Thursday, May 3, 2012

Feature and Follow Friday #95

Welcome to the Feature & Follow


Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.

Our Feature -The Housework Can Wait


Hey there! My name is Lauren and I'm a stay-at-home/work-at-home mom for two little girls/walking, talking balls of energy. I spend a large portion of time just waiting for one of them to spontaneously combust. It really wouldn't be surprising.

I started my blog because I love to read (when I can squeeze it in around work and my various Mommy duties) and I always want to talk about the books I read after I finish them. The problem is that most of my friends don't read what I read. And those that do, don't want to drop their work/Mommy duties at my every whim to talk about the books I read. Blogging is the perfect outlet for me to get all my words out of my brain and out into the world. And the best part is, I've ""met"" other people who like the same kind of stuff I do! Huzzah!

My favorite books include Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, the Farseer/Liveship/Tawny Man trilogies by Robin Hobb, the Ender/Shadow series by Orson Scott Card, and The Princess Bride by William Goldman. Right now I'm trying to finish Glitch by Heather Anastasiu, but it's proving difficult since it's on my iPad and my 3-year-old keeps stealing it to do puzzle apps. So I'm getting ready to start The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen.

Q: What is one thing you wish you could tell your favorite author?

I would love to tell Ann M. Martin what a difference the Babysitters Club books made in my life. I picked up my first one in second grade and went from a semi-enthusiastic reader to an obsessed bookworm who scrambled to get my hands on any book I could find. Just shows that one book can turn on the switch.

Otherwise, there's not a lot I would like to say to others. Instead, I would like to hang out with them and learn from them. I'd like to interrogate JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer about the wizardry and vampire world building in their series. I'd love to trap Stephanie Perkins and Sarah Dessen in a room and not let them out until they reveal all their secrets about writing great contemporary teen novels.




Now for the Follow Fun!


With GFC going the way of the dodo bird for many bloggers, there is no better time to start following blogs via RSS feed. If you use a reader, it would be great if you followed my RSS directly.


We have a new button, so update your blogs if you are used to doing this meme!

Gain New Blog Followers





<a href="http://parajunkee.com/category/ff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4710921228_e3140444bf_o.png" /></a>

RULES

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:
  1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
  2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
  3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
  4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
  5. If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn't have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
  6. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
  7. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
  8. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

CAPTCHA:

If you have CAPTCHA word verification enabled on your blog, please take it off. It makes it much more difficult for readers to comment. Please look at my CAPTCHA Eradication Post to learn how to get rid of it.

Happy Follow Friday! Come back at midnight CST for the Facebook & Twitter hop!!  

67 comments:

  1. I loved the Babysitter's club book when I was growing up. :) Happy FF!

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  2. LOL, your answer is so much more thoughtful than mine!

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  3. Haha, your answer cracked me up! I read Ann M Martin's A Corner of the Universe, and it was so completely sad that I just started crying at the end! And I agree, Stephanie Perkins has a GIFT when it comes to contemporary romance! :)

    Eileen @ ***Singing and Reading in the Rain
    My Follow Friday

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  4. I loved the BabySitters Club books as a child too!

    They were a favorite. I really liked the Little Sisters series.


    DT from Dead Trees and Silver Screens

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  5. Nice answers! I'd definitely have to agree with Stephanie Perkins/Meyers. And who could forget J.K. Rowling? Ann M. Martin was also one of the first authors I started reading obsessively too. Happy Friday.

    Here's my answer: http://dream-wish-live.blogspot.com/2012/05/follow-friday.html

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  6. Great post!! I also want to try to talk to Stephanie Perkins :D

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  7. Great answer! I love all of those authors. For me, it was Carolyn Keene, author of the Nancy drew books. I loved those books!

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  8. haha great answer! I want to learn how to write as amazingly as some of those authors as well.

    My FF

    Ning @ Reading by Kindle Fire

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  9. I don't think I ever read one of the BabySitters Club books. I think I've been deprived ;)

    It's great to think about the ones that got us hooked on reading!

    Anna@ Herding Cats & Burning Soup

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  10. Old follower...liked the babysitters club ok, but was soon obsessed with Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie.
    Our FF stop!

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  11. The Babysitters' Club!! Those books changed my life, I swear. I started my own BSC!

    I'd love to corner J.K. Rowling as well. That would be beyond epic.

    My FF

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  12. I simply adore Sarah Dessen and Stephanie Perkins as well! J.K. Rowling made it to my FF post as well. :) Happy Friday!

    Sarah,
    Here's my FF post!

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  13. Hi! This is my first Feature and Follow! I'm looking forward to meeting lots of new bloggers! :)

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  14. I don't think I know this author but it sounds like a nice choice!

    here is mine

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  15. I totally also read the babysitters club. Didnt they even have a short lived TV show? Great pick!



    -Amanda P
    Paranormal Romance
    Books, Shopping & Rock N' Roll

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  16. That's a nice answer. I bet she'd like to know that!

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  17. This is a very interesting question...When I would meet Karen Marie Moning I would tell her that she stole hours of my life when I was busy obsessing over Barrons and her books.
    And.. I would tell Mrs Meyers that I'm sadly disapointed she never published Midnight Sun NOR a spin off series with Jake and Renesmee!

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  18. Isn't it amazing that one book can turn you into an avid reader? I remember getting lost in Little House in the Prairie books. I have always loved reading, it seems!

    Here is my answer! Stop by when you have a chance!

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  19. woohoo, gotta love the babysitters club. Thanks for stopping by.

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  20. I read a lot of Babysitter's Club growing up as well! I still think I might have a stack of them in my parents' basement somewhere...lol.

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  21. I wasn't into the Babysitter's Club (I was a Sweet Valley Twins girl), but Ann M. Martin's Stage Fright was one of my favorite childhood reads. It was such a great book!

    Our first FF post

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  22. Interrogating JK Rowling. Nice choice :)
    Hopping Through, old follower! Have a great weekend Alison!

    ~aspen
    http://inner-aspen.blogspot.com

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  23. Heh! I totally see where you're coming from, though I don't think I'd go to Stephenie Meyer at all. For a vamp world... Julie Kagawa is a much better reference point ;)

    Here's my Follow Friday

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  24. Meep! If you actually manage to trap Stephanie Perkins and Sarah Dessen in a room can I come?? I'll bring cookies!!

    Also, you just made me really nostalgic for the Babysitter's Club. I used to own dozens upon dozens of those. I wonder what happened to them....

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  25. Thanks for stopping by, Alison! I loved The Babysitter's CLub when I was in elementary school, too!

    Adrian Phoenix is a UF author that writes primarily two series - the conflicted, dark and sometimes confusing (although I love it) Maker's Song series, and the Louisiana Bayou-flavored magic and mambo series, Hoodoo.

    Happy Friday!

    Jamie@Addicted2Heroines

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  26. Loved the BSC when I was a kid. (I still have the first fifty or so books from the series.) Excellent post!

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  27. Nice picks! Classics and new faves!

    Here's my Friday Hops

    Have a GREAT weekend!

    Old Follower :)

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  28. This is my first week of participating in F&F! I loved this question!

    Off to follow some people now :)

    Colletta

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  29. Love your answer! Hopping through and returning the blog love!

    Have a great Friday!

    Valerie @ Intriguing Reads

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  30. I had a similar experience when I met Sarah Dessen. I wanted our meeting to linger, but then I snapped out of it and gave the person behind me a turn. LOL.

    ♥JJ iReads♥ | My TGIF

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  31. Hi Alison, I never read the Babysitter series (I spend my youth in Puerto Rico, so I didn't even know about it), but we agree on everything else.

    Liza’s Feature Friday

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  32. I've only read a few of the Babysitter Club series. I'd like to ask Stephanie Meyer some questions too! Hope you'll drop by and check out my hop :)

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  33. OMG I loved the Babysitters Club series!!! I totally grew up on it! Does that mean we're aging ourselves? ;)

    Happy Friday!

    Lisa @ Lost in Literature
    My FF & TGIF

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  34. How amazing would it be to talk to JK Rowling? And despite all the crap Twilight gets, those books did get me back into reading, so I would definitely thank Stephenie Meyer for that! Have a great weekend Alison:)

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  35. Happy Friday Alison! Have a great weekend :)

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  36. I forgot about the Babysitter books.

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  37. Awesome question! I couldn't just choose one author though, there are too many I would love to talk to! And Happy Friday, Alison. Hope you have a great weekend.

    My FF
    http://bookedupbloggers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/feature-and-follow-friday-7.html

    Jessica x

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  38. *sigh* Haven't read it. It's the second time I think you mentioned it that I remember, I thought maybe I'd look it over then. Still haven't. iFail, lol.

    Have a fab weekend!
    My #FF

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  39. I read The Babysitters Club too. I would love to chat to Stephenie Meyer.

    Old follower.

    Here's my FF

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  40. Haven't read the babysitter's club. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have a great weekend!

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  41. Such a good answer, writing to the author who got you into reading is something I didn't think of when pondering this question.

    Thanks for stopping by :)

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  42. Oohh I remember the Babysitter's Club! But I would say the Junie B. Jone's book made me the bookworm I am today. Great answer!

    My TGIF/Follow Friday

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  43. Great answer! I totally loved The Babysitters Club too! Ann M. Martin did a book signing not too long ago near my house but I couldn't make it. I was really sad!

    Thanks for stopping by my FF!

    Megan

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  44. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. I loved your answer, I remember reading those books as well! Great answer. Those books have made a deep empress ion on a lot of girls and that's what makes a great book in my mind.

    I hope you have a great weekend and Happy Reading!!!

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  45. I'm so excited to see my button up there it's a little bit silly. Thank you SO MUCH for featuring me this week!

    Old follower :-)

    Thanks for following on my FF!

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  46. It was Nancy Drew, Boxcar Children, and The Babysitters Club for me as a child. Those series turned me into the book hoarder...I mean book lover I am today. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  47. I loved the Babysitter's Club. I think Dawn was my favorite character. I don't know why. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  48. Great answer!! :D
    Thank you so much for stopping by!

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  49. Great answer! I think I could still retell most stories that fascinated me as a child just like that ;) It's something we never quite forget, I guess!
    Thanks for stopping by, I'm an old follower!

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  50. Hopping through! I'm a fan of J.K Rowling as well would love to hang out with her and talk only about Harry Potter. Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier on.

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  51. Thank you for hopping on by my blog! It literally made my day because I love your blog and Follow Friday is so fun to participate in. JK is, of course, magnificent. Sarah Dessen legit got me through all of my break-up crying sprees. Her older ones are my favorite. And Ms. Perkins is wonderful. Her series is phenomenal and I can't wait for book three!

    I'm an old follower! :) :)

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  52. I'd like to interrogate Rowling, too... on where MY acceptance letter went. :)

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  53. Stephanie Perkins and Sarah Dessen, such awesome contemporary writers in one sentence! *___*

    Thanks for stopping by, Alison! <3

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  54. Love your idea of "interrogating" Stephanie Perkins and Sarah Dessen about cont. romance. I'd like to be a fly on the wall :D

    Thanks for stopping by my FF, Alison! Have a great weekend!

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  55. I have never read the Babysitters Club before.

    Thanks for stopping by my post!

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  56. Thanks for stopping by.
    I've never red BSC but J.K Rowling is amazing.

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  57. There is always a book that wakes up the reader inside us. Once we found it we never stop reading

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  58. Omg I totally forgot about BSC! I used to love those books! I have my old paperback copies still, definitely planning to pass them on to my daughter (if I have one someday) :)

    And of course I agree about J.K. Rowling :D

    Thanks for dropping by!

    <3
    Taylor

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  59. awww that is cute. I should thank JK Rowling since that is what got me to read!

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  60. I love Stephanie Perkins and Sarah Dessen, how awesome would that be!

    I literally sat down tonight with 'Lock & Key' by Dessen with the intention of reading for an hour, well 3 hours later I'd finished the book and was massively behind with all the other stuff I had to do, such as blogging, which is why I am doing my blog comments at 20 past 11 in the evening. :P
    But it was so worth it!

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  61. Adored your answer, Alison! Babysitters Club used to be real fun to read and what would we do without Harry Potter? Sarah Dessen and Stephenie Perkins's books are my comfort food! Those YA boys they create <3 Thanks for stopping by my blog :)

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  62. I personally never got into the Babysitter's Club, I think I discovered them after I would've really enjoyed them. However I agree it only takes one book to light a spark of reading for life and it's awesome Ann M Martin was able to do that for you! I don't even know what book did that for me.. my mom said I was a baby who would sit on her lap for hours as she read to me, completely fascinated, so ever since I could read for myself I have been a heavy reader. :)

    Have a great week Alison!
    April @ My Shelf Confessions

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  63. Hey Alison! Sorry this is late but I hope you had a great weekend :)

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  64. Those are some great authors to go talk to :) I loved Anna and Lola! And who doesn't want to talk to J. K. Rowling? My mom even recorded the movie they made on her early life/when she started the HP series :) Thanks for stopping by! Old follower! Happy reading!

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