I really loved seeing everyone's entry's for the book challenge. It's superheartening that the #book tag is growing on Steemit and it's also made me more conscious of how much (or little!) I read, given I seem to be steeming all the time! It's been great to get to know you all through this too and please do tag me if you ever write book posts or reviews as I love seeing what you're reading.
I also found it so interesting to see how DIVERSE you guys were! Such a variety of books! And it was clear that for most of you, books MOVED you so much that you just HAD to write about them.
It was super hard to choose! I did upvote every post and resteemed a few, until I realised my blog was being a bit clogged up with book posts, which was killing my Libran desire for balance and harmony he he!
However, please do check out these amazing entries, in no particular order:
family wrote about the 3 most important books in her life, including one of my favourites which was Glennie Kindred.
She wrote that:
it speaks my truth and connects so deeply to my heart, it shares an ancient wisdom that we all need to reconnect to. I have had this book for 16 years now, it has travelled with me across the seas, it has fuelled my life and gifted me with so much wisdom. When I read it for the first time,it resonated with me so deeply that I knew that what Glennie was writing about was what I believed in passionately. It was like coming home.
Some books just connect with us so much that they connect to our hearts!
had a whole heap of history books that were begging to be read, and maybe if he stops steeming, he'll read them. He's about to go off on a travel adventure, so I recommend you follow him. His favourite is Amyr Klink.
is a self professed book addict, and a pretty amazing writer to boot. Her post was on books as buried treasures. and she included Niebegger, who wrote the Time Traveller's Wife, which made me bawl my eyes out at the end of it!
wrote about the [joys of buying secondhand books](The joys of buying second hand books, hidden gems and a second life!) and we all loved his ethos here of returning them when he was done so others could enjoy them. He's super enthusiastic about his garden and a relatively new Steemian, so you should check him out.
was quick off the mark and gave us her loved stack in the first days of the challenge. She has quite an amazing collection of books and her bookshelves are extraordinary. I must say I'm a bit biased here as I've seen her rows and rows of books in a previous post and I'm a bit in love with her shelves for sure.
wrote her post here. She writes:
In bygone days, before the internet, writing or even reading a blog post was not an option. Writers would put their article or essays into magazines and news papers. Many were collected for publication in book form.
Now, we put them together in steemposts!
found it hard to choose and write about books as she had so many. I love the way she'll always reference something she's read in conversation. Here's her musing on books here - sadly her feed says she's 'gone fishing' and has written her last post, which is a shame. This means I wasn't sure that I could reward her for this challenge because I wasn't sure if the SBD was going anywhere. It's a real loss to Steemit though!
I highly recommend checking out this post anyway. She wrote about more than 3 books, but they were all fabulous and I've put a few on my list, especially the one by Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo:
Her first best-selling "Cave in the Snow" chronicles her journey inwards (in a cave, alone for twelve years, till the Chinese authorities evicted her from Tibet for not having a visa). This book of talks and dialogues (my new bath book) is full of insights given in response to typical western concerns and inquiries into how to live a more mindful life.
wrote his post here - including the Sherlock Holmes omnibus! I loved the latest BBC version of this, and always wanted to dip into Arthur Conan Doyle. I've heard they are great. Thanks for your entry, Terry.
wrote about two books he's reading [here](Anyway, time to nip out and get me some coffee and almond croissants...nom.) - but the third was steemposts, which although valid enough, made me ruthlessly cross him out from the comp. Look, this thing is hard enough to judge because I want you all to win - I have to choose somehow!! But he did remind me that I should read more Dickens than Great Expectations, and J's been trying to get me to read 'A Tale of Two Cities' for ages now so maybe I will, thanks to you. Plus, he made me crave coffee and an almond croissant. Damn you and your subversive ways,
wrote her post here - like many of us booklovers, there never seems to be enough time to read all the books she wants to. Thanks for your entry!
wrote her post here - she's a fan of classical literature and poetic writing, and her choices looked interesting. Again - so many books to feast upon here! Loved her reviews too.
wrote about books that changed her life and brought her out of depression. A very sweet story indeed. She wrote:
One day when I'm too tired. I think that if this situation is to happen, I will gradually die from inside my spirit and then to the body outside. I started looking for books. At first I did not know what I was reading, because I did not know what I was passionate about. Then I thought, now I have two daughters, so I try to read books about children education.
's post is here - a really interesting selection! Good luck on finding the Morris book! I'm looking him up for sure, and I'm interested in the Burke one too.
got was one of the two entries with her beautifully written and presented post, containing three of my favourites - Rumi, Tolkien and the Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy, and some beautiful photos in her entry here
and last but not least, the very last entry [here](https://steemit.com/books/@cheekah/my-stack-of-books - just in the nick of time for an upvote
and great to see a #wafrica entry!)
I have to say it was really incredibly hard to judge this contest. I didn't want to be biased, but being a Libran, I want to be fair! So there was all the weighing up in my head going on - do I give them all a small amount of SBD or do I divide it by three? Do I just choose one? What do I do?
In the end, I had about 10SBD to play with for 13 posts. Here's the winners. They were judged upon:
- Telling me some details about the books
- Touching my heart - did you move me?
- Was there a story attached to your books?
- Did you have some nice photos to pretty it up?
- Great formatting
- My own personal bias toward particular books
The Winners
What really struck me was how books had made her see her life in a different way and pulled her out of depression. She didn't write loads and loads about her books but what she did write really moved me:
The sheer PASSION for the books she holds so close to my heart really made this post a winner for me, as well as great formatting - being a Libran, I'm a bit swayed by harmony and beauty, so a well put together post is a clincher for me. Saying that, I'm also a Cancer - so touch my emotional heart and I'm yours. This post did both for me.
Plus, I'm also rewarding the following with 1SBD each - thanks for your entries and II loved your posts too!
Thanks so much for taking part, all of you wonderful Steemians! Check your wallets for your winnings, and let me know if there's a problem - give me ten minute or so after I post this though! We're on the long drive back from Walhalla (see last post) so I'm only in intermittent range...!
I do hope I didn't miss any of you, but I did check the two posts for entries and if you forgot to post there, maybe that's why I missed it.
Lots of book loving to you all!
I'm also totally honoured to be a passenger on the #ecotrain - check out this hashtag for some pretty amazing posts permaculture to meditation, environmental issues to food forests - I highly recommend checking out this tag as you're guaranteed of sweeeetness!
