Graphic Novelty²

Michael from My Comic Relief nominated our blog for the Liebster Award! Thank you so much for our blog’s first award! 

The Liebster Award, for those of you who are not familiar with it, works like this:

• Thank the blog that nominated you and link back to them.
• Answer the questions that the blogger that nominated you wrote for you to answer.
• Nominate other bloggers that you think deserve the award.
• Write 11 questions for your own nominees.
• Let them know you’ve nominated them.

The other blogs I would like to nominate are:

Heather Hobbs – Reads and reviews some great books!

A Nerdy Nook -Where nerds get their news

The Indie Comic Vault– Opening the lid on the best alternative comics around

Wanderfully Complex– Finding Clarity In My Rarity

Uncovered-Books– Because no-one likes a bad book

Normal to Nomad – This blogger is taking the 52 Hike Challenge, just as my husband & I are!

Plus, I also want to nominate our blog again, so Kathleen gets a turn to write! Her post: Liebster Award #2

** I picked a variety of blogs, not all are about graphic novels. I try to have a balanced life with other interests!

Here are the 11 questions I am bound to answer:

1)  What is one of your earliest/happiest book-related (be it comic or otherwise) memories? I love old-school books. My Mom read with me a lot, and my favorite books as a child were Jenny and the Cat Club by Esther Averill, The Little House  by Virginia Lee Burton, Slowpoke st the Circus by Ruth Ruhman and the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

2)  Is there an author you’ve found whose work resonates deeply with you?  Why do you connect so with what they have to say? I adore Rainbow Rowell, especially her book Eleanor & Park. I connect with every book RR has written, some more than others. RR really captures feelings and relationships, and every time I read one of her books I think, “Me too!” at some point.

3)  What is the point of literature (again, comic and/or otherwise) in your life?  What do you get from reading? I am a Teen Librarian- so reading is my life. As the wise Dr. Seuss states, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go!”

4)  Why is your blog focused on the topics you’ve chosen?  If you can write about anything, why this? Kathleen and I met at Dominican University in a class we were both taking for our Masters Degree in Library Science. We paired up for a project about graphic novels in YA literature, since we were both big fans of that genre. Kathleen created a fake blog to go along with our project, and we wrote reviews of some books. We aced the project, and afterwards we decided to turn the fake blog into a real one since we both had fun writing the reviews. The rest is history!

5)  Do you hold yourself to any sort of schedule as a writer (for example, you must write a little every day or do a post every week) or do you just write when you feel so moved?  Why is this your chosen path? At first Kathleen posted on Mondays and me on Fridays and that was it. Then she suggested we do a Wednesday post of subjects that interested us in the “geek world” so we could branch off and not just write reviews. We alternate Wednesdays. This schedule works for us, and despite us both having crazy schedules- work, family, school- we keep up our posts. I like having a schedule, it keeps me organized, and on task.

6)  What role do you think illustrations play (as always, speaking in regard to comic books specifically or other forms of literature as well) in telling a story? Illustrations can make or break a book. It enriches the narrative and can promote literacy for a wide range of readers!

7)  Name one story (however you’d like to define that term) that’s been important to your life and discuss why. I was introduced to ElfQuest by my HS boyfriend who is now my husband, and collecting the series (still going strong) has run throughout our whole relationship. See my EQ review as to why I love it so much ♥

8)  Name one character you’ve encountered that’s been particularly important to you and discuss why. Eleanor from Eleanor & Park because I connected with her character on so many levels!

9)  I’ve always felt that writing is important.  But, given the many, many options for sharing your thoughts and opinions in the Internet age, why do you write as opposed to vlogging or simply tweeting or sharing music or any of the other options out there? My answer to question #4 pretty much determined that a blog was the way we would share our reviews. I enjoy writing  (I love to review on Goodreads) but this was a specific way to reach a target audience.

10)  Has there been anything challenging about blogging since you’ve started writing for an online audience? Although keeping to a schedule is helpful, there are weeks I am swamped with LIFE. Sometimes reading a graphic novel a week prevents me from reading other books, and I wish I had more time for other genres.

11)  Lastly, what have you found to be the most rewarding part of blogging since you began your writing venture? The INTERACTION with other bloggers! I am the nerdiest of my friends, so at times I didn’t have someone to properly geek out with. Now I have found my tribe!

Now here are my questions for my nominees:

1) What is your favorite book or series?

2)  What are you thankful for?

3)  What is your favorite place to visit?

4)  Why is your blog focused on the topics you’ve chosen?  If you can write about anything, why this?

5)  Do you hold yourself to any sort of schedule as a writer (for example, you must write a little every day or do a post every week) or do you just write when you feel so moved?  Why is this your chosen path?

6)  What would you like to learn how to do?

7)  What do you want people to remember about you?

8)  What is the reason behind the name of your blog?

9)  Which post on your blog would you like to have gotten more readership?

10)  Has there been anything challenging about blogging since you’ve started writing for an online audience?

11)  Lastly, what have you found to be the most rewarding part of blogging since you began your writing venture?

Thank you again to Michael from My Comic Relief for your support. Your blog is so awesome, well written and funny! Kathleen and I were so excited to receive this shout out! I hope all of my nominees are as excited as I was when I found out that we had been nominated.

-Nancy