Thursday, January 20, 2011

Book Chase Turns Four Today

Book Chase is officially four years old today and I'm still thoroughly enjoying the experience.  I started the site as an electronic book journal of my own, a way to help me keep track of what I read over the years and what my thoughts are on the books.  Thankfully, it has turned into a lot more than just my personal book journal.

A blog like this one is mostly about "community."  It is a way for like-minded people to chat about one of their greatest lifelong passions: books, authors, and the reading experience, in general.  Most of us don't have many of those conversations in "real life" (especially, the guys here will vouch for that), unless we happen to work around books in some capacity.  Really passionate readers are harder to find than most people imagine.  We are probably outnumbered at better than 100 to 1 by nonreaders.  So something like this, and the dozens and dozens of other book blogs out there, can be great fun - but only because so many are willing to jump in with their own contributions to the overall conversation.  I've been blessed here by regular visits from a whole bunch of people who make Book Chase a place that feels like home to me.  I never know what I'm going to find when I start reading the comments; some of them have been classic, good and bad, but always fun to read.

During the past four years, I have posted just under 1500 individual posts here and have received several thousand comments in response.  I have read 558 books during those years and have reviewed all but three of them right here - and those three are coming soon.  Astoundingly (to me), I can look at the list of all those books and recall a pretty fair amount of detail about each and every one of them.  There's just something about taking the time to reflect on what I read, and organizing my thoughts into a few hundred semi-coherent words, that burns the books deeper into my brain than ever happened before the advent of Book Chase.

As a way to thank everyone for hanging with me here (and through this post, especially), I want to give my copy of Louise Penny's audio book, Bury Your Dead to some lucky commenter.  Click here for my December 8 review of the book.    


To enter the contest, just make sure to comment below, including your choice of any number between 1 and 25.  Be sure to read the comments that precede yours so that you don't choose an already-taken number.  In a week or so, I'll use my random number generator to choose the winner.  It's that simple.

This is a really good mystery/police procedural.  Take a shot at it if you like that kind of thing, or audio books, in general.  This one is a 10-disc set and runs about 12 hours.

17 comments:

  1. Sam, Emmett and I will be on a road trip next week, and we've never tried an audio book. I think it would be the best time to try it. I'll pick number 13 :)

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  2. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I have really enjoyed your blog and the reviews you write! Thank you for taking the time to share your views with the world! You are very right, as a guy who likes to read, I find it very hard to find others to share my thoughts with! I'm so glad I started my blog because of the wonderful friends I've made that share the same passion! :)

    OK, you had to know I couldn't pass up the chance at an audiobook! :) I'll go with 12 for the number of years I've been married! :)

    I have been surprised as well by how much I retain of a book because of writing a review of it. I've only been going about 6 months but I trust that I'll remember these great books for years to come!

    Thanks for a great offer and I trust I'll be seeing great reviews and other posts from you for many years to come!!

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  3. Happy Birthday Book Chase & congrats Sam on 4 great years of reviews and commentary - you've led me to some great reads (Resistance!!) and have lengthened my 'want to read' list somewhat exponentially :)

    Looking forward to 2011's additions with great anticipation!

    Karen (RSN)

    oh, #18 :)

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  4. I'll choose #9

    Happy Birthday/ Anniversary!!
    You have great insights on many different genres and I've found some wonderful suggestions through Book Chase.
    BTW... my 2nd Blog Birthday/ Anniversary is tomorrow!

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  5. Happy Birthday! I remember when your infant self first rode into Blogtown! Keep it going -- that wonderful mix of country/bluegrass and books. You're my perfect blogger.

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  6. Happy Birthday Book Chase, lets hope there are many more.

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  7. I have really liked many of the books you've recommended and would not have otherwise found them. Thank you!

    (And don't put me in the contest - I get all my books at the library. I am trying to encourage a de-cluttering of our house by example, even though it's not working very well so far.)

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  8. Congratulations on reaching this milestone. I enjoy reading your comments and would REALLY enjoy listening to an audio version of any of Louise Penny's books. I'll pick #20. Maxine

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  9. Thanks to all for the nice sentiments expressed..

    Keep those entries coming, y'all. I'm going to cut it off when I get 25 entries or at the end of the day, January 25, whichever comes first.

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  10. Happy blog-birthday, Sam. Glad you're in for the long haul!

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  11. Thanks for always providing such great entertainment, I'll go with 7.

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  12. Happy Blog Birthday! I'll go for lucky number 4

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  13. Happy Birthday and congrats on the four years of blogging, Sm! I've already read Bury Your Dead, so I'll bow out of the competition.

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  14. Happy birthday to BookChase! I've thoroughly enjoyed it, though I can't believe it's actually been 4 years already. Keep up the great work, Sam! :)

    And I don't often drive long enough to make an audio book worthwhile, so no number from me.

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  15. Someone took my first choice number, so I'll go with my second choice....#3.

    And, Congratulations....or Happy Birthday?!

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  16. Kudos to you for the wonderful service you provide us reading types. It's a place for like-minded people to dwell, and your words are always a source of freshness, thoughtfulness, and information.

    I hope you continue another 4 years.

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I always love hearing from you guys...that's what keeps me book-blogging. Thanks for stopping by.