Keats and Happiness Blog Hops, eBooks, and Author Interviews

oming in late on two blog tours...

Last month a few bloggers hosted a John Keats blog tour!

It's hard to choose just one Keats poem to share. I visited his house in Hampstead over ten years ago, but only managed to take a couple of photos, and those not with a digital camera. On the same day, I walked across Hampstead Heath, and then had a drink at the Spaniard's Inn:

Here are two Keats sonnets:

Rereading these poems on the screen, instead of in a book, reminds me of something I came across the other day. Joe Hill was comparing books and ebooks on Twitter and noted that for some chapters in his new book, NOS4A2:

I hadn't thought of this angle before. It sort of dovetails into my discomfort with reading ebooks, when I can't get a sense of where in the novel I am (it's not just the page numbers - it's having a constant visual sense of what part of the book I've reached, when I can see all the pages at once in my hands). Not to mention, why do ebooks always start on the first page? I like reading all the publisher's pages and the table of contents and the dedication and all, before I start the novel proper.

But I'm still trying! Because I'm really running out of space in the library, and the TBR pile by the bed is climbing up the walls...

Which brings me to the other meme that's doing the rounds, How To Be Happy! I love Alex and Arlee's answers, so I won't echo them, but I'll add five more:

1. Take a walk and act like Anne Shirley - glory in every leaf on every tree, the colours of the birds, the chattering of squirrels, the blueness of the sky or the varying sounds of the rain or snow or wind (I'm reading Before Green Gables at the moment, so thinking like Anne - or Pollyanna! - is at the forefront of my mind)

2. Don't compare yourself to others, especially when it comes to project timelines!

3. For the writers out there, don't forget to read and write for fun

4. For everyone else, travel! Lots of people complain about travelling (especially airports and planes), but the journey is fun too, if you're full of excitement and anticipation and don't pack too much!

5. Eat More Fruit

Finally, here're two recent author interviews:

Hélène Boudreau, talking about her inspirations, before she left for her TD Book Week tour

and

P. J. Bracegirdle, on his new young adult thriller

What would you add to the happy list?

Have you come across any other poet or author bloghops recently?