ANNA & THE FRENCH KISS READ-A-LONG: DISCUSSION ANSWERS, GIVEAWAY, & MORE!

Have you guys been having a fabulous time reading along with us in Anna and the French Kiss these last two weeks?!

Molli and I have had an absolutely BLAST co-hosting this fantastic event for you guys! She's done a truly terrific job of picking up my slack for this second week, because I've had a few personal things come up that needed my attention, so I've been running a bit behind. However, I am back in action today, and ready to take on all of my assignments for the rest of this week and for the third and final week in our read-a-long. I'm kind of sad to see it coming to an end, because I've been having such a super teriffic time with reading ANNA for the first time and getting to know you guys and seeing all of your different perspectives on the book.

By now we've gotten through the first and second set of discussion questions and tomorrow, the answers for the second set will be going up on both mine and Molli's blog, along with the linky for you to link up the answers to yours. (Important: Remember that every time you link up ANYTHING it is another entry into the giveaway you don't want to miss out on!) Since I'm playing catch up, I'm going to ahead and post the vlog that I made answers the first set of discussion questions for Chapter's 1-16, and tomorrow I will post the second vlog with the answers to the discussion questions for Chapter's 17-31.

Discussion Answers for
Chapters 1-16

Today, we have a brand new challenge for you! We want you to tell us about an experience YOU had in high school (or college) where you can relate to Anna!

All you have to do to participate in this challenge, is create a post telling us about an experience that you had in high school (or college) where you could find yourself relating to Anna, then share the link with us in the linky below. Doing this will earn you an extra entry into the supa-SEKRET-giveaway for a copy of Ilsa.

Super-SEKRET-Giveaway ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER By Stephaie Perkins
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Hosted By: Molli @ Once Upon A Prolouge & Suz @ A Soul Unsung
REMEMBER

Doing all of the fun challenges and link-up's could possibly earn you extra entry(ies) into the giveaways.

Thoughtful Thursday Discussion Post #03: New Adult Books To Be Read In 2013

Lately, I've started to notice that my reading habits have starting to change. Like, there's this whole new genre in young adult books that I've been drawn to lately, the New Adult books. And, so far, the few that I've actually read have been super good. My favorite one was actually my favorite book that I read last year, Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry. I've found myself just really gravitating toward these books. Like, there are other books in this genre that I really would like to read this year. So, I thought I'd share a few of them with you.

New Adult Books To Read  In 2013

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does. (Read more on Goodreads.)

Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett had always been one to think out-of-the-box, who knew she wanted something more in life than following the same repetitive patterns and growing old with the same repetitive life story. And she thought that her life was going in the right direction until everything fell apart. (Read more on Goodreads.)

There are those who don’t get luck handed to them on a shiny platter, who end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, who don’t get saved.

Luck was not on Callie’s side the day of her twelfth birthday when everything was stolen from her. After it’s all over, she locks up her feelings and vows never to tell anyone what happened. Six years later her painful past consumes her life and most days it’s a struggle just to breathe. (Read more on Goodreads.)

Rescued by a stranger. Haunted by a secret. Sometimes, love isn’t easy…

He watched her, but never knew her. Until thanks to a chance encounter, he became her savior…

The attraction between them was undeniable. Yet the past he’d worked so hard to overcome, and the future she’d put so much faith in, threatened to tear them apart.

Only together could they fight the pain and guilt, face the truth—and find the unexpected power of love.

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried. (Read more on Goodreads.)

These books sound like they are going to be amazing and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to read Dare You To like yesterday! Other New Adult books that I want to read this year are Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire, From Ashes by Molly McAdams, Falling For Summer by Kailin Gow, and Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker.

How about you? What changes to your reading habits have you started to notice? Is there a new "genre" of books that you are drawn to at the moment? What is it and what books are you dying to read?

I'd love to hear your thoughts, just leave a comment below and share!

Thoughtful Thursday Discussion Post #02: Blogging Goals for 2013

This year is all about organization, scheduling, and time management for me. Last year, I felt like I spent so much time running behind, that it was incredibly hard to catch up when I started trying. I think, what it was, is that I tried to take on a little bit more than I could handle. At one point, it felt like it had gotten to where blogging had started to feel more like a chore, than something that I actually enjoyed doing. I'll tell the truth, I got a little lazy and tired and then sort of fell into this blogger's slump. This year, it's definitely going to be different. I'm going back to what I originally planned to do when I first started the blog in the first place, which is blogging about the books that I love to read, reading what I want to, and just having as much fun as I can with it.

There are definitely some good changes that I'd like to implement on the blog, a couple that I've already started doing now. It's important to me that this blog run smoothly, continuing to grow and evolve into a better book blog as these new changes and goals are implemented. I want you guys to feel like you are getting the very best from me and not something that I was thrown together at the last minute, because I am running behind. This is why I have been working diligently at making sure that I have most of my posts written ahead and scheduled ahead of time, by at least a month. So far, it's been working out pretty good and things have been running a little bit more smoothly on the blog, of course, I realize there are going to probably be a few little hiccups here and there, but overall I'm going to do my best to see that it doesn't happen quite as frequently as it did last year.

I would like for 2013 to be a better year all around for the blog, than last year was.

Blogger Goals for 2013

• Blogging Goals for 2013
  
  • I need to manage my blogging time better, as well as making sure my posts are scheduled ahead of time. Ideally, I'd like to have the bulk of my posts (reviews, discussion, features, meme's, or tour posts, etc.) posted at least a month in advance, which allow me more time to devote to reading and coming up with more creative content for the blog.
  • Keeping up with my lists (updating them regularly!) and using my blogging planner more. This will help keep me more organized and up-to-date on what's coming up, what's happening currently, and what I need to be focusing on.
    
  • Reviews. I am going to definitely try hard to keep on top of these, make sure that they're written not long after I've read the book, and to keep them scheduled in ahead of time in advance. Most of them I just posted to Goodreads last year instead of posting them to the blog, this year it's going to be different.
    
  • Cut back on the blog tours that I choose to participate in. I still have a few that I have made comittments to last year that will be going up on the blog, but from here on out, I'm going to start being a little more selective when it comes to the tours that I participate in. Don't get me wrong, I love being a part of them and sharing the book love, but it felt like towards the end of last year they had become more promotional fillers and I didn't like that feeling. I'm also cutting back on the cover reveals that I'm part of, as well. I don't mind helping an author out and getting them some well needed exposure for their books, but sometimes it gets to be a little much when you see the same thing over and over on so many other blogs. I'll only be doing them for the books that I'm just truly excited about.
    
  • Culling back Netgalley. I really need to take a week or maybe two and make sure that I get the majority of the e-galley's requested from there read and reviewed. It may be sometime in March or something, that I actually schedule this for and there will be just a couple of weeks devoted to Negalley and the reviews that I need to get caught up on.
    
  • Accepting and asking for book review requests. I have started being a little more selective in the ARC's that I request and the book reviews that I accept, this year. This is so that I can get back to reading a little bit more for my own enjoyment and hopefully, try to clear some of the books that have been sitting on my shelf un-read for the past year or so.
    
  • Updating. Set aside a day or some time during the week or every other week, to make sure that I keep my , Goodreads, and Review Archive up-to-date with the reviews I've written for the year so that I don't get behind on them.
    
  • Maintain blogger communication. I definitely want to start commenting and interacting more with fellow bloggers, than I did last year. I am definitely going to set aside time during the week, quite possibly on Sunday's, to do this.
    
  • Making sure to stay relevant, current, and up-to-date with all of my social media platforms and use them to the best of my ability, to get my blog a little more out there.
    
• Reading Goals for 2013
  
  • Reading Challenges. I like participating in these, because I think they're fun and a good way to read books. Last year, I think I picked slightly too many to participate in, so this year I've been a little more selective in my choices. I have my own Personal Reading Challenge for 2013 that I've created using google docs. I'm also participating in the Seriously Series Reading Challenge for 2013 and Dystopia Reading Challenge for 2013. I will be setting aside some time in the next week or two, to write up these posts, and schedule them to be posted on the blog.
    
  • Review Books/ARC's/E-Galley's. These, of course, will come first but I am going to be picky about the one's accepted and requested. I love reviewing books and sharing my honest opinions on them, but I also would like to have a little more time to devote to books that I just really would like to read or be able to clear a few off my bookshelf to make room for new ones.
    
  • My bookshelves. I would actually like to read some of the books that have been sitting on my shelves for a while now. Some were gifted, won, or bought because I really wanted to read them and I get the chance to read them last year, because I was so busy with blog tours, review books, etc. This year, I determined to knock some of them out and the Series Reading Challenge will definitely help me out with that.
    
  • The Kindle Fire. I would really like to read more of the books that I have on that, as well. So, between the physical and the e-shelves, I'm definitely going to have plenty to do.
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I think that's it for my blogging/reading goals for this year. I am going to try really hard to stick to them and make sure that I keep to my list, stay as organized as I possibly can, utilize all of the tools available to me (blogger planner, google docs, calendar's, etc.), and manage my time much better than I did last year.
  
  
  
  
  "Have any new blogging or reading goals for 2013? What are they?"
  
  
  
  
  Leave a link below in the comments and I'll definitely check out your posts.

Discussion: Confessions of a Frustrated Blogger (Part 1)

I never planned on having to write a discussion post like this one on my blog, but I guess that was a bit naive of me to think so.

Let me just start off by saying this first, I love reading, sharing my thoughts on the books that I read with other's, and being afforded the opportunity to review books for author's and publisher's as well. I enjoy being able to "tweet at" my favorite author's and have them respond back to me. I enjoy being contacted by both author's and publisher's with the opportunity to read and review their books they have to offer and sharing my thoughts on them with my reviews and other "book spots" that my blog hosts. Sometime's it opens me up to new author's and books that I wouldn't have otherwise known about and that's a good thing.

Actually, it's a great thing.

However, what I don't appreciate or like, is when author's and publisher's blatantly ignore my Policy On Reviews. Not to be a stickler about things, but I spent a lot of time and effort into creating this policy, and making sure that it was very succinct in what I would and wouldn't consider for review and whether or not I am accepting "e-books" for review. There is also a line in those review guideline's that clearly states, "My suggestion to you [the author/publisher who is requesting the review/blog tour participation] is to check over these guidelines, make sure that your book falls within the realm of them, and then try."

There is absolutely nothing difficult about understanding any of these guidelines for my Review Policy. Before I even considered putting it up on the blog I emailed a rough draft copy to my best friend and fellow blogger, Molli @ Once Upon A Prolouge for her opinion on it. I wanted to know whether or not, she thought it was clear and concise and she promptly emailed me back letting me know that it was clear enough and got the point across that I was trying to make.

So, here is my problem, why am I still receiving emails from author's (not speaking of any one author in particular), who it is clear to me that they have not gone over the guidelines that I set forth in my Review Policy, yet they still want me to read and review a copy of their book on my blog? When you don't take the time to get my name right or even address me by my name in the request or when you do address me by my name but get my blog name and address wrong, that is when I start to get incredibly frustrated. My name is at the top of my blog, the name of my blog is in the banner at the very top of my blog and it's the first thing that you see, and right underneath the banner are links directing you to my "About Me" and "Review Policy" pages, as well. This is not rocket science, guys!

As much as I enjoy visiting this awesome blogger's AH-MAZING blog and reading all the wonderful content that she has to offer there, I can actually tell when an email or piece of correspondence from an author/publisher has been "copy/pasted" into the body of an email and sent to me with a request to read and review a book and/or be a part of a blog tour for a specific author. As flattering as the compliments in the email are, what's not flattering is the fact that you got my name and blog address all wrong and on top of that, you didn't leave me any web addresses to visit to see if you are actually legit in your endeavor's to offer me a book for review or an up-coming blog tour to participate in.

I don't know if anyone else received this particular email or an email similar to this one, but I received one this morning and found myself easily aggravated. Someone we'll refer to as "anonymous" sent me an email with the subject line "Your Blog Posts Are Poppin!" and addressed me as another fellow blogger including a link back to her book blog, about a team of writer's who would love to contribute to my/her site.

Well, that's great, I thought. Who wouldn't want someone who is an experienced journalist and/or a part of the YA/Adult fiction world that my book blog is predominantly geared towards contributing a well thought out and meaningful guest post, for my blog right? As I read a little further, it started to seem a bit fishy to me, because "anonymous" did not leave any links back to a site where I could check to see if this was a truly legit inquiry or request and I began to get a bit leery. I knew, from the get go, that this was a "copy/paste" request because they addressed me as this fellow blogger including a link back to her smashing awesome book blog.

My question is, has anyone else received this same email or one similar, and do you know if this is actually legit or not? I'd like to know where to go from here on what to do - if any of you have any advice that would be helpful to me. I would really appreciate it, if you shared.

And lastly, I just want to point out that these types of emails or review/book tour participation requests are going to influence me in any way regarding the many other awesome and amazing author's/publicists/agent's out there who know how to handle their business and get into contact with blogger's like myself. Those who disregaurd my Review Policy absolutely do not reflect on the many wonderfully amazing people in the young adult/adult book industry that I admire and enjoy review their books and getting to be a part of their amazing blog tours for the books they're promoting.