog focuses on reviews of young adult lit, with the occasional middle grade and adult books thrown in for variety. While I will read pretty much anything, my reviews often take on a feminist tone, simply because feminism is such a huge part of my worldview that I couldn’t turn it off while reading even if I wanted to!

Tell us a little about yourself outside of your interest in books.
I’m an internet fiend. If I’m not reading, I’m probably online, reading blogs (lots of political and feminist blogs, as well as a slew of book bloggers), playing games or writing my own blog posts. I work for a bargain book wholesaler, but still looking for the perfect job in the editorial or marketing department of a young adult publishing imprint.

Your favorite book from your youth and the story behind it.
I don’t remember not being a reader, but I can tell you the first books that opened me up to a larger community of readers: the Animorphs series by K.A. Applegate (co-written with her husband, Michael Grant of the Gone series). I received my first book (#2 – pictured above) in my Easter basket in sixth grade, and read the subsequent books whenever I could pick one up at the bookstore, but it never really clicked with me that new books were coming out every month. Then in the fall my family got its first computer and hooked it up to the internet. One day when I was hanging out in a science fiction chatroom, someone entered with the handle “Elfangor” – an instrumental character in the first book of the series. It was like a revelation – I could use this internet to search for more information about the series, find out when new books were coming out and, most importantly, connect with other people who loved these books as much as I did! Animorphs is totally responsible for making me the internet junkie I am today. Oh, and that “Elfangor” I met way back in the day? We recently re-connected on Facebook! And three of my bridesmaids in my wedding last year became my friends after bonding over Animorphs books. For a humble science fiction series about teenagers fighting an alien invasion, it has had a huge impact on my life.

“Angela is living proof that books can change your world. Not just as an influence in your daily thoughts and actions, but those with whom you associate as well. It’s amazing to see how her love of Applegate’s beloved series influenced her love of book related things from the internet all the way to her wedding.

“Her love of books is evident in every review she writes and every book event she attends. Allowing so much of the book world influence her everyday life, even down to her choice of profession. She’s a brilliant addition to the book blogging community and I’m so glad to have had her on today. Thank you so much Angela!”

Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our affiliate relationship with IndieBound.

Blog Name: Capricious Reader
Blog URL: http://www.capriciousreader.com
Twitter Name: @CapriciousReadr
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/346859

When did you start your blog and why? Give us a little info about your blog too.
I started my blog somewhere around February 2005. I say somewhere because it’s my second blog. I had one before that, but it didn’t last very long. It’s had several different names, different homes (I started on Blogger) and different focuses. At first I was pretty random, I don’t like to look back at my early posts and don’t you go looking either! Gradually I narrowed my focus until I mostly posted about books. I still occasionally post about family, since I do have a few readers who have been there from the beginning (hi guys! *waves*) and they have watched my kids grow up there. I do mostly keep it to books now though. I started it because I didn’t really have any friends who were readers other than my grandmother, and she only read romances. My friend Andi (http://estellasrevenge.blogspot.com) had started one and it looked like fun, so I joined in! And I’m so glad I did. I found what I was looking for; people who loved to talk about books as much as I did!

Tell us a little about yourself outside of your interest in books.
There is a me outside of books? LOL Well, let’s see. I’m 32. I’m from NC and proud to be Southern! I am a mom to two gorgeous children; if I do say so myself. My boy is 2.5 and my daughter is 6.5. I’ll have been married for 10 years in August to my high school sweetheart. I graduated from college with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a minor in History, both of which I am not using (much to my shame). I am generally unhappy with my work but looking to find something, anything, else. Someday I hope to go back to school and get my Masters in Library Science. In my spare time I do a little gardening, knitting, and I love love love to cook. I just don’t like the cleaning up part.

Your favorite book from your youth and the story behind it. Also, you can include a short review of the book if you have time.
Oh my gosh, picking a favorite book from my youth is like asking me to pull teeth. There are so many and it hurts to choose! I suppose the one that is the most meaningful to me is the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. My dad died when I was 8 and was sick for most of my life and these books were an escape for me. I read them until they fell apart. My father’s doctor bought a hardback set from my school library in his memory, and I think I checked them out more than anyone else. They were such a comfort to me and I’m anxious to start sharing them with my own daughter.

“Heather is one of those book bloggers who makes the community so great. Part of why I got started book blogging is so that I could talk about all the great books I was reading with other book lovers. And Heather has been on board with that for some time now, more than 5 years! Wow!

“Her reviews are spectacular. In all honesty I wish I could write as thoroughly and wonderfully as she does. She also has a fabulous new feature each week that talks a bit about everyone’s gardens called, Saturday Farmer’s Market. If you’re in the mood to salavate over some delicious veggies makes sure to stop by, you can also link up a post about your garden if you have one!

“I just want to say thank you to Heather for taking the time to participate in When I Was Young. Your love of reading and how it touched you during a difficult time in your childhood is beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing! Make sure to stop by her site, Capricious Reader, to learn more about Heather and her passion for reading!”

Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our affiliate relationship with IndieBound.

Blog Name: Tif Talks Books
Blog URL: www.tiftalksbooks.com
Twitter Name: @tiftalksbooks
Goodreads: tiftalksbooks

When did you start your blog and why?

Way back in May 2007, I decided to start a little blog to keep track of the books that I read and to chat more about one of my biggest passions . . . reading & literacy! At the time, I was surrounded by many who were joining the band wagon, but they were starting family blogs or craft blogs or even journals. I did not feel comfortable doing any of these, but then I thought . . . why not just talk books? I could definitely do that! Viola! Tif Talks Books was born!

Over three years later, I am still blogging away and absolutely loving it! I do not have the time that I did when I first started blogging, but I still have that passion! I only hope that it shows in my writing!

What can you find at Tif Talks Books? Well, a little bit of everything really! I consider myself to be a true eclectic book blog. I love to read just about everything and review books from just about all genres, for all ages, both fiction and non-fiction alike! And, I like to throw little book-ish treats out there for discussion as well.

I currently host a variety of events, but I would particularly like to highlight Fairy Tale Fridays in honor of Once Upon a Week. Every Friday, I explore a fairy tale, from those well known to those that you can find across the globe. It all began when I read John Connolly’s The Book of Lost Things and discovered that some tales were not as I remembered! It was time to re-visit and explore the many versions out there. And, I have enjoyed the feature every step of the way!

Tell us a little about yourself outside of your interest in books.

Outside of the books?!? Yikes!!! I do not think that you can really separate me from one!!

No really . . . In a nutshell, I am a wife, mother of 2, daughter, only child (hate it!), advocate, educator & advisor (higher education), movie lover, (attempted) baker, and creative wannabe!

Little known facts about myself . . . Someday I want to write and publish a book (or two!). I want to receive a doctorate and teach at a university. I want to run my own non-profit. And, I want to eventually move back to the “West,” the place that I truly call home.

Your favorite book from your youth and the story behind it.

I think the book that I have the fondest memories of as a child was The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner. I absolutely fell in love with Henry, Jessie, Violet, and little Benny. I loved the idea of being on my own, living out a boxcar (I actually did this a bit considering I was a true latch-key kid!). In fact, it was not uncommon for one of my good friends and I to be caught playing boxcar children. The only catch was that instead of a boxcar being our home, we inhabited a barn loft!

I was a very avid reader even as a child, so to leave this question with only one book would not be fitting of me! Therefore, I will leave you with a few of my other favorite books from my younger years . . . Moon Mouse by Adelaide Holl, Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman, Wacky Wednesday by Theo. LeSieg, and of course, Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

“When I started thinking about Once Upon A Week and all of the posts I wanted to come up with for it almost immediately I thought of Tif. Why, you ask? Because, truly, when I think of bloggers who get me thinking about Fairy Tales on a regular basis, Tif is at the top of that list. So, I knew I had to have her guest post this week and I am so glad she agreed to!

“Tif’s site is fantastic! She’s such an amazing advocate for children’s literacy, not only with her own site, but with the Share A Story Shape A Future annual event, projects involving Literacy Lava from The Book Chook, and I’m sure much much more. Her weekly Fairy Tale Fridays is perfect for remembering those often forgotten, but still amazing stories from our childhood and discovering new tales you’ve possibly never heard of.

“If you’re a fan of Fairy Tales, children’s literacy and books, or just bookish goodness in general you should definitely take a look at Tif’s site. I’m positive you will find something new to enjoy and/or possibly even a great story you may have long forgotten!

“Thank you so much Tif for stopping by!”

(This post is in conjunction with the Once Upon A Week event happening at Today’s Adventure. Make sure to stop by and take a look!)

Purchasing products by clicking through the links in this post will provide us a modest commission through our affiliate relationship with IndieBound.