Happy Birthday!

Hey everyone!

As I was typing out my first Bookish Thought post, as promished in my Thank You and an Exciting Announcement post, I stumbled upon an even bigger announcement. Here it is:

Today is the anniversary of Booklovers’ Haven!

And we couldn’t honestly have reached this or could “keep up the good blogging” without the help of the entire Booklovers’ community.

So, in order to thank you all, I have collected the support, advice and feedback we have received from you in the form of comments and put it up here.

Because of the incredible number of comments we have received, its impossible to put every single one but we have done our best to give a fair representation.

On Booklover Gifting Guide for Non-Booklovers,

Swajithkas from QUOTATIONS, IDIOMS & PROVERBS commented:

This is wonderful post.
There are many points which needs attention;
First; I appreciate your easy-to-understand writing style.
Second; your presentation style is very much appealing and it is suitable for all age group.
Third; your subject matter and note worthy points are absolutely amazing.
Overall it is wonderful experience to read this type of post.
Keep it up….
Wishing you all the best……………………………..

On Types of Readers,

Dream it Alive from Just One More Page commented:

I love this! It’s well thought out and even though I just skimmed for now… I can’t wait to see what I classify as according to this. You, my friend, know about books…for nothing beats the smell of new or used books being opened..and pages flipped soon after.

And soon…

Part two…three? four? Yes please!

It seems I am a:
Traditionalist (though I love paperbacks vs hardcovers)
Fiction (suggestion for part 2 as this is what I mostly read.)
Verse
Intro/ Extro (in between as I have my loved genres. But I’m always willing to read a book that has a great review from real people, especially friends. No matter the genre)

And here’s a promise for you, Dream it Alive, Part 2 is comming very soon.

On the same post, Moni from The Culture Riot also commented:

Loved it! You really gave it some thought.. but it’s totally true. I guess I’m a Traditionalist Hoarder Writer if there’s such a thing hahaha. Cheers!

On the Weekly Wonder of Look Who’s Back by Timur Vermes,

Brettfish from Irresistibly Fish commented:

Great idea to find a way to be more regular in your writing – lovely little book review and definitely got me interested in a book i have never heard of and loved the brilliance and inventiveness of ‘Fuhrious’

Keep on – you have something here
love brett fish

On the Weekly Wonder of The Book Thief,

xiaohuamaobiji from Little Calico’s Journal commented:

The author used a very unique POV and a book lover reading story about a book lover? I imagine this would be a fantastic read. Thank you for sharing!

On The Sweet Torture of Anticipation: Scion of Ikshvaku by Amish Tripathi,

Swajithkas from QUOTATIONS, IDIOMS & PROVERBS commented:

Jeannie;
First of all congratulation for writing this post………….

“What do you think of this post?

Let me know it all in the comments”

First of all thanks for reminding me to read this books because since last so many months I am thinking to read it but due to lots of constraints till today I am unable to read it.
From your end you have done excellent effort to justify the subject and as far as I am concern you succeed up to great extent………….
Wishing you all the best……………

On the Weekly Wonder of Shutter Island,

Cathy from My life as Cathy and I had a long conversation to the tune of-

Cathy:

I loved Shutter Island as well! It just took a different direction from what I assumed while reading the book. I think it would have been more interesting if Lehane focused more on the brain-picking procedures at the hospital. Extremely creepy, I know, but in an interesting way. What do you think?

Have you read other thrillers? Could you recommend some to me?

Me:

I absolutely loved Shutter Island too. We actually saw the movie as part of our Psychology course and after watching it, I had to read the book. The brain-picking procedures were a great red herring and yes, if Lehane had focused on them, it would have made a good book regardless but I feel the twist makes it more interesting and it makes you go back and read the book again just to look for clues that you missed that could have helped you predict the end.

I do read thrillers but not as much as other genres. I can recommend John Grisham’s The Firm. You can check out the Weekly Wonder for that here:https://ultimatelibrophile.wordpress.com/2015/07/24/weekly-wonder-the-firm-by-john-grisham-8/
The Partner and The Pelican Brief by John Grisham are also great thrillers. If you want, I can do the next two Weekly Wonders on those two so you can see if you like them. Let me know!

Cathy:

Yes, that would be great! Thanks for the recommendations.

Me:

It’s settled then. I look forward to writing them… And to your view on them.

On the Weekly wonder of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie,

Matt from The Book Blogger commented:

I think you’ve picked up on the strengths of the book brilliantly here (though I would quibble the usage of the word “innocent”…).
Best, Matt

On the same post, Cathy from My life as Cathy commented:

Great review! I loved And Then There Were Non–it had me shivering under my covers. “A glimpse between the pages” is very creative and fun. Love it

On The third post of my very first 3 Quotes, 3 Days Challenge,

Megan from Invisible World commented:

Whoa…powerful quote. Most people don’t understand the need we feel to write. It doesn’t make sense to them how being deprived of writing is like being deprived of sleep or how life without books is like food without seasoning. I love one of the last things you said: “Doctors simply prolonged life, I, as a writer, wanted to give people a reason to live.” You couldn’t have explained it better!
I like the new blog look by the way!

On How to Read More,

ch4rl13sm1th commented:

Thank you, this is fantastic! I tend to forget about my Kindle, it’s old and I only get the free books, but I’ve had some great reads (Sherlock Holmes is free!) and it’s more convenient than these journals I carry around anyway. I also forgot about this one book I didn’t finish…
You’ve surprised me. This subject has been done and done again, but your presentation (and suggestions) is inspiring.

In fact, she and I had a long conversation in the comments section. One that is too long to copy here but do check it out on the post!

On the same post, Meditor Libre from The Book and Blanket commented:

I do a couple of these but there are definitely a few here that I hadn’t thought off. I carry my kindle everywhere just in case there are a quiet couple of minutes. Some times if I’m shopping with other people and I finish before them, I generally wonder off to the shoe department and sit and read for a while

I’m certainly tempted to try DailyLit.

and Bulldog Travels commented:

You have touched a nerve of mine right off the getgo. I love to read and sometimes dream of taking the day off just so I can catch up with my reading. Whether it is magazines or new books or just re-reading books that are old friends I wish I could do more. I am happier when I do.

This is another comment which sparked a long conversation that is too long to put in here and too good to miss.

On Birthday Challenge,

ch4rl13sm1th commented:

Alright then, let’s get started!
Book in a day- Coraline
Translated work- the Little Prince
Book set in the past- anything from F. Scott Fitzgerald
Disturbing books- Alice thinks that The Map of Time is disturbing, I love it. Same feelings for one of the last Sherlock Holmes book, I think it was The House of Silk
Overrated- any part of the Twilight saga
Underrated, fictional, futuristic- The Prophesy of the Stones
Dystopia- O Brave New World
That should cover it for now. On a side note, I finally found my Kindle! Think you could offer a list of free Kindle finds?

On the Weekly Wonder of Kiran Desai’s Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard andThe Inheritance of Loss,

Kriti Mehra commented:

This one’s personally my favourite Weekly Wonder post. Detailed and crisp. Now I want to read both those books! Haha loved it.

On the Weekly Wonder for The Small Backs of Children by Lidia Yuknavitch,

Alex from Soccer, Translated commented:

I’ve seen recommendations for this book floating around here and there, but your description really grabbed me. I’m definitely going to read this now!

He did read the book and wrote his honest opinion in the comments which sparked a conversation that is definitely worth checking out!

On the My Life in Books post,

Kriti commented:

I LOVE this to bits. Glad you got in! And yes, I’m printing the bookmarks for myself (and maybe even my sister). Thank you (:

On the Weekly Wonder for The Girl in The Garden by Kamala Nair,

read2njoy commented:

hi, (I’m not getting into Indian authors in general) regarding the book review I was compelled to read the same after reading this blog and fully agree with the remark that there is no way one can say it to be a flashback once you are there, the narrative is that of a ten year old and not that of an adult reminiscing about her childhood.

I’m done. This is, in fact, the longest post I’ve written for this blog and I am proud that the post honouring the contributors to this blog is the longest one here.

Thank you for everything you have done over the last year and I hope that each and every one of our readers will continue to honour us with their presence and insight into our Booklovers’ Haven.

Also, as you are the people who have been with us over the last year, we want to ask you something as we embark on a new page in the journey called life. How do we improve? wat can we do to make reading Booklovers’ Haven a better experience for you?

Please let us know in the comments below.

Thank you once again.

Regards

Jeannie and Pallavi