So guys, I know I've ignored this fact for far too long:
Stories & Sweeties turned FIVE this year. In January!! LOL Yea, I know, I'm on the better side of six years now, but I can't let a milestone like FIVE YEARS go unnoticed! :D All year long, I kept meaning to celebrate it somehow, so when I saw this crazy fun event being put on by Jaime at
Two Chicks on Books and Amber from
Me Myshelf and I, I jumped at the chance to celebrate this fantastic blog birthday with some of my own favorite blogs who were also turning 5!
First off, let me point you to the other fabulous blogs that are also celebrating their BIG FIVE!! You'll want to visit their sites too, as we are ALL holding separate giveaways of some pretty awesome stuff!!
Schedule
November 21 Me! :D
All of us, every single one, we all turned...
FIVE!!!
So as part of the event, each of us get to blab a bit about ourselves, our blogging, our experiences, and then fave lists!! Eeee, I love lists. ♥ :D So here we go...
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Ack...always hate the part where I have talk about myself LOL. Well, I'm not a teen, lets start there. I'm preeeetty darn far from my teen years actually. But my love of YA knows no bounds :D. I'm a mommy, a library assistant, a book hoarder, a fangirl of Doctor Who, Sherlock, and all things British, a tea drinker, a chocoholic, a lover of all things vintage, a fairy tale fanatic, and a cancer survivor.
2. How did you get started blogging?
Actually that last thing I mentioned about myself played a big part in my starting a blog. I was reading tons when I was first diagnosed. It was a fantastic distraction and took me out of my own head for awhile every day when I needed it. I guess my decision to start a blog came partly for my own desire to share my thoughts on all these lovely stories I was reading, partly to have something fun to throw my energy into, and partly because I was reading so much I was having trouble keeping track of it all!
3. How did you pick the name for your blog?
I like stories and I like sweets. I suppose it could have ended up Stories & Sweets, or Stories & Cupcakes, but at the time I think I was watching the Chronicles of Narnia an awful lot (because James McAvoy is adorable, even with goat legs LOL) and I loved how the Queen called Turkish Delights "Sweeties". And there it was...a very british term for sweets. Stories & Sweeties was born.
4. If you could go back in time and tell your newbie blogger self 1 thing what would it be? Remember to keep this fun for yourself! Don't take on too much, and don't say yes to every book that gets waved in front of your nose. Overextending yourself if the quickest way to fall into a slump.
5. What have you learned in your 5 years of blogging?
•See above for lessons one and two ;)
•Don't have books personalized to you unless you REALLY loved them. Reading tastes change sometimes and a signed book that's not personalized makes a great giveaway.
•Get out there and socialize. I stayed in my own little shy blog bubble for so long. Finally I got myself going on twitter and it makes being part of the book community so much more fun!
6. What was the first ARC or book you ever received from a publisher?
It was Perchance to Dream by Lisa Mantchev from Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends. GOSH I was so excited about that. Loved that series.
7. When you’re not reading or blogging, what can we find you doing?
Baking. Mommying. Redecorating my house. Sometimes writing, but not very steadily. Watching my shows. Shopping at Target, with a cart-full of stuff I don't need.
The Fives: (and yes, you can ONLY have 5! *muwhahahah*)
Five Favorite Books
Cinder, The Cure for Dreaming, Little Women, Never Let Me Go, and right now Wink Poppy Midnight. But honestly, for this one, I didn't even try to pare a list down. There are just too many favorites, these are just the first of hundreds that came to mind :)
Five Favorite Book Quotes
I honestly don't make notes of quotes as I'm reading most of the time. But here's one I loved from Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano:
He knows that I'm not like the other girls---the normal ones---that a part of me is slipping off this floating city, and he doesn't care. He doesn't care.
Maybe we're both beyond saving.
Five Blogging Tips For New Bloggers
•Memes like Stacking the Shelves & Waiting on Wednesday are a great way to start interacting with the community.
•I don't read other reviews of a book right before writing my own. I'm always terrified a phrase or wording will unintentionally slip into my own.
•Don't expect to start getting ARCs right away. Most publishers will look for at least 6 months of steady posting and reviewing before sending an ARC your way.
•Comparing your blog to others in numbers/traffic/popularity is a waste of energy. Blog for yourself and to share your love of reading, not to become the next big book blog!
•Don't forget to enjoy the book community outside of your blog if you're able---book signings, conventions, book-to-movie adaptation viewings---its fun meeting people you might know from other book blogs plus a recap of the event makes a great blog post afterward!
Five Blogs You Want The World To Know About
I'm gonna pass on this one and just direct you to my blog roll on my left sidebar. Seriously, there are way too many great blogs out there to just name five :D
So as a big huge HUG and thank you for everyone who's been reading this blog, whether you've been with me for the full stretch of five years or you just found me today, HERE'S A GIVEAWAY! :D I wanted to keep this one international so I'm offering a book (or books) of choice up to $25 to the winner! If you can get two books out of that $25, that's awesome! :D
Enter below!
