Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Introducing British Authors Month!


Welcome to my British Authors month! I will be discussing British authors and books for the entire month of November, and I have some amazing giveaways and guest posts from some really fab UK bloggers as well as British authors. I'm so super excited about this month and I sincerely hope that you all enjoy it too.

But for now, I thought it best to talk a little bit about why I'm doing this. As most of you already know, I'm not even British. I am an American who has lived in England for the past 11 years. It's become home in a way that I didn't think was possible. I was never a huge Anglophile before I moved here but I'm finding it very interesting exploring British history and landmarks. Especially with two young children, I'd like them to be aware of the country they live in, appreciate their surroundings and also the huge wealth of literature that is produced locally!

Another reason is that the way I was raised was always to support the home team. Obviously this mostly applied to sports teams (Go Oregon Ducks!), but I think the principle can apply to many things, and in this instance applies to British authors and British books. And I feel like British books and authors need to be shouted about and celebrated more often! There are some truly amazing authors and books out there at the moment and I'd like to tell you about some of them over the course of this month.

But of course, this idea was inspired by other people as well. I can tell you honestly, that before Becky from The Bookette began hosting her very wonderful British Books Challenge, I had absolutely no idea which of my books were written by British authors. None at all. And for a very long time after signing up for Becky's challenge (and I still do this!) I'd pick up a book from my shelf and think 'I wonder if this author is British or not' and I'd immediately check google. And I'd be hugely surprised. And it was fun and interesting thing to do. And becoming more aware of these things has made a huge impact on my reading choices.

So that's where I'm coming from. And just because I'm curious, what would YOU like to see most during British Authors Month?

14 comments:

  1. Just popped over from Twitter. (I'm British although I now live in Australia ... as if 'popped' wasn't enough of a clue.)

    I'll bookmark your blog and check back, because I have a soft spot for British authors. When I pick off my faves - science fiction or not - about 95% are from the UK.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi! Will it be mostly British YA, or other genres by British authors? Moving back to London from Australia in a few weeks - so have been mostly reading Aussie YA, but know very little about the British stuff as of yet - would love some recommendations!...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm really looking forward to this month. Like you I've really enjoyed discovering which of the authors I've been reading this year are British.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Simon - Hello! Lovely to meet you :) I do hope you enjoy my month. (Most of the books are contemporary, sorry! Though if I remember correctly, there is ONE sci-fi book amongst the lot)

    Anna - It's mostly all YA! That's all I currently read (I think there will be a couple of chick-lit types thrown in, but only if I'm low on other YA books to be reviewed) There should be lots and lots of recommendations for great books to read! (I hope)

    Jenni - It's been a real eye-opener! I'm always constantly surprised.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm looking forward to seeing what books you read as most of my reading these says is by American authors. I'd love some recommendations.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love that British authors are finally being recognised. When I first started blogging, a lot of the authors I read no-one knew because of the largely American bloggers. It's great that people can read authors that I've known of for years :)
    Looking forward to this :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love that British authors are finally being recognised. When I first started blogging, a lot of the authors I read no-one knew because of the largely American bloggers. It's great that people can read authors that I've known of for years :)
    Looking forward to this :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is such a fab idea, I can't wait to see what books you pick :o) I don't know where you get the time or energy to keep organising these themed months but I enjoy reading them.

    Are you going to pick up anything by Terry Pratchett? You could use this as an excuse to finish the Tiffany Aching series :o)

    ReplyDelete
  9. theprettybooks - Oh, tell me about it! I think a lot of us focus on American authors, sometimes without even realising it. That's why I've loved becoming more aware of where an author is from.

    Rebecca-Books - Oh, perhaps you have some great recommendations then as well? :) It is nice to shout out about British authors though!

    Sarah - Thank you so much, I hope you enjoy it! I would have loved to have used this time to finish the Tiffany Aching series, but I really wanted to get through some of my own books first (as I'd have to had to check out two of the books from the library) Soon though, I am still determined to read more Terry Pratchett!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hurray for British Month! I've added your button on Chicklish now and I'm really looking forward to all your posts!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am excited about this month! Yay! Did you get my e-mail?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you so much Luisa! :)

    Zoe - Thank you! Yes, I did, I shall be emailing you tonight :) (sorry I'm rubbish at sending emails in a timely fashion!)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh wow.. what a great feature! I'm always on the look out for British authors because there are some absolute gems out there that always seem to get hidden by American/Aussie books.
    Really excited to read all of your posts!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Jo - Thank you so much for commenting, as I've found your blog by doing so :) I hope you enjoy this month. I've tried my best :)

    ReplyDelete

HI! Thank you for leaving a comment, you've just become my new best friend :)