BBAW - Future Treasures

I can't believe that the third Book Blogger Appreciation Week has come to its final day. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that I've been blogging long enough to have been involved in three Book Blogger Appreciation Weeks. More and more we see the definite role that the Book Blogger is playing in our society. We are a group of people who value and love reading, but more than that we appreciate sharing that love with others.

The Internet has afforded us the opportunity to meet and know many people we would never have had the chance to meet otherwise. And you can ask most any person who talks with me face to face on a regular basis, I've most definitely discussed books with them. The Internet just gives me more people to tell about wonderful books. It gives me a community of people who will discuss the finer points of books when I want to hash out thoughts and ideas.

Sometimes the blog can feel overwhelming. More requests and books come in than one person could ever deal with on a hobby basis. But the reality is that I love reading; I love talking about books; blogging has become my passion and it's opened doors for me I wouldn't have otherwise had access to. Blogging has introduced me to like-minded people far and wide. I don't intend to give it up any time soon.

What does the future hold for Jen's Book Thoughts? I'm not sure at this point. I want to keep things as fresh as I can, so I'm always scouting for new ideas to use on the blog. Don't hesitate to offer up suggestions if you have them. Can't make any guarantees, but I'd love to hear ideas. Next month I will moderate my first ever Bouchercon panel. And I have a panel full of amazing authors, so if you're going to Bouchercon I'd love for you to attend our panel - 11:30 on Thursday. It's called "Dead or Alive." Then I believe I will also be moderating a panel at Murder and Mayhem in Muskego for the first time, and that will be in November. I really want to work on developing more video for the blog. But what will always stay consistent is that books and their authors will be remain the focus, and as long as folks will talk with me about books, I'll be here!

Thank you for your constant support and to all the book bloggers, HAPPY BOOK BLOGGER APPRECIATION WEEK!!

BBAW - Forgotten Treasures

I was so excited to see this topic for Book Blogger Appreciation Week. One of the "unexpected treasures" I discovered when I started blogging was finding books that weren't on bestseller lists but were amazing stories. And then when I started telling other people about them and they loved them, there was this warm feeling inside me. I found this magical reward of connecting people with great books. And that's really become the mission of this blog - connecting people with great books.

Thursday is normally the day I write about audiobooks, so what I decided to do was to highlight a few books that are phenomenal stories and equally amazing audiobooks. Whether you are a print reader, an audiophile, or both, these are some unsung books that I highly recommend:

Craig Johnson is becoming more and more familiar to readers, which makes me very happy, but it still surprises me how many people haven't heard of him or read his work. He has a series of books featuring Wyoming sheriff, Walt Longmire, that begins with THE COLD DISH. Johnson has created a fictional town full of the most amazingly real characters. His development of the setting is along the lines of James Lee Burke. His plots focus on social issues and are richly complex. Emotions run the gambit in this series. You'll cry from laughing so hard, and you'll cry from heart ache. This isn't a series that allows the reader to be passive. All of the books in this series are narrated by George Guidall and while I have other audiobook narrators that I enjoy and consider among my favorites, no one brings a book to life the way Guidall has brought the Walt Longmire series to life. Guidall picks up on all of the subtle nuances, the sarcasm, he even sings when Johnson writes it into the book. This is a stellar series that has garnered fans well beyond the boundaries of the crime fiction genre and I don't hesitate to give it my highest recommendation.

Louise Penny has a series set in the fictional Canadian town of Three Pines. Her protagonist is Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, but the diverse citizens of Three Pines are as vital to the series as Gamache. The series begins with STILL LIFE. While I have adored each book in this series, it is also a series that has gotten better with each subsequent installment. Penny also has a gift with weaving humor into her works, but they would never be classified as comedies. Instead they are studies in humanity. This series is beautifully narrated on audio by Ralph Cosham. Not only does he handle the French in the novel expertly, he brings out the relationships between characters. The importance of those relationships is essential to this series. This is another series that is gaining fans and attention. It's through efforts like this that the word is spread and the greatness becomes more apparent. I highly recommend this series as well in both print and on audio.

And finally, I'll share with you two books written by different authors, but recorded by the same narrator. Brad Parks' FACES OF THE GONE and Steve Hamilton's THE LOCK ARTIST are both available on audio, narrated by MacLeod Andrews. FACES OF THE GONE is Brad Parks' debut novel featuring investigative reporter Carter Ross. This is the first of a series. Steve Hamilton's THE LOCK ARTIST is a stand alone featuring a teenage thief. Make no mistake, however, THE LOCK ARTIST is not a YA novel. It's a dark, gritty, moving crime novel.

I could go on for days about books I think are hidden gems in the crime fiction genre, so if you're ever looking for some such book, please feel to drop me an email. I'll be happy to recommend. And of course I'm always excited to hear about hidden gems myself. Discovering them for the first time is exciting. And if you're looking for more gems you can also head over to the main Book Blogger Appreciation site today and see what books the other bloggers are sharing today.

Technorati Tags: BBAW 2010, Steve Hamilton, Craig Johnson, Brad Parks, Louise Penny