Can You Believe It's Been 10 Years?! Help Me Celebrate My Blogoversary with a Giveaway!

You guys, it has been ten years since I began Lisa Loves Literature!  I can't believe it! 

 

Time sure seems to fly lately.  In fact, I'm actually about a week late in getting this post up.  Blame it on my crazy summer and this crazy month of August.  I actually was attending the awesome Book Bonanza Convention when my blogoversary date happened.  You can check out how much fun I had HERE.  If you've been a follower, you know that I also moved this past June, and have been slowly settling into my new house since then.  Then school started back, this year on August 1st for the teachers, so time I would probably normally have spent getting my blogoversary stuff ready was spent getting ready for school and such.

 

That's the way I've felt since school started.  Just totally overwhelmed.  

However, I still love blogging.  While I've gotten so much better with keeping my schedule in my planner, I am getting to where I've got to really stop taking on so many tours and even not asking to review so many things.  It's not that I'm not in the mood to read, it's just that I'll never run out of things to read, including a whole bookcase full of unread books that I really do want to read!  I'm so behind and so overbooked, that I actually did NOT sign up to review a book by Meghan Quinn, who is one of my automatic sign up to review ALL her books author.  I'm so sad that I can't fit it in due to all the other reviews I've already got on my calendar.  But I will definitely fit her in, later, on my own, after I buy the book, or maybe an audiobook of it.  

 

I do feel like I've really made some progress with being more regular about things on my blog though.  I've been doing the Wednesday posts almost all year long, although I've changed it a bit to a post I call "Lisa's Looking Forward To" and I am highlighting all the books in my planner that are coming up the next week and I may not have gotten around to.  I've also been working on clearing out books that I have read but won't get to again, or with my move, even some books I had on my TBR book case that I am just finally realizing I'll probably never get to them.  So I'm going to either add them to my giveaways, take them to my school library, or see what I can get for them at Half Price Books.

 

Last February I decided to go seasonal at the above mentioned bookstore where I work part time and it was glorious!  But I figured I'd go back and work a bunch this summer to make money for all the things I had going on, to buy new stuff for my new house, etc.  I worked a ton of hours this summer and made a lot of money.  All of which has been spent on things like going to Book Bonanza and new furniture for the house.  So I'm still doing two days a week even with school back in, because I'm not done with things I want for my new house.  I really wanted to be done before another Christmas season, but I don't see that happening just yet.

Now, last year I shared all the cool people I got to meet and I've already linked you above to my Book Bonanza post so you can see them, but I did get to meet a few cool people at ComicCon this year:

I got to meet the Weasley twins!  Well, get my picture taken with them anyway.

I also got to meet one Supernatural actor, the guy who plays Lucifer.  He wasn't that friendly actually.  Not rude, but not very outgoing or talkative.

My sister went to her first Comic-Con being a big Smallville fan, she wanted to meet those actors, and then decided to go ahead and meet Dean Cain as well, and he was so nice, and even had her get me in for a picture with him and her as well!

This summer I also go to meet the awesome writing duo of Christina Lauren:

New Kids on the Block came again, and we had awesome seats this time. I could swear that one time Donnie actually smiled right at ME!

They also put in a Wahlburgers close to my house, within the "Greater Kansas City Metro" area, which actually means almost a 30-45 minute drive for me based on traffic, over in Kansas as opposed to Missouri. But I loved it, still love it, just wish it was closer so I could go more often.  We went to their grand opening, my friend Shannon, my cousin Margaret and I, same people I went to the concert with.  And I got to meet Paul Wahlberg!  We were even interviewed by the local news, and while people said they saw me on the news, they never replayed it or posted it online, so I didn't get to see it sadly.

Earlier in the year I got to meet a survivor of the holocaust when she came to talk at a school nearby.  It was incredibly inspiring to listen to her talk.

I also got to be the moderator for a panel with some awesome YA authors at the bookstore where I work last year. That was the coolest thing ever!

I actually sold my townhouse last October, and rented from the new owner until this past June when I was able to get a house loan and found a house I wanted to move into.  This picture is from when I sold my house.

And here is a picture of my new house:

Honestly, I'm looking forward to getting a little area set up for my dogs to run and play in the back yard so I can sit out back and read while they play, or write while they play, or even sit outside and blog while they play.  Of course the summer was too hot to really do that anyway, so this fall will be perfect!

Okay, you all want a giveaway, right?  Well, being a bit poorer with my new house and all the things I want to add or do to it, my prizes will be pretty simple.  If you can receive a Barnes and Noble or Amazon gift card, I will be giving away one of those for $10.  If you are international and cannot use one of those, then I will let you pick one of my 5 star reviewed books listed below that I can get for you from the Book Depository, as long as they ship to your country.  Hint:  There will be an option in the Rafflecopter to comment on the reviews below for an entry, one a day!

• Slayer by Kiersten White
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
• Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers
• The Me I Meant to Be by Sophie Jordan
• Pretty in Punxsutawney by Laurie Boyle Crompton
• Play by Kylie Scott. (not a new read, but always a 5 star one!)
• Eyes on Me by Rachel Harris
• All Broke Down by Cora Carmack
• Romanov by Nadine Brandes
• Intercepted by Alexa Martin
• Ask Me Anything by Molly E. Lee
• That Second Chance by Meghan Quinn
• No Place Like Here by Christina June
• The Haunted by Danielle Vega
• The Game Changer by Jaqueline Snowe
• Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
• The Virtue of Sin by Shannon Schuren
• Resist by K. Bromberg
• Beautiful  by Christina Lauren
• That's Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger
• Strong by Kylie Scott
• Four Letter Word by J. Daniels
• Echoes of Scotland Street by Samantha Young
• End Goal by Amy Daws
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• Fight or Flight by Samantha Young
• The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Pucked Off by Helena Hunting
• Control by K. Bromberg
• The Bird and the Blade by Megan Bannen
• OtherEarth by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller
• Losing the Field by Abbi Glines

Just fill out the Rafflecopter below! Thanks for helping me celebrate my 10 year blogoversary!  This giveaway will go until September 13th.

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Let's Help Shooting Stars Mag Celebrate 12 Years of Blogging with a Giveaway!

I am not sure how long I've been following Lauren over at Shooting Stars Mag, but when she came up with the idea of making an extra long celebration of her 12th Blogoversary, I wanted to be a part of it!  I thought it would be fun to have Lauren do a Top 10 post for me.  Her idea was a fun one, hope you enjoy it!

Top 12 Bookish Items On My Bucket List 

1. Stay at the Library Hotel in New York: https://libraryhotel.com/en/

2. Become a published author 

3. Visit The American Writers Museum in Chicago: https://americanwritersmuseum.org/

4. Visit the Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris, France: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/

5. Visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, FL

6. Write an article for Book Riot: https://bookriot.com/

7. Stay at Gladstone's Library in Great Britain: https://www.gladstoneslibrary.org/

8. Go on a Writer's Retreat

9. Visit the New York Public Library

10. Read another book by Jane Austen (so far I've only read Persuasion)

11. Donate books to a Little Free Library

12. See a Harry Potter film being played with a live orchestra

Lauren has some great posts, and I enjoy seeing not only what she's been reading, but also all of the fun things she's been doing, like those you see in the list above!  Here's a picture of Lauren, along with her bio from her blog:

My name is Lauren Becker, and I’ve been running Shooting Stars Mag since around August 2007. It’s been through some changes and ebbs and flows, but we’re holding on strong. I just want to say that I appreciate every single person that leaves a comment, spreads the word about something we’re doing or have posted, and for everyone that has emailed/tweeted/messaged. It really does mean a lot and is a large reason I keep the blog going.

The blog is mostly my work, but I do have a co-writer for some YA reviews and her name is Alicia. If she wrote it, her name will be on it.

I also include guest reviews every now and then. These are sometimes done by my sister or mom, as they like to help out. Again, these are all noted within the post.

You should definitely follow Lauren, and there is an option in the Rafflecopter below to do that!  I've also included a link to her blog in case you don't care about entering my giveaway below and just want to go check her blog out:  Shooting Stars Mag.

Giveaway:

For my giveaway, you will have a choice of two prizes.  One is a book of up to $10 from The Book Depository, your choice!  The other choice is to pick 2 books from my giveaway piles below, but this one is only open if you are a winner from the US.  Here are the pictures to choose from:

 

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Blogging Year Number Nine Has Been So Fine!

Wow, it's been nine years since I started blogging, and I feel like the last two years have been really great, and really busy!  I've been so busy this past year in fact, that right now, I am stressed about taking the time to do this post, because I've got a bunch of books to finish for reviews this week!  Gah! 

I am slowly working on my scheduling, and I thought I was getting better, and ahead, but let's just say I'm still working on my time management with review books every once in awhile. There are just so many good ones out there, and with publishers reaching out to me more these days, I have trouble saying no.  

 

That's how I feel right now with all the books I need to read!  So many e-galleys!  The thing that has stressed me out even more is that in the last two weeks I have somehow lost my Nook, so I've had to try to get them all read on my phone.  Which, don't get me wrong, I read on my phone all the time, but it isn't as quick as on an actual e-reader that is real book size.  At work today I gave in and bought a new Nook. With my luck, I will find my old one now.  

Let's talk about a few of the cool things from this past year.  Something little is that I switched to Direct TV and got Starz channel free for a short time, and so got hooked on the Outlander series, and finally started reading and loving the books.  In October I got to finally meet Colleen Hoover, and at that same event joined a Kansas City Book Club, which I haven't actually gone to a meet-up with yet, but I've seen several members at different book events.

In February I spent $100 to get this picture taken (worth every single penny):

At the second annual Kinky in Kansas City, I got to see Amy Daws again:

Then I was busy saving money for my two big trips this past summer.  First was my very first time at the American Library Association annual convention.  It was held in New Orleans, my third time visiting there, luckily I have a friend who has a place he lets me stay there for free, right in the French Quarter!  It was a lot of fun, and I got to meet some favorite authors:

Andrew Smith is the author of one of my favorite books, Grasshopper Jungle.

Tahereh Mafi, love her Shatter Me series.

Now, I actually met Julie Kagawa at my first BEA, but I hadn't read any of her books then.  Now that I have, it was so cool to get to tell her how much I loved her books in person.

You can check out my full post about ALA HERE. 

Then, I was back home for about a month, which was spent working a ton of hours at my part time job, to save money for my second big trip of the summer, Book Bonanza, in Denver. Book Bonanza was a new convention put on by Colleen Hoover and it had a TON of awesome authors!  Here are a few of my unicorn authors, that it totally made my day to get to finally meet them!

Helena Hunting, author of the Pucked series.  

Cambria Hebert, author of the #Nerd series.

Meghan March, author of the Beneath series.

Now, I could go on and share a ton more pictures from that event, but if you want to see them, you can just go check out my post dedicated to that event HERE. 

Now, let's get to the part of a blogoversary that everyone looks forward to, the giveaway!  I've got three prizes this year.  One will be choosing three books from my books for trade piles in the pictures below.  Now, there may be more added once I finish them this month, since I will keep this giveaway open till the end of August, so I'll send the winner an updated photo then.  Also, this part of the giveaway is for US only.  Sorry, there will be an international part to this giveaway too.

I'll probably throw in some swag from my conventions this past year as well!

I'm going to give away a $9.00 gift card to either Amazon or Barnes and Noble, your choice.

And internationally you can pick one of my 5 star reviewed books listed below from The Book Depository, as long as they ship to your country.  Hint:  There will be an option in the Rafflecopter to comment on the reviews below for an entry, one a day!

• Between Shades of Gray by Ruth Sepetys
• Seduction and Snacks or Futures and Frosting by Tara Sivec
• Size Matters by Allison Bliss
• Pitch Please by Lani Lynn Vale
• Not the One, That One Moment, Keeper, or Endurance by Amy Daws
• Madness by Zac Brewer
• Beneath These Chains, Beneath These Lies, Beneath These Shadows, or Beneath These Scars by Meghan March
• Protected by Claire Zorn
• Kiss Me In New York by Catherine Rider
• Ultimate Sacrifice by S.E. Green
• Field-Tripped by Nicole Archer
• The Learning Hours or Switch Hitter by Sara Ney
• Greek Gods #squadgoals by Courtney Carbone
• Undressed by Kimberly Derting
• Royally Bad by Nora Flite
• Haven by Mary Lindsey
• Year One by Nora Roberts
• Unknown (any book in the series) by Wendy Higgins
• Pucked Up or Pucked Over by Helena Hunting
• Hollywood Roommates by Elizabeth Briggs
• Without Merit by Colleen Hoover
• Miss Me Not by Tiffany King
• Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed
•  Slow Burn, Sweet Ache, Down Shift,  The Player, The Catch, or Cuffed by K Bromberg
• This is Not a Love Letter by Kim Purcell
• Drumline by Stacy Kestwick
• By a Charm and a Curse by Jaime Questell
• The Ex Lottery by Kim Sanders
• The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
• Now a Major Motion Picture by Cori McCarthy
• Wait with Me by Amy Daws
• Savor You by Kristen Proby
• To the Stars or Trusting Liam by Molly McAdams
• Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova
• Chaser by Kylie Scott
• Bad Romeo by Leisa Rayven
• Felony Ever After a domino anthology
• Aftermath by Kelley Armstrong
• #murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil
• How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather
• Dr. Strange Beard by Penny Reid

Just fill out the rafflecopter below to enter!

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Let's Celebrate Year Number Eight!

via GIPHY

Guess whose blog is turning eight?  You got it!  Lisa Loves Literature, ME!!!  I can't believe it has been that long.  But I've had a great time!  This past year has had some ups and downs, more ups than downs though.  Since my last blogoversary:

• I attended NOLA Storycon and got to meet a bunch of my new favorite authors.

Samantha Young

Jay Crownover (she takes the best selfies)

Jennifer L. Armentrout, the main reason I bought a ticket for NOLA Storycon

• Attended the very first Kinky In Kansas City Romance Author convention and met some other  new favorite authors and hot cover models.

Jonny James (cover model)

Amy Daws

Kayti McGee

• Got to be a volunteer at Apollycon in Orlando and meet other favorite authors (as well as other hot cover models)!!!!  While there, I also got to visit the Harry Potter park at Universal Studios.

Kylie Scott

Anna Todd, the main reason I first signed up to be an ApollyCon volunteer

All the hot cover models from JLA's books, along with JLA herself!

Butter Beer, the first thing I HAD to get at Universal Studios

• In November I won NaNoWriMo for the 2nd time!  I didn't finish my novel that I'd started, but I am still working on it.
• I also got a couple cool sponsors for my blogs, one was UberPrints.com - who let me design a free t-shirt to show how easy and fun it is.  The other was USB Memory Direct, and I got some cool USB drives to pass out as business cards with my blog design in them.   
  
  
  
  
   
• I got to meet so many more authors than what I showed you above.  I got a trip to New Orleans for NOLA StoryCon, a trip to Orlando for Apollycon, but I also visited Albuquerque, New Mexico for a school related conference, and went to back Orlando with my family - specifically to see my 5 year old niece's first time at Disneyworld.
  
  Not all things were great though.  I did lose a friend.  My former writing buddy, one that I've shared her self-published books here on my blog in past Blogoversaries, as well as my own reviews.  She didn't like the way I reviewed her books, but didn't bother to read the reviews once I sent her a link, waited months afterward when someone else pointed them out.  Anyway, it's a long story, and time for me to move on.  And then last month, stupid Photobucket changed how they worked, and now my background and other things on my blog are all messed up. The problem is that someone designed it all for me, and I can't get ahold of them through email or any way anymore, so I don't know how to fix it!
  
  Since it is my 8th Blogoversary, I want to give away 8 prizes.  Here are the options:
  
  
  1. Your choice of any Alice Clayton book under $10 from The Book Depository (INT)
  2.  Any of the mass market copies of the Stage Dive series by Kylie Scott (TBD) (INT)
  3. Two winners will get to pick 2-3 books from my Books for Trade pile.  Here is the  most recent photo, although there may be more or different books there by the end of the month. US only, sorry, I can only afford so much postage.
     
     
  4.   E-book copies of two of my favorite books by a new favorite author Nicole Archer:  Road-Tripped and Head-Tripped. (Open to anyone who can accept a Kindle or Nook e-book)
     
     
  5. $5.00 Amazon Gift Card or Barnes and Noble if you'd prefer
  6. Coloring Book (US only, sorry, I can only afford that postage) 
     
  7. Samplers and Swag - Swag not pictured (US only, postage is too expensive) 
     
  8. Your choice of any book I've read since last September from The Book Depository. (INT) Check out those books on my Goodreads page, just scroll back till you get all the way to last September to get an idea of what books, it is a lot to choose from!  
  
  
  Just fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter.  And even if you don't want to enter, I'd love to get a comment from you below!
  
   

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