Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday Jan 21-24

Follow Friday is a weekly meme posted on Friday's that is hosted by Parajunkee @ Parajunkee's View. To join, all you have to do is follow the host and the week's featured blogger. Then put your name on the linky, grab the button, and follow, follow, follow as many people as you can! If someone comments and says they're following you, be a dear and follow back -- it's all about spreading the love during Follow Friday! :)

This week's question is:

Who do you cheer for?

I'm a So. Cal kind of girl. Lakers all the way! ♥ Only basketball games I bother watching. And I love the Angels, as well. My dad was an Angels fan before he died, so we went to a LOT of home games at the Anaheim Stadium. :P

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday Jan. 7-10

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy-for-Books. It's a chance for book bloggers to interact, make new friends, and most importantly, share their love of books!

This week's question is:

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

I have a list. I want to say Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, or Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler, or Entangled by Cat Clarke, but then I'd be talking to you guys for the length of an essay, and I'm sure you don't want that.

So I'm going to go with a few I've read recently: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen. Sense a theme? Haha. I'm sure you all know this already, but I'm depressed. Not so severely now, of course, but when I was younger it was really, really bad. I read these two books in high school, and they spoke volumes to my teenager self (they still do). I don't want to get too personal on how these books changed my life, but they gave me hope for the future. They made me realize I needed to not keep things bottled up inside. They made me realize that I wasn't the only person hurting (you know teenagers, self-absorbed). I ended up living a life similar to Susanna's in Girl, Interrupted, and having read it before I was in that situation made me feel more... you know, not crazy.

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Follow Friday is a weekly meme posted on Friday's that is hosted by Parajunkee @ Parajunkee's View. To join, all you have to do is follow the host and the week's featured blogger. Then put your name on the linky, grab the button, and follow, follow, follow as many people as you can! If someone comments and says they're following you, be a dear and follow back -- it's all about spreading the love during Follow Friday! :)

This week's question is:

What book(s) have you discovered lately from someone's book blog?

Well, since Waiting on Wednesday was just two days ago... a lot. :P Like Mercy by Rebecca Lim and Evenfall by Liz Michalski and Burn Bright by Marianna de Pierres. And then there's the Dark Elite series by Chloe Neill. I could go on, seriously. :P Y'all have great taste in books!

Follow Friday Dec. 31

Follow Friday is a weekly meme posted on Friday's that is hosted by Parajunkee @ Parajunkee's View. To join, all you have to do is follow the host and the week's featured blogger. Then put your name on the linky, grab the button, and follow, follow, follow as many people as you can! If someone comments and says they're following you, be a dear and follow back -- it's all about spreading the love during Follow Friday! :)

This week's question is:

WHAT ARE YOUR NEW YEARS BOOK BLOGGING RESOLUTIONS?

I actually have a lot of them, but I'm going to [try to] keep my list simple.

1. Comment more on blogs I stalk. I usually only comment the people who comment me, or when I REALLY have something I need to say. But mostly I just read and lurk. I get lazy with all the clicking and typing that is involved in commenting. xD I stalk some really awesome people and I don't let them know how much I love their blogs enough!
2. Read and review in a more timely manner. I used to read a book and pop out a review within hours of finishing the book. But now it takes me a couple of days. While that's not a bad thing (it lets me settle my emotions a bit), I tend to get lazier when I sit on reviews for more than a day.
3. Stop being lazy. Jeebus, I'm only in my 5th month and I think I can take the award for laziest blogger ever. xD 
4. Socially network... better. :P I suck at Twitter and having conversations via twitter. :/ I suck at advertising. So I'm gonna try and step it up!
5. More interviews. I love the interviews I've done, but I would like to get some more up. 
6. Limit review requests. I have such a huge TBR and I hate not reviewing in a timely manner. :/ 
7. Ties in with six - Learn to pace myself better (reading pile/blog-wise) during hectic weeks, like midterms and finals. That way when I have to take my "blogging exiles", I'll still have things up on the blog. 

Okay yeah I said I'd keep it short. << Guess I failed, haha.

Follow Friday Dec. 24

Follow Friday is a weekly meme posted on Friday's that is hosted by Parajunkee @ Parajunkee's View. To join, all you have to do is follow the host and the week's featured blogger. Then put your name on the linky, grab the button, and follow, follow, follow as many people as you can! If someone comments and says they're following you, be a dear and follow back -- it's all about spreading the love during Follow Friday! :)

This week's question is:

WHAT ARE YOUr PLANS FOR THIS FABULOUS DAY?

On Friday (24th), I'll be hanging out with my cousins. We'll go to Honey-Baked Ham to get our ham (*cry* two hours for a ham...) Then start cooking tomorrow's meal (the stuff that needs to be set overnight, at least). Then at around 10:30PM we're heading off to Midnight Mass at our church for Christmas Eve. Once we get home, we'll open one present, go to sleep, and open the rest of the presents in the morning. Around 1-ish, my family (aunt, uncle, two cousins, and cousins gf) are coming over for Christmas dinner. We'll all chillax (yeah, I just said chillax) until around 7/8PM. My cousins and I will probably hit the Wii, Xbox 360, or PS2 or PS3 while drinking wine. (Mini advertisement: the wine will be Stella Rosa, which you should try if you haven't because it's sooooo good!) Then lastly, we'll take Christmas photos and then they'll go home. Lots of family time ♥ Let the good times roll! ♥

I'll be busy on both of these days but I have reviews scheduled and whatnot. :) I'll see you all when I get back (hopefully I'll be full to the brim on honey baked ham!). I hope you ALL have a wonderful Christmas and happy holidays! ♥

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Don't forget to check out my interview and giveaway with Julian Vaughan Hampton! Ends 12/29!

Also, I am guest posting about Christmas at Books are Dreams (link coming soon!!). You can also win fabulous prizes from giveaways while you're there. Head on over to join the fun event! :)

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday Dec. 17-20

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy-for-Books. It's a chance for book bloggers to interact, make new friends, and most importantly, share their love of books!

This week's question is:

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

Could a harder question have been asked? o_o I usually consider both important, really. The two can't function (well, at least) without the other. A book needs a good plot to keep up intrigue so the reader wants to keep reading. But even the most beautifully created plots will just fall short without a good cast of characters to carry through. The heart of the book is in the characters - they're who we connect with, sympathize with, get angry or laugh or cry with.

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Follow Friday is a weekly meme posted on Friday's that is hosted by Parajunkee @ Parajunkee's View. To join, all you have to do is follow the host and the week's featured blogger. Then put your name on the linky, grab the button, and follow, follow, follow as many people as you can! If someone comments and says they're following you, be a dear and follow back -- it's all about spreading the love during Follow Friday! :)

This week's question is:

What did you study in college, or are currently studying and did it lead to your current 9 to 5 or are you doing something totally different?

I'm currently just getting my general education courses out of the way in case I plan to transfer colleges. Right now, I'm mostly taking science courses (Chem 2A/B, Anatomy 2A/B, Microbio, etc). They're the main requirements for Nursing, which is what I'm planning to do (pediatrics, specifically). But trying to get into pre-nursing classes for my college is like trying to be first in line for a Twilight movie. It just doesn't happen. :/

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Don't forget to check out my interview and giveaway with Julian Vaughan Hampton! Ends 12/29!

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday Dec. 3-6

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy-for-Books. It's a chance for book bloggers to interact, make new friends, and most importantly, share their love of books!

This week's question is:

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

I hope I don't get beef for saying this, but Nightshade by Andrea Cremer. I mean, I liked it, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have because it was so over-hyped and my expectations of it were above normal. If I had had lower standards and not have expected to be wowed and dazzled, I probably would have enjoyed it more. I've had a blogger tell me with utmost certainty that I'd be torn between both boys in the book. That was so far from the case, it wasn't even funny. :/ But I won't Ren-bash on the Hop - I've ranted about his personality/character at other places. :P

I felt a bit bad for posting a slightly negative review as a guest post, but I'm not going to compromise honesty even if my views go against the crowd. I hope you guys don't, either!

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Follow Friday is a weekly meme posted on Friday's that is hosted by Parajunkee @ Parajunkee's View. To join, all you have to do is follow the host and the week's featured blogger. Then put your name on the linky, grab the button, and follow, follow, follow as many people as you can! If someone comments and says they're following you, be a dear and follow back -- it's all about spreading the love during Follow Friday! :)

This week's question is:

What do you do besides reading / reviewing as a hobby??

My gosh, do you other bloggers even have time to do something other than reading and reviewing? :P For me, I'm either studying for chemistry, reading, or reviewing. Not particularly in that order. If I had time... I'd... play games? I think? Or take walks? Wow, my answer is pretty sad and pathetic. :P You can tell I'm a hermit that just reads/reviews.

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Giveaways for y'all to enter:

Win a $55 dollar gift certificate from CSN! Ends TODAY at 11:59PM PST!
Win Sundays at Tiffany's! Ends 12/7 11:59PM PST!
Win a signed copy of The Scorch Trials! Ends 12/11 11:59 PM PST!

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday Nov. 19-22

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy-for-Books. It's a chance for book bloggers to interact, make new friends, and most importantly, share their love of books!

This week's question is:

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'm thankful for you all, truly. My followers, readers, friends. I've been going through a bad time recently, and blogging, as well as the people in the book blogging community, has made things a lot more bearable for me.

My holiday traditions usually include a mash-up of Thanksgiving and my birthday (AND I HATE IT; I want them separate, dangit!). My aunt and uncle and two cousins come over and we celebrate Thanksgiving at my house and we gorge ourselves on turkey, garlic mashed potatoes, and sparkling cider. Then we all talk for a good hour or so, until our stomachs are settled. And lastly, we do a mini-birthday celebration for me and eat cake. Not too exciting. But it's good food! :D

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Follow Friday is a weekly meme posted on Friday's that is hosted by Parajunkee @ Parajunkee's View. To join, all you have to do is follow the host and the week's featured blogger. Then put your name on the linky, grab the button, and follow, follow, follow as many people as you can! If someone comments and says they're following you, be a dear and follow back -- it's all about spreading the love during Follow Friday! :)

This week's question is:

How long have you been book blogging??

It's technically my fifth month. I started at the end of July, but I was gone for most of August and only really started up in September so that's how I count it. So, three months. :3

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Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a chance to win a $55 dollar gift certificate from CSN! Ends 12/3!

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday Nov. 12-15

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy-for-Books. It's a chance for book bloggers to interact, make new friends, and most importantly, share their love of books!

This week's question is:

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

Uh, heck to the yes. I hate reading a series out of order. The only time I did that was when I picked up the second novel in Anne McCaffrey's Dragonrider of Pern series (are you guys sick of me pushing that title on ya? xP). I immediately bought the first. I cannot read a series out of order in any circumstance. I like going into stories cold turkey, without having read the synopsis or knowing anything about the book, but not 2nd novel cold turkey. I might have missed something important in the first novel.

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Follow Friday is a weekly meme posted on Friday's that is hosted by Parajunkee @ Parajunkee's View. To join, all you have to do is follow the host and the week's featured blogger. Then put your name on the linky, grab the button, and follow, follow, follow as many people as you can! If someone comments and says they're following you, be a dear and follow back -- it's all about spreading the love during Follow Friday! :)

This week's question is:

What is your usual monthly book budget?

Book budget? What's that? I'm a poor college student that survives on the sale of 4 cups of ramen noodles for $1. So, my book budget is $0. I either borrow books from the library or hog Barnes and Noble's air conditioning while I read a book in the store. I only ever buy a book if it is extremely good - so extreme that I can't live my life without owning that book in some form.

Book Blogger Hop Nov. 5-Nov. 8

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy-for-Books. It's a chance for book bloggers to interact, make new friends, and most importantly, share their love of books!

This week's question is:

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

I've only ever lost one follower (*knocking on wood just in case*) so far. At first, I got a little hurt because I wasn't sure why they stopped following. Were my reviews bad? Was I not coming out with enough reviews per week? Did I lack interesting content? Did I offend them in some way? Then I realized that I have a ton of amazing followers already - among them are a couple I've been lucky to befriend! What is one, or two, or fifty lost followers when I have "regulars" (well, so-to-speak) that I love? Besides, I don't even know who left. Why get upset over an unknown? (I'm sure if someone I know/love/talk to a lot un-followed me, I'd be more than hurt, but we'll cross that bridge when - if - we get to it). Is there even a way to know who stopped following your blog? o_O

I've never stopped following a blog. I'm sure my ginormous "follow" list on my profile is a testament to that. :)

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Follow Friday is a weekly meme posted on Friday's that is hosted by Parajunkee @ Parajunkee's View. To join, all you have to do is follow the host and the week's featured blogger. Then put your name on the linky, grab the button, and follow, follow, follow as many people as you can! If someone comments and say they're following you, be a dear and follow back -- it's all about spreading the love during Follow Friday! :)

This week's question is:

Who are your favorite authors??

Oh, geez. I'll ramble your heads off if I answer this question fully. I'll try to narrow it down to five.

1. Anne McCaffrey - she's always, always, always been at the top of my list. I fell in love with her Dragonrider of Pern series when I was EIGHT. I'm almost 21. Her writing is superb, her story-telling and ability to weave a semi-plausible world out of nothing is hardly short of epic. If you guys have NOT read Anne McCaffrey's DRoP series, I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend it. Ask my good friend Emi @ Oktupus Ink. I love this series so much I sent her a dang 4-page Word message about it. Love Anne. She's 85 and still chugging on with her novels! Ugh, so much love.

2. Tamora Pierce - another author I fell in love with as a kid. Her novels are fabulous! I recommend the Lioness Quartet and the Immortals quartet. :)

3. Victor Hugo - do I have to comment why I love him?

4. Aprilynne Pike - I absolutely adore her. Her Wings series is what got me into blogging in the first place. I fell in love with it - hook, line, and total sinker. I'm sure she thinks I'm some creeper - I'm already a mad-obsessed fan-girl when it comes to her work!

5. Albert Camus - Just. Ugh. <3 The Stranger was so... I'm speechless. The rambler. Yeah, he's that good.

Book Blogger Hop Oct. 29-Nov. 1

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy-for-Books. It's a chance for book bloggers to interact, make new friends, and most importantly, share their love of books!

This week's question is:

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

Oh gosh, a bookshelf! No question or second thought about that. I don't have one and have books scattered in towering piles on the floor, on my nightstand, next to my laptop, etc. They're basically on any surface I can stick a book on. Definitely need a bookshelf. :/

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Follow Friday is a weekly meme posted on Friday's that is hosted by Parajunkee @ Parajunkee's View. To join, all you have to do is follow the host and the week's featured blogger. Then put your name on the linky, grab the button, and follow, follow, follow as many people as you can! If someone comments and say they're following you, be a dear and follow back -- it's all about spreading the love during Follow Friday! :)

This week's question is:

If you have, or would have a daughter, what book would you want your daughter to read?

My answers are for when my imaginary daughters are older, in their teens. So, Speak. I would want my daughter to have as many learning materials as she can in front of her, and I'd want her to know that it's okay to tell me what's going on and to speak up. Also, Twenty Boy Summer. Not just because my mind is still on challenged books, but because it's a story of death and overcoming loss. In case something happens to someone she cares about early on in her life, like it did for me, she'd be able to connect to the issues in Twenty Boy Summer and maybe come to love it as I did. I wish I had Twenty Boy Summer when I lost my dad, so maybe it would be of some use to my daughter.

And for my imaginary cute little girl, The Secret Garden. I LOVED this book as a kid - I'm sure my daughter would too. If she doesn't, I'll make her read it so much until she does. :P

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ONE MORE DAY to enter my giveaway! Check it out while you guys are here! It's international and ends tomorrow (10/30) at 11:59PM PST.

Book Blogger Hop Oct. 22-25

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy-for-Books. It's a chance for book bloggers to interact, make new friends, and most importantly, share their love of books!

This week's question is:

Where is your favorite place to read? Curled up on the sofa, in bed, in the garden?

I love reading in bed. But that has its downsides -- sometimes I fall asleep while reading! I also have this really awesome bean bag chair (that's in the shape of an actual chair!) that's way too comfortable for words that I'll read in.

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Follow Friday is a weekly meme posted on Friday's that is hosted by Parajukee @ Parajunkee's View. To join, all you have to do is follow the host and the week's featured blogger. Then put your name on the linky, grab the button, and follow, follow, follow as many people as you can! If someone comments and say they're following you, be a dear and follow back -- it's all about spreading the love during Follow Friday! :)

This week's question is:

What are you currently reading?

I'm currently reading No Greater Sacrifice by John Stipa. It's a cross between Indiana Jones and The Da Vinci Code. After that, Beautiful Creatures.

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While you guys are here, check out my giveaway! It's international and ends 10/30! :)

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday Oct. 15-18

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Jennifer @ Crazy-for-Books. It's a chance for book bloggers to interact, make new friends, and most importantly, share their love of books!

This week's question is:

"When you read a book that you just can't get into, do you stick it out and keep reading or move to your next title?"

I stick it out. I know some people just give up, but I personally feel incomplete if I don't at least finish the book. I always give books fair chances (even if I hate it so much I want to throw it at someone), so I just keep reading. I'm the same way about series, too, even though I'll be angry and moody by the time I finish (*coughVampireKnightcough*).

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Follow Friday is a weekly meme posted on Friday's that is hosted by Parajunkee @ Parajunkee's View. To join, all you have to do is follow the host and the week's featured blogger. Then put your name on the linky, grab the button, and follow, follow, follow as many people as you can! If someone comments and say they're following you, be a dear and follow back -- it's all about spreading the love during Follow Friday! :)

This week's question is:

What is your reading suggestion this week?

Based on MY readings this week, the Vampire Academy series. This is an amazing series and if you haven't read it yet (I know there are some of you out there!), you should. Also, Restored Hope by Brenda Youngerman (I loved this novel; it made me cry), which is a fiction novel about death and finding hope when you least expect it.