Welcome to the Bah! Brilliant Book Bonanza

…. or Bah! BBB, as it’s known around these parts.

The May 2010 Bah! BBB giveaway list is here.

The Bah! BBB is a way of providing great books to people who need a good, uplifting read. When you’ve read this page, use the drop-down menu at the top of the screen to explore the Bah! BBB pages.

I used to read almost anything and almost everything. I stayed away from horror – I sometimes have nightmares after LOST so it never seemed like a wise choice – but otherwise, if it was a book, I’d give it a go. Chick lit, classics, historical biography, gritty modern mysteries, literary fiction (a special favourite), I devoured it.

But when cancer happened, I no longer read the way I used to.  I started to need a lot of energy for things I’d taken for granted before: smiling, standing up, getting through days, all that stuff. I didn’t realise how much energy it would need, and I didn’t know how much it was taking until I started to read a book I’d saved for after surgery. It was kind of gritty, and I couldn’t get through it.  I gave up on other books, too, because I was out of energy for fictional bad fortune.

And then I was given some books written by Georgette Heyer and Lisa Jewell. I had two reads which between them were romantic, funny, involving and uplifting. Nobody died. No nasty incest or exploitation was going on. I headed for the library and for the Georgette Heyers and the Lisa Jewells and the books that looked a bit like them. Alan noticed and suggested Dick Francis and Agatha Christie, which I enjoyed too, although there is a bit of dying in those. (I think I was feeling a bit better by then. Also, it’s rather theatrical and un-dwelled-upon dying.)

So I learned that I needed to read differently. And I came up with the Bah! BBB as a way of providing books that nourish, raising money that matters, and building a resource that people in need of a restorative read can come to for ideas.

Here’s how it works.

For writers

If you are an author, or a publisher, or an agent, I would like you to email me and tell me about books you have that are well written and uplifting. So, they don’t have to be all marshmallow and sunshine, but no grisly deaths or man’s-inhumanity-to-man either. We’ll arrange for you to donate copies of those books to the Bah! BBB. If you are super lovely, you might arrange for signed copies, or the author might agree to be interviewed for the blog.

For readers

Once I have the books, I will tell you a little bit about them, and you can enter the Bah! BBB Draw. (This has its own pages, every quarter.) You do this by leaving a ‘pick me!’ comment telling me which book you’d like to win. I’d like you to also donate £2/$3 per book request to one of my three chosen charities, but that’s not mandatory.

I will then pick winners of books at random, and send you your book. And if you wanted to, you could write a review of your book to be published here.

And it’s as simple as that, really. Simple, yet effective. Effective, yet satisfying. Satisfying, yet simple. Simple, yet effective…..