I've been graciously tagged by Maria at A Night's Dream of Books for a new meme, a fun new way for book bloggers to get to know one another. The best part, it's really easy to take part and is a great way to make friends around the book blogosphere. So here're the really simple rules, really quickly:

1) Post the rules.
2) Answer the questions by tagger & make your own questions for your the bloggers you've tagged.
3) Tag 10 people and link them in your post.
4) Let the people you've tagged know you've tagged them.

The people I'm tagging for this meme include:

 1) Maria @ A Night's Dream of Books (tag-back!)
 2) Sarah @ Workaday Reads
 3) Lisa @ Lost in Literature
 4) Tiffany @ Book Cover Justice
 5) Danielle @ Mercurial Musings
 6) Marian @ A Sunny Disposition
 7) Kary @ The Once and Future Librarian
 8) Tara @ Hobbitsies
 9) Grace @ Livre D'Amour
10) Jodi @ Ocean in a Cup (not precisely a book blog!)

First, Maria's questions:

1.) What's your favorite book meme and/or blog hop? You can name more than one.

This is a tough one, there are so many I love! I think, though, that On My Wishlist, hosted by Book Chick City tops the list, WWW Wednesday, hosted by Should be Reading, and Feature and Follow Friday, hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read are my absolute favorites. I'm always on the look out for new memes and hops, but so far these are the ones I really enjoy the most.

2.) Would you ever like to reach more than 1,000 followers? Why or why not?

I don't know, really. I blog because I really enjoy it, and thought I'd love to reach a large audience, I don't think it would influence my content. I post about the books I love, I read for fun and to relax, and my reviews are always honest. So, I suppose if I could get to 1,000 followers who really wanted to interact and with whom I could interact, then sure! For me, it's much more important to build relationships than to find followers.

3.) When you first started blogging, did you simply follow the steps at Blogger (or some other platform), read a book/books about blogging, or visit blog instruction websites? Did you do all three? Please name any books or sites you've used.

I've been personal blogging since 2003, so blogging really is one of my favorite hobbies. When I first started blogging, my very first platform was Blogger. So, when I decided to start this blog, I started it as a self-hosted Wordpress blog. I decided, pretty quickly though, that Blogger was a much better platform for this particular type of blog, so I moved it over. Overall, I've never been big on instructional websites for bloggers, mostly because I believe blogging is a platform for personal self-expression, but I did get some really good tips about book blogging from Parajunkee's Book Blogging 101 series when I was just starting out.

4.) Have you ever read a book that you felt should never make it to the movie screen? Name the book, and why you feel this way. If you haven't read such a book, then give the title of a book whose synopsis you've read on Goodreads or Amazon. If you can't come up with any book, just skip this question.

The only book I've read that I've read that I absolutely hated was Bathory: Memoir of  Countess. It was absolutely horrible. I'm really interested in Bathory, so when I saw this book I thought it was a sure hit, but when I started reading it I realized it was just the opposite. It's also the only really bad book review I've ever written. So, yeah, this book would make a horrible movie, though there are some pretty good movies out there about Bathory.

Otherwise, I'm not sure that Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series would make a good movie, simply because it's so, so long and so filled with characters, it would be impossible to follow. That said, I really love Robert Jordan (R.I.P).

5.) Do you enjoy participating in blog tours? Why or why not?

I never have done a blog tour, but I wouldn't be opposed to doing so. I just haven't found the right one, and honestly it was a long time before I understood exactly what went on during blog tours. I also have no idea where to sign up.

6.) If you like romance novels, do you prefer realistic human men, or paranormal/fantasy ones? Please explain your choice. If you don't like romance novels, feel free to skip this question.

I like both, actually. It depends entirely upon the kind of romance I'm reading. Regency romance, which is my favorite, has to be human men. Of course, it always is so that's fine. For more contemporary romance, I like a mix. I like my romantic male lead to be a vampire, a werewolf, a Greek god, just as much as I like the humans.

7.) Some readers think that the romance genre is "trashy reading". Do you agree? Why or why not?

This might not be a fair question, I mean, I have a degree in English. Ha!  No, but in all seriousness, I really, really enjoy romance novels, but that wasn't always the case. There was a time when I thought they were trashy, but then I read Bound By Honor by Collette Gale (which is actually historical storybook erotica/romance). After that I started to get into regency romance, and I've never looked back. It's really my guilty pleasure. I love them, no shame at all. So no, I don't think they're trashy reading. I tend to believe that everyone needs a break from the serious stuff, and that some reading is just fun. That's romance for me, it's just a way for me to kick back and really relax.

8.) Have you ever read a book that you think you could have written much better? Which book is it? Name one thing you would change about this book -- whether it's the overall plot, the ending, a character's personality, or anything else you can think of.

I don't think so, no. I'm pretty liberal about what I enjoy and other writer's style. Okay, wait, I think I could have done Bathory: Memoir of a Countess much more justice than did the writer. Otherwise, not at all.

9.) What would cause you to stop reading a book in disgust?

If I didn't stop reading Bathory (and I didn't, I finished the whole thing in one afternoon), then I can't think of anything. I have a pretty strong stomach for violence, blood and gore, for horror, etc. I think maybe any kind violence against children or animals would do it for me. I can't tolerate people hurting the innocent. Otherwise, I'm open to almost anything... which doesn't necessarily mean I'll like it, it just means I'm willing to tolerate almost anything.

10.) What personality traits make it easy for you to like a specific character in a novel?

I really admire a strong central heroine. I love books that have female characters who can stand up for themselves, who have a central identity not dictated to them by the men in their lives, and I like for my heroine to be smart and self-aware. For male characters, I like what every woman likes, sexy! No, seriously though, I want a male character who respects women and who knows who he is.  I tend to like characters who are a little bit older, maybe late teens and up. I tend to turn away from characters who are too young or naive, which is tricky because I really enjoy YA lit.

Alright, now onto my questions:

1.) Do you prefer book series or stand alone novels? Why?
2.) How much time do you spend reading per week & what are your other hobbies?
3.) Do you write in addition to being a book blogger? If so, what genre do you write?
4.) What is your favorite movie based on a book? Why?
5.) What is your least favorite movie based on a book? Why?
6.) Name one book you simply couldn't put down and explain why.
7.) If you were going to recommend one book, what would it be and why?
8.) Do you have a Kindle or the like? Do you read e-books? Why or why not?
9.) What is the first book you remember reading?
10.) Are you more likely to read a bad book with a good cover, or a good book with a bad cover? Also, does a cover affect how you feel about a book, whether good or bad?


There you have it!  I just wanted to say that this meme is open to everyone and that I hope you'll participate. If you haven't been tagged above, but still want to participate, please leave me a comment and let me know, so I can add your tag above. I'm looking forward to reading your responses!

Just like everyone else around the blogosphere, book or otherwise, I'm looking forward to March 23rd with an unrivaled giddiness. In fact, I can't think of a time when I was this giddy about anything and I can't imagine being this giddy again, except maybe when the next movie comes out. I am, of course, talking about the release of The Hunger Games movie. I simply cannot wait.

So, to celebrate the coming movie, I'm re-reading The Hunger Games (aloud to my husband who hasn't read it) and remembering all the reasons I loved the book the first time. It's just so amazing. I see myself going the Thursday night, at midnight, showing. Waiting for Friday just won't be an option. But, since I'm re-reading it, I thought I'd join in on The Hunger Games Read-A-Thon hosted by Smitten Over Books and Breathing Books.

I'm a little late, since sign-ups have been happening since February 1st, but since the read-a-thon didn't actually start until February 23rd, I'm not that late. The first discussion post happened on February 28th, so I'll be posting that very soon. If you're dying for The Hunger Games, like I am, go sign up and take part in the fun!

It's the last day of Armchair BEA. It's been a blast, even though I didn't get around to meeting as many people as I would have liked. So then, onto the final topic, shall we?

Today's topic: Blogging about blogging!

There's so much to say about blogging, I'm not sure where to start. I haven't been book blogging for very long, but I have been personal blogging for about the last 8 years (wow, has it been that long?) and it's been an experience. I will say, book blogging is quite different than personal blogging.  It has a structure, a built in topic, where personal blogging really doesn't, which makes this a totally unique experience. So, rather than rambling on and on, I'm going to address a few of the questions for today's topic at Armchair BEA.

How do you utilize social networking in relation to your blog? What may be the pros and cons of doing so?

Because I'm still feeling my way around, and it's been a somewhat slow process for me because this blog sat dormant for a long time over at WordPress before I moved it here and started to really engage with it, I don't use a lot of social networking so far. I don't have a facebook page for my blog, but may do so at some point in the future. I do have a twitter account for this blog (@aturnofpage) where I share my posts, books I'm reading, etc. Oh, and I'm on GoodReads and would love to connect with other book bloggers there. I would love to hear any suggestions for social networking others have!

Share some of your favorite blogging technical tips.

This is a hard one for me. I feel like, technically speaking, that reviews should be kept to a manageable read. Here's the problem, I don't feel like I keep mine manageable. They're very long, but it's something I'm working on and have tried to account for with sub-headers. They're still really, really long and it's something I need to work on. Concise isn't my best talent by far. One of my professors told me I write really long, beautiful sentences, but I really should try to be more concise. It's never a skill I've mastered. On the HTML, technical side, I can't share anything because, well, I'm not terribly adept. I do okay, but most of it goes well over my head. Oh, I should add that I installed the LinkWithin widget to this blog on the suggestion of another blogger's post for todays Armchair BEA, so I've already learned something new!

Create a "rule list" of things you should and shouldn't be doing on a book blog.

Hmm... okay, one rule: Write what you're passionate about. We all blog because we love books. We're passionate about lit, or we wouldn't have gone to the trouble to start a blog to talk about it. So, carry that passion forward in every entry. I really try to make my reviews, for example, as meaningful as I can... which is why they're so long. I love blogging, I love reading, this blog is the natural evolution of those passions.

What are your tips for balance life and blogging?

I am 100% the wrong person to ask about this. I'm a graduate student, I work teaching classes, and I have a husband, which means there are a lot of people/things vying for my attention and I'm not terribly good at keeping all the ball in the air. I blog when I have time, to let down from the stress, in between classes, assignments, spending time with my husband, grading papers... the list goes on. I do it when I have time and something to say. Right now, I'm on summer break, and while I should be studying for the comps and working on my master's thesis, I still have more time right now than usual. When school starts back in August, we'll see.

What genre do you blog about and why?

I try not to restrict it to any one particular genre because I love all books. There're some genre's I don't read (memoir, western, Christian romance, technical, etc), so I don't talk about them. For the most part, what you'll find here is YA, romance, paranormal, historical, fantasy, dystopia, mythological, and horror. I love romance novels, for many reasons, so I'll probably start a feature for "Steamy page turners" which I'll label with some sort of banner or button so they're distinguishable as 18+.

How do you keep your blog fresh and interesting to your readers & yourself?

This is another thing I'm still working on. I do a lot of memes and hops, which are fun but I think I need more than that. I do reviews, and have been doing "reflection" posts where I talk about different things (so far I've done the evolution of YA and The Hunger Games casting), which I might make a weekly feature. Otherwise, I may try a contest here and there, but I don't know, they seem like a lot to coordinate. I welcome suggestions from others about how I might achieve this!

There are quite a few book blogging events out there. Which are your favorites and why? How do they affect your blog directly?

I do a lot of weekly meme's and hops, including:

• On My Wishlist (Saturday)
• In My Mailbox
• Teaser Tuesday
• WWW Wednesdays
• Follow Friday