Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop August 5th 2011

Follow my Book Blog Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee.

This week's question is:

Q. Talk about the book that most changed or influenced your life (was it a book that turned you from an average to avid reader, did it help you deal with a particularly difficult situation, does it bring you comfort every time you read it?).

I would honestly have to say it was Stephen King's Carrie. When I was in the hospital getting my tonsils out when I was somewhere between 8 and 12, I ran out of books to read. I know...blasphemy right? My mother rushed to the gift store and picked up the first book she saw that looked half decent. Carrie has a nice little girl on the cover. That looked good right?

That was my first introduction to Stephen King, and horror in general. I couldn't believe how much my warped little mind loved it. And I still love it to this day.

Book Blogger Hop is a weekly event hosted by Crazy For Books.

This week's question is:

Q. “What is the one ARC you would love to get your hands on right now?”

I would have to go with Bloodlines by Richelle Mead. I could kill for that book...really...I could... Luckily the release date is only a few more weeks away...but it's KILLING ME!

How would you answer these two questions? Let me know!

Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop July 22nd 2011

Follow my Book Blog Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee. 

This week's question is:

Q. Name 3 authors that you would love to sit down and spend an hour or a meal with just talking about either their books or get advice on writing from?

1. Stephen King has always been one of my favorite writers as long as I can remember. I had read many other books before his, but his were the ones that first incited real emotion in me...mostly terror. He was the writer who made me want to be a writer. I wanted to make people feel emotion as strongly as he had made me feel it. I wanted to scare people and make them sleep with their lights on at night.

2. Margaret Atwood was one of the first female authors I felt a strong connection with. Also, she was Canadian, which always tickled me deep inside as well. I loved her strong female characters and the worlds she created for them to live in. My first major English project was based on her writings.

3. Richelle Mead. I pick her because she has come as close to writing the book that I have always seen in my head than any other author I have read. I would love to know what goes on inside her brain when she is writing. She must think along the same lines as me to get that close to the perfect story I would want to read. I would love to pick her brain and see how she got it from inside her head onto those blank pages in front of her.

Book Blogger Hop is a weekly event hosted by Crazy For Books. 

This week's question is:

Q. What's the ONE GENRE that you wish you could get into, but just can't?

Romance. I have tried SO hard to get into romance and I just can't do it. I think I must be too cynical. I just find them so repetitive and following the same pattern that it's hard to enjoy them when you already know how it's going to end, and it's always going to end all happily ever after.

What about you? What authors would you want to sit down with and which genre can you just not get into?

Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop July 15th 2011

Follow my Book Blog Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee. 

This week's question is:

Q. What do I do when I are not reading?

As much as the little English teacher that lives inside my brain hated typing that out...it's exactly the way the question was worded, and so I leave it that way... begrudgingly...

When I am not reading I do lots of things. Usually work. Other than work I have homework (I work full time but take University courses online  working toward my degree), Netflix, whatever series I am watching on DVD at that moment (currently re-watching Buffy), knitting, crochet, cross-stitch, playing with my puppies, etc. I used to play some online video games but I find I don't just have the time anymore, although I do turn on Age of Empires III once in a while if I need a break and feel like blowing stuff up.

Book Blogger Hop is a weekly event hosted by Crazy For Books. 

This week's question is:

Q. How/where do you get your books? Do you buy them or go to the library? Is there a certain website you use like paperbackswap?

Mostly I buy my books brand new from Chapters. I have one literally 5 minutes walk from my office so it's very convenient. I have this weird thing with people touching the books I want to read so I typically don't use library books or used books unless I absolutely have to, or I know and trust where they are coming from. I also like to purchase Ebooks from kobobooks.com because I have both a Kobo and the Kobo app for my iPhone. Other than that the only other place I really get books from is Book Mooch and blogger giveaways.

Speaking of giveaways, I have a giveaway running right now. Entries close Sunday and the winner will be announced Monday. So enter now! 

Once I get to 100 followers I have a very special giveaway planned. It involves a signed book that was released this week. I am going to see her tomorrow to get the book signed. Do you know who it is and what book it could be?

Hopefully this Follow Friday gets me closer to that 100 follower goal! 

So...what do you do when you are not reading and where do you get your books? I's love to hear from you!

Follow Friday and Book Blogger Hop July 8th 2011

Last week I started with the Book Blogger Hop. This week I will be continuing with that as well as adding the Follow my Book Blog Friday hosted by Parajunkee. Swing on over and check it out!

*Edit*

I just realized there was a questions I missed! I knew it was too easy!

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

There has actually been quite a few. The one issue with offering to review a book is the fact that you are generally expected to read it right to the end no matter what.

I think the worst one I ever read completely to the end was In Dreams by Shane Christopher. You can find the original review I wrote for it here. The characters were completely unrealistic and the story was't original...it was just that bad... I won't bore you with any more details. If you really want to know just what I thought of it feel free to read the horrible review I gave it, which I linked above.

Book Blogger Hop is a weekly event hosted by Crazy For Books. Usually there is a question involved but this week we were tricked into trying something different!  We have to share a giveaway...and not just any giveaway...but a giveaway from another Blogger!

I had to do research for this one! (And I'm guessing that was the point.)

It wasn't too hard to find a giveaway I wanted to support. Heck I'm even going to enter myself!

Oh My Gosh, Beck! is hosting a giveaway for a $100 Amazon gift card. Best of all it's open worldwide! Boo yeah!

What are you waiting for???

Go enter now!

Oh...and speaking of giveaways...now that I have reached 25 followers I am going to host a mini giveaway myself. I hope to get the details up by Monday at the latest. Check back soon! Once I get to 50 followers I have a very special giveaway planned...hopefully this Follow Friday gets me closer to me goal!

Book Blogger Hop July 1st 2011

This week I had the pleasure of being introduced to a weekly book blog hop hosted over at Crazy For Books. I'm not going to explain it all here so if you want the details please visit that site. Basically every week a question is asked and people post their answers on their own blog and then link up on Crazy For Books.

This week's question was:

"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?"

If it's a book for review that I will read it completely no matter how much I might dislike it. I do this because this is the agreement I have made when I have agreed to review a book for someone. Likewise, if it's for a challenge I have entered I will read it no matter what.

If it's for myself personally I still tend to finish most books. I feel that if I have invested myself to a certain point than I may as well trudge through to the end. About the only time I might give up a book is if I read about 50-100 pages and really, really am not enjoying it. Usually it's characters that annoy me the most, or horribly fake dialogue.

But what really keeps me going is interesting writing style and realistic characters. I will keep reading almost anything if those two elements are strong.

What about you? How would you answer this question?