Have you read a Blook?

The term “blook” was a runner-up for the 2006 Word of the Year, yet it’s not talked about very often. However, you may be surprised to discover that you may have even read a blook without knowing it. I have.

A blook is a bunch of blogs that are made into a book, whether printed or as an e-book. Basically, the author takes a series of her blogs that are about one topic and that might be something people would enjoy reading, and then she collects them into one volume, carefully arranges them, and diligently edits them. Then the author puts them all together to make a blook. It’s happening more and more these days with the ease of self-publishing, and it can be a valuable read, if done well.

I’ve been following Nina Amir http://howtoblogabook.com/tag/nina-amir/ who blogs about blogging a book, and she challenges writers to do it with excellence. Unfortunately, I have to admit that there are many more blooks that are very poorly done. They are a hodge-podge of disjointed thoughts that are unedited and haphazardly compiled. Frankly, such poorly done work is a waste of the reader’s time, and they are the blooks that give this genre a bad name.

Yet I recently read a quick-read, little e-book that happened to be free. When I got to the end of it, I was surprised to find out that it was a compilation of the author’s blogs. It turned out to be a good, fast read, and I was glad I hadn’t judged the blook by its genre’s reputation. The blook actually made me want to check out the rest of the person’s blog, and I signed up to follow her. Rather clever marketing ploy, don’t you think?

Have you read a blog recently? Did you enjoy it? I’d love to know!