Mailbox Memes in a Post "Sirengate" Bloggosphere!

So, I think I've been under a rock for a while. I was going through my Google reader yesterday, (you know you've been slacking when you have about five thousand new items to get through...) when I noticed how many new Mailbox Memes seem to have popped up recently. 

Mailbox Memes are weekly posts where us book bloggers offer a nice little round-up of the books and book-related things that we've received in the mail. The most popular of these was once “In My Mailbox”, hosted by The Story Siren. So I was curious as to why a whole bunch of new Mailbox Memes had suddenly emerged. 

Now, being occupied under my rock, I had no idea about the scandal surrounding The Story Siren -"Sirengate" as I'm calling it. For fellow rock-dwellers, this scandal basically involves allegations of plagiarism. I came to this late so, even though I have my own opinions on the matter, I'm not going to go and spew any late-to-the-party vitriol. 

Instead, I've gone through my Google reader and collected together a few of the different Mailbox Memes that have popped up since the proverbial hit the fan. I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones on my blog subscription list. If you run your own mailbox meme then please feel free to link to it in the comments! 

In My Mailbox

Hosted by The Story Siren

While this is from the site of the previously mentioned controversy, I'm willing to post it as an option, if only for the sake of fairness. This, as far as I can tell, is the original Mailbox Meme. It was certainly the most popular for a long time. IMM consists of: “...a weekly round-up of the books you've received each week. There is no right or wrong way to do In My Mailbox, you can vlog, you can take fun picture, you can use the books cover art, it’s up to you!”

Perhaps understandably since the allegations of plagiarism, many of the devoted followers of this feature have fallen by the wayside or started looking for a new meme where they can post the new additions to their bookshelves. 

There's a linky list for sharing and networking with other followers of the feature. 

Book Haul 

Hosted by The Non Reluctant Reader

This seems like a smaller but friendly version of the Mailbox Meme. Benji, The Non Reluctant Reader, describes Book Haul as,“...a weekly feature here that showcases all the awesome goodies I got this week!”

There isn't a linky list but you can share your newly received books by linking to your post in the comments. 

Sunday Shout Out

Hosted by Carrie from In the Hammock

This seems to be a combination of a Mailbox Meme and a weekly recap of blogging news. Carrie describes it as “...a place where I can give a special shout out to those publishers and authors who have sent me books over the week, as well as those bloggers who have hosted contests! I'll also be giving shout outs to any other cool books, blogs or bookish news that I've spotted during the week.” 

There isn't a logo (the pic shown is just the blog banner) or a linky list, but you can share your newly received books by linking to your post in the comments. 

The Sunday Session 

Hosted by Kat, The Aussie Zombie

Again, this seems like a Mailbox Meme with a little extra. Kat, (The Aussie Zombie) says this about the meme: 

“A Sunday Session is an Australian tradition usually held in pubs on a Sunday afternoon where people feeling a bit 'fragile' from a big weekend can listen to some chilled out music, have a late lunch, catch up with friends and maybe indulge in a little hair-of-the-dog. Usually on a Sunday I mooch about, read blogs, check out new releases and book news and just generally do SFA - so what better opportunity to look back at the past week's reading, posts and the new books I've picked up and see what's coming up this week?!”

I love the sound of this one because, at the time of writing this, it's Sunday and I'm soooo indulging in a little “hair-of-the-dog”. Once again, there isn't a linky list but you are encouraged to link to your own posts in the comments. Oh and the logo is cute!

Book Haul

Hosted by Ange, The Moonlight Reader

This has the same title as the one hosted by The Non Reluctant Reader, but seems to be even more of a personal effort. Ange describes the feature as a “...weekly Book Haul […] where I showcase the books that I received for review or bought myself over the last week.”

There's no linky, but people seem to be linking up in the messages here too. I should also mention that the logo has no "official" host so I'm assuming that this is just Ange's brain-child. 

Just A Book Haul

Hosted by Cathee from Forever Lost In Books 

This one has a nice little logo, complete with Cathee as the official host. She introduces Just A Book Haul by saying, “In light of the drama in the blogger world, I have decided to make a post like In My Mailbox. It's called Just a Book Haul... because that's what it is!”

This is fairly indicative of how the blogging world feels about The Story Siren scandal. This is a meme in keeping with the IMM format, but unfortunately there's no linky. You can, however, link up to your own posts in the comments again.

Cathee also asked me to say: "This was inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie! All the credit goes to her!" Now that's what I like, a nice honest blogger who gives credit where it's due! 

Letterbox Love

Hosted by Lynsey Newton from Narratively Speaking

This is a UK version of IMM. Lynsey describes Letterbox Love as, “...a new weekly feature that I'm hosting on the blog and basically, the idea came out of a discussion with other UK book bloggers about the need to do a weekly meme with more of a British feel to it....

"Letterbox Love is a way for us to share the books that come through our letterbox, galleys and ebooks (through our electronic letterbox - see what I did there?!) and any other bookish goodies that we want to tell you about.  Letterbox Love is intended to showcase upcoming books and build up some excitement for them as well as let you know what is available out there..."

This seems like a great UK alternative. This is definitely one of the most popular new Mailbox Memes I've come across. A Linky is planned for the future but, for now, links are posted in the comments.

The Sunday Post

Hosted by Kimba, The Caffeinated Book Reviewer

The Sunday Post looks like another very promising newcomer. Kimba describes it as “... a chance to share news, post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.” 

There is a Linky list already up and running for this one, and I rather love that logo!

Stacking the Shelves

Hosted by Tynga, of Tynga's Reviews 

This seems like the most popular newbie on my list! The linky list (yup, there is one) for this week's Stacking The Shelves is 113 strong so far: much higher than the others on this list. Tynga says this about the meme: 

“We are all book lovers and the need to share our enthusiasm is sometimes overwhelming. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

“If you’re anything like me, you are probably hoarding books and even though you are excited about your latest book arrival, it might be a while before you get to review it and Stacking The Shelves is a good way to express your undying enthusiasm for those titles!”

Showcase Sunday 

Hosted by Vicky from Books, Biscuits and Tea 

This is another fairly popular new Mailbox Meme. It too has a linky list and this week's is 46 strong so far. Vicky says: “I’m not participating in IMM anymore for reasons you may have already heard about. I do not support or approve of plagiarism and most importantly, lying about it. Hence I’m starting a new weekly meme which will replace IMM on my blog – and of course, everyone’s welcome to join in. The aim of this event is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week.”

Conclusions and Questions. 

It's nice to see that so many people are willing to continue with the Mailbox Meme. It's a great way to share enthusiasm about the books we add to our shelves, as well as an opportunity to thank those who send said books our way. 

The hard part now is going to be choosing which meme to take part in! In my wandering, I spotted some duplicate posts on the linky/comment lists of the above options, so it seems like bloggers have no qualms about sharing across multiple memes. I guess it's all the same thing, right? Personally, it seems like savvy blog-promotion to me, but I wonder if it's also bad etiquette? Your thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

Finally, a reminder that if you run your own mailbox meme then link to it in the comments! 

I hope this list helps you to discover new blogs and new bloggers! Let me know your thoughts!

Happy meming and pleasant reading! 

Lx

[Note: Many of the bloggers wanted to mention that they credit Kristi and Alea for the original idea, despite the scandal.]