In My Mailbox April 21st, 2013

I will participate in In My Mailbox this week since it may be the last one for awhile that The Story Siren is hosting due to her probably having her baby soon!  I got to meet Kristi at BEA 2012 last year very briefly, and so wish her happiness with this new part in her life!  Anyway, my post probably matched the title "Stacking the Shelves" better this week, because these books didn't technically come in my mailbox.  My sister brought them back from NYC with her last weekend for me to borrow.  She had run out of things to read, and now with us living so far apart, she can't count on just coming over to my house to raid my shelves.  So a couple times I'd get a call from her while she was shopping in Barnes and Noble for some ideas of books.  I'm happy to say that she was pretty  happy with my suggestions, and that a couple of them were books I've been wanting to read, so now I get to reap the benefits and borrow her books for a change! She's also decided she needs to start shopping more at The Strand, so she can get some good deals on books, not always have to pay full price.  Anyway, I only have 3 books to share this week, so let's get on with it.

First is Holly's Inbox by Holly Denham.  I've wanted to read this for awhile since my friend Charlotte at Charlotte's Web of Books told me how funny it was.  My sister bought it based on me telling her this, and she said it was a quick but good read.

And the other book she brought for me is one I've also heard good things about, plus it is going to be coming out as a movie later this year, Austenland by Shannon Hale.  

I also found a free pdf download of As They Slip Away, an Across the Universe novella by Beth Revis.  So that was exciting!  

Only 3 books, but as I'm still way behind, and will be behind on my TBR pile forever, it's not like I'm hurting for books.  I've requested a few from Netgalley that I'm still waiting to hear back on.  And then there are some that I'm downloading and having issues getting them to show up on my Nook.  I can read them on my laptop, but I don't want to, I want them on my Nook.

Partials by Dan Wells Winner(s)!!!!

I'm a little sad that only two people entered my contest from the other day.  But because they did, I've decided instead of picking only 1 to win, both people will get a copy!  So congratulations to Melissa and Jessica S.!!  I've sent them an email and will get their books in the mail sometime next week after I get their mailing addresses.

Feature and Follow Friday 8-10-12

Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly event hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read where you get to learn about two featured bloggers each week, and then can gain new followers as well by joining in to the fun.  This is the 2nd type of meme I started doing regularly with blogging, and at one point I was even the featured blogger!  So I try to come back and participate as often as I can.

This week's question is quite appropriate for my 3rd Blogoversary Celebration month:

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

This is a great question!  Some things I've since realized would have helped with my following, first, my website address would match my blog title of Lisa Loves Literature.  Second, I'd have a Twitter handle that matched it as well.  Those are the main things I'd change if I could go back and do that.

What would you do over?

While you're here, don't forget to enter my month long giveaway for a Barnes & Noble gift card, that the dollar amount will increase as I gain followers here:  Blogoversary Month Giveaway.

And before midnight tonight you need to enter to win a copy of Partials from the Book Depository here:  Charlotte's Web of Books Feature Contest.

Happy 3rd Blogoversary to Me!!!

Today is the big day!  The day that Lisa Loves Literature actually began!  While it was not the first day of my blogging about books, it was the day that I started to develop this blog into what it has now become.  The day that I really dedicated myself to talking about the books I was reading.  As I've mentioned before, I'd been kind of reviewing books and movies, and just kind of journaling about my life.  It was spread out between My Space, Live Journal, and I think one other place that I can't remember.  It might even have been here on Blogspot, but under a different blog name.  My friend Charlotte, who I featured on Tuesday (go check out the post and enter a giveaway!!), was blogging over on Blogspot, and so I decided to follow her lead, and change my blog to just books.  I mean that is one of the reasons I have always loved my job at Barnes and Noble so much, because my co-workers were people who understood just standing around and talking about books, and getting excited about books, etc.  Unfortunately we've had cuts in the number of hours we can have people scheduled, so that part of the job happens less, as we don't often get that much time to talk about books while we're working, and there are less of us there at a time to talk.  As you have seen so far this month, I'm going to be posting about reasons why I blog, and other posts so you can get to know me better, of course along with my normal reviews, as I finish a book, or as scheduled reviews.  I also will have a couple author days, one as part of the Authors Are Our Rockstars Hop, and another as an author I feel like is a friend now.

When I met Jonathan Maberry at BEA 2012

Before I move on to the big giveaway, I want to share some exciting news I got on Tuesday of this week.  First some back story, Monday night I was playing around on Facebook and I noticed that Jonathan Maberry, author of the Rot & Ruin zombie series, had posted a little contest wanting people to give him ideas for a title for his new short novella e-book that takes place between the 3rd and 4th book in the series.  I had several ideas that I posted, but one of my first ones was chosen.  So look for the e-book Tooth & Nail next year, and know that the title was my idea!


Okay, and now for the giveaway!!  In honor of 3 years of blogging, I've decided to give away a $30 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble.  And in the hopes to increase my blog following, I'm going to run this giveaway until the end of the month,August 31st, and when I reach 600 followers on GFC, I will add $10 to the gift card making it $40.  And for every 50 more followers I gain after that, I'll add another $10 to the gift card.  It'll be interesting to see after a month how many new followers I can get, and how big of a gift card I'll be giving away.  And keep checking by for other giveaways this month too!

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Featured Blog: Charlotte's Web of Books

Today, as part of my month long celebration of my 3rd Blogoversary, I will be featuring one of my favorite fellow bloggers.  Charlotte of Charlotte's Web of Books, is not just a blogger that has inspired me, she is a friend.  We used to work together at Barnes and Noble, she was one of my managers, until she got married and moved away.  :-(  I miss Charlotte a lot, but thanks to the Internet I can still keep up with what she's reading at her blog.  Charlotte is the blogger that really got me dedicated to being a full time blogger, in as much as I can with working 2, and at times, 3 jobs.  I asked Charlotte to describe how she knew me, and then give a review of a book.  This is a book she has reviewed already on her blog, but since I haven't read it yet, I'm excited to get her take on it.

Happy Anniversary, Lisa!!  Congratulations of three whole years of blogging! I first met Lisa, Wow, it has been over five years ago when I was first transferred to the Zona Rosa Barnes & Noble where we both worked.  We bonded over our mutual fondness of Single-Girl-Finds-Her-Prince-Charming Chick Lit novels.    We would discuss authors such as Meg Cabot,  Stacey Ballis, and of course Stephenie Meyer.

I first started blogging over four years ago as a way to keep track of the books that I had read.  This was before Goodreads was really popular and I was reading so many books that I wanted an easy way to keep track of what I had read.   I don’t know how many times over the years I have referred back to my blog before making a purchase or placing a book on hold at the library, so it has certainly been handy.  I love blogging because I feel like I can share so many books that get looked over by more mainstream reviewers.  My interest in books have changed just a bit over the course of four years.  Thanks to Lisa I have become more open to reading Young Adult novels.  Recently I read Partials by Dan Wells, here is what I thought…

Partials is a post-apocalyptic novel set not too far in the future.  99.96% of the human race was obliterated by the Partials. The Partials group of non-human beings that were first developed by the Government to win a global war, they lived harmoniously among the humans until they turned on the government and obliterated the human race.

The survivors have gathered in East Meadow, New York on Long Island and they are desperate to find a cure to the biological warfare that is preventing the human race from procreating.  Life today is ruled by the Senate and all women, by law, are to become pregnant.  Sixteen year old Kira is a Medic-In-Training and has just started her training in the maternity ward when she realizes that they are going about it all wrong.  She knows they need a live Partial to do testing on if they want to find a cure to the virus and start repopulating the Earth.   But getting a Partial is anything from easy.  Kira enlists the help of her friends and they set off on a journey that will change them and their world, but will she be able to find the cure that they are all desperate to find?

Partials is a fast paced "What If" kind of novel that sucks you deep into the world of "What If".  Kira is a very strong, interesting female character and I loved to see her grow as the story progressed.  Her relationship with Samm was my favorite part of the book.  And when the tables are turned and she discovers a shocking revelation, well, it just made the book all that much better.

Bottom line, post-apocalyptic novels are only as good as your imagination allows them to be.  I loved seeing the future world through Kira's eyes and I could see glimpses of our world in her world.  If you like those kind of novels, then you need to check out Partials. You won't be disappointed.  I promise.

I am even now more interested in reading this book!  I know several of you out there may have already read it, but in the spirit of learning new things with my blogging, today I'm going to have a giveaway of this book using The Book Depository.  I've yet to use this resource, I try so hard to support my Barnes and Noble bookstore, but I see a lot of other bloggers using this, and so I'm going to try it out.  If you'd like to win a copy of this book, just fill out the rafflecopter form below.  You do need to make sure that The Book Depository delivers to your country here.  No requirements, just a free entry, but if you want more entries, you can follow me if you don't already, and definitely go follow Charlotte!  This giveaway will only last till Friday at midnight, so be sure to get entered!

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Follow Friday #13

It is time for this week's Feature and Follow Friday, hosted by Parajunkee, and Allison Can Read. This is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers.
This week's question is:

It's Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., so we want to know what you are thankful for - blogging related, of course! Who has helped you out along the way? What books are you thankful for reading?

First I am thankful for all the years I have been employed by the Barnes and Noble book company. It is through them that I got my first ARCs. I also met my friend Charlotte, who has her own blog: Charlotte's Web of Books and kind of inspired me to start blogging about books. Along my journey, I've learned lots about book blogging from people like The Story Siren, and even Parajunkee. Even non-book bloggers have helped, like another of my friends from the bookstore, Greg at The Confounded Cook, inspired me with his consistency and dedication to his blog. So many authors that I've met and talked to online through Twitter keep me going too. I also am a big fan of Netgalley.com, another site I learned about from my friend Charlotte, that helps me get to read egalleys of books. And finally, I have to once again thank my bookstore job, as they allowed me to have a table in the store this past summer and fall that had my book recommendations as well as a sign advertising my blog. So that was really cool! And I want to thank Parajunkee for letting me be a featured blogger, and helping me to increase my blog following. I'm thankful for all the great bloggers I meet who share new book titles that I may not have heard of before.

So, what are you thankful for in your book blogging world?