In My Mailbox (17) + Questions

I'm going to first get my In My Mailbox over with, which I haven't done for a few weeks. Wow. I can't even remember the last time I did one, haha. Anyways, it's a meme started by Kristi over at The Story Siren, and I heard she got some awesome books this week...  *wants* BUT that's okay! I've been seeing a lot of fairly new book blogs out there who are getting many wonderful ARCs, and I just want to say that I do NOT recieve many books to review. I get maybe 3-4 books to review every month, or possibly even less, and a number of those aren't ARCs. And that's fine, because getting free books isn't what's important; what's important is that I think I'll love every book I agree to review and don't feel weighed down by this huge stack of books that must be reviewed. I admit that at the beginning, though I really enjoyed simply sharing my thoughts, I also really wanted ARCs, but now I've realized that what really matters to me are participating in the awesome blogging community and working with all these fabulous authors/publishers. So I'm happy for all those new bloggers that are recieving stacks of ARCs (I spaz MAJORLY when I get a book I really want!), but, hey, I'm happy with myself too. AND HERE'S A SHOUT OUT TO ALL THE AWESOME NEW BLOGS OUT THERE! :)

Getting back onto topic, here's what I got this week. I didn't take a picture because I didn't get a lot of books, but next time I do, I promise to make a vlog... maybe... depending upon how stupid I look doing it...

For Review:

Ivy's Ever After by Dawn Lairamore - More of a middle-grade book, but it looks so cute! ALERT: fantasy freak. Thank you to Barbara from Blue Media Press!

Bought:

Mistwood by Leah Cypess - You guys all know what I think of this one... Click on the above link for review if you missed it!
Rules of Attraction (Perfect Chemistry Trilogy #2) by Simone Elkeles - I. LOVE. SIMONE ELKELES. I'm probably not going to be reviewing this one, but it's definitely on par with all of her other works. Of course, it's less awesome than Perfect Chemisry, but that still means it is holy-freaking-awesome.

Whew, this long post is almost done! What I have left are just two little questions that are short but would mean so much to me if you answered them. They also affect you, my lovely readers, so I would really appreciate some feedback, thanks!

1. Do you want to see a huge celebration for my blogaversary or my birthday? (I'll still celebrate each of them, but I'm talking the huge month of giveaways/author features/etc.) Keep in mind my blogoverary is in August whereas my birthday is in October. And I'll be away from July 24th - August 17th for volunteer work, so I'm not quite sure if a a celebration during August would be advisable. It could be scheduled though!

2. Would any fellow bloggers (or perhaps even non-bloggers!) be interested in doing a guest post? I think I talked about this once, but it sort of flopped... I'm pretty open to any ideas here, so just let me know! Not saying my blog is that great, but I hope it'd be fun. :)

And yep, I think that's it. Thanks for tuning in, and feel free to tell me what you got in your mailbox or leave a link for me to check out!

P.S. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! <3

Leaving Addresses? + Affiliate News

Quick post to cover two things that I really need to cover. First off, I'm going to be doing another contest on Wednesday for Light Beneath Ferns by Anne Spollen, and I was wondering what do you think of leaving your mailing address when you enter? It'd be a lot more convenient for me, but if a majority of potential entrants (aka possibly you) don't feel secure leaving your mailing address, I can just make do with the traditional leave your email address and I'll email you if you win.

Next, you might have noticed a new "Starring Affiliates" on my left sidebar. Eleni from La Femme Readers introduced the affiliate concept to me, and it sounds awesome! She asked me to tell you guys about some fabulous contests that she has going on right now, and I definitely recommend checking them out.

Contest for Darklight by Lesley Livingston -- I haven't read this book myself, but it's near the top of my wishlist! Ends February 10th, and open to US and Canada.

Win your book of choice from 2010! There are so many awesome books that have already come out this year, and so many more that are still coming. Ends February 15th, and open to US only.

 

And last but not least, an awesome contest for Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves -- Another one on my wishlist. Eleni accidently ordered two (I've done that before two, haha), and she's give one copy away. Ends February 20th, and open to US and Canada.

Contests aside, Eleni has cool interviews and such, and she just passed 700 followers so go over and say congrats (if you'd like)! She also has an interesting Monday's Question of the Day that I spotlight everytime during my Weekly Debate; you can check out today's question here.

To sum it all up, I'm estatic to have Eleni as my first affiliate, and you should check her out! And as a side note, we're going through snowstorm after snowstorm here here in the Northeast, so if I'm not seen commenting or posting, you'll know what happened. I'm not dead, only my internet is. P:

The Return of "Double-Trouble Mondays?" -- Opinions?

I'm sorry to boot out the last post so quickly, but scroll below to see my post about guest posting and whether YOU, yes you, want to guest blog here at Books At Midnight! :)

Anyways, a quickie post because I've seen a minute but there increase of short reviews in the blogosphere. Old followers, if you recall, back in November-ish I had a meme called "Double-Trouble Monday." It's basically where I posted short reviews of two books I'd read in the past week and showed what I was currently reading. It's hard to describe exactly, so you can check out my few Double-Trouble posts over here. I was wondering what do you feel about these posts? Should I bring them back (not necessarily on a weekly basis), bring the feature back with revisions, you're interested in participating, etc.?

Guest Post at I Swim for Oceans! - Want to Guest Blog?

Melissa from I Swim for Oceans is awesome, and let me do my first guest post for her Friday Fix. It's a weekly feature where bloggers literally get to take over her blog and post about anything they want, though my favorite part was the funny questions she sent me to answer! Thank you, Melissa, and if you're a blogger that's interested in participating, head on over to her blog to check it out.

As for the guest post, you can read it here. The topic is The Top 10 Traits of Gorgeous YA Covers. Shallow, I know, and I think I sound like the extremely superficial, girly teenager I am. It's also a bit on the short side, but err, what can I say? I'm not very creative. On the other hand, it was fun typing it up and I got some more time to stare at gorgeous covers, haha! *drools*

Moving on from me, I *probably* won't be making it a weekly feature but would any bloggers be interested in guest blogging here, on my blog? You can post about anything, really, or I can send you some questions. If you're interested, just comment here with your email address and I'll shoot you an email regarding a post. I don't know if I'm being presumptuous by assuming  more than one person will want to guest blog, but it's pretty much first-come-first serve. Thanks! :)

Opinions On New Memes? (& Slow Week Notice)

** Heads up: I'm extending the 200 followers contest to Sunday, January 17 at 11:59EST. I'm going on a ski trip, so it's only an extension of two days. I'm still going skiing, but I realized I only have time to mail the books out next week. Therefore, contest ending date is the same as usual. Oops!

And before I ask for opinions, I just want to apologize that my posts aren't really up-to-par this week and for the stunt in reviews. I'm trying to juggle around so many tests and projects as well as fundraisers and appointments, I haven't really had time to relax this week. Sorry, and I should be back to normal next week!

Here's what I look like right now (not my cat though, I wish!):

Anyways, back on topic, what I basically wanted to ask were what are your thoughts on my new Weekly Debate and Saturday Network? I'd appreciate any feedback whatsoever, not necessarily responses to the questions below.

The Weekly Debate:

· Do you like my topics?

· Are there any topics you'd like to see or an area you'd like to see more of? (ie. blogging advice, YA news)

· I've recently noticed an increase in discussion posts (or I just never noticed them before). Would anyone be interested in me putting up a Mr. Linky so you can link your "weekly debate?" It doesn't have to be weekly though, I just love reading discussion posts!

The Saturday Network: (thanks for all of those that participated!)

· If you participated, was there anything you didn't like or would like to change/add?

· If you didn't participate, why not?

I noticed quite a few new bloggers participated in The Saturday Network, and I hope it helped. Thanks for your opinions in advance! :D

Visible Email Addresses - Do or Don't?

**The main reason I'm posting this is as a heads up to if you've recently started a blog and haven't gotten any comments yet, you might want to check to make sure your comments section is working. ;)

I recently noticed that there are quite a few bloggers that don't post their email addresses. Of course, that's understandable, seeing how many spammers, stalkers, and creepy bloggers that blog about whether you should hand out your email address (or maybe there's only one: me) there are, but what about all the things emails are good for? I again noticed another blog today that didn't have the comment section working and, when I checked, no visible email address. So I can't comment to tell them their comments aren't working, and I can't email them either?! I sounds like such a busybody here, but I really just want to help and it makes me feel incredibly bad that I can't. It might be on purpose, but I hate to think that it's accidently happening and the blogger feels discouraged.

Now, I understand that there are quite a few security risks associated with giving out your email address. You could give it out and these "U WON THE LOTTERY!!" emails start popping up everyday. Horrifyingly stupid, I know. And then you have to press the "report spam" button, *gasp*! Okay, so there's a lot more to it than that, I'm just trying to be funny and failing. Spam and viruses can definitely be more dangerous than they appear, and that should always be kept in mind. The Internet is NOT all rainbows and butterflies, and you should never, ever freely post your address and other personal info - free social security number, anyone?

In the end, I say "yes" to visible email addresses because there are just times when you need to be contacted and there's either no other way or it's a lot more convenient. While I'm still sort of against giving out my personal email address, I would encourage making another, secondary email address that you can use for all your blogging purposes. That way, your personal info and sacred little teddy bear are safe while you're still able to have an email to give out.

So, what do you think about having a visible email address? A do or a don't?

Questions - help please? 200 Followers!! :)

Okay, I have two questions that have been bugging me lately that I would love to hear your answers on! But before I start, I first want to say a huge THANK YOU!! to all of my lovely followers. 2-0-0!! I'm so glad that that many people even want to follow me, and I love every single one of you. Seriously, let me give each of you another virtual holiday cookie. And that's a prelude to my first question...

1)  200 Followers Contest - I'm sure all of you have heard the "I'm a broke teenager" tons of times, so I'm going to skip that part (even though it's true. -stabs shipping costs-). I'm going to try to make this my first international contest though, to mark the end of a wonderful year! Anyways, question is: Would you rather a large number of books to one winner or multiple winners that only win one or two books each each? And would you rather I do monthly contests, or a big one every now and then? This one directly affects you, so VOTE, VOTE, VOTE! Other suggestions are definitely welcome too.

2) ARCs and Review Copies - This one is a solely self-help question that I would love some help at because I still feel sort of awkward about this subject. I've been seeing a lot of fairly new bloggers that manage to get their hands on books that I'm extremely jealous of. So just a quick question for fellow bloggers that have some experience in the area (and can maybe help some newbies out): When did you start requesting ARCS/review copies? I know there have been many helpful posts about this subject that I'm definitely checking out, but just wanted to get some more experiences on the matter. (In case you haven't heard, fellow newbies, check out this awesome post Kristi from the Story Siren did about review requests here.) That being said, is there a definition of "newbie," lol? Maybe you just puff up one day and stop feeling like one. :)

Anyways, that's it. So vote on the contest, and keep your eyes open!

Edit --
I got bored today so I decided to do a quick sketch of Sunny and Rayne from the Blood Coven, then got inspired by KatieDoll's Fan Art Friday to post it. I haven't drawn in months, so don't laugh please?

You Pick, I Review -- What do you think?

If you recall, I did a You Pick, I Review! post a few days ago, asking what you wanted me to review. I've been thinking of doing this as a sort of meme, listing the books I got that week and some recent ones on my TBR pile. I'll also ask if there are any suggestions for books I should read and review, that I'll try to either buy or borrow. The basic purpose is to let you, my readers, pick one or two books that you want me to review and to help me decide which books to read first, so it should be a win-win situation.

Now, opinions: do you think it's redundant (ie. In My Mailbox), and I should just choose the books myself? Do you like the idea of being able to sort of control what you read? Would this be something you'd be interested in doing, as either a reader or a blogger? Is the name horrible? Any other suggestions or thoughts?

And don't be afraid to say it completely sucks, because I'd rather know now then later! :)  

100 Followers Contest Reminder!

Just a quick reminder that my 100 Followers Contest ends tomorrow! Click here to enter.

And a quick question if you feel like answering: My favorite music is either metal (ranges from light to heavy metal) or some soft, relaxing music, usually some form of classical. For my blog's music, do you prefer one or the other, or would you rather I put a little of each? Thanks!

You Pick, I Review!

Okay, so I realized I have quite a few books in my reading pile, and I don't know which one(s) to read first. There are also a few that I've already read, but haven't quite gotten around to reviewing yet. Since I'm having a problem deciding and because I know that sometimes I want to see a certain book that I'm having mixed feelings about reviewed, I decided to try this out for a change. I would love it if you could tell me what you want me to review; basically, you pick, I review! Sound easy? Just tell me what book or books you'd like me to review, in order or whatever, up to you.

edit -- I forgot to add I'm going to be doing some holiday book-shopping soon, so feel free to suggest any new books you would like to see me buy and review!

My TBR (to-be-read, to-be-reviewed) Pile:

- The Maze Runner by James Dashner
- The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees. Brennan
- Love is the Higher Law by David Leviathan
- Hold Still by Nina LaCour
- A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper
- The Princess and the Bear by Mette Ivie Harrison
- Sovay by Celia Rees
- Goddess Bootcamp by Tera Lynn Childs
- Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev
- Geektastic : Stories From the Nerd Herd by Holly Black, et al.
- The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
- Willow by Julia Hoban
- How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford
- Hate List by Jennifer Brown

I also received Beautiful Creatures today from Amazon, so psyched! Hm, and that sort of brings me on to the question of : Do you like reading reviews of books that have already received a lot of attention and reviews? (ie. is it redundant, do you like seeing others' viewpoints)

Thanks!! Hope you guys have some awesome Thanksgiving plans coming up! :)

Emotional vs. Analytical Reviews

I read a couple of my past reviews, and thought wow, that's so boring.  Which leads me to ask a question which has definitely been asked tons of times before:

Is it better to go for a review filled with your thoughts on the book, focusing on how you felt when reading this or that, or is it better to have a purely analytical review, going over plot, characters, etc. methodically? Or is it better to have a mix of both? And it would be super helpful if you could relate it to my reviews, whether you'd like to see more of either side and the organization.

And, as a really off-on-the-other-side-of-world side note, later this wek I'll be hosting an interview with Laura Ruby, the author of Bad Apple, Good Girls, and Play Me. It'll be my first interview, so I'm extremely excited! So please keep your eyes and ears out for that! :)

Beautiful Covers = Beautiful Story

After reading Hush Hush, I realized just how much utterly gorgeous covers really effect me. Even if the plot is nonexistent, the characters are undeveloped, and the setting is bland, I can truthfully, and shamefully, say that I will definitely, definitely still give the book one star. Like when I go to the bookstore, I automatically will not ever buy a book with an ugly cover. Just like how I automatically expected Hush Hush to be a 5 star, because of the awesome cover. I had to force down my prejudice to give it a honest rating, but it was oh-so-tempting to just smack a 5 star down on Patch's half-naked body.

And here's the cover of Fallen by Lauren Kate, which also has a blindingly-beautiful cover, in my opinion. And, because of that, can't wait to buy it! :)

I feel so ashamed of myself. Am I the only one who feels this way?

Author Interviews (extra contest entry)

First, I want to say please bear with me. I'm still new to all this blogging business, but I'm hoping to start doing author interviews soon. The only major, extremely daunting problem for me is how to get about doing it.

Sooo, I was wondering if I could get some help. I basically have two questions, one that requires some experience amd one that doesn't:

1. What author would you like to see interviewed?
2. When and how did you start interviewing? (ie. popularity of your blog, approach to the author)

If you answer, I'll love you forever and give you an extra entry to the contest! Any other advice is loved too. :)