Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday.

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you're a new blogger like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

--------------------------------------------Weekly question: What's one genre that you wish you could get into, but just can't?

Dystopia. I try and try and try, but it never gets any better. They always sound cool, though! Which is why I feel like I have to give them a shot.

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TGIF! (9)

TGIF is brought to us by Ginger at GReads!

It's a way for bloggers to celebrate the end of the week with a nice re-cap of their weekly posts and to answer a random question.

Blogger Confession: What's the last book you could not finish? (or had a hard time finishing?)

Going Bovine by Libba Bray. I know, I know. It's an amazing book. It won the Printz award, after all. Plus the writing is catchy. And a kid with mad cow disease? What's not interesting about that? I was hooked until I got about halfway through, and then everything just quickly fell flat for me. I like creepy, crazy, funny, strange. But not the kind that Going Bovine offers. For lack of a better way to say it, the story basically unraveled, along with my interest.

I haven't completely abandoned it, though. I hope to return to it sometime in the future, because it is in no way a "bad" book. I'm just not feeling it at the moment.

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Vlogging: This is How We Roll

Waiting on Wednesday

REVIEW! The Iron Queen - You must read this; it's fabulous! **

In My Mailbox

Coming up this week:

Review of Stay by Deb Caletti!

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday.

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you're a new blogger like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

--------------------------------------------Weekly question: When did you realize reading was your passion and a truly important part of your life?

I honestly don't remember. I've been reading since forever, and have never stopped.


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Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday.

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you're a new blogger like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

--------------------------------------------Weekly question: How many books are in your TBR pile?

A lot. More than my Goodreads account says (which is only 36). I have my own separate checklist/TBR list, too. And I even keep a list on my phone. It really all depends where I am at the time of hearing about a good book. So I can't say for sure how many are in my TBR pile, but I know it's over 100.

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Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday.

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you're a new blogger like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

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Weekly question: Which book blogger would you most like to meet in real life?

Sarah, from writer, reader, dreamer. And Nafiza, from Bibliophilic Monologues.

I've been following both of their blogs now for a long while and have gotten to know them through their posts and exchanging of comments. We also have similar reading tastes (for the most part), and that's always a plus. They're both great people.  I admire their work.


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Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday.

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you're a new blogger like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

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Weekly question:



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* Sorry for the lack of updates, guys! School is killing me right now, so I haven't had much time for reading (other than for my classes). At the moment I'm reading The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson; I hope to have a review up within the week - so far so good. I'm really enjoying it!

Hope everyone's doing well. :]

TGIF!

TGIF is brought to us by Ginger at GReads!

It's a way for bloggers to celebrate the end of the week with a nice re-cap of their weekly posts and to answer a random question.

Writing negative reviews: Are you guilty of it? 

Of course. As a book reviewer/blogger, I feel that I owe other readers, and the author, an honest review. "Negative," I think, is a harsh term. Most times I don't feel clear-cut negatively or positively about a book; I typically see some good and some bad - pros and cons, which I do my best to point out in my reviews. My main struggle is using a five-star rating system, which gives the appearance that I either really like or dislike a book. I know other bloggers use different styles of rating systems (such as letter grades for every element, including the cover art), and I know others that entirely did away with ratings. I personally use the rating system as a quick-glance judgement for readers; I understand that sometimes people aren't interested in fully reading a review.

Any way I look at it, I will not shy from writing the "negative" review. Of course, I won't bash the author or anything else to that extreme. Never. I think that's when "negative" reviews gain the unpopular views from outsiders, which blurs the lines for us bloggers. But so long as you can keep level-headed and keep the review pertained to the story itself, a "negative" review is perfectly fine.

(My apologies for the rambling!)

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Waiting On Wednesday
REVIEW! Bumped by Megan McCafferty

In My Mailbox

Coming up this week:

REVIEW for The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter!

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday.

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you're a new blogger like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

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Weekly question: Do you read one book at a time, or do you have several going at once?


I prefer to read only one book at a time. I used to start several at once, but that never worked out because I'd end up neglecting and forgetting the others I wasn't currently reading.


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Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday.

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you're a new blogger like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

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Weekly question: If I gave you $80 and sent you into a book shop right now, what would be in your basket when you finally staggered to the till?

Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr, Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance by Brendan Halpin and Emily Franklin, At Face Value by Emily Franklin, Falling in Love with English Boys by Melissa Jensen, Like Mandarin by Kristen Hubbard and plenty of others!

Aren't these covers all gorgeous?! I'm dying to get these books! Want, want, want!

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Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday.

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you're a new blogger like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

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Weekly question: Do you ever wish you would have named your blog something different?

Occasionally I'll come up with other names and be like, Dang! Totally should've used that! So much cooler! But I'm okay with what I have; it may not be a fancy shmancy, elusive and catchy one-word name, but it's straightforward.


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 ------------------------------------------------  * * Remember to check out my giveaway to win an e-copy of Karen Metcalf's In the Storm! * *

Book Blogger Hop (21).

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. If you're a new blogger like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

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Weekly question: What book are you most looking forward to being published in 2011? Why are you anticipating that book?

Definitely Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye. I love all of her novels, and I'm sure this one won't be disappointing. I love a good YA contemporary.

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday (20).

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you're a new blogger like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

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Weekly question: Why do you read the genre that you do? What draws you to it?

I primarily read contemporary YA fiction. Why? Because I was a teen not so long ago, and it's what I can relate to best. I don't need to be taken to another world or galaxy or universe filled with faeries and unicorns and zombies and vampires and werewolves to be happy. Those are occasionally good, of course. But I like learning and seeing more of the world we live in, the world I know. I like going along with a character who's been through what I've been through, to see how they handle it. I get to view the world I know from different perspectives. I enjoy observing what's around me, so to read about what I observe from a different view is sometimes enlightening.


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Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday (19).

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you're a new blogger like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

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Weekly question: What book influenced or changed your life? How did it influence/change you?

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. I'm not sure how old I was when I first read this, but I was young. I already knew I liked to read, but Speak made me realize I LOVED reading and couldn't get enough. It was beautifully written and had such a captivating story and I thought, I want to write something just as compelling, I want to use my voice to talk to everyone. I decided I wanted to become a writer, and nothing got in my way after that.

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Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday (18).

I came across the Hop while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. If you're a new blogger, like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

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Weekly question: What do you consider the most important in a story: the plot or the characters?

Definitely the characters. If a story has AWESOME characters, I can overlook a so-so plot. I don't read for the plot itself. I read for the journey of the character(s) within that plot.


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Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday (17).

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you're a new blogger, like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

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Weekly question: What very popular and hyped book in the blogosphere did you NOT enjoy and how did you feel about posting your review?

Well, this is very fitting. I just published my Hunger Games post below.  Yes, I did not enjoy The Hunger Games. However, it was not a review. I feel fine with having posted it. I genuinely, really did not enjoy reading it, and I'm entitled to say so.

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Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday (16).

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you're a new blogger, like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

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Weekly question: What is your favorite book cover?

Such a difficult decision. There are tons of covers that I love. But Dreamland, by Sarah Dessen, definitely has a beautiful cover that I've always liked.

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Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday (15).

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you're a new blogger, like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

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Weekly question: Since Thanksgiving is coming up next week, let's use this week's Hop to share what we are most thankful for and what our holiday traditions are!


I am most thankful for my family and education.

As for holiday traditions, we do the typical big family feast.

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Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday (14).

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you're a new blogger, like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

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Weekly question: If you find a book that looks interesting but is part of a series, do you always start with the first title?


Of course.  The only time I may not start with the first title is if I pick up a particular book, not knowing it's part of a series.

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Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday (13).

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you're a new blogger, like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

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Weekly question: What are your feelings on losing followers? Have you ever stopped following a blog?


I don't think anyone personally likes to lose followers. At first, seeing I've lost followers feels like a slap in the face - like personal rejection.  Then I realize that I'd rather have followers who are genuinely interested in following my blog, and who actively show their interest through comments. Sure, having a greater number of followers would be nice, if they were all interested. I'm not going to say I'd rather have less followers, because who honestly wants that?


And yes, I've previously stopped following blogs - it only happens if the blog becomes inactive or I lose interest in their posts. 



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Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday (12).

I came across the Hop and Follow Friday while I was blog hopping - how appropriate! - and decided to join in on the fun.

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you're a new blogger, like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!

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Weekly question: What is the one bookish thing you would love to have, no matter the cost?


A room filled with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, like the library in Beauty and the Beast. Or, a personal Barnes and Noble store to run around in would work just as well.

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