My 2008 DIKs
(from debut - June 2005 *)
My January column
My February column
My March column
My April column
My May column
My June column
* Co-authored Oct column
 What was begun as an online journal of the books I read evolved...or maybe it devolved...to also feature behind the scenes goings-on at All About Romance from my perspective (mostly based on my personal feelings - okay, it's a personal pity party); topics I've gone over ad nauseum in commentary at AAR, including the nature of reviews and online behavior; and my non-cyber life (including family and items in pop culture that capture my interest, which is just about everything). Please do not violate my trust. I restricted certain AAR-related and personal entries for a reason...to keep them as private as possible. Now that my blog is read-only, to access restricted entries you must already have a password; if you do, hold onto it so that you can continue to read restricted entries. This blog is not part of All About Romance. I ask that you keep comments or questions regarding restricted blog content off of AAR. |
Interim Results
Enough ballots came in late yesterday that I was able to post the first set of interim results in our 12th annual reader poll. Still, I wonder whether or not last year's Tales from the Ballot Box ATBF has had a chilling effect on voting. I'll have to keep an eye out over the next several days, and if the number of ballots I receive doesn't pick up appreciatively, I'll ask AAR's pollsters to use some of the contacts they've gained throughout the time they've conducted their polls to help us spread the word.
The first two "stuffed" ballots came in though, and some readers have really annoyed me in their insistence in voting for books much older than last year's releases and/or voting for a series of connected books as opposed to a series/category romance. I actually went into the ballot form to try and curb that latter, because the series/category romance category has been a tough one in the past few years to even make the threshold in terms of votes received by the winning book. As for the former, I think I spent three hours yesterday verifying copyright dates. The Medieval/Renaissance category and the American/Frontier Historical category are pitiful so far in terms of the number of books voted. While I won't share my own ballot until voting ends, I will say that those were two of the three categories in which I was unable to vote - the third being Best Debut Author.
As for the remainder of categories, things look more wide open this year than I've seen them look for years. This is going to be a roller coaster ride, no doubt, and I wouldn't miss it for anything. I hope you feel the same way.
If you have a website and/or blog and would like to help us publicize the poll, please feel free to use one or both of these ads I created (both are currently running throughout AAR):
TTFN, Laurie Likes Books
Ooooh, Castle has made one of the lists! *doing a happy dance* Thanks for
the lovely Betthupferl (=bit of chocolate you might find on your pillow in
really posh hotels), Laurie!
Sandra -
Every year I'm faced with this dilema. I want to vote early but there are
so many books from the year that I haven't read that I want to get as many
read as I can before voting. But I do look forward to voting when I get a
few more under my belt so to speak.