Book Blogger Hop (July 15-18)

     This week has been amazing! I was able to attend a program at Sewanee: The University of the South. The campus is absolutely beautiful and the food was scrumptious! All said and done, it was a very rewarding experience. I am so ready for college now, much as I will miss my family.

Question of the Week:
     How/Where do you get your books? Do you buy them or go to the library? Is there a certain website you use like paperbackswap?

Answer:
     My friends and I are all avid readers. So, whenever one of us gets a new book, it ends up getting passed around. That is where I get a good deal of my books, but I also recently got a public library card! I have a feeling that I will be going there much more often. Of course, my school library is fairly well stocked too.
     Additionally, I've been supremely lucky to have received books for review from authors and publicists. It gives me a chance to widen my horizons, so to speak.

Book Blogger Hop (July 8-11)

     Oh, dear. I was afraid this might happen. You see, I've been meaning to do so many reviews! Much as I know I ought to get them done while I can still remember details, the piles of books I have sitting in various locations around the house are so much more appealing. So, I've had to make a little calendar on my dry erase board and delegate time to posting, reviewing, getting things ready for my school newspaper's relaunch (I'm copy editor!), and everything else I must do. I never realized that I would be so busy over the summer (I never was before), and I still have to find the time to sift through all of those piles of college mail... Yikes!
     There is one thing that has allowed me the time to breathe, of course. Last weekend my mom took me to the bookstore and the library! All of this in the same day, I might add. So, I finally got a library card! You see, last summer there was somewhat of a fiasco concerning me and my promised library card...but that is a story in and of itself. Either way, I now have a lovely, shiny little piece of plastic that entitles me to as many as 30 books at a time.

Question of the Week:
This week’s question isn’t a question at all! I thought I would do things a little differently this week and give all of you a chance to promote a giveaway (or two!) from the blogosphere.
The catch?
IT CAN’T BE YOUR OWN GIVEAWAY!
Gotcha!
You have to find another blogger who is having a giveaway and promote their giveaway for them! If possible, promote a giveaway from a blogger doing the Hop (hey, you are visiting other blogs anyway, right?). Have fun with this one! It’s not an easy task this week!

Answer:
     Well, this is not really an answer, but what else could I call it? It seems foreign for my Hop posts to take any other form than a question and answer. ;)
     Lisa at Badass Bookie is hosting a nifty giveaway of Inside Out and Outside In, both by Maria V. Snyder! Plus, for her international followers there are bookmarks and other swag. Cool, right? Well, what are you waiting for? Enter here! The giveaway ends July 31st.
     Then we have Misha and Maxine at My Love Affair With Books who are giving away a signed copy of Settling by Shelley Workinger! Get there fast because it closes on July 14th.
     Ellie, yes the very same who runs Musings of a Bookshop Girl, is hosting a fantastic giveaway as well! As part of her Page to Screen event, she is having a giveaway in which the winners will be able to choose a book that is supposed to make it to the big screen this year! It will last throughout her feature, so make sure to enter!
     Of course, there is also Carol at Carolina Valdez Miller who is hosting several giveaways! On the list are Wildefire by Karsten Knight, A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie, Personal Demons, Original Sin, Bad Taste in Boys, and Texas Gothic. Be sure to enter these amazing contests!
     A contest that I am particularly excited about is at Little Miss Becky's blog, Stories and Sweeties! She has reached over 1000 followers which is quite a feat and is filling a box with...BOOKS! Enter here by July 31st, lest you miss out on a chance to win some possible ARC's and more.

Book Blogger Hop (June 24-27)

     I've actually been able to get through several books in the past week or so. In comparison to my one book a month while school is in session, it feels lovely to be able to read that much again.

Question of the Week:
     When did you realize reading was your passion and a truly important part of your life?
Answer:
     I suppose some time in elementary school. For as long as I can remember I've loved reading. My parents read to me when I was younger and bought me books or took me to the library. I can't really remember a time without books. In elementary school we went to the library every week as a class, and I spent my recesses there often times. I fell in love with all of the books and the discussions that they inspired.

     When did you finally embrace reading as a passion?

Book Blogger Hop (June 10-13)

     It is officially summer for me (and has been for a couple of weeks), which means that I'll actually have time to read again! What a relief! Those bus rides simply were not long enough for me to get in all of the wonderful books I have been meaning to.
     It seems that I have quite a bit to catch up on. There are plenty of reviews I have yet to write, interviews I have been hoping to have,  and even a new hop-like event I was thinking of starting. If anyone is interested in participating in Summer Reading Sundays, please let me know through the comments or my email! More information will be forthcoming.
     Now, onto the hop!

Question of the Week:
     Who is the one author that you are dying to meet?
Answer:
     Picking just one is extremely difficult... I suppose that Suzanne Collins is who I am absolutely dying to meet. Her writing is beautiful: eloquent at times, and very down to earth at others. It would be a dream come true to be able to discuss her novels with her!

     Who would you love to meet?

Book Blogger Hop (April 1-4)

     I must say, it has been much too long since I participated in the hop! They do say junior year is the hardest, but I didn't expect such a lack of sleep... Thank goodness for Spring Break and all of the lovely reading I was able to do.

Question of the Week:

     Since today is April Fool's Day in the USA, what is the best prank you have ever played on someone OR that someone has played on you?

Answer:
     Honestly, I usually forget about April Fool's Day and usually people don't play jokes on me. Today, however, I got pranked and I did some pranking myself (insert evil grin here).
     My English teacher decided to tell us that she had a death in the family and would therefore have to resign her post and manage Walgreen's. I almost believed her, except that she had already played the joke on my friend who told me about it.
     My Chemistry teacher had the best practical joke ever! She told us that she was going to burn a candle and we needed to make specific observations about it. So we did, and then she blew it out and took a bite of it! She took a bite of the candle! Now, I was questioning her sanity at this point. Of course, it turned out that the 'candle' was really a potato and what we thought was the wick was actually a piece of almond. We got her first though. When she walked out of the room, we all hid, as much as one can hide in a chemistry classroom. :)
     There are two AP English 11 classes at my school. I have it first block and some of my friends have it fourth block. We are currently reading The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne ( review forthcoming) and were supposed to get through chapter 23 last night. So, first block decided that we would tell fourth block that we had a brutal test over it that our English teacher claims to have told us all about so we could freak them all out. Let it suffice to say that some people thought they were about to fail a major test. Ah, yes, goal accomplished.
     Re-reading all of this, I realize that you probably had to be there to understand how funny all of this really was. So, you'll just have to trust me on this. Hilarious! I'm telling you, today was a riot. ;)

Book Blogger Hop (February 4-7)

     I've been incommunicado for quite a while... A combination of little sleep and tons of homework are definitely the culprit. Somehow, I still managed to get a bit of pleasurable reading in as well. Thank goodness, otherwise I may have gone insane.

Question of the Week:

     What are you reading now and why are you reading it?

Answer:

     Well, for English I am reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. So far, I am disappointed. I expected it to be much more intriguing than it is. I really do hope I begin to like it more sometime within the next chapter.

     I am also in the middle of re-reading Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev so that I can read the next book, Perchance to Dream.

Book Blogger Hop (January 7-10)

     I had to go back to school this week which really put a cramp on my reading time. What a tragedy, I know, but I shall live anyway! I have a few new reviews coming up (eventually, because we all know I have trouble with being on time) for the lovely books I was able to read over my Christmas break. I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday season!

Question of the Week:
     What book influenced or changed your life? How did it influence/change you?
Aswer:
     Honestly, I think that just about every book I read affects me in some way. Books tend to leave their mark behind and even the seemingly inconsequential ones make a difference, however small.
     Probably some of the more influential books I've read include Blue by Lou Aronica (review coming in February), Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. All of these books were so powerful. They spoke to me in a way that other books aren't necessarily capable of. One thing in particular that the above mentioned books have in common is that they all made me realize how short life is. I think I appreciate some of the more mundane aspects of life because of them.

     What books had an impact on your life?

Book Blogger Hop (December 17-20)

     It's Christmas Break, finally! Oh, how I've missed my long days of sleeping and immediately, upon waking up, curling up with a book. :D I plan to get plenty of reading done before school resumes. Plus, it is the perfect time for lots of hot tea, holiday movies, visiting with friends and family, and generally relaxing.

Question of the Week:

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

Answer:
     Hey, this is my question! That's super exciting! Thank you Jennifer, for picking my question, and of course for the hop in general.
     I think that the plot is most important at first. You have to be interested enough to learn about the characters. I suppose sometimes books that don't have such wonderful characters can get away with it if the plot is beyond exciting. In my experience, the story doesn't really stick with you though, because there aren't any memorable characters. I can live with a book that isn't very exciting, if the characters are intriguing.
     So, to sum up my rambling, I think characters are the most important. They are what drive the story, and create the plot anyway. Obviously, the best books are the ones with both fabulous characters and an interesting storyline.

     What is your opinion? Are character-driven books better than plot-driven ones (or vice versa)?
   

Book Blogger Hop (December 3-6)

     Oh, dear. I have a million things to finish in the next week! It's almost Christmas Break for me, so I have exams and all sorts of things due, not to mention the studying for aforementioned exams! I was planning on getting some extra credit in too... we'll see how that works out.
     How have your weeks been going? Is everybody getting into the Christmas spirit yet?

Question of the Week:

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

Answer:

     There hasn't really been a popular book that I haven't liked, not one I can think of right now at least. I suppose Dear John had a lot of hype because of the movie and I wasn't such a fan of that. I felt fine posting my review about it. The only problem is that I didn't want to completely bash the book, because there were good things about it. Because I couldn't really connect with the material, it was difficult expressing my opinion about it though.

     What about you? What super popular book didn't strike your fancy?

Book Blogger Hop (November 26-29)

     I had a wonderful Thanksgiving! What about you all? My brother's dog had puppies on Thanksgiving Day. They are sooo cute! She had two girls and two boys. Sweet little faces...

Question of the Week:
     What is your favorite book cover?
Answer:

     This is a really difficult question. I like a ton of different covers. The cover of Life As We Knew It is beautiful, but simple. The Host is neat looking. The eye is just so pretty!  I also like the look of Gathering Blue and Lips Touch: Three Times.

Book Blogger Hop (November 19-22)

     Happy Hopping! I'm really late this week, but I was busy spending time with friends and my mom. Oh, how I love this time of year...

Question of the Week:

     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!

Answer:
     I'm thankful for many things, namely my family (including my dogs) and friends. I don't know what I would do, much less who I would be, without them! I'm thankful for the opportunities I've been given and for all of the wonderful things I've experienced.  Also, I'm very thankful to my followers and to authors for writing books for me to read. :)

     This year I think the plan is to just stay at home and eat all of the scrumptious food that my mom and I are planning to cook! It's going to be great. We'll have turkey, stuffing, green been casserole, broccoli casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes... Oh, and don't forget the cranberry sauce and maybe some homemade biscuits. Goodness, I can't wait to dig in! Throw in a little family banter, a holiday movie, and some hot cocoa or tea and I'll be in heaven.

     What are you up to for Thanksgiving?

Book Blogger Hop (November 12-15)

     This week I posted my first interview, with Lacey Weatherford! I was super excited about that. I also had a lovely night last night with five of my best friends. Who wouldn't love running around the mall trying on random dresses and other articles of clothing, then taking zillions of pictures? ;D

     Last week, Jennifer challenged everyone who participated in the hop to pick one new blogger to actually get to know. I chose Alison from Alison Can Read! I didn't keep track of all of the posts I commented on, so I'm not sure if I left five comments or not. What I do know is that I really love her blog! Alison reads some very interesting books and she reviews them so well. She goes beyond the general scope of the book to really get at what the author is saying about life, love, or anything else. Another plus is that we seem to have a similar taste in reading material (Harry Potter is just so wonderful). One last tidbit about Alison: she used to take gymnastics, but claims to be better at watching than actually being a gymnast.

Question of the Week:
     If you find a book that looks interesting but is part of a series, do you always start with the first title?
Answer:
     I can't help it! I hate reading things out of order. I feel like I'm doing the characters a severe injustice by not reading the beginning of their story. Plus, I seem to be out of the loop if I don't know the story from previous novels.
     We are reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain in my English class. Guess what I have yet to read? That's right, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. This really irks me, because I'm wondering if I would understand the story better if I had read about Tom Sawyer first. Oh, well. :)

     So, how do you feel about reading things out of order? Who did you get to know last week?

Book Blogger Hop (November 5-8)

     I'm so full I could pop! Seriously, I went to a Chinese buffet with my family today and I'm not sure how I ate everything that I did. It was quite tasty though! :) Now onto more interesting things...the hop!

Question of the Week:

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

Answer:

     This question is actually a bit difficult to answer. I suppose it really just depends on how you define the word 'follower'. When I first started blogging (which wasn't but a few months ago), I thought that the number of followers listed on my blog was really how many people kept up to date with what I was posting. As I began to follow people myself I realized that there was no way that I could possibly keep up with all of them, and they surely couldn't all keep up with me.

     I think if I did lose followers on google friend connect, it would make me slightly sad. Of course, I know that most of them don't even truly read my posts, so it wouldn't be a big deal. Everyone has the right to like and dislike whatever they want. I want my followers to actually read my reviews and comment with actual opinions.
     No, I haven't stopped following anyone on google friend connect, but as I said before I can't read everything on every blog I follow every day. So, technically I guess I have stopped following some. Lately, I only click the follow button if I honestly like what I read on their blogs and plan to check back.

     So, how do you feel about followers or following others?

Book Blogger Hop October 22-25

     It's been quite the month for me! I've been busier than usual with book reports, the PSAT (I wanted to cry), and other things for school. I can't believe school is going by so swiftly though. Halloween is days away and just after that is Thanksgiving. I still had a little time to get through a few fantastic books, which is always great.

Thanks to Jennifer at Crazy for Books for the hop!

Question of the Month:

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

Answer:

     I'd have to go with in bed. That's where I usually read and it's pretty comfy. When I wake up in the morning on weekends I grab the book lying next to me on the floor without having to get out of bed. Can it get any better?

I'm sorry I haven't been able to hop for a while, so if I'll be responding to hops from a few weeks ago! :) Have a great weekend!

Book Blogger Hop (October 1-4)

     I think my teachers are all in cahoots. I'm serious, they sure do know how to swamp students with work. Anyway, that is why I missed the last hop. Homework and... my birthday! The cake was delicious, I must say. Chocolate with chocolate chips and walnuts in it and cream cheese icing. Yuuum!
     Now, on to the real business of this blog: books! I finished Clockwork Angel and there should be a review for that up sometime in the foreseeable future. I also plan to finally review Life As We Knew It and The Dead and the Gone.
     Thank you to Jen at Crazy for Books for the always awesome hop!

Question of the Week:

     How do you spread the word about your blog?

Answer:

     For one, I participate in the hop. I think that is pretty much the best way I spread the word. Aside from that, I comment on blogs. That's about it I think.

     So, how was your week? How do you spread the word?

Book Blogger Hop (September 17th -20th)

     I had quite the week, what about you? The teachers piled on the homework this weekend, but that's alright. I'm still on a high from our awesome version of trench warfare in U.S. History on Thursday. :) We used paper balls (simulating bullets) and the desks (forming the 'trench'). It may sound dorky, but it was unimaginably fun to get the chance to throw things at the people you don't like in your class! No, I'm just kidding!
     Good times, good times...

Thank you Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books!

Prompt of the Week:

     In honor of Book Blogger Appreciation Week, let's take time this week to honor our favorite book bloggers and why we love them!

Response:

     Well, I'd have to say Christina from Books Are Life is definitely my inspiration for blogging! She is the one who introduced me to the whole world of sharing my love of books with other people. Obviously she has a wonderful blog complete with reviews, interviews and everything in between! What's not to love? I've also had the great experience of being friends with Christina in-person (oh, those lovely AP Euro days...).  Don't miss out on this fabulous blog!

     Then there is my eighth grade English teacher's review blog. She was one of my favorite teachers. Heather (it's weird calling her by her first name) at The One Thing I Regret could be a writer herself! Don't you just love her style? She truly makes me want to read every book she discusses!
     I know there are zillions of other blogs out there that I have surely missed out on, but I feel that the above mentioned two are some of the best. Be sure to stop by and check both of them out!
    
    Have fun reading and hopping!


    

Book Blogger Hop: September 10-13

     It was only a four day week this week! Thank goodness. Surprisingly, I didn't have quite as much homework as normal so I got in some extra reading time. I'm almost finished with The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer.
     Today we had a big pep rally at school because tonight is when we play our biggest rival. It was hilarious! Some of the football players dressed up as girls from our rival school (decked out in skirts and all) and someone even brought a possum. I suppose this might make more sense if you knew who this rival team was and all. :)

Question of the Week:

     Post a link to a favortie post or book review that you have written in the past three months.

Answer:
     This really isn't an answer, since it wasn't really a question, but here is my link anyway:
The Named
I think that I would consider this one of my favorite books ever. I wish I could read the next two, but that, my dear friends, is another story altogether!


     Have a great weekend and make sure to read plenty!

Book Blogger Hop September 3- 6

     Thank goodness Friday has finally come! I was dying! Now I have a lovely three day weekend for Labor Day. That means plenty of time to finish Mockingjay.  I tried reading it this week but it got in the way of homework (oops!) and I ended up staying up late to finish the lame homework I dismissed to read.  :)  Ah, the life of a book lover...

Thanks to Jen at Crazy-for-Books!

Question of the Week:

     Do you judge a books by its cover?

Answer:

     I know it's horrible, but yes I do. They say not to judge books by their covers. Honestly, how do you decide to pick up a book and examine it otherwise though? I'm usually not going to pick up something that looks horrible or boring, personally. My friends and I have discussed this plenty and it's just the honest truth that most people won't pick up a book that isn't visually appealing.

     Besides this, I like to run my fingers over covers that I like (weird, I know). I like tracing the words and pictures or feeling the different elevated/impressioned parts. It's just nice.
     So do you judge a book by it's cover?

Book Blogger Hop (7) ~August 27th-30th

     Another week, another Friday (can you hear the sigh?). I actually had a pretty good week though. I just didn't have enough time to read as much as I would have liked.
     Mockingjay came out Tuesday, can you believe it? I cannot wait to read it! Lucky for me, I won my second contest ever and the prize was... Mockingjay! Thanks so much to Mrs. DeRaps over at DeRaps Reads.
     How was your week? Fantastic I hope.

Thanks to Crazy-for-Books!

Question of the Week:

     Do you use a rating system for your reviews and if so, what is it and why?

Answer:

     I do use a rating system. I think it helps give readers a better understanding of just how much I liked or disliked a book. It goes from 1 (being the worst) to 10 (being the best). You can see it in my left sidebar. Notice how witty I was trying to be? Yeah, we all know I failed miserably at that one...  ;)


     Have a great weekend! Happy hopping and reading!

Book Blogger Hop (6)

     Thank goodness it's Friday! I think I was dying from sleep deprivation (I despise you homework) and if any of you knew me you would know how much I love my sleep. Reading is great and all, but I think some good ol' sleep gives reading a run for its money! How was your week? Did you get plenty of rest?

     As usual, the wonderful Jennifer at Crazy for Books has given us a new question to answer this week!

Question of the Week:

     How many blogs do you follow?

Answer:

     I follow 52 fantastic blogs. I just went and counted. :)  It's sad, I know, but I don't usually get to keep up to date with all of them. Didn't I just explain about my love of sleep? That may not sound like very many, but I tell you, 52 is more than enough to occupy my time plus that which I don't have. Besides, I try to make my visits count. If I visit your blog, I really do try to look around, read a few reviews, and just get a sense of what we have in common.

     How many blogs do you follow?


     Have a fantastic weekend filled with lovely books and restful sleep! I'm off to visit those who hopped on my blog last week and hopefully get to bed soon (yes, I do realize that this post was more about sleep than books or blogs, but that should tell you something...).