Where I've Been...And Where I'm Going Now!

Well...I'm not really sure how to start a post like this, so I'll just jump right in.

I've been gone for a LONG TIME. It's been about a year. I originally stopped blogging right around the time school started in the fall because of the added stress and ridiculous amounts of school work, along with some other responsibilities including a role in the musical my community theater was putting on. Needless to say, I took a little break.

But a short hiatus from reviewing and blogging turned into a VERY LONG break from everything. This year, I've encountered a lot of personal difficulties and a lot of struggles at home. I won't bore you all with the details, but yes, luckily, things are clearing up and the future for my blog is looking bright. I brought home a big stack of brand new books this week that I'm looking forward to reading and, once again, reviewing.

So thank you all, very very much, for sticking by me through this difficult period in my life. I love you all, and like I always tell you, you guys are what makes this fun.

All my love,
Meghan.

Book Blogger Hop!

Well today is Saturday and I'm hopping into the Book Blogger Hop! I know it generally starts on Friday, and Saturday is later than I usually like to submit my link, but better late than never, huh?

So each week there's this thing called the Book Blogger Hop. For those of you who haven't participated in it before, it's a great way to get your link out and find some new followers. All you have to do is enter your name in the link list and you're all set. Make sure you visit other blogs too!

Each week, there's also a question you have to answer just for fun. So here's this week's.

Do you use a rating system for your reviews and if so, what is it and why?

I do use a rating system. It's based on numbers, rather than stars like many do. Each rating is out of 20 points and there are five categories-- Plot, Characters, Ending, Style, and Title (how well the title connects with the storyline). I add up all those scores to give a total grade out of 100 points. I then give it a grade from A to D like they would in school. I also give cover scores ranging from A to D. I find this type of rating system works best for me because I like to get specific and I like being able to break it down piece by piece so my readers can know what to expect, possibly without even reading the whole review. 

If you're hopping over from the Hop, be sure to comment and follow! Thanks for stopping by! :)

Finally Friday!

Well, guys...it's been forever since I last posted! It's summer, of course, so I've been crazy busy with vacations, family visits, and other fun things that consume my time. Unfortunately, these things have not only consumed my time to blog, they've also consumed my time to read. The number of books I've been reading has severely decreased. It bothers me that I don't have time for them since reading and blogging are my two favorite things to do! :)

Sadly, I have to say that the problems that arose made it pretty much impossible to continue participating in the August 2010 Debut Author Challenge. Hopefully I can try it again in the upcoming months, but I'm afraid I have to pretty much drop out this month.

But it IS Friday. And I need some sort of post to be able to get myself back on track here. So although I haven't done anything this week, here's some sort of weekend wrap-up.

I'm currently reading the book The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. I would give you a summary myself, but this one does it better than I ever could!

Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey
dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie’s own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. 

For Lennie, they’re the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can’t collide without the whole wide world exploding.

So far it's been a touching a remarkable debut by Jandy Nelson. Like the rest of the summary goes on to say, it's a great book for fans of Deb Caletti and Sarah Dessen. I'm fans of both and I have to agree. Jandy Nelson fits right in and I can see her becoming just as popular. I'm loving this one so far and I can't wait to see what she pops out next!


Since I haven't reviewed anything in weeks, we'll head right to the New Blogger Feature!

This week I'll be featuring a sweet lady named Danielle who runs the blog Every Last Page. I am so very grateful to her. I've been putting off her feature for weeks because I've never had the time to sit down to the computer and put it all together. So I apologize to her, and I thank her so so much for all her cooperation. And finally, here it is! (I'm sorry I can't make her image bigger. Any bigger and it starts to look pixelated.)

Meet Danielle, of Every Last Page! Here's what Danielle had to say:

I had been toying with the idea of starting a book review blog for a long time, and finally this summer I just decided to do it! I was afraid it would take up too much time (and it is) but I am having so much fun! I love reading, but what I love the most about it is sharing my thoughts about books with others. I hope to get my bachelors in Business Management (so I can open a bookstore) or go for my English/Creative Writing degree. I am still debating which route to take, since I sort of have a love/hate relationship with writing.

I have been married for almost two years now, and we are content for now in our apartment with two kitties, Alice and Rosalie. He is very supportive of my book buying/reading habit, even if my bookshelves are slowly taking up our living space! My favorite genres are historical fiction and YA. My favorite posts I've done so far are "My top ten favorite characters" (http://everylastpage.blogspot.com/2010/08/top-ten-tuesday-favorite-characters.html) and "Baby names from Literature" (http://everylastpage.blogspot.com/2010/07/baby-names-from-literature.html).

I love meeting new bloggers so feel free to leave me a comment and I will check it out! Have a great day :)

She has a great blog and she's one of the friendliest people I've talked to. She has some really creative ideas for posts, as you can see from her two favorite posts above. And I love what she named her kitties :)

Everybody head on over to Every Last Page and follow right away. You won't be sorry. Best of luck to you, Danielle, in all your future blog endeavors :)