Follow Friday #7

Wow, it's been a long time since I did one of these!  Anyway, this week's Feature & Follow Friday (hosted by Alison at Alison Can Read and Rachel over at Parajunkee) asks bloggers this question:

"What would you do over if you were to start your blog again from scratch?"

My answer?  I kind of already started over, in a way, when I completely revamped my blog.  I finally thought of a name and a theme I loved, and was kind of surprised I hadn't thought of it sooner...I'm terrible like that when it comes to naming things, though.  Since I'm still a relatively young blog, as far as post count goes, I felt it was safe enough to change things up without confusing anyone.

It was easier than I thought it would be to change my username and email account on all the different social media networks, so that was a convenient surprise.

Anyway, if I were to go back in time or something and start my blog knowing what I know now, I would have probably tried to do a little more research and put more thought into the setup and such - I went in thinking no one would ever read this except me and maybe a couple bored people on my Facebook friends list, so I figured I'd just put whatever and it wouldn't matter.

I'd also spend more time on some of my earlier reviews.  I'm not completely happy with some of them, especially some of the sequel reviews.  For me, reviewing a sequel is a little tricky, because no matter how old a book is, there will always be someone who hasn't yet read it, and I worry about inadvertently posting spoilers.  So my earlier sequel reviews were very brief and not nearly as thoughtful or potentially helpful as I would like; I think I've gotten a bit better with this particular thing, but there's still definitely some room for improvement.  Maybe someday I'll go back and review those ones again, but we'll see...after all, I have SO many books I haven't even had a chance to open yet!

What about you?  Is there anything you'd do differently if you were to start your blog again from scratch?  Leave me a comment or a link to your own FF post and let me know!  And don't forget to check out the "features" in Feature & Follow, Michael at The Bookshelf Review and Mandee at Compelled By Words.

And now a shameless plug:  I have a giveaway going on that will end on 18 August!  In celebration of the DVD/Blu-Ray release of The Hunger Games, I am giving away a prop replica of Katniss's mockingjay pin!  

In a couple of days I will be able to know if I can add to this prize the winner's choice of one of the books from the trilogy!  So if getting only the pin doesn't interest you, just check back in a day or two.  This giveaway is open internationally.  Just click the word "giveaway" in the above paragraph, or follow the button in the sidebar.  =]

Follow Friday #6

Follow Friday is back again!  This is a weekly meme co-hosted by Alison at Alison Can Read and Rachel at Parajunkee.  Each week, both Alison and Parajunkee feature a blog as well - this week's featured blogs are:  The Book Nympho and Mother Lode. So go check them out!  This is a great way to connect with your fellow bloggers, and get to know them a little better as well, perhaps - since a part of Follow Friday is answering the question of the week!

This week's question is:

In light of 11.11.11 and Veteran's Day, tell us about your favorite soldier and how he or she is saving the world (fictional or real life).

Follow Friday #5

Another week, another Follow Friday, hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee!  Follow Friday is such a great, fun way to connect with other bloggers.  And each week, our co-hosts each feature one other blog!  This week's features are:  Reading in the Corner and In Which Ems Reviews Books!  So go check them out. :)

Each week, we are also given a fun little question to answer!  This week's question is...

If you could have dinner with your favourite book character, who would you eat with and what would you serve?

This is such an easy question for me:  I would eat with Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter.  I really love Luna!  She's so comfortable with her quirkiness, and I find that kind of self-confidence very admirable, especially in someone so young.  When you're a teenager, there is so much pressure to fit in with whatever group you want to be associated with, but Luna doesn't seem to have those kinds of worries at all.  So while I'm probably more like Hermione, I would totally want to be best friends with Luna, too.

As for the food, I am no cook.  It took me a really long time to master hard-boiled eggs, and I still haven't quite gotten the hang of scrambled eggs.  I've also burned the heck out of many a frozen pizza.  There is only really one dish I'm capable of cooking "for real".  I'm not sure what Luna's cooking abilities are, but it wouldn't matter because you can bet we would be having our meal in the Great Hall.  Where I would be stuffing my freaking face with a sampling of all my favourite foods - the idea of a magical buffet appeals to me more than I would like to admit.  Crab legs, rice (any kind...all kinds?), cod, pasta alfredo with shrimp and scallops, chicken and dumplings, carrots in a butter glaze, cheese pizza and french fries, and more bread than a baker would know what to do with.  Bacon, chicken cooked in a variety of different ways, cornbread stuffing...and now I'm just making myself hungry again!  I think you get the picture, though. XD

Follow Friday #4

Another week racked up, another Follow Friday to post! Follow My Book Blog Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee! Visit their sites to join in the fun, and don't forget to check out this week's featured blogs - The Bursting Bookshelf and Book Savvy Babe.

This week's Follow Friday question is:

"What superhero is your alter-ego?"

I don't know that I really have an answer for this question, to be honest! I enjoy comic book heroes and the like, but as far as considering one of them as a possible alter-ego for myself, I really don't know. They are all pretty much my opposite! Very strong, confident, beautiful, talented. Like Red Sonja. Bitch is FIERCE. Though since she's more sword-wielding vigilante than superhero, I guess. Her superpower could be vindictiveness and the ability to wear tiny mail bikinis? An extreme sense of justice? But hell, even Squirrel Girl, then. Making friends with creatures is not easy! I try to make friends with every cat I see and sometimes squirrels, and let me tell you - it doesn't work a vast majority of the time. I think that's why my main avatar on WoW is a hunter with special talents in beast mastery. I just want to be friends with the animals, guys.

I also used to be really obsessed with the Powerpuff Girls and I also love the Sailor Scouts/Sailor Senshi, lol. Don't judge me!

Maybe I AM a superhero. By day, I am College Student - with the developing power to side human bones within a margin of error and the power to distinguish separate phonemes from their allophones with an adequate data set! Also the power to speak French rather poorly! The power to find a space in the front parking lot every day!

By evening and on the weekends I am The Recluse - with the powers to rearrange bookshelves and to escape from reality at will with a book or a computer game!

That, and I guess my avatars on WoW could be considered alter-egos of sorts.

So! Who's YOUR alter-ego?

Edit: I took a "What Superhero Are You" quiz, and it says I am the Invisible Girl from the Fantastic Four.

Follow Friday #3

It's time once again for Follow My Book Blog Friday, hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View and Alison over at Alison Can Read! Check out their pages and this week's featured blogs: Jagged Edge Reviews and A Neverending Fantasy!

This week's Follow Friday question is:

"If you could pick one character in a book, movie or television show to swap places with, who would it be?"

My immediate response, since I just finished re-reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, is Hermione Granger. I already relate to her in a lot of ways, so it's an easy pick for me - frizzy hair, nose in a book, can't keep her mouth shut in class most of the time...she's sometimes a bit more bossy than I am, though. I was asked to be Hermione at work one year around Halloween, back when I was in high school and worked in a gift shop at Six Flags theme park.

I was introduced to Twilight when a former co-worker mentioned that I reminded her of Bella. I was curious enough to read the book, haha, and I do see elements of myself in her as well. Introverted, pale, a little awkward and a bit of a klutz. I don't know if I would want to BE her, though. Blood doesn't bother me, and the idea of a love that really does last forever is very appealing to me, of course, but I don't know. I've seen the other movies, but maybe I need to read the rest of the books before I could say whether or not I'd mind switching places with her. My favourite character from the series, though, is Alice. Some of you, if you have seen the not-thumbnail version of my profile picture, may or may not have recognized the choker I'm wearing as a retail replica of hers.

I would switch places with Elizabeth Bennet, Emma Woodhouse, Anne Elliot or Marianne Dashwood in half a heartbeat. Mr Darcy, Mr Knightley, Captain Wentworth or Colonel Brandon? Yes, please.

Follow Friday #2

It's time again for another Follow My Book Blog Friday, hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee! Please visit their blogs for more information about participating in Follow Friday, and don't forget to check out their featured blogs!

This week's FF Question is:

"What book that hasn't been turned into a movie (yet) would you like to see on the big screen, and who would you like to cast as your favourite character?"

Hands down, I would LOVE to see a movie (or saga) based on the Forgotten Realms books by R.A. Salvatore. They'd have EPIC action sequences, and the character development is superb! I think I'd prefer to have mostly unknowns in the roles, or else it would be fantastic in the same style as movies like "Avatar" or "Legend of the Guardians." The animation in both of those movies was absolutely phenomenal, and would do extremely well for books like Salvatore's.

I'd also LOVE to see movies based on Hatchet or Number the Stars - if any have already been made, I am not aware of them. I haven't read either in so long, though, that I have no idea who I would cast in the adaptations. Guess I'll have to do a little re-reading!

Feel free to answer this for yourself in the comments, or link to your own Follow Friday post!

And remember, tomorrow is the last day to enter both of my giveaways! Check out the giveaways sidebar feature to check out not only mine, but a few from other bloggers as well!

Follow Friday and Happy Fall!

So this is my first time participating in one of the many memes hosted by other blogs! I'm pretty excited about it, and I plan to start participating in more, since they look like a lot of fun and a great way to come across other blogs and more books. Today is Feature and Follow Friday, hosted by both Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. If you're not already participating, stop by one of their blogs and check out how to join in!

The FF Question for today is:

Do you have a favourite series that you read over and over again? Tell us a bit about it and why you keep revisiting it.

I'd have to say there are really only two series that I have definitely read completely and multiple times: Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia. I love to read fantasy, and I always find myself wanting to step into the worlds that Rowling and Lewis created. The only other books I have that I have read multiple times are not part of a series, but they would be the novels of Jane Austen, Watership Down by Richard Adams and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I have also read Le Petit Prince more than a few times, and have a small (but slowly growing) collection of that book in different translations.

For the most part, though, I have so many books on my shelves that I haven't yet read that I try not to re-read other books too often.