Book Blogger Hop!

I haven't done the book blogger hop for awhile but here I am, ready to jump back in! This week's question is: "Why do you read the genre that you do?  What draws you to it?"

I read multiple genres, but mostly fiction because I find it fun to read. I like getting sucked into a story, whether it's science fiction, young adult, literature etc. I think I'm drawn to it because it's a good way to forget about the real world for a bit. I don't read much non-fiction unless it's a memoir because I find too much of it is too textbooky (yes, not a word, so?)


Thanks to Jennifer at Crazy-for-books for hosting the hop! Thanks for stopping by :)

Book Blogger Hop

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books. In the spirit of the Twitter 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!
The question this week is: "What very popular and hyped book in the blogosphere did you NOT enjoy and how did you feel about posting your review?"

My answer: I don't think there has been a book that's been over hyped in the blogosphere that I had to write a negative review for yet. I'm still new to blogging and have been reviewing quite a few older books. I think the most disappointing book I read was No One Belong Here More Than You by Miranda July. I had high hopes for it and it ended up falling really flat for me. When writing my review, I tried to point out the positive points of the book to balance out my dislike for it.

Book Blogger Hop!

Welcome to another week of the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books! This week's question/ topic 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 my supportive family back east, my amazing boyfriend who has been so encouraging as I have begun to get frustrated with the job search, all of my friends, new and old, and the exciting new life I've been living these past few months in California.
In the past, my family would spend Thanksgiving at my aunt's house. We were always told to be there for a 1pm dinner, but we knew we weren't actually going to eat until about 4. The boys always watch the football game and I tend to curl up with a book somewhere in her house. This year will be the first year that I don't get to see my family for Thanksgiving, since my boyfriend and I moved across the country over the summer and it's just too expensive to fly home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. We are lucky enough to have been welcomed into a great group of friends out here (most of whom we went to college with). They all stay here for Thanksgiving as well, so this year, we are hosting the dinner for our friends. I can't wait!

Book Blogger Hop!

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme run by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books that lets us book bloggers interact and get to know one another in a fun way. This weeks question is:

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

My answer: Yes! The first book of a series always provides all of the back story and should set you up for the rest of the books. I hate missing out on little details or being lost because I didn't read a series in order. There are some series that don't necessarily have to be read in order or from the beginning but I just feel better doing so.

Book Blogger Hop

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books. This week's question is:
What is one bookish thing you would love to have, no matter the cost?


My answer: I have been dreaming about having a room with wall to wall bookshelves, perhaps a window seat and some french doors. In the room, I would also have a big comfy chair where I could curl up and do all of my reading. Someday!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Book Blogger Hop!

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Jen at Crazy-for-Books. If this is your first time hopping by, drop me a comment so I can check out your hop as well. Happy hopping!

This week's question is: Where is your favorite place to read?

My answer: I've been learning to read just about anywhere these days, but one of my favorite places is on a beach chair on the roof deck of my apartment. I love to go up there in the warm sun and just relax. When it's cold, I usually choose to sprawl out on the couch under my favorite fleece blanket. Our new apartment has a fireplace that I can't wait to start using in the coming months!

Blogger Hop!

The book blogger hop is a weekly meme hosted by Crazy-for-Books. Thanks for hopping by! If this is your first time here, have a look around :)

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?

My answer: I always finish a book, no matter how awful it is. It's probably a bad thing wasting my time on books I don't enjoy but I get very OCD about my book reading. Once I've started a book, I can't leave it unfinished. I also like to give the author the benefit of the doubt, hoping it will get better in the end.

Book Blogger Hop

It's Friday! Hopefully soon that will mean more to me than just another day of the week- I finally got a call to interview for the job I've been hoping for. Of course, Friday also means it's time for the Blogger Hop, hosted by Crazy-for-Books.

This week's question is: What's your favorite beverage while reading or blogging, if any?

My answer: I LOVE drinking tea while I read (if the weather is cold enough). It's so soothing. If I'm out reading in the sun, I always have a nice cold glass of water next to me. When I'm blogging, I don't typical drink anything. I'm a bit clumsy so I try to keep drinks away from my precious Macbook :)

For those of you participating in the Readathon this weekend, good luck! I wish I had the time to joing you. Thanks for hopping by!

Book Blogger Hop

It's time for another round of the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Crazy for Books! This weeks question is: How do you spread the word about your blog?

My answer: I'm still very new to book blogging so I haven't gotten too deep into promoting my blog yet. I'm working on getting the content on here first before I start looking for tons of followers. I try to participate in a few of the weekly memes, such as this one, Top Ten Tuesday and In My Mailbox. Those have been my main source for promoting the blog so far. I also have a link to my blog on my Goodreads profile. I've been thinking about getting a Twitter account specifically for this blog sometime in the near future as well.

Book Blogger Hop

The book blogger hop is hosted by Crazy-for-Books. This week's question is:
When you write reviews, do you write them as you are reading or wait until you have read the entire book?

My answer: I always write my reviews after I've finished the book in case the ending ruins or redeems the rest of the book for me. I usually try to write the review right after I've finished reading or before I move on to another book just because I have a pretty terrible memory. The best reviews I've written are when the book is fresh in my mind.

Book Blogger Hop

It's Friday! That means it's time for this week's Book Blogger Hop at Crazy-for-Books. This week we have the task of posting a link to a favorite post or book review that we've written in the past three months.

My favorite: East of Eden review 
I haven't been on the blog scene for long so I don't have tons of content yet, but the review I did for East of Eden is my favorite so far. I haven't been that excited about a book in awhile. I had the most fun writing that review because I was so excited to share my thoughts on the novel.

Book Blogger Hop

I'm late to the blogger hop this week because I spent the long weekend up in San Francisco. I had a great trip although it was way too short. Unfortunately, it was very foggy while I was there so I didn't get the best photos. Anyway, this week's question on the hop is:

Do you judge a book by its cover?

My answer: Usually I do judge books by the cover. I won't rule out a book based on its cover if it's been recommended to me but if I'm in a book store or at the library, I typically will buy a book if it has a cool cover and sounds interesting. Many of the classics I own have old, plain covers. I've been tempted to buy a new copy when I see all the cool artwork on the covers lately.

Book Blogger Hop

It's time once again for the Book Blogger Hop! This week's question is:
Do you use a rating system for your reviews and if so, what is it and why?

My answer: Yes I do use a rating system that is somewhat based on the Netflix movie rating system. When rating books I'm reviewing or that I keep track of on Goodreads, I use the star system.
One star = Didn't like it
Two Stars = It was ok
Three Stars = Liked it
Four Stars = Really liked it
Five Stars = Loved it

I also have an excel spreadsheet where I keep track of all the books I've read and what I thought of them. On there I also use the "hated it" rating (although I think I've only had to use that once or twice), which I guess would be the equivalent of 0 stars.

Blogger Hop!

This week's question is "How many blogs do you follow?"

My answer: I'm still very new to the book blogging scene, and believe it or not, I just discovered Google Reader this week (so useful!). I've been on the lookout for new blogs but as of now, I'm only following a handful. I'm following 7 book blogs currently. There are a bunch of others that I've been reading for awhile that are not book related.



I know it seems like I've disappeared already. I've been reading East of Eden & really enjoying it, so expect a review sometime in the next week :)

Book Blogger Hop

It's Friday, which for a lot of book bloggers means it's time for the book blogger hop. I'm going to join in this week for the first time. This was a feature started over at Crazy For Books (great blog, check it out).

The question this week is:

How many books do you have on your 'to be read shelf’?


For an avid reader such as myself, I've actually only got about 175 books waiting to be read on my TBR shelf on Goodreads. I would say in addition to that, I've got another 200 on my wishlist on Bookmooch. Compared to some of the responses I've seen, I'd say I'm not such a crazy bookaholic after all! I've been doing really well lately in knocking books off my to read list before I start researching new ones to add to my list, but I've still got a long way to go. On my actual bookshelf, I think I only have about 20 unread books which is really good for me. That means I'll get to go on a book buying spree soon!

Stay tuned for my very first book review. I'll be sharing my thoughts on "The Thin Place" by Kathryn Davis.