Welcome to Blogging 4 Books. The Original Rules and the FAQ are hosted on The Zero Boss, because he made it up.
The short version: You blog on a chosen topic. You post a link to your blog entry in the comments below this entry. B4B closes at MIDNIGHT your time next Monday.
If you have no blog, you write the essay and cut and paste it (no attachments please) into an email to Anne Fitten (the Blog-ess behind Edgy Mama) and ask her sweetly to host it for you. Then Anne Fitten sends you a link to your essay and you post the link here in comments.
Your special guest blogger is KIRA of KIWORDS. If you have not read her blog, you should. It has a big, big heart and an equally large sense of humor. Kira will narrow all the entries down to seven finalists.
If you are a finalist, your entry will be read by author and all around cool chick Jennifer O'Connell She will pick first, second and third place. First place gets a signed first edition of her new book, Off The Record

And now, THE TOPIC!
Since Off The Record is about a plain, predictable, responsible woman named Jane Marlow who discovers that a one-hit wonder 12 years ago was written about HER, this month's topic should be about your close personal relationship, real or imagined, with a song. If you, like me, are dead inside and have no close personal relationships with songs, I suggest you lie. You could, for example, write about your close, personal relationship with your childhood dog, and substitute "Tainted Love by Soft Cell" for her name. This will inevitably lead to sentences like, "Ah those halcyon days running through the meadows with Soft Cell's Tainted Love gamboling innocently beside me..." and "Tainted Love by Soft Cell brought back the stick no matter how many times I threw it." But that's what you get for being dead inside.
GO!
Woo-hoo! Another B4B contest--hmmmm, I wonder if anyone would notice if I plagiarized Nick Hornby for this month's topic? Probably. Y'all are all so well-read.
Joshilyn, do you mind if I cross-post this entire post to my blog? Seems to bring in a few more entries.
Posted by: Edgy Mama at October 3, 2005 2:04 PMAmazingly, I have an essay I wrote on this exact topic, but I have to decide if it is too personal to post in a public forum. LOL!
Posted by: Heather at October 3, 2005 5:03 PMOh how WONDERFUL! I've been looking for the right time to write about my goldfish, You're So Vain....
;)
Posted by: Mir at October 3, 2005 6:25 PMHeather, if you don't want to post it on your blog, e-mail it to me, and I'll post it on mine. That way you get to enter, but your post won't be read by your Mom, if that's a concern.
Posted by: Edgy Mama at October 4, 2005 8:59 AMLOL. Thanks Edgy. I reread it and decided to post it after all. Actually, the post I ended up making today leads up to it perfectly, so I will post it. It's nothing my mom doesn't know. It is the youth at our church (they read me) that worry me, but it is probably something they NEED to hear. Anyway, I am babbling. I will post it. If I chicken out, I will contact you. LOL!
Posted by: Heather at October 4, 2005 12:23 PMI hope that I am doing this right. Here's my post.
Jo
http://jpopekimber.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Jo at October 4, 2005 7:57 PMedgy sent me. :)
http://syntax-memes.blogspot.com/2005/10/blogging-4-books.html
Posted by: syntax at October 4, 2005 10:04 PMHmm..I have an idea. I'll see if I can grow it.
Posted by: poopie at October 4, 2005 10:21 PMHere's my entry:
http://bumblebeesweetpotato.blogspot.com/2005/10/alive.html
Posted by: landismom at October 5, 2005 11:11 AMHere's my entry. It was fun!
http://datingthetoothfairy.blogspot.com/2005/10/blogging-for-books-so.html
Posted by: Sarah at October 5, 2005 2:16 PMI couldn't resist this topic. Here's my essay:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/shanna_s/2005/10/05/
And now I'm going to spend the rest of the day listening to cheesy 80s power ballads!
Posted by: Shanna Swendson at October 5, 2005 2:54 PMAnd here's mine. I'm FINALLY jumping in on the Blogging for Books bandwagon. :)
http://www.mostlyrisible.com/index.php/weblog/for_my_wedding/
Here's my entry! I hope the html tags worked . . .
Posted by: Jessica at October 5, 2005 11:56 PMDarn it! The html tags didn't work. Here's the URL . . .
http://daydreamsandmusings.blogspot.com/2005/10/possibilities.html
Jessica
Posted by: Jessica at October 5, 2005 11:56 PMthis is my first attempt too! hope it's right! entry is on the homepage and entitled: Livin on a Prayer...Still. enjoy!
http://justanormalday.blogspot.com/
http://madamerubies.com/blog/?p=86
Posted by: Heather at October 6, 2005 1:57 PMThanks for a fun writing exercise! Here's my entry:
http://theseglasses.typepad.com/my_weblog/2005/10/dont_say_a_pray.html
Posted by: Skovbo at October 6, 2005 3:10 PMI'm in.
http://writeladywrite.blogspot.com/2005/10/blogging-4-books.html
Posted by: seshat at October 7, 2005 7:18 AMThis one was a lot of fun. Hope we can have more like it in the future. My post is up!
Posted by: ZephyrBird at October 7, 2005 2:04 PMHere's mine:
http://debrichardson.blogspot.com/2005/10/silver-bells-and-bad-sing-along.html
OK - Mine's done. See it here:
http://socalmom.typepad.com/travelblog/2005/10/blogging_for_bo.html
All the posts are so awesome, I feel a little shy about posting mine, but here I go anyway. My first try at B4B - be gentle please:
http://three-part-harmony.com/heartsongs/2005/10/07/the-wind-beneath-my-wings/
First B4B entry. Pinch nose, squinch eyes shut, CANNONBALL.
http://1blueshi1.blogspot.com/B4B
Here's mine...
http://keeepinthefaith.blogspot.com/2005/10/water-is-wide.html
Posted by: poopie at October 8, 2005 3:20 PMI'm a B4B virgin. Here is my deflowering! ;)
http://blog.darkgraysheep.com/archives/2005/10/earl_had_to_die.html
Mine is here - http://daniel.mitblogs.com/poetry/archives/2005/10/thank_you_for_t.html.
Great topic, but hard to limit to one song!
Posted by: Daniel Barkowitz at October 8, 2005 11:57 PMHere's my entry:
http://edgymama.com/2005/10/fire-and-rain.html
Oh, and don't be surprised if my blog looks a bit different. I left town and some friends came in and redecorated the place for Halloween.
And, here's Lisa's entry as noted above by Ash:
http://edgymama.com/2005/10/how-the-boys-of-summer-.html
Got to teach that girl to shorten her titles.
Thanks all!
Posted by: Edgy Mama at October 9, 2005 9:05 PMHere's mine :)
http://headacheslayer.blogspot.com/2005/10/blogging-4-books-kudzu-edition.html
Thanks so much!!
Posted by: Angel at October 9, 2005 9:33 PMHere's my BforB entry.
This has been fun, a great writing trigger. Thanks!
http://sp8cemunky.blogspot.com/
Here's my Blogging for Books entry--I'm a B4B virgin, too:
http://millinersdream.blogspot.com/2005/10/blogging-for-books-child-of-mine.html
Hh
Posted by: Hannah at October 9, 2005 11:02 PMHello! I've been following this competition for awhile, but this is my first time entering.
It's a very emotional one for me, so if any of you are prone to tears like me, maybe find a kleenex first.
http://kristivega.blogs.com/smallthings/2005/10/god_bless_my_br.html
Posted by: Kristi at October 10, 2005 1:07 AMMy entry:
http://accordingtometheworld.blogspot.com/2005/10/blogging-for-books-relationship-with.html
Thanks for hosting B4B, Joshilyn!
Posted by: Lilly at October 10, 2005 7:51 AMLots of newbies this time... including me! Here goes nuthin'.
http://helloself.blogspot.com/2005/10/disco-in-my-life.html
I didn't think I was going to participate this month but here I am today finding myself writing about a song.
Here's my entry:
http://sleepingmommy.com/?p=24
Posted by: sleepingmommy at October 10, 2005 2:01 PM