In college, my roommate took a semester of German just for fun. She’d come home and teach me phrases she’d learned. I’m not great with languages, so all I could remember was “Guten tag!” which we would say cheerfully as one of us entered/left the room.

But now I know another German word: Liebster, meaning “dearest.” Why? Because Lisa of Writer’s Block Party so kindly nominated me for the Liebster Blog award. Thanks Lisa!

The Liebster is designed to encourage bloggers who are new or don’t have a huge following, which I think is awesome. There are a lot of lovely bloggers out there, so let’s get them followed! Some Liebster rules:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog. Check. Lisa, you rock!

2. Link back to the blogger who presented the award to you. Also check.

3. Copy and paste the blog award on your blog.  Check #3.

4. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 5 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed. (some say just 3 or more blogs of less than 200 followers each). Man, 200 followers? You have to be a celebrity for that, right? Honestly, I have no idea how many followers these blogs have, but I’m trying to avoid some of the huge ones. If you guys all have 1,000+ followers or have gotten book deals based on your blogs, just pass along the love to smaller blogs.

5. Let them know they have been chosen, by leaving a comment at their blog. 

Onto the blogs! In no particular order:

LibriCritic
Lots of wonderful thoughts on reading and writing by a librarian/bookseller. (Who better to get book recs from?) Add in some Sherlock clips and I’m sold.

Lollygag Blog
 A Chicago playwright/nanny/awesome-er shares the hilarity and joy of everyday experiences and challenges.

Looks and Books
Jill combines the best of literature with a sharp fashion sense. I love her outfits based on characters/covers. It makes me want to dress up everyday.

Girl Meets Formosa
Kim went to Taiwan to do research for a book about her family. Lots of great info on living abroad, finding family/self, and the writing process.

Emily Kaye Lazzaro
Emily is a playwright and is so funny that I have to hold back from commenting on her blog because otherwise I might look like a blog-stalker.

Please check out all of the above blogs. They’re awesome and written by fantastic people. And keep spreading the blogger love, no matter how many followers you have.