Many thanks to http://help-me-rhonda.com/ for giving me this beautiful award. I know that quite a lot of bloggers aren’t “into” the awards system, but I think that it’s a great way of finding bloggers you may like that would otherwise probably slip under your radar.
I say this because, in addition to always having brilliant posts that make the reader feel involved with their contents, Rhonda is a lady who is all about spreading joy and the community spirit on the blogosphere. 🙂
I am required to tell you seven things about myself, so…
1) I’ve been living on the 5th floor of a building that has no lift for nearly a year… and still get out of breath before I get to my floor.
2) I’ve wanted to play the violin since I was 4. This summer (and nearly 2 decades later) I’m going to start learning it. 🙂
3) The Book Buying Ban has now been going for 4 months and my purse is thanking me for it.
4) France has amazing French food, but they don’t cater to other countries’ cuisines. I would kill for a ‘korma’ that was not made with wasabi sauce.
5) I have a penguin-shaped hot water bottle called James that my best friend gave me for Christmas.
6) I have written a rhyming poem about James’ heroic exploits in the Antarctic (saving his friends from predators) and have started a 2nd poem about his subsequent travels about the Antarctic.
It is gripping stuff, though I say so myself. 😛
7) I re-read North and South at least once a year and maintain that I love it so much because it has a poem by Tennyson in it.
And now… here’s the list of the ten people I pass this award on to:
Words and Peace: A really well-read book blogger who started the I love France meme. I go there every Thursday to get my French culture/ history/ art/ life/ literature fix for the week.
Tavi Meyer: Is the man who introduced me to the concept of photography as a valid form of art. He’s a brilliant photographer and an interesting guy. I’m hoping to do a proper photo shoot with him before I leave Aix. (The fourth photo on the first row is from our first trial shoot).
The Synthesist Chronicles: Whether she’s discussing academics’ use of social media or gender equality, her posts are snappy and introduce me to a new way of looking at the issues she discusses.
Rose City Reader: Her methodical approach to creating reading lists and exploring genres is slowly rubbing off on me.
La Plume Noire: A wonderful mixture of prose and more genres of photography than I can count. Simply superb.
50 Year Project: to paraphrase, TBM’s aim in creating this blog was to refocus all the negative energy around into a positive, exciting and inspiring experience.
Lifetime Reading Plan: is an intelligently written blog that is absolute heaven for someone who is interested in a broad spectrum of literature. Every novel mentioned is a classic, even in the ‘books about reading’ section!
Chronicles of Illusions: is a ‘parallel universe’ I enjoy slipping into whenever the real world feels a bit too intense.
http://anarmchairbythesea.blogspot.com/ : was my first introduction to the world of blogging and book blogging. 🙂 She is cool.
Last but not least: L.S. Engler of http://lsengler.com/ : ‘A writer. Writing. About Writing’. She is brilliant
Wild Night In 
Jo Bryant
June 12, 2012 at 13:16
A penquin shaped water bottle…love it. Congrats on the award and thanks for thinking of Chronicles. I love that you like to slip in to escape the intensity of the real world…yippee. I Thank you. I will pop it up on my awards page and try to come up with 7 things…but I don’t pass awards on anymore. But I do love it when people think of me.
🙂
wildnightin
June 13, 2012 at 22:08
🙂 You’re welcome and congratulations again. Your blog is truly awesome. Don’t worry about passing it on. As I said before: awards are just meant to be there to say, ‘Hey, I think you’re blog’s great and I’m telling the world about it’. 🙂
katybrandes
June 12, 2012 at 15:09
I think I was introduced to “Syn” (The Synthesist Chronicles) through your blog, so thanks! James sounds great, too, btw.
wildnightin
June 13, 2012 at 22:16
You’re welcome. It’s thanks to you that I know Kwizgiver and Love for Reading, so I’m doubly indebted. 🙂
James is great, although I sometimes feel too child-like when I tell people that I wrote poems about him.
TBM
June 12, 2012 at 15:38
Congrats on the award! Good luck with violin. I played it when I was younger and I quit since I wanted to play outside. I regret that now. Thanks for thinking of my blog. That is very nice of you. Keep up the good work…and I’m impressed by your book buying ban. I tried that this year and only lasted two months. You are stronger than me.
wildnightin
June 13, 2012 at 22:28
Thank you. Playing outside probably made you stronger (and more friends) than playing the violin. Plus you can always restart it one day. I still don’t hold mine properly. (Oops).
Your blog always sticks in my mind when I’m chatting to friends about ‘turning life around’ and enjoying it day by day.
Not buying books for two months is really good. Also, I’ve bribed myself with the promise of £5 (to spend however I’d like) for every month that I don’t buy books.
Tavi Meyer
June 16, 2012 at 07:05
Thank you very much! And we should totally do a violin photo shoot when you get the instrument 🙂