Book Blogger Hop - August 23rd to 29th

Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.  There's a new prompt each week to encourage bloggers to meet new bloggers, learn about new books, and gain followers for their own blogs.

This week's prompt:  Book blogging is more than just reading.  Who helped you set up or run your blog?  Or did you do it all yourself?

I've done everything with my blog by myself.  Before starting this blog, I'd had a little experience with online journaling, thanks to my silly high school Livejournal account.  And I had a little background in html because my friends and I used to have our own Lord of the Rings fansites on angelfire back in 2001-2002 (and they still exist apparently; feel free to visit mine and see what a fangirl I was).

But even if I hadn't used Livejournal or known html, I still would have been fine setting up my blog because Blogger's formatting is so easy.  Maybe if I'd started on Wordpress or hosted my own blog, I would have asked for help.  But since Blogger is so easy to use, I've done everything on my own.

Book Blogger Hop - August 16th

Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.  There's a new prompt each week to encourage bloggers to meet new bloggers, learn about new books, and gain followers for their own blogs.

This week's prompt:  Were you a born bookworm or somebody got you into the habit of reading?

The answer to that is yes and no.  I did enjoy reading when I was young, but I didn't branch out beyond my Little Golden books.  I had my pile of "little kid" books, and I didn't read anything meant for my age unless it was for school.  So I would stay up late at night and constantly re-read these books that were written for kids three or four years younger than me.  I did this until I was in fifth-grade.

My fifth-grade teacher is one of the main people I can credit with turning me into a rabid reader.  When it rained during recess, she would read aloud from books.  I remember the first one she picked was Climb or Die by Edward Myers.  I was on the edge of my seat by the end of every recess, practically begging for it to rain again the next day so I could find out whether or not the Darcy family survives.  I approached her one day during a break and told her how much I loved the story.  So she recommended some books for me to read on my own, including Little Women.  As soon as I got home, I pulled out the book and started reading, and that was it.  I was hooked.

How about you?  Are you a natural-born bookworm?  Or did someone, or some book, turn you into one?

Book Blogger Hop - August 9th

Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.  There's a new prompt each week to encourage bloggers to meet new bloggers, learn about new books, and gain followers for their own blogs.

This week's prompt:  If you don't like a book you said you would review, do you graciously turn it down and explain why or do you struggle through it and hopefully come up with a halfway decent review?

This question is actually relevant to a review I'm struggling with right now.  For the first time ever (for me), I was asked to review a book that has turned out to be less-than-amazing, and I never realized just how much guilt would accompany that.  I mean, I feel really bad that I didn't like the book and am now going to be writing a negative (but respectful) review.  If I'd simply purchased the book myself or borrowed it from the library, this wouldn't even be an issue.  I'd have no problem writing a negative review.  But since someone asked me review it, it's different.

And yet, I stated in my review policies that I would write honest reviews, even if they're negative.  So I'm going to write it anyway, but I'll make sure to point out the positive things in the book as well.  If a book I've been sent for review is SO terrible or offensive that I don't finish it, or if I dislike it and it's part of a blog tour, I'll contact the author/publicist and let them know how I feel about the book, without posting a review.

Book Blogger Hop - August 2nd

Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.  There's a new prompt each week to encourage bloggers to meet new bloggers, learn about new books, and gain followers for their own blogs.

This week's prompt:  How do you turn down a review request?

Like my answer last week, I can split my response into two parts - pre-BEA and post-BEA.

Pre-BEA:  Before Book Expo America, I never had to worry about turning down a request... because I never got any.  I knew nothing about ARCs or review copies or contacting publishers (and I really should have, since my dad works for a publishing company & I did as well, briefly).  I thought all of those bloggers who were getting books earlier than the release date had met some mysterious requirements to be so privileged.  Now I know that I could have been reviewing ARCs all along.

Post-BEA:  After BEA, I actually get review requests.  Which feels awesome, by the way.  But of course, not every book is the right fit for me.  So I simply respond with a polite "No, thank you" and explain that the book isn't the right fit or isn't something I'd feel comfortable reading.  And I also thank them for considering my blog.

Book Blogger Hop - July 26th

So this is my first time participating in the Book Blogger Hop.  It's a weekly meme hosted at Rambling of a Coffee Addicted Writer.  There's a new prompt each week to encourage bloggers to follow other blogs, meet other bloggers, learn about new books, and gain some followers.

This week's prompt:  How do you organize your books to be read?

Pre-BEA:  Before I attended Book Expo America, it was really easy to organize my TBR books.  The only books in my actual TBR pile were ones I bought as they came out or borrowed from the library.  I didn't have an organized system.  It was just seeing a book online/in the library and going "That looks cool!" and then reading it.  I didn't have any ARCs for review, so I never cared about when I finally got around to reading a book.  Which is probably why I have so many books sitting on my shelf that I just had to buy, but still haven't read yet.

Post-BEA:  After attending BEA, a lot has changed.  Now I have so many books to read, including ARCs, and it's overwhelming.  So I started making an Excel spreadsheet of my whole TBR pile, both new books and old.

I want to read and review the ARCs I received as close to the release date as possible, so I've got them organized by date in the spreadsheet and physically in stacks on the floor.  (Yes, piles on my floor because there is no longer room in the bookshelves, desk, and wardrobe, or under the bed.)

For the books that aren't ARCs, my method is based on genre.  I don't want to read the same genre over and over again, or I get burned out.  I went through a reading slump because I read way too many dystopian novels in a row, and ended up pulling out of it by reading some Georgette Heyer regency romances.  Now, I've got my books separated by genre, so when I finish a fantasy book, I can then grab a mystery novel, for example.

And of course, I have a constantly growing list of all the books (well, most of them anyway) I want to read on my blog and on Goodreads to help me remember everything and stay on track.