One of the entries on Postsecret.com, which has been shortlisted for the Blooker
When is a book not a book? When it's a blook, of course.
OK, it might seem a bit of silly word but it does describe an increasingly common process - turning popular blogs into books. Not only does putting your blog into dead tree form mean that there's a copy in the British Library, but it brings some coffee table gravitas to the otherwise ephemeral world of the interweb.
And so it is that this year's Blooker Prize - sponsored by on-demand publisher Lulu - rolls around again. You can see the nominations here and find out more about the shortlisted titles - including:
"My War: Killing Time In Iraq" by Colby Buzzell: "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."
and
"Monster Island: A Zombie Novel" by David Wellington:
"In New York City, the dead walk the streets, driven by an insatiable hunger for all things living. From the other side of the planet, a small but heavily armed group of schoolgirls-turned-soldiers comes in search of desperately needed medicine, with a former UN weapons inspector as their local guide. They think they are prepared for anything. On Monster Island they will find that there is something worse even than undeath."
And we love it when our friends are successful, so how could I not point out that irregular contributor Andrew Losowsky has his hand in the game with his book The Doorbells of Florence. It's not the only Guardian connection - Observer columnist Nick Cohen is one of the judges.
One of the other nominees, Post Secret, has just scooped the Bloggies too - but can they win the $15,000 top prize as well? Good luck to all - winners announced on May 14.
