Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop (17)

Follow Friday is a really fun way to network your blog and meet some other really cool bloggers in the process! This weekly event is hosted at Parajunkee's View.
Q: Talk about a book that most changed or influenced your life (was it a book that turned you from an average reader to an avid reader, did it help you deal with a particular difficult situation, does it bring you comfort every time you read it)?
A: The book that really got me hooked on reading was Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.  It's such a beautiful love story that has transcended time, culture and race and still goes strong to this day.  Although it was written in 1847, it is still one of the best stories that literature has to offer.  I even love the newer covers that Penguin has been giving the classic lately but this cover is my favorite.

The book blogger hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love for the written word. The book blogger hop is brought to us by Jennifer at Crazy For Books!

Q: What is the one ARC you are dying to get your hands on right now?

A: OMG this question is so hard because there are so many good books coming out this fall because it's so hard just to choose one!  For the longest time, the book that I wanted so bad was Bloodlines by Richelle Mead.  But then, low and behold, it came in the mail a little over a week-and-a-half ago and I was jumping up and down I was so excited! But since I've received it and read it, I would have to say that right now I'm dying to get my hands on an ARC of The Pledge by Kimberly Derting.  Even though I love the Body Finder series, I'm so excited to read something new and different from her, especially a dystopian.

Blog Hop and Follow Friday (16)

Follow Friday is a really fun way to network your blog and meet some other really cool bloggers in the process! This weekly event is hosted at Parajunkee's View.

Q: Let's step away from besties...What is the worst book that you've ever read and actually finished?

A: I feel like this question is so mean but there are a horde of terrible book out there.  I would have to say that one of the worst books that I've read and finished all the way through was Revealers by Amanda Marrone.  I read it when I first started my blog and I felt like it wasn't supposed to give bad reviews so I gave it an okay review.  But I think if I would have read it now then I would give it a terrible review.

More recently, the worst audio book that I have listened to and completed was City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.  I just couldn't connect with the characters and most of the time I just wanted to slap Clary.

The book blogger hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love for the written word. The book blogger hop is brought to us by Jennifer at Crazy For Books!

The Secret Life of an Avid Reader is having a 350 follower giveaway in which her readers can win a few ARCs from BEA!

Blog Hop and Follow Friday (15)

Follow Friday is a really fun way to network your blog and meet some other really cool bloggers in the process! This weekly event is hosted at Parajunkee's View. This week's featured blogger is Erika at Let's Talk About Books!

Q: Your favorite book/movie character (example: Hermione Granger played by the Emma chick) just walked into the room. Who is it and what would be your first reaction?

I love, love, love Harry Potter and all the movies and if Ronald Weasley/Rupert Grint walked into the room, I'm pretty sure my heart would stop and I wouldn't be able to breath! Once I regained control of myself (which would take so long he probably would have left the room), I would probably walk up to him and not be able to say a single word. It would also include a few other things like smiling awkwardly, continuing to nod my head and staring at him like I was his creep stalker. But if Patch from the Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick walked into the room, I would try as fast as I can to shove my hands up the back of his shirt, touch the scars of his wings and see where it would take me! It would be amazing just to touch Patch!

The book blogger hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love for the written word. The book blogger hop is brought to us by Jennifer at Crazy For Books!

Q: What keeps you reading beyond the first few pages of a book, and what makes you want to stop reading a book and put it back on the shelf?

A: The main reason I continue reading a book after the first few pages is that it usually sucks me in and I'm already wanting to know what happens next. That's how it is when I'm starting the first book in a series. If it's a series that I really love, then I give the next few book more time than I usually would to get the story going. I already love the characters and I've already invested my time in them, so I already know that I'm going to enjoy the story. I put a book down after 50 pages or so when I don't feel an emotional connection with them and I don't care what happens to them in the story.

Blog Hop and Follow Friday (14)

Follow Friday is a really fun way to network your blog and meet some other really cool bloggers in the process! This weekly event is hosted at Parajunkee's View!

Q: In light of Summer Solstice, also known as Midsummer...What is your favorite fairy tale or story that revolves around the Fae?

A: When I was little my favorite fairy tale was the Little Mermaid. I've always been drawn to the mermaids and they still remain my favorite genre in Young Adult. As far as stories about the fae, my favorite, and well the only books I've read about the Fae is the Iron Fae series by Julie Kagawa.

The Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love for the written word. This incredibly awesome weekly event is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books!

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

A: Well, I really got into reading in elementary school when my friends and I would pass around R.L. Stine's Fear Street books and I would read one or two a weekend. I realized that I absolutely loved reading and especially horror books. Towards the end of high school I started reading the romance classics such as Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. After that, I started reading Stephen King and Ted Decker. While in undergrad, I saw Twilight at Walmart and picked it up not knowing what I was getting myself into. I read the whole series and found myself browsing the Young Adult section at the local bookstores. Ever since then, it's like I'm addicted and I just can't get enough.

Blog Hop and Follow Friday (13)

Follow Friday is a really fun way to network your blog and meet some other really cool bloggers in the process! This weekly event is hosted at Parajunkee's View! The featured blogger this week is Rhiannon Paille.

Q: Genre Wars! What's your favorite genre and which book in that genre made it your favorite?

A: Right now it is a toss up between mystery/suspense and dystopia. I've always loved a good mystery that made me think about the "who done it" and "why". When I was in Jr. High I loved Agatha Christie, especially her novel And Then There Were None. After getting into blogging and YA, I kinda let mystery fall off the map for me until I picked The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting. It reminded me of why I like this genre and that it's so fun! I never really knew about dystopian books and the only one I ever read, unknowingly, was 1984 by George Orwell. But the books that really got me into the dystopian craze was Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien. Now I just need to find a book that combines both of the genres!

The Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love for the written word. This incredibly awesome weekly event is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books!

Q: How many books are currently in your to-be-read (TBR) pile?

A: OMG so many books! I've recently made an actual physical pile so that I won't lose track of which one I need to read next. This pile does not include the book I'm currently reading or the books for review on my nook! So many books and definitely not enough time!

Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday (12)

Follow Friday is a really fun way to network your blog and meet some other really cool bloggers in the process! This weekly event is hosted at Parajunkee's View! The featured blogger is Nicki J Markus!

Q: The magic book fairy pops out of your cereal box and says "you and your favorite character (from a book of course) can switch places!" Who are you going to switch with?

A: Well I just went to Josephine Angelini's signing of Starcrossed, a book I absolutely loved. So right now, as of today, I would like to switch places with Helen, the main character. Since Starcrossed is a trilogy, I'm super excited to see her grow into herself. But Starcrossed was so fun because she got to discover her abilities. She also discovered so much about her history and where she came from. And who would not want to be fated for Lucas Delos. Gorgeous!

The Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love for the written word. This incredibly awesome weekly event is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books!

Q: Who is the one author you are dying to meet?

A: I can only choose one? There are so many I would love to meet! If I had to choose just a few I would start with Libba Bray because I love her Gemma Doyle series and I'm dying to read Beauty Queens. I would love to meet Melissa de la Cruz (which I'm going to this month!) because I love the Blue Bloods series and I'm super excited about her new book, Witches of East End! Then I would have to say Richelle Mead because her Vampire Academy series is AMAZING!!!!

Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday (11)

Follow Friday is a really fun way to network your blog and meet some other really cool bloggers in the process! This weekly event is hosted at Parajunkee's View! The featured bloggers is Backseat Reader!

Q: What are you doing to prepare for an upcoming zombie apocalypse and/or the return of Mel Gibson to the silver screen (both of which could be terrifying)?

A: I haven't done anything to prepare for a zombie apocalypse. Besides knowing where all the guns are kept in the house and the baseball bats by the front door. We could all start clipping coupons like those people from that show Extreme Couponing where they practically get all their groceries for free and collect food like it's going out of style. As for Mel Gibson, he is returning to the silver screen with Jodi Foster but the movie doesn't even seem worth watching.

The Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love for the written word. This incredibly awesome weekly event is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books!

Q: Share your favorite post from the last month and tell us why it's close to your heart.

A: My favorite post from May was my review of Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead. Although I read the whole series up until the last one, I listened to Last Sacrifice with my roommate at the time (I miss you Stacia!!!). We drove up to her house in PA for Easter weekend and listened to it the whole way there, in the car while we were driving around PA and the whole way back to VA. It was one of the best weekends of the semester!

Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday (10)

Follow Friday is a really fun way to network your blog and meet some other really cool bloggers in the process! This weekly event is hosted at Parajunkee's View! The featured bloggers is Ninja Girl from Ninja Girl Reads!

Q: Can you tell us FIVE quirky habits or things about you? We all have them...

A: I know I have quirky habits but when it comes down to pinpointing them or naming them, it's really hard to think what they are exactly. I'll try my best:

1. I brush my teeth in the shower. I know it's weird and some people think it's gross but I keep my toothbrush up pretty high, suction cupped to the shower wall so that it doesn't fall into the tub. But if I does fall in the tub, I buy another one. I also keep another toothbrush and tube of toothpaste at the sink to brush my teeth at night.

2. I only use headphones with the soft ear covers. I can't stand the iPod ear buds because they hurt my ears.

3. If I have to put a book down, I have to end it on a chapter. I can't put a book down in the middle of a page.

4. I love wearing crazy socks but they have to match.

5. I never hang my shirts up inside out. I hate it when my friend or my sister go in my close and try on my shirts, take them off and hang them up inside out. It drives me nuts!

The Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love for the written word. This incredibly awesome weekly event is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books!

Q: If you were give the chance to spend one day in a fictional world (from a book), which book would it be from and what would that place be?

A: As much as I love dystopian novels and the idea of a dystopian world, they can be pretty dangerous and I would want to go somewhere fun. So I think I choose the Nevernever in the Iron Fey series; more specifically the Summer Court. I would want to be a summer faery for a day.

Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday (9)

Follow Friday is a really fun way to network your blog and meet some other really cool bloggers in the process! This weekly event is hosted at Parajunkee's View!

Q: The Blogger apocalypse made me a little emotional. What is the most emotional scene in a book that you've read lately?

A: Well, recently I read Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler and the very beginning practically had me in sobs. I couldn't even read that book in public for fear that I would just break down and cry in front of everyone. But I would have to say that the most emotional book that I have ever read was Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. I cried through every single page of that book. Every. Single. Page. But it was really good!

The Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love for the written word. This incredibly awesome weekly event is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books!

Q: Are you going to Book Expo America (BEA) and/or the Book Blogger Convention this year?

A: No. I'm not entirely sure what exactly happens at those gatherings but I've heard they're pretty cool and everyone gets super excited about them. Maybe next year when I've had more time to plan and save for it!

Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday (8)

Follow Friday is a really fun way to network your blog and meet some other really cool bloggers in the process! This weekly event is hosted at Parajunkee's View! The featured bloggers is Magnet 4 Books!

Q: What character in a book would you most like to be, what character in a book would you most like to date?

A: This is such a hard question! Most books I read are so sad or they're so action pack and dangerous I don't know if I would actually want to be any of them. Well since I'm currently reading Heist Society and it's a really fun, I would like to be like Kat. She's from a family of thieves and has been in the family business for as long as she can remember. Now she is planning the heist of a lifetime against her family's wishes.

To whom I would like to date, well that's a no-brainer and I choose Dimirti from the Vampire Academy series. He is honorable, a gentleman and he's pretty much an awesome badass.

The Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love for the written word. This incredibly awesome weekly event is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books!

Q: Which book blogger would you most like to meet in real like?

A: This is also a very hard question because there are so many awesome bloggers out there! If I absolutely had to choose it would be a toss up between Lori from Pure Imagination and Little Miss Becky from Stories & Sweeties. Lori's blog is not only amazing but she is so sweet and she is making a new design for my blog soon! Little Miss Becky is also super sweet and her blog is so cute and fun to read!

Book Blogger Hop and Follow Friday (7)

Follow Friday is a really fun way to network your blog and meet some other really cool bloggers in the process! This weekly event is hosted at Parajunkee's View!

Q: Keeping with the dystopian and apocolyse theme that seems to be running rampant I have one very hard question for you: If you were stocking your bomb shelter, which books would you HAVE to include if you only had space for ten?

A: Only ten! How could I only choose ten? Ugh, If I had to chose ten I would choose:

1 and 2: Shadow Kissed and Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
3: A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

4: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

5: Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

6-10: The Blue Bloods Series

What would you take with you in the bomb shelter?

The Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love for the written word. This incredibly awesome weekly event is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books!

Q: Summer is coming quickly-which 2011 summer realease are you most looking forward to?

A: There are so many books that I'm looking forward to reading this summer but I would have to say that I am most excited to a particular. Undercurrent (Siren #2) by Tricia Rayburn and Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake.

The cover is gorgeous and the story sounds so haunting! It's going to be really fun to read!

I read the first one (Siren) and I absolutely loved it! I'm pretty much obsessed with any book that has to do with mermaids or sirens! This is going to be a great sequel!

What are you looking forward to this summer?

Book Blogger Hop (7) and Follow Friday (6)

Follow Friday is a really fun way to network your blog and meet some other really cool bloggers in the process! This weekly event is hosted at Parajunkee's View! The featured bloggers is Caitlin at The Cait Files!

Q: What is on your current playlist right now?

A: Right now I've been listening to a lot of Mumford and Sons! They're amazing and so unique. I also love Cage the Elephant, Death Cab for Cutie (new album coming soon), Florence and the Machine, Civil Twilight, Jukebox the Ghost and of course, I love Muse. I've got a bit of an indie rock theme going on. Their music is all so catchy and fun to listen to. I pretty much love them all because I can blast them in my car, roll the windows down and just enjoy what I'm listening to.

The Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love for the written word. This incredibly awesome weekly event is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books!

Q: If you find a book you love, do you hunt down other books by the same author?

A: I have done that in the past but then I have come to figure out that although I love the author, what I really fall in love with is either that one book or the series. I have been disappointed many times when a find another book or series by the same author. I have also found other books by the same author that I loved. It's just a gamble sometimes!

Follow Friday (5) and Book Blogger Hop (6)

Follow Friday is a really fun way to network your blog and meet some other really cool bloggers in the process! This weekly event is hosted at Parajunkee's View! The featured bloggers is Romance Around the Corner!

Q: Do you have anyone that you can discuss books with IRL (in real life)? Tell us about him/her.

A: I did not have anyone to talk to about books for years which is why I started my blog. But then one Christmas my mom actually asked for the Twilight series and I bought it for her. Ever since then, she'll ask me for book, we totally girl talk about the Vampire Academy series and gush over Vampire Diaries every week! Not only did my mom jump on board the YA ship but my sister (very reluctantly) picked up Twilight after my mom had read it and now she is a reading machine! If she had the time she would read more than me. I love that my mom and my sister now read as much as I do. We have way too much fun with books!

The Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love for the written word. This incredibly awesome weekly event is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books!

Q: Pick a character from a book you are currently reading or have just finished and tell us about him/her.

A: I'm currently reading the 3rd book in the My Blood Approves series, which is kind of cheesy but I'm really addicted. The book is called Flutter and it's by Amanda Hocking. One of the characters I really like is Peter. He's been a vampire for a really long time, at least a couple hundred years, and he was turned into a vampire by one of the other characters named Ezra. This series kind of has a Twilight feel to it but it's a lot different and I really like it. Peter originally bonded with another vampire many, many years ago but she died and they weren't together for very long. So, naturally, he is very tortured and broods a lot. In the present day, he has bonded with the series main character named Alice but since the first book, their bond had been broken and he has run away from his life. He is described as tall, dark and handsome with glowing green eyes. He pretty much sounds really hot but he's kind of mean and I think he needs a better personality. So far, he's one of my favorite characters in the series.

Book Blogger Hop (5) and Follow Friday

Follow Friday is a weekly event created by Rachel at Parajunkee's View and features a different book blogger every week with an attached question!

Q: Do you judge a book by it's cover?

A: Most of the time, yes. I feel very superficial in doing so knowing that great books do not always have very pretty covers. I judged the first book in the Vampire Academy series by it's cover for so long and I would not read it because the girl on the cover looked a little like Angelina Jolie. That was all I needed to make my decision not to read it. I continued to hear such great things about it that I eventually and read it! I am whole heartedly glad that I did.

The Book Blogger hop is a place just for book bloggers and reader to connect and share our love for the written word. This amazingly fun weekly event is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books!

Postponed 'til later!

Book Blogger Hop (4) and Follow Friday

The Book Blogger hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love for the written word. This is an amazingly fun weekly event hosted by Jennifer at Crazy For Books! Follow Friday is hosted at Parajunkee's View. For more information, participation and rules, hop on over and join the fun!

This week's hop question is:

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

Well, last year, my supervisor, my supervisor's boss and I got together and decided to make everyone believe that my supervisor had been fired and that I'd been given her position. My supervisor played this prank to the nines. She made a whole scene of packing up her desk, yelling at her boss saying that she hated this place and she even threw her agency phone at him. Almost the whole company believed that she had been fired. The whole time, I'm sitting at her cleared away desk, pretending to read a training manual for her position, trying to keep a straight face!

This week's follow features Books Ahoy! And this week's follow question is:

What is the book that you really don't want to admit to loving?

I'm usually not afraid to admit that I love all the books that are my favorite. I guess the only series that I can really think of is Twilight. I read them before the movies, before I started my blog and before I really dedicated myself to reading YA; Twilight sort of perpetuated all that. After I really got into the YA genre, I read a lot of books that overshadowed Twilight, making me second guess how much I really loved them. But after I read them I loved, loved, loved them and I still do; I've just read some really great books since then!

Book Blogger Hop (3) and Follow Friday

The book blogger hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word. This amazingly fun weekly event is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books! Follow Friday is hosted at Parajunkee's View. Hop on over and join the fun!

This week's question for the hop is:

If you could physically put yourself into a book or series, which one would it be and why?

I have to choose 2 series for this question because there is one character who I would love to be and another character who is practically me.

The character who I would love to be is Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy series because she is such a badass and she is not afraid to speak her mind. She is a very strong character that speaks to women and says, "Don't be afraid to be who you are and stand up for what you believe it even if it means getting in trouble every now and then."

The character who is practically me in every way is Lizzie from Meg Cabot's Queen of Babble series. She is clumsy, talks her head of to absolute strangers and isn't afraid to globe trot for the supposed man of her dreams. This series is so crazy hilarious and more than once I found myself saying, "I would do that or I have done that."

This week's follow question is:

Inspired by the inane twitter trend of #100FACTSABOUTME, give us five book related silly facts about you.

1. I can never for the life of me remember author names. And I mean like ever. I can remember the title of the book and how the cover looks but the author always escapes me.

2. I prefer paperbacks to hardcovers. I think I don't like to be responsible for the jackets and I lose them all the time.

3. To go along with number 2, I really enjoy used books. I enjoy the smell of them, as if they've been in a library for a really long time.

4. I really hate it when people try to talk to me while I'm reading. It's like I want to shout, "CAN'T YOU SEE I'M READING!"

5. I always prefer to have a nice hot cup of coffee to sip while I'm reading.

Book Blogger Hop (2) and Friday Follow

The book blogger hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word. This amazingly fun weekly event is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books! Follow Friday is hosted at Parajunkee's View! Hop on over and join the fun!!

This week's question for the hop is:

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

It really depends on what time of the year it is, but for the most part I only read one book at a time. When I was in school, I would read a fun book while I was trying my best to keep up in my textbooks, as well. But now that I've recently graduated, I don't have that problem anymore! But I do carry multiple books with me just in case I finish one and I need another one to occupy my time. Now that I have a Nook, I have been more likely to be reading more than one book at a time, but there is still just something about having a book in my hand, turning the pages and having that weight in my bag. It's somewhat comforting (don't get me wrong, I LOVE my Nook).

This week's follow questions is:

How did you come up with your blog's name?

Well that is an easy one. One of my absolute favorite bands is Death Cab for Cutie and I was listening to one of their new albums Narrow Stairs. As I was listening to the amazing 8 minute song that is "I will posses your heart", I came across the lyrics: "I wish you could see the potential, the potential of you and me. It's like a book elegantly bound but in a language that you can't read just yet." How awesome are the lyrics to this song!!!! Death Cab for Cutie have been and always will be musical geniuses. I couldn't do anything less but name my blog after them! It's so great that writing this post has made me want to listen them (swoon).