Today is a Wrap Up of all the activities I participated in this week for  Armchair BEA 2014 . I have enjoyed this year's Armchair BEA. I was a "cheerleader" where I had a set # of blogs to comment on every day. This was something new for me to try from last year. By doing this I was able to interact and meet a lot of participants that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. I briefly participated in one Twitter party (Friday's). And when I say "briefly" I mean for about 30 minutes and commented a couple of times. I had wanted to make more but timing didn't work out for me to. And of course I participated in one or both of the topics every day. Mostly I chose only one topic to do. In case you missed any of my posts from the week here ya go: Day 1: Introduction and Literature Day 2: Author Interaction Day 3: Part 1 - Novellas/Short Stories Day 3: Part 2 - Expanding Blogging Horizons Day 4: Giveaways - win your choice of b...

Welcome to Day 4 of Armchair BEA 2014 . Today's part 1 topic is  GIVEAWAYS!! A ton of participants will be hosting their own giveaway on their blogs.  So be sure to visit everyone who links up! I love giveaways, don't you?!  For my giveaway you have the chance to  WIN ONE (1) BOOK OF YOUR CHOICE   (print or Kindle) valued up to $15. This is open internationally as long as The Book Depository ships to your location OR you choose a Kindle option from Amazon. For full giveaway rules, please visit HERE . Winner has 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen so be watching your email closely! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Welcome to Day 3 of Armchair BEA 2014 . Today's topic I'm participating in is  Expanding Blogging Horizons "What do you think about when you think about going beyond blogging or expanding your horizons? Is it a redesign of your blog? Have you branched out into freelance writing or even published a novel of your very own? Or, have you moved into a different venue like podcasts or vlogging? This is the day to tell us about how you have expanded on blogging in your own unique way." I certainly can't take any credit for this AT ALL, but I wanted to plug it anyway. Many of you know that I have a sister-n-law who also blogs (she was my reason for starting my blog). Sandy and I talked a great deal last year about wanting to cohost some kind of challenge or read-a-thon or event to get connected with other bloggers. Who knew coming up with an idea that seemed even half way original would be sooooo difficult! Being the programmer by day that she is, Sandy creat...

Welcome to Day 3 of Armchair BEA 2014 . Today's topic I'm participating in is  Novellas/Short Stories After looking back over the last 2 1/2 years of books I've read and reviewed I came to realize these were literally the only novellas I have read. I was shocked by that! I have a few more in my possession that I haven't yet read as well.  I like novellas because they are typically super short, less than 100 pages, and usually quick reads - which is a bonus because they still count towards my reading challenge. If done well they really wet your appetite for a series coming out (as in the case of Bitter Sweet Love) or they delve deeper into a character who doesn't take center stage (as in Shadows) or they give more insight into a mysterious character (as in No Mercy). I loved all three of these! I can think of one other that I have that I didn't get until after I finished the series and by then (though it was a freebie) I didn't really want ...

Welcome to Day 2 of Armchair BEA 2014 .  Today's topic I'm participating in is  Author Interactions. Who doesn't love getting a retweet, tweet, Twitter follow; FB comment, like or follow; Goodreads comment or like; blog post comment or follow from a favorite author?! Seeing any of those from an author whose books I read and review always make my day! Sometimes the more meaningful comments are the ones non-book related. Richelle Mead and I talked about how to make southern grits on Twitter once. Have you ever had an author that you've communicated with say - "I'm so glad to see your name on the list! I hope you enjoy xx book!" - Those are special moments.  So to conclude I'm going to give a "shout-out" to a few of the authors that have been really great at communicating with me through various social media sites. Some have gone above and beyond and make it personal when chatting. I KNOW they are busy. We all are - but we are anx...

Welcome to day 1 of Armchair BEA 2014 . Today's activity post is two parts: Introductions and Literature. Each blog participating will be introducing themselves and their blog to everyone. PART 1: INTRODUCTIONS 1. Please tell us a little about yourself. Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? Where in the world are you blogging from? Hi! I'm Holly and I'm a book addict. PROUD OF IT TOO! (wink wink) For those who've visited my blog before this isn't any new information. But for any new friends visiting for the first time, I've been blogging since October 2012. I started blogging after watching my SNL blog for a year. She and I shared a lot of the same tastes in books and I decided to jump on the bandwagon - one that I very much still enjoy. I read books that interest me, not books that are necessarily the "popular" or "critically acclaimed". I have learned the careful art of only requesting b...