Spin-off Series: They Scare Me

As you guys know (or are about to know) I recently read The Percy Jackson series. And I LOVE LOVE LOVED it. Pretty much the best series that I've read in a long time - and I was really sorry to let those characters go when the end came around. But I tried to, even if it caused a terrible book hangover that I'm still battling as I write this: I just want more. I want more of Percy and Annabeth, and I hear that there's some of them in The Heroes of Olympus series - a spinoff.

Normally, I love the idea of spinoff series'. But I haven't ever read one that I can think of. So, I'm super nervous. What if there isn't enough of the original characters? What if I end up hating the world, because I miss those original characters so much? What if?

It's so much easier to jump into a different series by the same author, because I don't expect the old characters to be in a new series, but I expect them to be in a spinoff. And that just worries me way too much! What if I don't like the new main characters, or even the storyline?

I'm just scared to read any spinoff. I'm irrationally afraid of it.

Is anyone else scared to start a spinoff of their favorite series' or is it just me? Is there ever too much of a good thing?

Do You Actually Read Reviews?

Lately I've been seeing a strange trend from book bloggers - there have been lots and lots of statements lately - bold statements about book reviews.

"I don't read book reviews", or "I don't LIKE reading book reviews", or even "book reviews were never really my thing".

And I just think that's sad. If you're a book blogger, why do you not like reading book reviews? Can you tell me why? Because I'd really love to know your reasons. In all honesty, there are lots of book reviews that I skip, just for reasons. Like, say I don't like the certain review style, or sometimes it's just for a book that I have no interest in. But those are my only reasons ever.

But for y'all that don't like reviews... why not? You write them... right? How can you like to write something, but not to read them? Authors that focus on certain genres usually enjoy the genre that they write. Do they disinterest you? Do you find yourself rolling your eyes too often?

I obviously don't think to be a book blog that you have to write reviews, I mean there are lots of people that don't - that just blog about book art, or have bookish games, or even just post about books they're excited to read. But... if you write reviews, why don't you read them?

How can you just swear off ALL book reviews?

Expectations & How to Manage Them

I have a quick question for y'all today - expectations. How do you manage them? It seems that every single read these days starts out with expectations. Whether it's because of reviews, recommendations or even just series predecessors. Every single book starts out with expectations.

So how do you manage that? If you go into every book with high expectations, you're always going to be disappointed, but if you lower your expectations... you're still stuck with that sinking feeling. Maybe you didn't like the book that you already had low expectations for, and you're sitting around thinking about how sad you are.

Maybe you loved said book, but now you're wondering if it was because your expectations were so low. People never really know where they stand. But really... why should we have to lower our expectations for certain books? Why do we hold certain books to higher standards than others?

If you can't tell, I'm having a slight problem with expectations lately - so, how do you manage the pesky little things?

Advertising: How Do You Feel?

Today I just wanna ask you guys a question: How do you feel about advertising? We see it everywhere - TV (if you have it), Movies, Billboards, Websites, Blogs... but how do you feel about it? Do you think there's a tasteful way to advertise anything, or do you consider it "gaudy" and "selling out" whenever you see it?

Personally, I really don't mind blogs that advertise. I click on the ads at Goodreads - I'm just super careful and only click on ads that I know won't hit me with a virus. I'm wary of some of them, and others I just have to roll my eyes at. (Do people really click on Viagra ads? I mean, seriously.)

But I'm not opposed to them. I see all kinds of blogs where it's just nothing but ads, or the ads are completely hidden (in the footer, hard to find, etc). And I wonder if those do any good. Do people read the blogs that are all adspace? (I mean, I assume that folks do, otherwise they wouldn't be advertising...right?)

I'm asking you guys this question to kind of feel you out a bit - I'm kind of thinking about advertising, but I don't really know if it's the right move for me. So be as detailed as possible with all of your thoughts - I don't care if Disqus truncates your comment! Just let me know what you think of it. :)

Do you think there's a tasteful way to advertise? Do bloggers lose all credibility for you when they advertise?

How I React to ARC's

Sometimes I would just kill for a particular ARC. And if I get it, of course I'm ecstatic and there's no killing my happiness - until I have to read it and review it and it's not really fun for whatever reason. Maybe I don't like the book, or the timing just isn't right in my life and it starts to feel like an obligation. "You asked for this, Megan. Now read it."

But the big thing is this: I don't deserve any particular ARC, and I'm jealous if other bloggers get it. That's normal. But is it normal to kind of wish that you didn't get it once it's all said and done? Don't get me wrong, I love ARC's, but I don't love the obligation that comes with them. I just don't exactly know how to react to it. My reactions go kind of like this (now in supa-cool bullet point format):

• Eeeeee they said I would get the book OMG I'm so happy I've never been happier OMG time to freak the heck out and flail around my room!
• Receives ARC: OMG IT SO PRETTY I'M GONNA DIE. *euphoric mode* *stunned* *so happy that they like me*
• Reading time: do I really have to read it now? I mean, I really want to but... there's so many other books that have been around longer and I don't know... I need to read it soon. *feels obligated* *reads book*
• Emails publicist about my review... is unsure as to whether they'll be upset or happy about my review. This part also involves a lot of sweaty palms and quite a bit of "what if I'm being annoying and they really don't like me?"'s.
• Let the book rot. Or gather dust. Because once I have the ARC, I kind of don't know what to do with it... like, do I keep it? Burn it, throw it away, give it to some other blogger who wants to read it? WHAT DO I DO?

Well, that's where I have the most trouble. I've read it and reviewed and gave it the loving attention that it deserved, even if I ignored other books just to read it. Now... exactly what should I do with it? I've toyed with the idea of giving them to the librarians' at my local library, but I haven't done that. Of course, if I like it, it receives a semi-permanent place on my shelves... but for whatever reason I always feel kind of guilty about that.

I mean, I might have bought that book with my own money had I not received an ARC. Should I buy a hardcover/paperback anyway? I toy with replacing all of my ARC's with finished copies all the time. They simply don't match the other books if I choose to continue a series (which personally kills me!) and they just don't last very long...

So. If I do happen to replace them (has yet to happen, but since I've started reading more E-ARC's, I'm having to replace them if I want to re-read them - not gonna lie, I actually love that, because it gives me options); if I didn't like the book, I just delete and I never have to see it again! If I loved it, I can buy a nice, new, shiny book whenever I feel like it and not feel guilty for wasting money on a book that I already (technically) have.

But I still haven't really answered myself - what do I do with those ARC's that I don't like? I'm not even sure if there's really options. It seems sacrilege to throw them away (I had to do that once with a ruined book, and I still almost cried), but like... there's nothing else to do with them. I guess that I could trade them, but once finished copies are available... that's what everyone wants, and what everyone should honestly be reading. Less editorial mistakes and all that jazz.

So, that kind of rules out trading (although I could still try!) as an option. Next option - Donate them to ARCycling. I've done this once or twice, but I kind of think that recently... well, "bigger" bloggers have been taking advantage of this program. That's why I dropped out, because I felt that I was taking opportunities from others by being a part of it. I might still donate, though!

Next - a big giveaway. Potentially a good idea, but at the point the books I've got have been out for a while, I'd kind of like to give away finished copies for giveaways. That way you'll never have to second-guess the editing or how long your book is going to last.

Essentially, this is what makes me question the fact that I even want them - I mean, is it really that big of a status symbol? Does it matter? Everyone has access to netgalley and it's oh-so-easy. It personally makes me feel less guilty about ARC's, and I can go kind of trigger happy with it. (I'm working on that. I'm doing okay so far!)

What are your views on this subject, and your "reactions" to ARC's? I just don't know what to do with mine - do you?

A Call for More Diversity

*Post inspired by #RBWL

If you guys haven't noticed, recently I've been broadening my horizons - reading more books from different genres, like Adult murder mysteries and historical, and middle grade fantasy and paranormal. I even read New adult! And suddenly, well, I've kind of started to wonder what happened to the diversity of YA? I can pretty much point to two "leading genres" in YA fiction.

Contemporary and Paranormal.

Those are our "big genres", the draw of YA. And don't forget the romance - there just is no story if there isn't romance in YA! So... when did we become so mainstream? When did almost every book become something that everyone has seen before?

It's like making your book YA is easy - put your character in high school, and give them romance. Nothing to see here, folks!

What I want, suddenly, is more diverse stories. I want to see interracial couples get together and not be shunned. I want to see more books about third-world countries and the problems there. I want to see more epic fantasy set in the desert, or underwater, and in the past. I want to see a main character that shops for groceries and uses food stamps. I want to see more pop-culture references, so I can remember what it was like to live in that time, or create an image of what it was like. And not fake pop-culture references, I want to see real ones - songs and movies and books that I could listen to or see or read if I wanted to.

I want to see more non-white characters in YA, and I want to see lots more historical and mysteries. I want to see American Indian historical, and more books about sports and drugs. I want to read one book where the society is entirely female. I want to read more fairytale dystopians, like Marissa Meyer's Cinder. I want to read a book where the bad guy wins the girl, and he's truly despicable but you can't help but love him.

I want to see more mythology books - all based in different countries, because every Greek or Norse mythology I read is based in America. I want to read more books based in China or Europe or Africa. I want to read about more normal homeschooled kids, and I want to read about book bloggers. I want to read a book written entirely in conversational text messages.

I want... I want everything. I want to read books about teens who aren't bad kids, and I want to read more books about kids who are in juvenile detention. I want to read about sexually transmitted diseases, like in Life After Now by Jessica Verdi, and Ten Things We Did by Sarah Mlynowski. I want to read about teen parents, and I want to read about kids who helped their parents build a house - because for about a year that was my life, and there is nothing more satisfying than living in a house that your family built with their hands. I want to read about female (and male) mechanics, and kids who don't wanna go to college. I want to read about dreamers and believers and the kids that no one understands. I want to read about country kids - and not the high class partiers that you've heard about, but the kids who go camping and four-wheeling and live miles away from the nearest stores. I want.... I want. I just want more creativity.

So... tell me. Do you feel like there should be more diversity in YA? There are so many ideas that were tossed around at the #RBWL that were fantastic. Books that I just might love, and would love to see done. And yet, none of them really happen. We love are tropes, that's for sure - but don't you think it's time to expand?

Do you want to see any of these ideas done, or do you have recommendations? Do you feel like YA is becoming cliched? Are you branching out, just like I am, in search of new material?

The Morals of a Pirate

Piracy is a recent hot topic around the blogosphere - I've seen several recent cases of it, from Susan Dennard's sarcastic letter to a book pirater, to Lauren DeStefano's recent twitter conversation with a man  who is illegally redistributing her books.

This is personally upsetting to me.

An author should have no reason to tell someone that they're illegally reading their books. There shouldn't be readers complaining that books cost too much, or that it takes too long to illegally download it. There's no reason for that. Book lovers should just love books - without illegal downloading having to be involved.

Piracy is an issue that many authors are dealing with every day. And now, lets say that you're a pirater. (pirater? pirateer? piracist?) I don't know what your reasons are. I'm not going to assume that you know what you're doing is wrong, because we all make mistakes, and obviously it doesn't make you a bad person. For all I know, you use it like a personal library - read, delete, buy it if you liked it. I don't know. I can't hold it against you. Hopefully you realize the error of your ways soon, though.

But seriously, stop this piracy - support the authors. You love their work, why not let them know by actually buying their books? Helping them pay their bills? In the words of Paula Stokes,

If 10,000 kids pirate your book, no one gets paid and maybe no one knows your book was popular. If 10,000 kids check your book out of the library, librarians notice and they order more copies, or they order your next book, or they read and nominate your book for awards, or they invite you to come speak, or they tell other librarians about your book, or they recommend your book to teens, who then maybe buy your next book or recommend it to more teens. Librarians can be incredibly powerful allies for authors, if you let them.

So, what if you illegally downloaded their book? And you really loved it. You're dying for the sequel to come out, so you can pirate it as well. But...the series gets discontinued. You never find out what happened, because the first book didn't sell enough copies. You contributed to that, however indirectly. You hurt the author. You hurt the series. And you'll never know what happens.

Think about that next time you try to get a "freebie". Remember, pirates had bad hygiene - and few friends.

Edit: I would like to state the fact that my opinion on this has changed since I've become a blogger. Before then, I really didn't think it mattered. By becoming a blogger, it's made me realize the effect that simple things like this have on people. Just thought about this, after I posted the post.
 

Do Other Readers' Opinions Influence Yours?

Honestly, I think that everyone's opinion influences someone else's. If you read a book and review it, chances are high that if five people read your review then read the book, three of those five people will agree with you. For instance, when I read a book with a buddy, I feel like my opinion (and theirs) influences us all greatly - and if we talk it out, it becomes our opinion too.

We're like this big mass mind of book reviews. Now, this is no way meant to be offensive, but all of the beloved books of the world - did you hear about them from a rave review? Did you ever wonder if maybe possibly... I don't know. Their review influenced yours, and suddenly it's like a big hive mind?

Maybe if you hadn't read that particular review (or any review of that book) before you started it, you would have formed really good, uninfluenced thoughts about it. But... I always kind of wonder if every review you read taints your perception of that book. That maybe subconsciously, we didn't really love that book - we only liked it, but because every one else loved it, we were tricked into thinking that we loved it too.

But that could also go vice versa. If you read a LOT of reviews, both good and bad, for each book that you read, does that mean that NONE of their thoughts influence you, just like if you'd never read a review of it in the first place? It's such a hard call. Personally, if I know that I'm going to read a book soon, I avoid pretty much all reviews of it. Personal preference and all that. But do you think that other peoples' thoughts and opinions influence yours? Discuss!

Hush, Hush Discussion

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Series: Hush, Hush, #1
Source: Gifted
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: October 13, 2009

A SACRED OATH
A FALLEN ANGEL
A FORBIDDEN LOVE

Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.

Nitzan's Rating:

*Spoilers Abound!*

If you've noticed, there's no "My Thoughts" banner for this - and I'm going to tell you why. Because today is special! Recently, Nitzan from Drugs Called Books read Hush, Hush. And she hated it. She can wax some poetic ranting about this one, that's for sure. But I remembered this one from my pre-blogging years (oh, the joys of nostalgia), so we started to talk about it. I defended certain things that she didn't like, and it's basically become this big inside joke - she finally basically dared me to re-read it. And I did, so now we're going to discuss it! (Say hi, girly!)

Nitzan: Hi girly! Oops, that's not what you meant, is it? 
Hi guys, my name is Nitzan, but don't try to pronounce that. Seriously, you're not going to get that right. Like Megan, I'm a book blogger, And I... suck at these introduction thingys. What do I say? I like chocolate. But that's irrelevant.
This is my first time doing something like this, and I can already tell I'm going to have tons of fun! Let the ranting discussing begin! 

Megan: You know that's not what I meant! -_- Really? Did I get it wrong? Now you got me thinking about how I probably pronounce your name wrong... why you do that?! I like chocolate too... can I have some? Oh, yeah. The discussion thingy. That's what we're supposed to be doing. So I guess I'll start!

You already know that I still liked Hush, Hush, even though you've told me repeatedly that Patch would be bad for me - or anyone. But let's not go that direction.... for very long. I'm going to start with Patch anyway, because I know that's who you're really dying to talk about!

(Don't ask me why I like this book. It's nostalgia, because everything I noted was something that bothered/upset me, except for in a few instances, and yet I still felt love for this book.)

My initial impression (this time) was that Patch is a tremendous douche. It first hit me when he was talking to the teacher in front of the class - and he points out that Nora is toying with her hair, and that means that she must like him. He called her out. In front of everyone. What. A. Jerk. But then... I got over that remarkably quickly. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!

Nitzan: LOL, don't worry Mags, pronouncing my name correctly is practically impossible in English; the language lacks one of the sounds from my name. If it makes you feel any better, I like how you say it :)

As for Patch... sorry, I do NOT know what is wrong with you. I hated, hated, hated that boy. Or whatever he is - considering he's centuries old. And people think Edward's a pedophile... but, I liked Edward. At least he was charming. Patch is about as charming as a bucket of worms. *shudder*

Seriously, the guy does too many bad things to be a good romantic interest--or any romantic interest for that matter-- in my eyes. It would be one thing if he acted like this once in a while... BUT IT'S ALL HE EVER DOES! Not to mention he's got a liking to pushing Nora against walls. Don't know about you, but that's not my dream boyfriend. And I would never, ever want to go with Patch to an amusement park. Just saying. 

By the way, PATCH IS NOT EVEN HIS REAL NAME! or at least, his friend says they nicknamed him "Patch" because they used to patch him up. Whether that's his real heavenly name or not, what the heck is wrong with Nora for not asking any questions relating his real name after that?! 

Megan: That actually does make me feel better. Thank you! :)

GAH again with the nickname thing - I don't know! I didn't question it when I was reading, although I do wonder what his real name is now that you've brought it up. Again. LOL. I don't actually mind the pushing against walls thing in general, but... I don't like it when she tries to get away (think hotel room) and he totally blocks her in and won't let her go - that's kind of scary. You think that you're a tough girl (trust me, I think I'm tough), but I've been in a joking situation like this (where I was trying to take a swing at a certain boy) and he held me back. I couldn't get to him, no matter how hard I tried. So the idea of being held against my will terrifies me. I will not lie, that part totally freaked me out.

That's what makes the idea of rape culture so terrifying - because so often we hear that she must have wanted it, because she didn't fight. But most men are stronger than women... trust me on this. (THIS HAS GONE COMPLETELY OFF-TRACK.) *back on track*

But the awkward part of the hotel room scene was that she was trying to get away from him after she caressed his wing scars. I realize that she saw a terrifying vision (and I have things to say about that), but why doesn't she even try to talk to him? I have to say something about Nora, though... why is it that she never questions anything? She should question Patch when he tells her that he can't control what she sees when she touches his scars - because, hello, he can make you think whatever he wants! That just screams red flag. She never once questions that Dabria Greene must be a good angel... even if she snuck out of Heaven. And why does Patch do everything in his power to make what she said true? "You're going to kill Nora Grey." "Okay, sweetie shorts. I'll do my best to make that happen, with a roller coaster and a knife and other stuff." (So, yes, I totally agree about going to amusement parks with Patch. That won't be happening, thank you very much. Let us avoid knives as well.)

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO THINKS THAT IS RIDICULOUS. Why would you try to make something like that true? (Phew, I can tell that this is going to be a long post.)

Nitzan: Oh, I don't mind pushing against the wall if she wants and agrees to it (I mean, check out some of the NA genre. It can be quite... *ahem* nice). But she doesn't. If he wasn't incapable of physically feeling, I think the next step would have been actual rape. He doesn't seem to care or feel enough for it to bother him. And yeah... rape culture is a frightening thing. And I agree, we're sidetracking into serious and meaningful conversation - THAT'S NOT WHAT THE READERS CAME HERE FOR! lol - joke. Trying to lighten the mood and all that jazz! 

By the point we got to the whole "I can't control what you see" shit I just didn't freaking care enough to mind her lack of questioning. I mean, she never questions any of Vee's god damn awful plans/ideas. I was not surprised that she just believed him. I have said this once, and I will say it again - Nora is the stupidest "smart person" I've ever read of. She feels threatens - she calls the person who she believes stalks her and possibly have attacked her. I rest my case.

And... yeah. That is utterly ridiculous. Not to mention that apparently he has loved Nora way before he ever talked to her. So by the point all this is happening, there is absolutely no reason for him to try to hurt her. And yet he does, repeatedly. But I never believed he really loved her to begin with. When you love someone, you care and worry for them. You don't try to scare them to death, and if you hear they're being stalked and attacked? You try to do something about it. But he never did. He didn't even acknowledge the fact she has a stalker. That's not love. Or I sure hope as hell it isn't. 

Megan: Haha, I was referencing the NA genre too! LOL.Gah. This conversation is taking an odd turn - but I think it's sweet when he says things like "I feel it in my heart"; although I do not think that rape culture is sweet, nor do I want any such thing to ever happen to anyone I know. Stalking is terrible - and yes, if it was happening to someone I knew... I'd want to stop it.

Which brings me to Vee. I'm really starting to see your point with her - I was totally talking to her in all of my notes, telling her that she was an idiot and why didn't she care for her friend and did she really think that was okay. Case in point - when Elliot comes to Nora's house drunk and physically threatens her (I'm feeling the need to state that it was oddly similar to the Patch + wall scene), Vee says "he was just drunk. Everyone does stupid things when they're drunk, he wouldn't hurt a fly" (that's paraphrased, but you get the point). In all honesty, yes, drinking does make people do things that they normally wouldn't.

But it also makes people weirdly honest and more up front about what they're feeling. He wanted to hurt Nora, so he did. I had an awkward moment with a drunk guy once, and although he didn't remember it, I'm sure that he said what he was thinking at the moment. (He was made to apologize. Aren't Southern folks great? ;)) Liquor makes peoples' tongues (and hands and minds) slippery.

Let's get back to Vee, though. If you knew that your best friend had been physically threatened, wouldn't you try to keep her away from that boy, even if she wanted to be around him? And Nora didn't want to be around him! So what is even the point, Vee? So you can make a play at the clearly disinterested boy that he hangs out with?

That seems terrible. Lets not even mention the ill-fated camping trip. What makes you want to go camping, out in the middle of the woods with two guys you barely know, alone? It would be different if you knew and trusted them. Not to mention the fact that it was Spring Break - you don't think that Elliot isn't going to get drunk and violent on Spring Break? Why are you so trusting? (Nora is pretty trusting as well, but we'll talk about that later.) You went to a party without your best friend, then called her to come pick you up? REALLY?! Don't even get me started on the fact that you would rather give your car to your best friend than drive her home in the fog. BUT when she asks to borrow your car, you tell her no. You give her an ultimatum. That doesn't actually sound like a good idea to me. You call her out (when she's trying to get out of a sticky situation), and you think you have a sense of humor... but Vee... you're really not that funny. Your comment about "watered-down-porn" almost made me puke. It was not funny, nor was it smart.

Also, if you meet someone - whom you go to school with - in the library, that does not mean that they're stalking you. If you think he's a stalker, why do you want Nora to date him, then tell her to stay away from him, he's totally creepy? THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. WHY ARE YOU SO STUPID? You abandon Nora constantly, and I don't think that you're a good person. This has been a meaningful rant, Vee, but I must now let Nitzan take over.

Nitzan: Please, don't get me started on Vee. I swear reading of that girl traumatized me. You can testify to that, Mags. She is the worst friend I have ever had the displeasure of reading about; she's self centered, ignorant, obnoxious, and I spent most of the book telling her to shut up or I'll kill her. Who needs enemies when you've got her? My only regret is that none of her stupid, careless, self absorbed plans killed her. Especially considering she came awfully close. 

I am also pretty angry with Nora for accepting this behavior. I don't recall Nora ever feeling really hurt, or really fighting against what Vee did. It was all okay; even when she told her she thinks her stalker is there, and Vee proceeded to make the brilliant plan of switching cloths, Nora pointed out he might be armed... then went with it. Vee calls Nora out? Oh, okay. A little annoying, but whateves. Vee protects the drunk guy who tried to hurt you? all forgotten. Vee wants to go camping with them? You say "no way", but you don't really comment on the stupidity. I mean, has she been with Vee so long she doesn't even recognize what an awful human being she is?! Why doesn't she never call her sorry ass on it? or better you - just dump it all together and find a best friend someone can actually stand?!

But that's all I'm going to say about this creature. Because any more than this and I might go search for the potion that will enable me to go into books and proceed into methodically ridding the book world of this monster. Jeez, I'm morbid. Part of my charm?

Megan: Well, fine then. We won't talk about Vee. ;P It is part of your charm - I'm glad that you recognize that! I support your plan to hunt her down.

I thought it was odd that Nora let Vee impersonate her as well. You're being stalked, what do you do? You obviously send your pitbull like friend after your stalker. That sounds like a totally good idea. And from the descriptions of Vee and Nora at the beginning of the book.... a jacket wasn't going to automatically make them think it was Nora. I mean, really. Since when does "curvy", "blonde" and "six foot tall" sound the same as "dark haired", "average height" and "skinny"?

Average height is about 5'6 for a girl, I believe, and Vee's supposed to be somewhere around 5'10 or 5'11. It's obvious when you see someone that tall... they're tall. So that plan was ridiculous to start with! Oh, sorry... I'm talking about Vee.

I'll move to something else. Your alternate favorite character, Patch! *teases* I think that Patch is so cheeky sometimes - I really think that it's adorable! But I remember that you read City of Glass recently? I think of Patch like I think of Sebastian, except I like Patch, and Sebastian just gives me the heebie jeebies. Patch is so mysterious and interesting... but Sebastian freaks me out.

I think that my thing with Patch is that he says some really swoony things sometimes. "I feel it in my heart" etc. My book relationship with him is complicated. I'm constantly back and forth between "I like him" and "he is such a douchebag". I also thought that some of the "romantic" scenes between Patch and Nora were awesome... but when she's scared of him, that freaks me out. It's just a really awkward relationship that I have with this book. I'm so back and forth.

I have to talk about something near the end that relates to Patch and Nora now. The fact that Nora allows Patch to possess her, even just to protect... gives me the shudders something awful. You know how I feel about possession books, and this is right up there with that. The entire idea is so scary. And creepy. I just... can't talk about this! Ugh.

Nitzan: Glad you approve Mags <3 

*snort* Yes, I just love him *dry tone*. In fact, I love him so much that I am going to methodically ignore everything you just said about him and pretend I didn't read it, because for me at least there was absolutely nothing swoon worthy about him. Say I believed some of his "romantic" lines, well, then it might have been better. But I simply don't. We already establish that I don't believe for a minute that he loves her; he constantly forces himself on her, seems to have no regards to her or her well being, says at least one obnoxious thing per page... I quite honestly can't even recall one scene I thought he was decent in. Seriously.

So, let's focus on the end, instead... if you remember, I skipped this bit in my "review" rant because I couldn't face it at the moment. There are just so many things wrong with it. For starters, the whole letting him into her head. Yes, that is way creepy. Possession is bad enough without you basically letting the evil spirit do it (or fallen angel), you know? Plus, in general, how can you love a person who possess you? How do you ever know it's real (WHICH I DON'T BELIEVE IT IS!)

Then, there was the fact Nora practically sacrifices herself for Patch. Why, for god's sake, did she do that? She was sure he was stalking her for 90% of the book - he was just THAT creepy with her. Then, she also hated the things he said to her most of the time. They didn't have a good, honest to god conversation the entire book. Not one. She doesn't know a single personal thing about him - favorite color, how does he like his coffee, favorite food, whatever. Nothing. She can't, under any circumstances, say she knows this person, who HAS TRIED TO KILL HER BEFORE, LIKE A COUPLE OF TIMES. What the F? WHAT THE F?! why would you sacrifice yourself for this person? Why would you worry about him? Why are you in love with him?! Please, just stop! tell me this is a nightmare. Tell me I didn't really read that.

*sigh* alas - I did. I have so much MORE to say about the ending, cause all this is not all that pissed me off, but I think I ought to hand the reins to Mags for a while, so she could say a few things before I go out of control :)

Megan: I'm sorry that you felt the need to ignore my comments about Patch. :P

GAH THE SACRIFICE. That bothers me too - with what's portrayed in this book, what with angels and Heaven, it's obvious that they've got a bit of a Christian background somewhere. Which I happen to be Christian, but I gotta say - if your only options are sacrifice yourself for the dark angel dude or get shot... you get shot. On one hand, you could say it was courageous... but I see that and immediately think "she committed suicide for him, what a moron". I did not like that.

I STILL like the book, though. You're not succeeding, Nitzan! :P

If you think about it, suicide was romanticized for this book. It would have been different if she had jumped in front of a bullet for him or something like that - that would be brave. But throwing yourself from the rafters of a building is just stupid. Not to mention that Patch becomes her guardian angel because he doesn't accept her sacrifice.... what. In all honesty, with the number of times that he's tried to kill her, coupled with his fall from Heaven and then getting accepted again... how does that work? How do they know that he won't kill her now that he's her guardian? THEY DON'T. So, bad call.

I still strangely like him... but as a guardian angel? *shudder*

I really think that we should talk about Nora before this is over. She seems so... innocent. And dense, lets not forget that one. I mean, she's sweet... but like Nitzan said, she's the dumbest "smart" person ever. But I must be pretty dumb too, considering that I like Patch...

The big thing that I don't like about Nora is that she is constantly talking herself out of believing the things that she's seen and felt with her own eyes. The point is, she should trust her instincts more. I am all out of notes now, Nitzan. Your turn! ;)

Nitzan: Nora is just so very stupid. You're not stupid; your only vice is liking Patch (lol) but Nora's isn't. It's being stupid, and clueless, and spineless, and pathetic, and contradictory, and on top of all that liking a guy she thinks the worst off (how does that even work!?) and seriously - WORSE researcher on this plant. Honestly, who reads one lousy article when they're searching something!? Do you have any idea how MANY angel legends are out there?! What makes her think that single, stupid (and inaccurate) page is all true? Even Bella from Twilight knew better, for heaven's sake, and that girl threw herself off a cliff, rode motorcycles and etc to get an adrenaline rash so that she would see illusions of her ex. That's a tough act to pass, but unfortunately Nora does so. Flawlessly. 

(The whole research thing is something that really irked me. Can you tell? I take my research very seriously.)

Oh, and how 'bout we talk about the subject that despite everything we (or I) said, by the end of the book Nora apparently knows Patch so well that she knows that the act of closing the door behind him is done to protect her and separate her from all the bad that happened, like keeping a barrier between them. Nice prose, girl. Now, what drugs did you take and where did you get them, because they seem like a lot of fun, making you say S like that. When, oh when, did Patch give you the impression he would do things like that? But say he would. WHEN HAVE YOU ACTUALLY GLIMPSED IT / TALKED TO HIM FOR REALS TO KNOW IT?! What did I miss?! 

I think I missed something. Maybe my edition had 60 70?80?90?600? How many pages would one need for this? Surely over 1000, if they want to convince me. Possibly more pages missing, where they go on dates and he shows her that deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep down he's a decent guy, who truly cares for her and feels apologetic about pushing her off a roller-coaster. And naturally, thorough those dates she got to know him well enough to recognize the symbolism behind him closing the freaking' door.

Yes, that's it. I think this is what happened. In fact, now that I've thought of it, I'm certain. This must be what happened.

Megan: Not gonna lie, I am suddenly very confused. (LOL, I must have read a different edition!) But Nora's research is very lacking. One article. Just one, and suddenly she's all over it. This doesn't upset me near as much as it upsets you, but if I wanna know something, really know something, I'll probably read more than one article.

I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THIS DOOR THING IS ABOUT. (Never mind. I now know what it is about, and I thought it was a metaphorical door we were talking about... turns out he literally closed the door.) I get the door thing now! But... yeah. Still actually doesn't make sense. O.O

Nitzan: Yep, just literally closed the damn door. 
I think, correct me if I'm wrong, that we covered just about everything we wanted to - Patch's doucheness, check. Vee's title as the worst best friend ever - check, Nora's stupidity - check, Romance - check... yep. 
To sum up - I hated this book. If you haven't gotten that vibe from this post, I have done my job wrong. There was nothing redeeming about any of the characters, in my eyes. But, if there is one thing I did like about this book - it's all the conversations I got out of it between me and Megan *hugs* We all know there is nothing better than a good rant, and I did that (maybe slightly too much. I might be getting somewhat annoying. I'll tune it down from now on, swear)

Any last words, Mags? (not like, before dying last words or anything. Just about the subject) 

Megan: (Jeez, I didn't know we were talking about dying here. O.O) *hugs*

I definitely think that we covered everything! BUT I LIKE IT. SO THERE. *is being immature* I don't know if you guys got the vibe from this post, but... overall, I really like this book. It's one of my favorites from before I started blogging, and it so gives me nostalgia. I love it. I think that Patch can be quite swoony (I can see Nitzan rolling her eyes right now), and that Nora is okay. Not particularly smart or anything, but okay. I have no defense for Vee, though. I hate her just as much as Nitzan does, unfortunately. I hope you guys enjoyed this discussion! :D

Scariest Tropes

Since Halloween was on Thursday, I just thought that I might share some of (what I think are) the scariest tropes. I hope you enjoy - it's kind of like reactions to every trope ever, actually! ;)

Possession: In all honesty, I just can't deal with possession books or movies. I read Bad Girls Don't Die when I was about twelve or so, and that book scared the bejeezus out of me. I shudder to even think of how I would respond to a movie with it! Ugh. *shudder*

Dolls: I can pin down the exact moment that I became afraid of dolls. We have porcelain dolls in our house. Obviously I'm not scared of those, but I was a camp counselor a year ago, for a church camp. Just so happens that one of the girls in my cabin was a severely depressed little girl. Big brown eyes, haunted and everything. She cried about very sad and philosophical stuff, that a child her age shouldn't be thinking about. I haven't even told you the worst part yet - she had a doll. A porcelain doll - one that she slept with, and dressed in different outfits. She went every where with it, and she told us all that her dead grandmother had given it to her. That doll's expression... was terrifying. And it wasn't always the same when you looked at it, I SWEAR. All of the counselors were terrified of that doll, myself included. And while this might seem like a silly thing, you weren't around this little girl. Depressed, slightly suicidal, and with the biggest haunted eyes you've ever seen. There was something wrong with that doll. This, this only, is why I'm terrified of dolls such as hers. The vibe around that thing was monstrous - it made you look over your shoulder, that's for sure. (By the way, this story is completely true. I am not making it up.)

Ghosties: I am not scared of this trope - I actually adore it! My favorite is the vengeful ghosts, such as Anna from  Anna Dressed in Blood or Naughty Jack from The Diviners. The ones who are creepy and crazy and have you looking out the windows in the dark. Love this trope!

Zombies: I'm also in love with the zombies trope! I want grisly, terrifying zombies, though. I don't want those wimpy ones that so often dominate literature. Can't even turn a doorknob. Meh. For zombie books, I prefer the ones that are full of gore. Yet, I tried watching The Walking Dead on Netflix the other day and wasn't a huge fan? It was only "okay" for me.

Insanity: I enjoy insanity too - for what it's worth. It's scary enough to keep anyone interested, and crazy enough that I usually can't figure what's going on until the very end. I am IN LOVE with the movie Shutter Island, and the Mara Dyer series does a good job with a main character who's pretty much insane.

What do you think? Do any of these tropes terrify/delight YOU?

The Perils of Being a "Feeler"

*Post inspired by Ashley @ Nosegraze.com. Image is linked to her post, and image was created by her.* I've noticed over time that I've become a much more critical reviewer. When I started out, everything was three stars, and rarely did I deem a book over or under that average. But the longer I reviewed, the more diverse I became with ratings. I'd rate a book five stars, then my next read would be two stars. There was no longer any rhyme or reason. So I've started to wonder... am I becoming too harsh? I've brought out the stats...to help me better decide whether or not I'm becoming harsh.

(If there was a half star, I just rounded it up.) {Reviews from August 1, to October 12, 2013}

2 reviews were one star
7 reviews were two star
14 reviews were three star
7 reviews were four star
0 reviews were five star

According to the stats (and stars) I'm really not that harsh. But when I think about all the bad things I think about certain "upsetting" books, I realize that I'm harsher while reading than I am in reviews, unless I really really hate the book... so. Why am I not as harsh in reviews?

Is it maybe because I don't want to hurt anyone... or is it because once I think all of those things, it's like it's out of my system and I don't have to think about it anymore? Sometimes I realize that I disliked several things about the book, and maybe even ranted about some, but when it's all said and done I didn't hate the book, and in most cases I even liked it. So I rate it an easy-peasy three stars. And sometimes when I have nothing but good things to say about a book, well, I may have nothing bad to say; but I just can't say that I loved it. Another one for the "three star" pile.

So you see, being a feeler really isn't that great! I wish that I could be all analytic and all that jazz. But at heart, all I am is a feeler and that's all I'll ever be. #Ermagerdthefeels

But how confusing is it for you, as a reader, when you see a harsh-ish review with a higher rating, or a nothing-but-good-things review with a low rating? Does it confuse you too? Because even though I do it myself, it still confuses me. Did they like the book, or did they really hate it? So, I've actually started to wonder lately if star ratings are even necessary? Don't get me wrong, I love them, but...if your review isn't matching your rating... what's the point?

How do you feel about reviews/stars/the feels? I realize that this post is kind of weird and all, but I just wanted to say all of that in just kind of a general way. LOL.

Everyone's Doing It: One Girl's Trials & Errors with Wordpress

*Post written at the end of August-- I know. I'm such a bad blogger.*

As some of you know, I recently tried out a self-hosted wordpress blog. I set up all those domain bounces and moved all my stuff-- and turns out that I really didn't like wordpress. But why not? Everyone else did... was I just some weird fluke or something? Don't get me wrong, it was okay; but only for the first few days. I missed my home here, at blogger. But part of my missing blogger was some problems that I was having with wordpress. It was impossible to get my comments imported correctly. I tried everything. Keep in mind that while I was trying to figure out the duplicate comments problem, I was also paying for hosting each month and trying to figure out what was wrong with me. (Why didn't I like it? Am I just not cut out for this stuff?)

My first problem (other than the comments) was the fact that the theme I wanted (free, yes I'm cheap) just WOULD NOT display correctly, even though I hadn't done anything to it! So, after asking around a little bit, I talked to Ashley from Nosegraze, who was so helpful and fixed my theme issues within a few minutes. I can't thank her enough for that one! (:

But anyway, back to the comments, my actual, true-blue, second problem-- I imported my comments from blogger immediately, of course. And what happened? Well, about half of them imported twice. I have yet to figure out if that was my own stupidity or a glitch in the import. So, I set ahead deleting all the duplicates-- and then, when I'm finished, I happen to go do something and come back...every single duplicate was back. I CANNOT stress to you guys how terrible that was-- I eventually just gave up, it was never going to work for me, you know? But from that point on, I got to work importing in my intense debate comments, which required the making of a site map, which took forever, and then it didn't work. They never showed up.

It imported them to the wrong place, which meant I could look at my dashboard (on disqus and wordpress) and they were there, but if I searched for them on the site they were just gone. It was an unfixable, troublesome problem. From that point on, I decided that since I couldn't figure out most of the plugins, and I missed my blogger stuff (I know, *gasp*) I was moving back. ASA-freaking-P. So I set out to do that. I started madly googling "keep your domain after move from wordpress to blogger" and other similar things and found out something sad-- my current provider, RFE Hosting, just wasn't set up for a move back to blogger. So, of course, I switched providers; which cost me another ten dollars. I decided to go with the most popular host I could find-- Go Daddy.

I put in the transfer request-- I was excited to start moving back. My payment went through, then the transfer began...or it should have. Turns out that it takes 60 days for a new domain to be old enough to move to a new host. I was SO upset. I know that this has nothing to do with any companies, but I was so upset at this point that it didn't even matter.

I got a call a few days later from a company representative, which helped a little bit with my sadness. I got another one a few weeks later asking how my domain was going. I told the man, of course, that I hadn't started the move yet. He said, "well, your domain is already here, according to my page". I told him I would check, and immediately logged on...to see that everything was just as I had left it. :/ A week later, I got an email saying my domain was finally eligible for transfer! I was ecstatic! I don't know if you guys know this, but I've been posting on my blogger for the last month, even though it wasn't going anywhere. I missed it.

So a day later, I took the redirect code out of my blogger html. Remember how excited I was earlier? Well, that died shortly afterward. I began the transfer (after working for hours on several different computers to start the transfer)...only to find out that I needed a code from my previous host, RFE Hosting, that was impossible for me to find. I spent three days looking for it, knowing that if I didn't have it within seven days, the transfer would be canceled.

I finally contacted customer support. The guy that I talked to was very nice, and told me that I would need to request the code through him-- the asked me why I wanted it. I got the code in my email the next morning. Here's the part where I was excited again-- finally I was going somewhere. But once I input that code, I got another email. "It will take up to seven days for your previous host to approve this request." Ouch. More waiting. I try to be patient, I really do, but it's just not me.

Yesterday I got an email-- your domain transfer has been approved! By this point, I was dragging butt. (Is this really worth it? I'll do it tomorrow, I'm too dang tired.) So, this morning (August 26th) I logged onto Go Daddy, blogger, and a help site. Let's just say I spent the next two hours in a constant state of horror. Again, as is tradition, I just couldn't figure it out. I picked up the phone to call support-- and got a low battery light. That killed that idea of course. What if it went out while I was talking to some poor support person?

So I ended up going to the support forum. My issue was resolved within five minutes. It was something simple that I thought had already been taken care of. But, in case you're wondering, at this point I was just about ready to die. It worked-- kind of. I set up the blogger redirect, exactly as blogger told me to. And it's sending people to the old, now null, FREAKING WORDPRESS SITE. So, of course, I set about canceling my hosting. Which there is no option for on RFE Hosting. I contacted customer support again. Asked how to cancel my hosting-- another thing you have to do through them. He canceled it and got me a partial refund-- the partial refund was unnecessary, but it was definitely nice.

Then after the hosting and the domains and things were all set up, I thought that we were going to be perfectly ready to go; that I was going to be golden. BUT. At 8:56 PM, my blog went offline for no visible reason. Then it came back up about an hour later, but only redirected to the new domain with one address-- the blogspot one. It didn't redirect "thebookbabesreads.com" or any other variation of that. To make matters worse, my RSS feed was also gone, and the previous "non-redirect" was sending people to a parked domain. If you saw that, I am terrible sorry. But I'm still here, I swear!

The next morning, I got up and tried to start sorting out my troubles again. I was successful at fixing my RSS feed, but the aforementioned domain issues were still going on. It was horrendous. After about half an hour of screwing around by myself with numerous help articles, I decided to just call support. I was on hold for about five minutes, then I talked to a lovely woman named Teresa who had it fixed in about 30 seconds. Just one tiny problem on their end, which she explained to me when I asked. Also, she called my blog cute!

I then moved on to the comment system and stayed with it for a couple of days. It never really did work out-- if you commented on my blog (at any time in the last year with intense debate, or while I was on wordpress), I'm truly sorry but your comment is gone. :/ I was unable to fix that little snag of moving back.

In conclusion: the reason I wrote this post was just for me to vent a little-- not to discourage anyone from moving to wordpress, but to just give them a solid idea of what might happen if you move and don't like it and have to move back. Not saying that anyone will go through what I've gone through...but well, you might. If you do decide to move to wordpress, I recommend researching the host you plan on using, testing out everything before really moving your entire blog/livelihood there, and for sure using a comment system that works well. I have no suggestions other than that.

GoodReads versus BookLikes

This is just a kind of "I liked this better on this, but that better on that" type post. So, here's what I really think, after these last couple of weeks! If you haven't heard, I had a very public break-up with Goodreads, which resulted in me seeking out other alternatives. BookLikes was the one that I picked. And since I started using it, I've noticed that there are some things that I like better, but there are also some things that I miss. So, without further adieu, Goodreads versus BookLikes.

What Goodreads has going for it:

• While booklikes has a more interesting interface, goodreads has more of a "clean cut" design, making it easier to explore on.

• When you search for a book, it brings up it's own page. While I like booklikes' feature of bringing it up on the home page, it's impossible to link to the individual pages on booklikes. Goodreads, however, has a link for each individual book page.

• Listopia, groups, polls, quotes and giveaways. Goodreads is a lot more popular with the "giveaway crowd". So while booklikes has giveaways, the ones on goodreads are getting a lot more entries. BUT. Booklikes does not have a listopia-like feature, groups (that I can tell) or a "quotes" page. Which saddens me, because quotes were always my favorite thing. (You can, however, share quotes on Booklikes.)

• Recommendations. I love recommendations, and booklikes just doesn't appear to have a "recommend" feature. So that cuts out a bit of my rec fun.

• You can comment on personal profiles & send personal messages. I love commenting back and forth and "talking" to people on goodreads. It's most of what I do there, other than stalking books.

• A currently reading status-- there is one on booklikes, but it's just not working for me. (It still says I'm reading a book that I've finished & updated.)

• You can sort your shelves by publication date. Booklikes doesn't have this feature. :/

What Booklikes has going for it:

• Booklikes has a more interesting interface. Where goodreads has a lot of groups and stuff going on, the home page of Booklikes is more clean cut-- reviews, book adds and giveaway entries + statuses only. I like that, because I often just got caught up in all the in-between stuff on goodreads.

• When you search for a book, it's information will pop up on the home page, which I think is awesome. The only problem with this is that I can't link to books on Booklikes because of this feature. So as awesome as it is, I wish that it was a little different.

• It's much easier to add books on Booklikes. They don't require you to be a librarian, which makes it very easy. All you have to do is add the title, author, blurb, cover and ISBN. Then you're done. I can see how it might be hard to keep track of without "librarians" though. As far as I can tell, it's impossible to edit a book after you add it, though.

• HALF STARS HALF STARS OMG HALF STARS! If you can't tell, their "rating system" has a half stars selection! Yay! (Remember, goodreads doesn't have half stars.)

• Full reviews are displayed on the home page-- no "read more" button!

• They have a daily deals page! They display a lot of discounts and deals from Amazon on this page, which I think it really awesome! (:

• The shelves look very pretty, and I like the "personal blog" feature. I think it's cool that you could start your own "blog" on a book social media site! (You can also add personal links to the sidebar of your "blog"!)

• Exclusive book statuses (you create them, they don't come with booklikes) such as DNF, Re-read or whatever! :D

• They have a yearly reading challenge as well!

• Last, but not least-- if you do decide to switch to booklikes, they have a "publish to goodreads" setting, so each review you publish on booklikes will go to goodreads, for those of you afraid of losing goodreads followers. (:

So honestly, in conclusion, I can say that there are lots more things that I like about BookLikes, but there are many things that I miss about Goodreads. What do you say, folks? Do you have an opinion?

Goodreads, We are NO Longer Friends

Normally, as today is Wednesday (if I had scheduled it) there would have been a wonderful, drool worthy Waiting on Wednesday up. But today is a special day-- know this, my friends. I am going through an ugly, horrendous breakup. With the book social media site, "for readers" formerly known as Goodreads.

The reason why we're breaking up? Well...Goodreads announced a new plan last Friday. A plan to make "authors" and not readers happy. About how they're going to start censoring us and deleting reviews and shelves that they feel are "about the author". To make matters worse, they're not deleting "favorable about the author" type reviews, only unfavorable. That's a total double standard. Honestly, who holds the gavel on this one? I'd like to have a nice long, proper chewing out with them.

Now, to better explain, here's a link (and lowdown) on their new policy. To make matters worse, NO ONE KNOWS, unless you're a member of the Goodreads Feedback group. Which honestly, I'm not. Before this week, I would have had nothing but good feedback on them-- but that's changed. The ONLY reason I found out is because a good friend of mine, Sarah from Book-A-Holic, commented to ask me if I knew about the recent drama.

The recent drama being that Goodreads, a formerly awesome book social media site has taken freedom of speech into their own hands. And they're not being subtle about it. One commenter on the forum remarked that she has had NINETY REVIEWS deleted WITHOUT prior notice-- she got an email after they were mass deleted telling her the news. Since then "that policy has been changed" but I think it stands to reason that this user deserves a formal apology. THIS IS RIDICULOUS. Suddenly, not only has goodreads become a place for the "STGRB" (which BTW, loved GR's new changes) but it's also become a site that is quickly losing it's mass following.

I feel like this entire crock of shit will never end in the book community-- because this new "policy" popped up soon after all of that stink with that one gal author who "decided not to publish" after being assaulted by "the goodreads bullies". She brought up allegations against reviewers who reviewed ARC's of her book, saying that they couldn't possibly have read it, took shelf names as personal threats, tweeted immaturely and otherwise made a fool of herself... you can read about that here.

That, not to mention the MANY author/blogger/reviewer scandals over the past few years, was a huge pile of bullshit from the very beginning. So, why exactly is Goodreads giving in? Why are they receiving so much flack for something that shouldn't be an issue (hello, freedom of speech)? I have freedom of speech, so do you, why on earth would you ever want to censor that? It's a simple question with a complicated answer; because it makes the people we want to please happy.

That's all it is. A freaking huge pile of reviews and "due-to-author" shelves are being deleted as we speak-- and I just don't stand for that. I don't care how downright rude and f***ing mean you are to me, I have a right to dislike you or like you and a right to tell you-- and I'll be honest. Not only is Goodreads censoring readers' thoughts, they're censoring author rights too. Suddenly authors aren't allowed to comment on reviews of their books-- not even to thank people... because it's not Goodreads/socially acceptable.

A simple author interaction. A thank you. That's an absolutely capital offense. DOWN WITH THE CAPITOL! I never thought that Goodreads and I would be having such a public breakup, but... for all intents and purposes, it is what is. This is why we aren't friends anymore-- bad politics.

I feel such outrage-- I'm proud of every single ounce of sweat or brain matter I've put into my reviews, and although I'm positive at least one has offended at least one person, they're my personal thoughts and my right as a human to express them. I don't stand for being censored, and although I'm keeping my Goodreads on the off chance that they straighten out, I won't be on as often. I'm looking at booklikes, which I'm hoping will turn out to be awesome in time. But one last thing-- I'm so disappointed in Goodreads. They were a site built on readers, and now they're catering to a different crowd. I'll miss you, Goodreads. Honestly. But we aren't friends anymore.

When is Promotion *TOO* much?

This is a subject that Lizzy from Read-a-HolicZ brought up. Hence, she's totally joining me for this topic! YAY FOR LIZZY! You'll find her take below mine. (:

First off, if it wasn't for her I wouldn't know about this case; but it turns out that the Divergent tumblr fan pages have been using the same campaign for everything from their cover reveal to the faction symbols. They're making people like the tumblr pages. o.O You'd think that by now, everyone would be tired of doing it (and believe me, they are), but they keep using the same strategy.

To make matters worse, the faction symbols are exactly the same as before, only in a new color. How lame is that? Lame enough that I just said lame. But her bringing this up made me think of another instance of promotion gone wrong. (Dun dun dah...)

The Marcus Finch campaign.

I'm sure we all remember when that was happening. The endless mob of posts about it, and to this day I still have no idea who Marcus Finch even is! I don't have a clue, because as I was being mobbed by those posts, I avoided every one of them. Nothing against any blogger who participated, but I didn't care who Marcus Finch was.

If I had only seen one or two posts about it, I might of cared. But after the barrage, I had no interest.

Which begs the question...how much is too much? Marcus Finch was too much. The DIVERGENT thing is too much. But I've also seen plenty of campaigns with way too little. Plenty of books that get passed by because no one ever hears about them. So there's too little campaign and then there's too much. The line between them isn't too fine.

But are blog tours too much? Sometimes I see the same blog tour/promo blast on a bazillion blogs in the same day. And I don't want to look at them either, unless I know for sure that it's a review and not just a regurgitated guest post. I'll read it if I'm interested in the book and love the blogger, but if I'm not I will not click it.

So, when has promoting gone too far in your opinion? Do you remember the Marcus Finch campaign? Let me know in the comments below! (:

Hey Everyone! As Megan has already stated there is such a thing as TOO much promotion. I get that you have to promote books to a certain level or no ones going to know about them or read them. Believe me I was okay with the Insurgent campaign but there was just SO much that went on, I didn't know what was happening. Then I saw they were doing the "new" faction symbols and went to twitter.

@mvthebookbabe RIGHT?! I honestly don't know why make a big fuss, just give the fans the symbols and not make them work so much.
— Lizzy(Read-A-holicZ) (@ReadAholicZ) May 23, 2013

I really don't know why the BIG fuss. Yes, it's nice to include fans into aspects of promotion but at times I feel it's too much for just one book (no matter how awesome it is). I remember the Marcus Finch campaign too and I hadn't even read the 2nd or third book in the series and was thoroughly confused. It was so much hype for someone I hadn't read about.

I feel like when one book is getting promoted too much I'm less likely to be interested in it. It's like they take up so much of the cyberspace that when a small book campaign comes up, you tend to miss it because the bigger campaign takes all the attention.

I know that promoting a book can be fun and all but when a book is already pretty big and well known, you can't promote it too much. It starts to feel smothering. Right now theres the whole #AllegiantTour promotion thing to bring the tour to your state. Nice but isn't a tour going to go to most places already? And it's not going to your city , it's your state.

I don't know. Maybe I'm just weird but it feels like you're trying too hard to put a book into a readers hand when you do too much promoting. It might even do the opposite and push readers away. Which is definitely not good O_O

So that's my two cents. Thanks Megan for letting me stick my head in here :) And I really wanna hear what YOU GUYS think of too much promotion. How many of you are in on the #AllegianTour campaign right now? (I am, I know it's too much promo but I can't help it! >.< I am die-hard fan too :P)

What I think about *Book Hauls*

To be honest, I'm a HUGE fan of book hauls. I love seeing what all my blogger buddies (and idols!) got in their mailboxes. I love drooling over them, and even though sometimes I get crazy jealous and wish I had that book, I still love them.

But I've noticed lately that a bunch of people don't. They think it's "gloating" or "bragging", and I disagree. It's just a way of sharing your excitement over books that you got! That's all I think it is. Sometimes, maybe we're gloating. That's usually not how it goes, though. Usually it's just GENUINE excitement.

Recently I've quit doing them because I got a little flack about it, and because it just doesn't fit into my schedule anymore. I just don't have the time to take pictures of my books, and then link them all up on goodreads. I just can't, and I LURVE surprising y'all with what I'm reading! It's so nice to be able to just put my books up on the shelf when I get them. Those are my reasons for quitting the book hauls-- lack of time.

Sometimes I miss doing it, but I'm mostly at peace with my decision. I'm just curious as to why some people don't like them, though. I'd love some opinions!