Feature & Follow Friday #20: Featured Blogger/2016 Book Excitement!!!

Welcome to Feature & Follow Friday!!

This weekly hop is hosted by  

Rachel @ Parajunkee's View, and 

Alison @ Alison Can Read!!

You can find the rules at the links above.

Join in the fun and make new blogging friends!

Every week, 1 or 2 new blogs 
are featured!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 
TO EVERYONE!!!

  

This week's featured blogs
are

Inked Brownies 

and.....

A Night's Dream of Books!!

Here are my answers to the 
interview questions:

1.) When did you start blogging?

I started in September of 2010. It's just incredible how fast time has gone by! But yes, I've been blogging for 5 years now!

2.) What is your favorite part of book blogging?

I really can't pick just one. When I first got started, I really enjoyed experimenting with blog designs. I finally settled into my present design, which I ADORE, because it's got so much BLUE in it! 

Of course, I LOVE blogging about books! I love reading YA, and other genres, as well. In fact, I have a blog for literary fiction, classics, and nonfiction, titled MindSpirit Book Journeys.

And last but definitely NOT least, I LOVE meeting other book bloggers, building relationships with them, participating in giveaways....Did I mention that I just LOVE EVERYTHING about book blogging?

3.) What type of books do you mainly blog about?

At the beginning, I had an eclectic blog. As time went by, though, I decided to start a second blog, and this one, A Night's Dream of Books, became dedicated to YA, with an occasional adult or New Adult book thrown in. I already mentioned my other blog above, lol.

4.) What are your favorite books?

OMG, I would probably spend all day here, telling you guys about those.... But I can single out the ones that come up right away. Of course, there's The Twilight Saga, the Harry Potter series, the Vampire Academy series....and I LOVE Claudia Gray's books! My favorite YA genres are fantasy, PNR, and UF.

Although it's not YA, I just have to mention my favorite classic of all time: Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë. Oh, the adoration....

5.) What has been the best thing that has happened to you because of book blogging?

The VERY best? Being one of the featured bloggers on Feature & Follow Friday!! YAY!!!!! 

Here is this week's question:

What books are you most
excited for in 2016?


Contributed by
Alison Can Read 

Here's my list of books!
(Click on each cover to access
the Gooreads page.)

Next Week's Question

TBA


Contributed by
TBA

  

These are my follow preferences.
The links are in my sidebar.

 Be sure to visit the rest of the
participating blogs!!

Feature & Follow Friday #19: Your Best Christmas Gift Ever!!

Welcome to Feature & Follow Friday!!

This weekly hop is hosted by  

Rachel @ Parajunkee's View, and 

Alison @ Alison Can Read!!

You can find the rules at the links above.

Join in the fun and make new blogging friends!

Every week, 1 or 2 new blogs 
are featured!

This week's featured blog
is

Inked Brownies!!

Here is this week's question:

What was the best Christmas
(or other holiday) gift
you ever received?


Contributed by
Alison Can Read 

Of course, I've always preferred BOOKS to any other gift, no matter how nice! When I was in my late teens and early twenties, my Mom used to give me very nice books. These were adult books, though, not YA. I wasn't reading that genre at the time. Lol.

Since I was an art student in college, Mom gave me two or three books about famous artists. There's one that I absolutely ADORE, and really should read again. It's a novel based on the life of my favorite artist of all time -- Michelangelo, and is titled The Agony and the Ecstasy. It was written by Irving Stone, a great American writer.

I don't remember if this book was a Christmas present or a birthday present. Whichever occasion it was, it was given to me by my mother, who, like me, is an avid reader. So that makes this book very, very special! This is an International Collectors Library edition, which she got for me sometime in the late '80s. These books are no longer being produced, but are relatively inexpensive to purchase. They can be found on eBay, Amazon, Alibris, and Abebooks. For more information on them, click HERE. 

There are, of course, many other editions of this novel widely available, mostly online, although I'm sure some bookstores -- especially used books bookstores -- carry it, as well.  

I remember this novel made a HUGE impact on me, and I would like to read it again. However, since it's literary fiction, as well as a classic, I will review it at my other blog, MindSpirit Book Journeys.   

      

Next Week's Question

What books are you most excited
for in 2016?

Contributed by
Alison Can Read
 

These are my follow preferences.
The links are in my sidebar.

 Be sure to visit the rest of the
participating blogs!!

Feature & Follow Friday #18: Topics for A Possible Book I Would Write

Welcome to Feature & Follow Friday!!

This weekly hop is hosted by  

Rachel @ Parajunkee's View, and 

Alison @ Alison Can Read!!

You can find the rules at the links above.

Join in the fun and make new blogging friends!

Every week, 1 or 2 new blogs 
are featured!

This week's featured blogs
 are
Hibernator's Library
 and
The Truth About Books!!

Here is this week's question:

If you could write a book, what 
would it be about?


Contributed by
Go Book Yourself 

For years I've wanted to write books, but I have so many interests, I don't know which one(s) I'd like to explore....

First of all, I not only read fiction, but nonfiction, as well. However, since this is a YA blog, then I will stick to that genre. There are three YA sub-genres I love: fantasy, paranormal romance, and urban fantasy. I would add science fiction, but, although I love that particular genre -- in adult as well as YA fiction -- I don't think I could handle all the technical aspects which are usually part of such books. So I'll stick to the three above.

In the fantasy category, I specifically LOVE epic fantasy, something along the lines of The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, or the Grisha trilogy, by Leigh Bardugo. I adore elves, dragons, and faeries, as well as wizards! I also love the magic wielded by these mythical beings!

 
In paranormal romance, I would write about vampires and werewolves, just because these happen to be my favorite paranormal creatures. I do love angels too, but I think it's hard to write a good angel book. So it's vamps and werewolves for me! Of course, I'm thinking of my beloved Twilight Saga, by Stephenie Meyer....but I also love the Vampire Academy series,by Richelle Mead, and Nightshade, by Andrea Cremer.

 

Urban fantasy is frequently paired with paranormal romance, so  I would here add The Mortal Instruments series, although I haven't read it yet. (The picture shows only the first three books in the series.) Of course there are various types of paranormal beings in this type of fiction, much like the ones in PNR.

Maybe this coming year I'll definitely sit down and start a novel, in one of these genres.... I've just decided to make this a New Year's resolution!

I have written and published some Twilight and Phantom of the Opera fan fiction, though, with the pen name "Angelmuse". If anyone is interested, you can find my stories HERE.

      

Next Week's Question

To Be Announced.

Contributed by
To Be Announced

These are my follow preferences.
The links are in my sidebar.

 Be sure to visit the rest of the
participating blogs!!

Feature & Follow Friday #17: Black Friday Eve!

Welcome to Feature & Follow Friday!!

This weekly hop is hosted by  

Rachel @ Parajunkee's View, and 

Alison @ Alison Can Read!!

You can find the rules at the links above.

Join in the fun and make new blogging friends!

Every week, 1 or 2 new blogs 
are featured!

This week's featured blog
 is
This Girl Reads a Lot!!

Here is this week's question:

Black Friday Eve! You have $100 (or pounds or whatever your currency is) to spend on books. 
What are you going to buy?


Contributed by
Alison Can Read 

There are SO many  books I want to own and read!! I have to start somewhere, I guess, so obviously I will pick the books I've been wanting to read for the longest time now!! But.....I need to add some new ones, too.....

I would also want to spend my $100 on some essential bookworm supplies.....

Here are the books I would buy! Click on each cover to access the Goodreads page.

And now, here are some essential bookworm supplies! Click on each image to be taken to the Amazon page.

 

Each of the books above would probably average around $10.00 each, and, with the S/H ($3.99 from third-party sellers on Amazon), each would come to around $14.00. The total would be $98.00. The bookmarks are very cheap -- $.01 each pack. With the S/H ($3.99 each one), that would come to $8.00. Uh, oh.....I went over the $100.00!!  But heck, I'll just raid my piggy bank for a bit more!

Next Week's Question

If you could write a book, 
what genre would it be?

Contributed by
The Realm of Books

These are my follow preferences.
The links are in my sidebar.

 Be sure to visit the rest of the
participating blogs!!