May I have the envelope please...

I was going to post on Stefan Zweig's Twilight but then Matt gave me this nifty recognition a couple of days ago and it's taken me this long to figure it out. Thank you, Matt. I'm honored to be honored. It's the Premio Dardos or Darts Award which, well I'll let them say it.

This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his or her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day. The rules to follow are:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award to 15 (actually 10) other blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

So there you have it. I most gratefully follow rule #1 by accepting this award and posting it, but as for rule #2 I say - rules, schmools, I'm doing this my own way - and passing it on to just a few blogs, even if someone has honored them already. Please hold your applause until the end of the presentation.

Although Cornflower Books is a fairly new place, Cornflower is an old hand at bringing us her observation on books, cakes, and other various and sundry. A visit to her place is like being invited to someone's comfy kitchen for tea and a chat. I found out about A. S. Byatt's upcoming book at her house and so, Cornflower, I honor you.

Notes of an Anesthesioboist is exactly what it says. Our fearless, reed-sucking goddess of sleep shares her thoughts on her work, her reading, cooking, family life. A thoughtful, nourishing place to visit and for that I honor her.

C.B. and his faithful friend Dakota get a lot of books in. That is, C. B. reads 'em and Dakota eats 'em. The trick is to see which one gets to them first. C.B. is an energetic reader, an involved member of his community, and I find his author interviews a particularly good reason to visit and to give him this honor. The name of the blog is Ready When You Are, C. B.

I always enjoy seeing what author Sarah Salway will offer next in the way of writing prompts, following her visits to writer's workshops and artists colonies, and especially her exploits with shopping trolleys, and so I honor Sarah's Writing Journal.

The Mookse and the Gripes is the place to go when you want to dive head-first into an in-depth reading of meaty literature like the poetry of Walcott or Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men. I have gotten more than a couple of good recommendations here so, Mookse, please accept this honor with my thanks.

Last, but certainly not least, I choose to honor my dear friend and fellow-blogger Sheila for her passionate writing on her reading, her film going, her favorite actors, and her friends and family (she is a prolific memoirist at the moment) at The Sheila Variations. For being a consistently fun, provocative, and raucus read, Sheila, I honor you.

And now, please give a hearty roar of approval to these bloggers by checking out their sites if you haven't already.