Thursday, November 8, 2012

Feature and Follow Friday #122

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.



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 -Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer




1. When did you start blogging?

I started blogging on April Fools Day 2009!

2. What is your favorite part of book blogging?

Wow! Great Question. My favorite part of book blogging is meeting other bloggers who share the same passion in reading as I do. I thought I was only the person with overstuffed bookshelves, but I was wrong. There are many dedicated book bloggers/reviewers on the web and I would have never known anything about them if it wasn't for blogging.

3. What is your favorite book(s)?

Six-Horse Hitch by Janice Holt Giles and The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson are my favorite books, but I also like reading anything by Stephen King, James Patterson, John Saul and R. L. Stine.

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

Getting advanced review copies from major publishing houses is a real plus to book blogging. I had the opportunity to review books from independent authors. Recently I've had the chance to expand my blog by reviewing DVDs, T-shirts, and other products from companies and PR groups.


Q: Do you mind books with similar ideas to other books? Similar concepts, backgrounds, retellings or pulled-to-publish fanfic?


Simple answer: No, I don't mind. Of course it's more complicated than that. If you really think about it, nothing is original. Everything I've ever read has been consciously or unconsciously influenced by something else (even ancient works like The Epic of Gilgamesh or Beowulf sure were drawn from oral or prior written tradition). It's fun to notice connections between works of literature.

Every really successful book spawns spin-offs. Some are more subtle than others. For example, Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instrument series is profoundly influenced by the Harry Potter series (Clare infamously started out writing Harry Potter fanfic). Clare's writing style as well as many themes in her books closely follow Harry Potter. But the plot is entirely distinct.

On the other hand, no one wants to read a book written strictly by formula - i.e. Take out sparkly vampires and insert sexy werewolves. I've read some paranormal books that are so similar to Twilight, it's ridiculous. In one book, the characters even met in a biology class. It was hard not to gag. Even still, if the story manages to distinguish itself enough, I will still like t.

As for fan-fiction, I love it. I've read a lot of Twilight fan fiction. I've written both Twilight and Harry Potter fan fiction. My taste in fan fiction is very narrow and picky. It has to be well-written (which eliminates most fan-fiction) and it must be strictly canon. I like reading missing moments - opportunities to know the characters' backstories better. I won't read alternative universe or alternative 'shipping.


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!!

58 comments:

  1. Agreed! When something is obviously recycled, it's not fun to read. But I don't mind some similarity if it's done well and has at least some original twist. My FFs are at Musings on Fantasia and LKHill. Happy Friday! :D

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  2. The only fanfic I have ever enjoyed is when I didn't know it was fanfic. When I know about it, it spoils the story for me somehow. You can find my post http://justanotherrabidreader.info/index.php/2012/11/08/feature-and-follow-1/

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  3. I am not a fan-fic fan at all. I don't read any of that stuff. But I don't mind a new spin on other stories if the author spins it around a little. Some stories are so universal that it’s almost a given that they will be retold, like The Iliad and the Odyssey. The story is an archetype of the hero’s journey.

    Old follow via GFC.
    New follow via E-mail

    Julie~ New Adult Addiction

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  4. A great question. I had to think about it for a moment. Hope you like my response.

    Marilyn @ Marilyn's Mystery Blog

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  5. Really great answer (and question)! I personally haven't read much fanfiction; I just have a hard time finding a really good one. Though I'd love to read Cassie's HP fanfic!

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  6. Good point. Retellings are amongst my favs but I prefer them with a unique twist.

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  7. I completely agree. I love how you phrased it 8) Another great question!! Old follower! 8)

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  8. I agree that all stories have been told before in some form or another. Though I am apparently out of the loop here, because I've never even heard of fanfic. Now that I've Googled it, I am fairly certain that I've never read it. :)

    You can find my Feature and Follow here

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  9. I'm fine with books that have themes and concepts that are similar to those found in other books; I think it's pretty much inevitable. I'm not, however, a fan of books that blatantly pattern themselves after whatever's topping the bestseller list at the moment.

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  10. Ooh.. great answers. I actually haven't read any fanfic, so I'm not sure about it at all.

    Here's My FF!
    Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace

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  11. Thx for commenting on my blog! New Follower!

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  12. That is a great question this week!!
    And.. my answer is the same, I'm totally fine with it as long as it's not a total ripoff.

    Like Half-Blood and Vampire Academy have a few similar aspects but I never cared. Each story is still different enough for me to love them. I'm truly not that picky.

    Oh and .. I loved Fanfic, especially after reading Twilight, There I also read everything from canon to AU!

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  13. Great answer!

    Here's my FF Post!
    Andrea @ Literary Getaway
    Old Follower(:

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  14. :) I agree with you, there is a lot that just has to come from somewhere, but too much is just too much.

    Here's my
    FF post for this week. Have a fantastic Friday!

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  15. Great answer! Thanks for stopping by and for featuring me!


    -Amanda P
    Paranormal Romance

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  16. Haha - I share your extreme picky-ness with fanfics!

    My FF Post

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  17. I don't read fan-fic but I don't think that's like, copying. Because it is based from the word itself, it is a 'fan-fic'.

    I've got to read your fan-fic one day!

    Michelle Shouts Random

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  18. I like your answers. I just like a good book, so if they can get my interet, I'm good. But I haven't read much fan-fic, so I don't know about that.

    Jenny @ Book Sojourner
    http://booksojourner.blogspot.com/2012/11/feature-follow-2.html

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  19. It really is hard for any book to be 100% original.

    Thanks for stopping by.

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  20. Hello Alison,

    I love your blog hop idea, and it is this which has brought me to your bog today. I wish you well with the project.

    Kind regards,
    Adele.

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  21. I 100% agree! That is what I was thinking and trying to say but much better phrased!
    FF

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  22. It is very hard to have your own original idea, because there will always be a reader who will say that sounds like "insert title here".

    I don't mind reading books with similar ideas because for me the author always makes it their own, so then it's a totally different book!

    Like Kelley Armstrong and Amanda Carlson, they both wrote books on the only female werewolf and both stories are different from one another and both were awesome!

    Here's my Follow Friday

    Have a GREAT weekend!

    Old Follower :)

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  23. I find that most books based on another have enough originality to make them stand out, so I have no problem with it. Not a huge fan of fanfic, but I have read some good ones from time to time.

    Old follower

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  24. Great answer. I agree that no book is original. Every single book has drawn inspiration from somewhere but that doesn't make the book any less enjoyable or exciting.

    Old follower :)
    http://lostinthought-becca.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/feature-follow-5.html

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  25. Well said, and I agree :)
    I haven't read fanfic, but if someone were to recommend a story, I'd check it out. I'm always on the hunt for something new to read.
    Old follower

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  26. I agree that everything written is influenced by everything else, it only bothers me when things are too similar to something that I have read really recently, to the point that it really doesn't seem possible that it wasn't done purposefully. Great points! And thanks for stopping by my blog :D

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  27. Hey Alison, Happy Friday :)

    AS far as books having similar plots, I don't mind as long as there is different twist to the book. You know what I mean. Books that disappoint are the ones that are just way too similar to others I've read.

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  28. Great answer. I like how you worded that.
    Here's my FF: http://meganm922.blogspot.com/2012/11/feature-and-follow-fridaycopycats.html

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  29. It's the whole 'standing on the shoulder of giants' concept, where no book is truly original. Great answer. I've yet to try reading fan fiction but will certainly have to try it.

    My FF

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  30. I haven't really ever read a whole lot of fanfic...I think I might have to give it a try though! Thanks for stopping by my FF and entering my giveaway!

    My #FF
    ~Caitlin :)

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  31. What a great question this week! I agree that everything is influenced by something and that it's fun to note similarities between works.

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  32. Great answer, you brought out some excellent points! It's true that is a story has enough original elements in it it can make up for an otherwise unoriginal premise. Not big on fanfic myself though...I had checked out some HP related ones...but there was too much alternate shipping for my taste ;)

    Thanks for sharing, old follower! Here's my FFF

    Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows

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  33. Great answers! I agree with you about fanfic. I'm always reading Twilight and Harry Potter ones. Thanks for stopping by my FF.

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  34. I've yet to read any fan fiction. Maybe someday I'll try it, I'm just worried it will ruin the story already in my head. >.<

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  35. I'm with you Alison, I think you can find similarities to past work with any story if you look hard enough. I don't mind of books have a similar feel as long as they bring something new to the table at some point - put some twist on the story or have the characters veer drastically from the original (like Juliet Immortal). If it's basically just a reiteration of an already-written story, then it of course doesn't work for me! Hope you have a fabulous weekend Alison!

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  36. Thanks for stopping by my blog, Alison! I appreciate it! I agree, even original stories take a little something from something else, how else would one get inspiration?

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  37. Love the question and I think many of us have similar answers :). This is my first time so I hope I did things right for my #FF. Here's my post. Excited to jump on to others. Thaks for offering this Alison! Mine is I Love Copy Cats http://www.ashlynmathews.com/blog/

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  38. I have to agree on that but seriously there are some books that are just too obvious and those are the ones that irritates me more than a badly written book. :(

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  39. totally agree!
    Old follwer via GFC. thanks for following me.

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  40. Thanks for stopping by my Friday Hop! I like your answer! I don't mind fan fic as long as it adds something to the original story. Have a great weekend!

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  41. Great answer. I am a new follower you can see my answer on my blog.
    http://racingtoread.blogspot.com/2012/11/feature-follow.html

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  42. I've never read a single word of fanfic...and I'm ok with that :)
    *old follower :)*
    My FF

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  43. Hi Alison, you have a great answer here! :)
    I also wanted to mention, thanks for following and commenting on my blog, really appreciate it and I answered your Q about 50 shades, so take a look if you want :)

    - Marissa @ http://www.fortheloveoffilmandnovels.com/

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  44. I really need to read the Mortal Instruments series. Everyone keeps saying so many wonderful things about it, but my TBR list is so huge it needs it's own zipcode...

    Old follower

    -Ariel
    My FF

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  45. I've never actually read a fan fic, but I kind of like to leave the world as the author created it. I feel like I would be 'cheating' on the author is I read the same world but through someone else. Is that weird?

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  46. As long as retellings have some sort of twist to it that makes it unique, I'll read it! And yeah I know what your talking about. Sooo many books use the exact same plot as Twilight but with a different paranormal creature. Thanks for stopping by my blog! Old Follower!


    Daphne @ Reading Until Dawn

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  47. Hi!
    Great answer! I agree with you except for the fanfiction part. I love reading fanfics, but I like the alternative universes and the shippings that are not canon. I only read them when I really really love a character, so I can daydream with them.
    Thanks for stopping by my blog, and thanks for following.
    NEW FOLLOWER, here.
    Bye!

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  48. Exactly! There are so many books there's bound to be some similar books. But if an author intentionally copies another's work without any new ideas or a different take on it, then I won't bother with it.
    Megan @ BooksiView

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  49. Alison,

    nice answer on your FF :) thanks for stopping by today!
    if you want to read another Yoshimoto Banana, I recommend Kitchen.
    have a great weekend!

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

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  50. Great answer, Alison! I'd like to check out your Twilight and Harry Potter fan-fiction!

    Old follower!

    Thanks for stopping by The Readdicts F&FF post earlier.

    Sarika @ The Readdicts

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  51. Books with similar concepts- that's complicated! I mean, I love re-tellings of classics. But, the cookie cutter stories I'm tired of. How many books about vampire love triangles do we really need in the world? I get that the characters are different. And maybe their motives may be different. But, there has to be something truly outstanding for me to pick up a book that has an overly similar concept to another book I've read.

    As for fan fiction...
    Okay, I've enjoyed fan fiction back in the day. I loved Sailor Moon fics. But, do I think they have any place in the book stores? Do I think the writers of fan fictions deserve money to spinning tales with someone else's characters and settings and plots? No. Not really. I say keep fan fics free on the internet.

    - Jackie

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  52. No there is nothing new under the sun, but an author must have some originality, enough to make the story their own . If they are unsuccessful at that, then it's a cheat to the audience. Old follower/bethartfromtheheart.blogspot.com
    Happy Reading!
    Beth

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  53. I agree with you completely. I think I might be a little more experimental with fan fiction though. I love reading back stories, but also love seeing the characters in AU. Especially if it's well written (otherwise my short attention span just goes) and the characters stay in character. I do stick with canon ships and ships I support though. And I don't think I want to see any fan fiction published.

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  54. Good answer, especially the fan fiction part! I'm not strictly against AU, but I also like to read "missing moments" more!
    Thanks for stopping at my blog earlier!
    Katie @ Fiction Predictions

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  55. Thanks for stopping by my blog! I'm following back :)

    -Kate the Book Buff

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