Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Blogoversary Giveaway: 6 YEARS!!!!


Today, my blog turns 6 years old! YAY!!!!!!!!!!

I'm kind of in shock that this blog is that old. Sometimes I feel like I've been blogging forever, and other days, it feels like I only just started. Before I get to the fun (giveaways!), I wanted to take a moment to share a very quick list of things I've learned from blogging:


6 Things I've Learned From Blogging


6. The blogosphere is full of amazingly kind, incredible people. One of my goals this summer to reach out more to each of you (readers, bloggers, authors), because all of the the small interactions I've had so far have been so positive and fun. There may be some drama now and then, but the blogosphere is full of so many people with good (bookish) hearts. 

5. Book blogging is a surprisingly great learning tool, especially for anyone looking to be knowledgeable in social media. I'm going to be teaching in the fall, and I'm looking into ways to possibly incorporate blogging / social media into the curriculum, since it's such a huge part of students lives today. Additionally, blogging has taught me to learn things like HTML -  While I would never hire me to build a website, I have basic skills in HTML now, and can usually figure out how to adjust / change certain features. It's fun to be able to know how to do those kind of things. 

4. There are so many under-the-radar books I never would have known about if I hadn't of been a part of the blogosphere. I used to only read a handful of authors back when I was a non-blogger, and so I'm grateful to the blogging community for pointing out so many incredible stories and authors that I would have missed. 

3. There's no right or wrong way to blog. And that's what I've come to love - how each blogger has their own style and way of doing things. It's fun to be able to participate in memes, but also post on books or bookish topics that I want to discuss. But what's even better is that blogging allows for growth, and change. You're never stuck - you can always shake things up with something new, whether it's a new type of post or style of writing. 

2. Blogger / Reader interactions are always a highlight. Whether it's one comment on a blog post or twenty, one bookish tweet or a dozen, I'm always excited to see what other bookworms have to say, and to have the chance to fangirl over books with other people. 

1. Despite the fact that blogging can become stressful, crazy, chaotic, at the end of the day, it's an incredibly fun, worthwhile hobby that I am so glad to have. I've been around for 6 years, and taken weeks or months off here and there, but I always come back each time I step away. 

I wanted to say THANK YOU so much to my readers, new and old, regular readers who comment and silent lurkers who stop by only occasionally. You all rock, and you make book blogging such an amazing experience. I look forward to another year of blogging and growing as a blogger!

To celebrate, I'm giving away some books! 

INTERNATIONAL 
Contest Policy
One YA book, winner's choice, from Amazon or The Book Depository. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Check back later today for another giveaway post!

28 comments:

  1. Congrats on the milestone, Lea!! You've made so many great points up there! Blogging is such a fun hobby to have! :D

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  2. Congratulations! I've been subscribed to your blog for about three years now and really like it! Can't wait to see what you write about in the future :)

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  3. Congratulations! I've enjoyed reading your reviews and found some great recommendations over the years. I hope you continue to write and blog and enjoy what you do!

    I definitely agree that I've learned a lot from blogging too and it even helps me in my job as a librarian. Often I see books featured on blogs or book reviews that convince me to purchase books for my library's teen collection.

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    1. Thank you, Christina! And likewise - your blog is one of my favorite places to find book reccommendations.

      Blogging definitely seems like such a surprising learning tool - especially for librarians, teachers, and students!

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  4. Congratulations! 6 years! That is incredible! I enjoy your blog so very much and I hope you continue it for many more years.

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    1. Thank you!!! You're are so incredibly kind. And I hope the same for you - I can't imagine the blogosphere without you!

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  5. Yay! That is impressive. Happy 6 years!

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  6. Congrats!! and Happy 6th Blogiversary

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  7. Wow, six years!! Congratulations, that is quite impressive. You bust be one of the very first to start. I'm glad you've stuck around, I really enjoy your reading your posts. :D

    Thanks for the giveaway!

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    1. Thank you! I think I'm likely in that early group bloggers (although a good deal of bloggers who started before me have since quit). I hope to stick around for a bit more time :)

      Thanks! I'm glad you enjoy reading my posts :)

      Best of luck with the giveaway!

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  8. WOW!!! 6 years, that's incredible! A huge congratulations is due to you!

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    1. Thank you!!! I'm still kind of surprised it's been that long!

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  9. *raises glass to toast* to 6 years and many more! :)

    You make great points but I especially agree with the one about blogging being a learning tool; I never would've known about the publishing industry, how writers become authors, etc. without having become a blogger. And YAY FOR INCORPORATING TECH! That's the way to go with teaching ;)

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    1. *clinks glass*

      Thanks, Sandy!

      Agreed! There's just so much to learn from blogging, more than most people might originally think. And I'm so excited to test out some tech + teaching this fall! It will be fun to see how it all works out :)

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  10. YAY :D Congrats on 6 years Lea. <3 That is all kinds of amazing :D So sorry for being a day late, hmph. But anyway. I have adored your blog and you for a long time now, hih :) Thank you for always being so awesome. You are the best. <3 Hope you'll continue to blog for a long time :) And eeek, thank you for precious giveaway. <3 You are amazing :)

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    1. Thank you, Carina! And don't worry (I was a day late to the party as well when it comes to replying to comments)!

      You are so wonderful too. I look forward to more time blogging, and hope you will be around in the blogosphere for a long time too! :)

      Good luck in the giveaway!

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  11. Wow, six years is amazing! Congrats! I definitely agree that blogging has introduced me to so many under-the-radar books. I've read some amazing things on the recommendation of bloggers. So glad you're still enjoying blogging and having fun after all this time! Looking forward to your future posts. Happy blogoversary! :)

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  12. Hear hear!! So well said, I completely concur with every point. And six years, really?? That's INCREDIBLE! It's so amazing that you have stuck around this long because it breaks my heart when other bloggers pack up their bags and say goodbye after a long run. I mean, it's understandable if you have your reasons, but it just makes me sad. And so I'm thankful you are still going strong all these years later :) Congrats, Lea!!

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  13. Happy anniversary!

    You were one of the first blogs I started reading, so thank you, thank you for being such an inspiration.

    (Also, I'm sorry I haven't visited much recently!)

    I look forward to getting to know you via Twitter, and I'm so glad you're a part of the community!

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  14. Holy crap, congratulations on 6 years! That's so awesome that you've stuck around all this time, I hope I reach that milestone :)
    I nominated you for the Book Fangirling Blog Award as well, feel free to check it out! No pressure though :) http://the-paperbackprincess.blogspot.ca/2015/07/the-book-fangirling-blog-award.html

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  15. Happy blogversary and congratulations!!! 6 years is a huge milestone! :)

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  16. I Missed this - but Congrats on 6 years!!!

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