What do you call a blog that is turned into a book? Why, a blook, of course! (No, I also hope that it won't catch on... a less elegant word it would be hard to imagine.)
But it probably will, when authors can claim to have been nominees or winners of the Blooker prize. How many readers will miss that vital L?
Nonetheless, the inaugural prize, supported by the publish-on-demand company Lulu, has attracted wide support, and generally good reviews, particularly for the overall winner, Julie and Julia, which grew out of the author's blog.
The Guardian explains its origins:
Julie Powell, a frustrated unpublished author approaching 30 in a dead end office job, came up with the idea of attempting to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child's 1961 cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her husband suggested chronicling her efforts online, where her musings on life, love and cooking drew an ever-larger cult following. The blog led to a publishing deal, and the resulting tome - Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Kitchen Apartment - sold more than 100,000 copies.
Two Blogcritics – Don Baiocchi and Timothy Jarrett – have reviewed Julie and Julia. They largely share the judges' high opinion of it – but do follow those links for more details.
Julie and Julia was both the overall winner and the winner of the non-fiction section. In the other categories, a serialised gothic novel, Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest, won the fiction section and Totally Boned: A Joe and Monkey Collection, by Zach Miller won the comic book section.
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