Scene of the Blog: Featuring My Blog!

Hello, my dear friends and readers! I hope all is well with you. It does seems like I have been neglecting my blog lately. Aside from the sad fact that I haven't been spending too much time reading, another reason is that there have been a little 'restructuring' in the department where I'm working and I'm trying to adjust to everything, not to mention with the new superior as well!

Anyways, today's post is not about sharing of my work. I'm sure many of you have heard of "Scene of the Blog" hosted by the lovely Cathy of Kittling: Books. I love reading this feature as it allows me to get to know more of fellow bookbloggers and making new friends as well. And, I just love Cathy's writing style!

Without further ado, let me link you to her blog as this time around, I'm honoured to have my blog featured for "Scene of the Blog". Come on over, and say "Hello!". I'd love to hear from you!

Teaser Tuesdays (and Blogging Break)

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

Here's my teaser for today:

The new hotel owner explained that in the basement she had discovered the belongings of thirty-seven Japanese families who she presumed had been persecuted and taken away. Their belongings had been hidden and never recovered - a time capsule from the war years.

(Pg 6, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford)

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Hello, my dear readers! I will be taking a short break from blogging starting today. I am taking leave off of work and will be spending more time with my daughters; and given this opportunity I also hope to catch up on my reading.

I will miss you all! Happy reading! I will be back next week.

Honouring Dewey

Stephanie and Bethany have created some pretty buttons to put on our sidebars in memory of Dewey. Also, Becky is taking the lead of doing a Weekly Geeks tribute to Dewey by asking participants to share a favourite memory of her in general; perhaps share some favourite posts from Dewey's site or anything in remembrance of her. (You do not have to be a regular Weekly Geeks participant to do this.)

Weekly Geeks #27 ~ A Tribute to Dewey


I could not remember when I first stumbled upon Dewey's blog. I think I may have known her blog through someone's link; I just could not recall since I tend to have a short memory. But I do know I was in awe of her after visited her blog the first time. She was a true avid reader, judging by the number of books she read and reviewed. Besides that, she was such a creative and talented person. I just could not imagine anyone would take on the task of managing several events (i.e. Bookworms Carnival, 24 Hour Read-a-Thon, Graphics Novels Challenge and Weekly Geeks), but Dewey did it! She contributed a lot to this bookblogging community and I have to say without these activities, I would not have known other bookbloggers. It is strange how this community has bonded us together and became part of our life although we may not have the opportunity of meeting in person! It is simply amazing but overall I think this is the meaning and spirit of this bookblogging community. Dewey may have left us, but her efforts and her talents will always be remembered by us all and I am hoping that those events undertaken by her will be continued.

Let's Talk about Blogging and BBAW

Have you visited Amy's blog? Do check out her blog if you haven't because she has lots of exciting news to share, especially on the Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW) Awards. (You may wish to click here for the BBAW Awards 2008 Presentation Schedule.)

And guess who won under the best carnival/event/meme category? It is none other than Amy, the hostess herself for her Book Blogger Appreciation Week! I think it is very well deserved since she has done a great job in putting this event altogether.

Congratulations, Amy!

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Amy also talked about blogging and offered some of her tips. I think her questions are very interesting, and here is what she asked:

What is one thing you wish you knew about blogging when you started or what advice would you give a newbie blogger? What is your best blogging tip?

You know, when I first started blogging, I knew nothing about blogging and have no idea what is html codes or how to play around with my blog except simple posting and attaching pictures! Not giving up and trying to learn more about blogging, I began to explore on my own and fiddling with the html codes (and I always make sure to have a backup copy!) until I understand the concepts behind them. I then added several links and from there, I slowly build up my blog till what you have seen today. Besides self exploring, I also googled some sites that offered advice and tips on blogging, and I find them very useful. Till present, I am still learning and am not shy to ask advice from fellow blogger friends if I need some answers concerning blogging.

As for blogging tip, I think the first thing you should do before starting up a blog is to ask yourself what would you blog about? Is it about your daily life? Or will it be something more classified, e.g. blog about books? Once you have decided which direction you want to go, work on the theme and think of a suitable header for your blog. Once everything is up and running, visit other blogs and leave some comments. You may think you are writing for yourself, but other readers do visit and read your blog too. And I think it is always good to hear some feedbacks from fellow bloggers, even though if it is just a simple hello. Friendship starts from there, and I am sure most of us love receiving comments anyway (at least I do!). :-)