Blooker Prize Blog

War: Past and Present

War is the common theme of today's featured entries. Covering three different conflicts from three different decades, these blooks provide a wide range of views and experiences directly from people who were on the front lines.

Heroes Among Us
by Hal Terrell - www.realheroesamongus.com

$26.50 (Trafford) Buy it

Blooker category: Non-Fiction

"Tells the story of twenty-two boys who grew up in a small western Colorado town during The Great Depression and how they dealt with their circumstances. It also delves into each individual's WWII experiences and what each one did after WWII to help build America into what it is today. Each chapter is loaded with emotions and humor. How many other young men from other small towns across America have shared similar experiences? This book will appeal to all veterans as well as our young people and the public in general."

Mission Saddam
by Herb Eash - www.herbeash.com

$20.00 (Lulu) - Buy it

Blooker category: Non-Fiction

"Mission Saddam is about severe atrocities from an over-zealous dictator who caused a stir that brought in the Calvary! A soldiers’ daily survival in a time of war and wait. The effects of war on both this soldier and his beloved spouse. By reading Mission Saddam you learn more about (GWI) Gulf War Illness which is plaguing thousands of Soldiers who served in the Middle East during a time of War to save the Kuwaiti people from Saddam's Tyranny. Includes a Gulf War Timeline from the start in 1990 to the end in 1991."

My War: Killing Time In Iraq
by Colby Buzzell - www.cbftw.blogspot.com

$15.00 (Berkeley/Penguin) Buy it

Blooker category: Non-Fiction

"Colby Buzzell traded a dead-end future for the army--and ended up as a machine gunner in Iraq. To make sense of the absurd and frightening events surrounding him, he started writing a blog about the war--and how it differed from the government's official version. But as his blog's popularity grew, Buzzell became the embedded reporter the army couldn't control--despite its often hilarious efforts to do so."

My dinner with Julie

It turns out that spending a week at North Carolina's Outer Banks, while unbelievably relaxing, isn't particularly conducive to keeping a blog updated...so...what's been going on?

Several new entries have been added to the list, and a few of those have already been sent in. In fact, the stack of blooks that are waiting for me to blog about them is steadily growing, and I fear things will get completely out of control if I don't get back on that soon! There has also been some interesting media and blog coverage of the Blooker, and blooks in general. However, the first order of business is, as the title of this post indicates, to tell you all about my dinner with Julie Powell.

On September 29, Julie had a reading/signing at the Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC. The Regulator is a great store, and one of several independents that we're lucky to have in our area. The event was very well attended, and I was particularly pleased to see that they were handing out the "Cooker Beats Hooker" shirts we sent! Julie read a few passages from Julie & Julia and answered a lot of questions, all in her frank and funny style. Paul Jones, this year's Chair of the Judges, was also there, and after the signing we all went out for dinner at Chapel Hill's famous Crook's Corner--described by The New York Times as "sacred ground for Southern foodies." We all ordered the restaurant's delicious signature dish, shrimp and grits, and the conversation focused, as you might expect, on food. Well, food and blooks, of course. It was a lovely evening, and I'm glad I had a chance to get to meet Julie and spend some time with her and Paul over top-notch Southern cuisine.