Nonfiction Book Reviews

Confession: I am just not into the internet memes that go around the internet.  They’re like a virus, spreading from blog to blog, tying up time that could otherwise be spent doing something useful, like watching paint dry.

I know, I know, I should tell you how I really feel, right?

But I just can’t help myself - internet memes just seem like such a waste of time.  And so it was with trepidation that I saw that there is a massive one happening today, called the International Thank All of Your Entrecard Droppers Day (or something like that) where everyone who uses the Entrecard system is supposed to write up a post, linking to the top droppers for the month on their site.

Well, I have to say that yes, I like Entrecard, and yes, I am glad that people come and visit my site through the EC system.  But a thousand times better than a simple drop from EC is someone taking the time to write up a comment and leaving it for me, to give me some feedback, insight, or even just give me some laughs!

So instead of writing up the list of EC droppers, I am going to list out the Top 10 Commentors (ie, the Ten Coolest People You’ll Ever Meet) on my site this month.  That, to me, thanks the people who really added something to my site, instead of the people who just drop and run.

Of course, this meant that instead of just going to my EC admin panel and looking at my stats to see who I should link to, I’ve actually had to go through and count my comments by hand.  You can give me lots of pity - I’ll let you, promise.

Actually, being the obsessive compulsive spreadsheet maker that I am, I put together a spreadsheet so I could make sure to keep everything straight (not to mention that I just like making spreadsheets.  Everything is so neat and orderly in a spreadsheet.  It’s okay - you can call me crazy if you want to.  Most people do.)  So honestly, this was kinda fun.

Now we’re back to the whole crazy thing, aren’t we?

Well anyway, after compiling the numbers, I found out the following:

I’ve had four family members leave comments on my site (so much for making fun of my family behind their back…) plus five coworkers comment on here (how am I supposed to make fun of them behind their backs, either?!) and a whopping 65 unique commentors total.  That was pretty cool to see - that means that although my family and coworkers obviously love me (as they well should) that there are other people in this world who love me too.  Who knew?

So onto the list.  I’m focusing here, really.

First Place goes to Stephanie Barr of Rocket Scientist, without a doubt.  Apparently she’s spent enough time on my site, I might as well put her on the payroll and keep her here permanently.  With 34 comments, she rivals even me in chattiness.  Not something people can normally accomplish - well done, Stephanie, well done.

Be sure to go check out Stephanie’s site - she has an unusual blog topic (yes, she really is a rocket scientist) and her posts are simply awesome.  I don’t comment on her site nearly as often as she comments on mine, but that’s probably just cause she’s way cooler than me.

Second Place goes to Ruthie at A Jedi’s Musings.  Despite what you might think, she doesn’t actually put up YouTube videos of Star Wars videos, but instead writes reviews of books in the sci-fi and fantasy genre (with the occasional mystery book thrown in for good measure).  If you’re into that genre, then you’ll definitely want to go check her site out.

Third Place goes to Callista of SMS Book Reviews.  She writes reviews of nonfiction and children’s books, and it was from her that I heard about The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness.  I thought it sounded like an interesting book, so I checked it out of the library, and yeah, it was fun. :-)  I love books that stay with you long after you close the book, and Knife does that.  I keep looking at my dogs, expecting them to talk. Anyway, if you love book review blogs, SMS is another great one to check out.

Fourth Place is Ravyn at Exchange of Realities.  If you’re really into RPG or D&D games (and if you don’t know what those acronyms stand for, then HINT: You’re not into them!) then you’ll love Ravyn’s site.  She is a talented writer, so go enjoy!

Fifth Place goes to my sister, Sariah, and her fun blog called Sagebrush and Hollyhocks.  I actually helped her set the site up, but she’s since done a ton to it that I never even had to show her how to do - way to go, sis!   She started that blog as a blogging newbie, but she’s really done awesome things there.  She’s a homeschooling mom, so if you do that yourself, be sure to check her site out.

Sixth Place goes to The Secret of Newton, a blog that I found through Rocket Scientist, actually.  Brian is pretty new into the blogging world, but it doesn’t show.  His posts are funny and informative, and you leave feeling like you’ve actually done something constructive with your time.  Two thumbs up for Secret of Newton.

Seventh Place goes to laneerg at The Single Frugalton.  Along with great tips on how to make your dollar go farther, she also has funny stories and a great writing style to boot.  Not to mention that she’s a readaholic like me, so really, what could be better?  Be sure to swing by her site.

Eighth Place goes to Flit at Flitting on Fiction.  Flit makes me laugh - she is in college too, so I get to read all about all of the fun she’s having (her English class sounds like H*ll on Earth!) and then there’s her rants and raves about her local library…It’s surprising that she wants to come to my site at all, considering how bad her local library is.  I’m just glad that my library has it together a little better than that.

To round out the top ten, I have two people who do not have websites themselves, but still deserve thanks because they’ve spent a lot of time leaving comments on my site. Ann and Chris, you know who you are.  You guys rock.

Want to be on this list next month?  Well, good luck, ’cause knowing me, I won’t put one together next month.  But just in case, you ought to leave a comment every day, on the very off chance that I’ll sing your praises next month.  No really, you should, I promise.

Thanks to all of my commentors for their insights and humor - it’s been real.  It’s been fun.  Heck, I’ll go the whole 8 yards and say that it’s been real fun.

Hava

PS Today.com has changed it so we can play around with our colors and stuff.  Whadaya think of the new look?  I’m open to any and all suggestions!

PPS For any Today.com bloggers out there reading this post, be sure to vote in the Blogger’s Choice Award of the Month thread on the forums.  Somehow, I strangely managed to get on that list, so even better than just voting would be to vote for me.  I’ll slip a $5 later, k?  And if you’re not a Today.com blogger, sadly enough, you will not be able to access that forum, but thanks for wanting to try anyway.  I appreciate your willingness to be bought for $5.