Mini-Challenge #5:
Top Blogging Moments

Three big moments stand out to me:

Being in the Cinder Paperback
I was so incredibly excited when I heard my blog would be mentioned in the back of the Cinder paperback. I’ve never had my blog recognized by an author, much less in print, and by one of my FAVORITE books.
Blog Post: Cinder Paperback

My First RT and over 100 Hits
I am pretty new to twitter, but have definitely realized that I should have joined a longggg time ago. My blog has grown so much since I joined twitter and it has allowed me to connect with fellow bloggers even more than before. The first post that got retweeted was my post on why you should see Brave on opening weekend. And it was my first post to go over 100 hits. I love to think that something I wrote had an impact and was worth sharing.

When My Bro Made Me My Blog Button
I was so darn excited to have my own blog button. And it came as such a surprise. I had no idea my brother was working on creating a button for me, and when I saw it… it was perfect. I loved how he incorporated both owls and typewriters.  And it makes it extra special that my blog button was made for me by someone I love.

Can’t wait to read other people’s best blogging memories!

Mini-Challenge #4: 
Letter to my Beginning Blogger Self

Dear Lauren,

I know you’ve been toying with the idea of expanding your blog.  You should totally do it.  There are so many good things that will come from book blogging:

• You’ll meet fantastic people who love to read as much as you do!
• You’ll learn about great new books that you otherwise wouldn’t have picked up on your own.
• You’ll get in a habit of writing daily.
• You’ll become a stronger critical reader of books and figure out what you like and what you don’t.
• You’ll improve in your technology skills and want to learn more about web design.
• And… again… you’ll meet some great people!

Update
I plan to spend some time commenting and spreading love to other blogs today… But my birthday is February 24… so I have plans with family and friends this weekend.

I wanted to participate in the Love-a-Thon, and will be spreading some love, it just might be a bit belated love.  Hopefully I’ll be online later tonight!

Mini-Challenge #1: Favorite Blogs

Yay!  I get the chance to spread the love of my favorite blogs!  These are all blogs that I adore and read regularly.  I usually bombard them with comments all at once on weekends when I set aside commenting time.  And you should read and comment on them too ^_^

Best Reviews:
Real Men Read YA: If you haven’t checked this guy out, you should because he’s hilarious.  It’s so refreshing to get a guy’s perspective on our favorite YA titles (he loved Anna and the French Kiss!) and he always gives his reviews a funny twist.
Fake Steph: I love her “WTF Moments” towards the end of all her reviews.  They often make me laugh because I agree with her.  Whether it was “Whoa… that was weird” or “OMG… can’t believe that just happened”, we’ve all had those moments when reading a book, and I love that Steph has found a way to feature that in her reviews!
Small Review: I love how she breaks down her reviews into subheadings and her explanations of what worked for her and what didn’t are always supported and well-written.  I also love that she does a decent amount of middle grade in addition to YA.  Middle grade love!
A Backwards Story: I love how Bonnie always dedicates part of her review to a book’s cover.  She often makes me notice things about the cover that I wouldn’t have otherwise noticed.

Best Book Discussion Posts:
The Overstuffed Bookcase: She has done some great events, readalongs, and discussions.  Several posts for the His Dark Materials readalong and several more for Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden series.  Her discussion posts are always well-written, thought-provoking, and worth checking out!

Best Blog Layout:
Novel Sounds: Their layout is lovely and their attention to the graphics in each post makes everything they write also a colorful treat for the eyes!
Recovering Potter Addict: I love everything about her layout.  From the Harry Potter that looks like a Powerpuff girl to her buttons in the “Harry Potter Font.”

Best Author Blogs:
The World According to Maggie: Maggie Stiefvater’s blog, my favorite posts are always her ones about writing, but she often does other funny posts.  And sometimes some angry ones… I certainly don’t want to cross her when she’s mad.
Squeetus Blog: Shannon Hale’s blog, another author blog I enjoy.  I especially liked some posts she did on the absence of female characters in animated movies.
Lois Lowry’s Blog: I adore the legendary Lois Lowry, and she keeps a lovely blog.  Maybe it’s stalkerish of me… but I especially love when she posts pictures of her office and house.  I love picturing where she works!

My first post for the Book Blogger Love-a-Thon is an interview with Dana from Little Lovely Books.  I was instantly charmed by Dana’s blog because of all the adorable owls!  Dana is a mom of 2 who enjoys blogs, reading, all things entrepreneurship and growing her faith in God. We sent each other questions about books and blogging.  Here are Dana’s answers to my questions: