Feature and Follow Friday #104

Welcome to the Feature & Follow

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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.

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How To Become a Featured Blog?

We pick our featured blogs randomly each week from the blogs who participated the week before.

Please be sure to feature your e-mail address clearly on your blog. Either on the main blog, on a Contact page, or on an About Me page. If I can't find your email easily, I will choose a different blog to feature.

Our Feature -The Paperback Princesses

1. When did you start blogging?

Curlypow: Christinabean and I (Curlypow) started blogging at The Paperback Princesses 2 years ago in mid June. I finally gave in when she said she'd help me out. I spent so much time book talking all these marvellous YA books at work, that it just made sense finally to start writing it all down.

Christinabean: I remember talking to Curlypow about starting up a blog. We had tons of ideas so I started playing around with Blogger to see how easy (or difficult) it may be. One day I just managed to get it up and running and it took off from there!

2. What is your favorite part of book blogging?

Curlypow: I think one of the most fun things so far was meeting so many Canadian bloggers when we got together in Toronto last year. Christinabean couldn't make it as she'd just gone out to Alberta, but it was a great afternoon, and so nice to meet people and put faces to names. And then of course there's just the joy of telling others about all the fantastic books that are available :)

Christinabean: There are so many wonderful things to book blogging. I love the online community. I was disappointed to have missed the Ontario Blog Squad meeting last year but I do enjoy reading comments from other blogs that I follow regularly.

3. What is your favorite book(s)?

Curlypow: This really is a hard question. I think my favourites are Beautiful Creatures et al by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia. There's just something about those books that gets me every time. The audio books are amazing as well. I think I've listened to them all twice. . But then there's Graceling by Kristin Cashore as well, good audio on that one too. I think Christinabean's favourite series would be Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, or maybe the Vampire Academy series by Richelel Mead,

Christinabean: Curlypow has hit it! My favourite series is Mortal Instruments by Cassie Clare and then Vampire Academy second. I'm reading The Golden Lily right now and loving it!

4. What has been the best thing that has happened to you because of book blogging?

Curlypow: I think for me it was when a Canadian author - Lesley Livingstone - said she recognised the name of our blog. Ms Livingstone was speaking at the library I work at and I attended as a total fan girl. When she signed my books she mentioned she knew the blog and it was really cool to find out an author actually knew about us. Of course she could just have been being polite, but I choose to think positively. By the way she is an amazingly funny speaker. If you get the chance, go see her.

Christinabean: For me it was when we went to the Smart Chicks Kick It tour stop in Ontario a couple of years ago. We had only been blogging for a short time and were able to personally interview all of the authors prior to the signing event. What a thrill that was!

Q: Jumping Genres: Ever pick up a book from a genre you usually don't like and LOVE it? Tell us about it and why you picked it up in the first place.

Let's see...Sci Fi:

I really enjoyed The Host by Stephenie Meyer. And I love Ender's Game and its sequels by Orson Scott Card.

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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!

<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!!