Blogoversary Part II Guest Interview: Violet from Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink

Hi everyone, today is my blogoversary as you may have noticed from my previous post! To celebrate I have a special interview from a fellow blogger who started her blog around the same time as me. She was one of my first subscribers and is absolutely one of the first people I would call a blogging friend. She's been a big supporter of My Thoughts Literally, commenting on posts, chatting on twitter, even doing buddy reads.

Without a doubt for me the best part of book blogging is the amazing community. I know that the reason I have stuck around this past year and have continued blogging is this community. So when we found out that our blogoversaries are only a few days apart we decided to have one another on our blogs to share in the fun. Please join me in giving a warm welcome to Violet from Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink.

Basic Getting to Know You Questions

1.) When did you start blogging?

My first post when live November 2, 2013!

2.) How did you come up with your blog name?

I was in a class years ago and there was an assignment to write a love poem. So, naturally, I wrote it to my love of books. I think it was titled Ode to Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink, and I mentioned being in love with the paper worlds with their swirls of ink words. I liked the phrase, and so when I was considering finally making a blog, it came to mind and there's the name.

That's so cool and amazing imagery! Plus I love that you wrote a love poem about books. You should totally post the whole thing on your site at some point. I would love to read it!

3.) What is your favorite part of blogging?

Meeting other bloggers! Talking to other bloggers and collaborating with them has definitely been the best part of blogging thus far! I've gotten amazing book recommendations and had wonderful readalongs as well as participating in things such as the Book Blogger Love-A-Thon that Katelyn and Alexa hosted, Bout of Books, and more!

Me too! I loved Love-A-Thon as well. I haven't done any readathons but you know I love doing readalongs. We actually did one together in April where we read Sekret by Lindsay Smith and we're planning to do The Young Elites in a few weeks. I think it's such a great way to share your love of books with people who have the same interest and you are a great person to do a buddy read with!

4. What is the post you're the most proud of?

Probably a post from the Love-A-Thon when I introduced Wanderlust in Words because it talked about my love of travel and my love of books. I was super nervous to try and come up with something like that but it was worth it and inspired me to try making other sorts of posts. I posted The First Half of 2014 which was a series of posts I liked because it made me think back on all of the books I'd read thus far and talked about my thoughts on some of them.

Yes, I remember your Wanderlust in Words post. That was so awesome. I loved seeing the comparison between the books you read and places you have visited or want to visit. It's not something I usually think about and that post made me think about it!

5. What is something you're looking forward to in your next year of blogging?

Probably continuing to talk with bloggers. Getting to know other bloggers and talking about books. I already have a Can't Wait Books of 2015 shelf on Goodreads, so I'm definitely looking forward to more books to read in the next year, as well as events to look over reading in 2014, the Book Bloggers Love-A-Thon, Bout of Books, readalongs, and other opportunities to blog and talk with other bloggers.

Oh man, I feel like 2015 is going to be a great year for new books. I mean every year is great but there are definitely some can't wait books. I don't have a shelf on Goodreads but that's a good idea. I'm not sure if my anxiety could take it. I'm too impatient!

Fun Questions To Get to Know You Better!

6.) How has blogging changed your reading habits?

While I'm reading, I tend to think more critically about what aspects of the book are working for me and what weren't. Instead of just a vague 'I didn't like this' or 'I did like this' and instead I look at the different elements of the book like characters, pacing, world building, and how those work together. Honestly I think it's made me appreciate reading books more, which I love!

I agree. I'm much more critical with me reading because of blogging. It feels like I'm back in high school reading to analyze the book rather than just to enjoy it. And I also think it has made me appreciate books more but it also has made me tougher on the books. But I think that's okay.

7.) If you could pick two characters from different series and force them to interact who would it be and why?

I would pick June Iparis from the Legend series by Marie Lu and Yelena from the Poison Study series by Maria V. Snyder. They're both really awesome and intelligent, plus their societies have some initial similarities that would be really interesting to see them talk about. And also they're just two super strong and smart protagonists I think would get along really well together.

I still have to read both of those series! They are both on my list and it's good to hear you enjoyed the characters so much. That's a big deal for me. I can sometimes forgive other things about the book if I can connect with the characters.

8.) Are there any books that everyone loved that you were surprised you didn't enjoy? And what is one book that you liked more than you expected?

Most definitely! For me, a lot of series that get a lot of hype are books I'm not as big of a fan of. (Hype gets to us all sometimes) but for me some examples are The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. That's just me though, and I definitely understand why so many people fell in love with those books!

There was a lot of hype surrounding We Were Liars this year. I liked it a lot but everyone was so shocked by the mystery and twist ending I ended up over-thinking it because of the hype. I think for me if everyone is all "that's so brilliant" I'm always high expectations which isn't always good.



9.) If you were trapped on a deserted island, what dessert would the island be made out of?

Pie. Cherry pie? Apple pie? ...pie.

That's always my answer too. An island of pie! I would constantly be digging it up to get to the filling!

10.) What do you like to do when you're not reading and blogging?

Aside from sleeping? Hmm.... I do enjoy having movie nights, and traveling around! Travel actually has inspired several of my blog posts, so now I kind of want to do something about movies too. I also love languages and spending time with my family.

Haha, Sleeping is my favorite hobby! Travelling is good too. I wish I could travel more. I want to now ask about some of your favorite places but I'll just have to stay tuned for your next Wanderlust in Words post!

Thanks so much for joining me on the blog today Violet! It's been so amazing getting to know you this past year and sharing our blogoversaries. Leave a comment for Violet. What did you think about her answers? Would you also love an island made of pie? And if you are not already subscribed to her site go check it out! She's always so insightful with her reviews and has some great features.

And check out my interview by Violet on Paper Worlds and Swirls of Ink in a few days. And don't forget to check out my reflection post and giveaway from earlier today.

Blogoversary Part 1: A Reflection

Five years ago today my first ever post went live on the blog. If you promise not to judge I'll leave a link. It's hard to believe that it was that long ago (mostly because I didn't do much with it around then). But in general it just feels like so long ago.

Five years ago, I was living in Providence, Rhode Island and working as an Americorps volunteer at an all girls middle school. The only place that they could give us for an "office" was the library. So we staked out a corner and I would spend a lot of time hanging out alone in that library. Being surrounded by those books reminded me how much I love reading and especially how much I love YA and Middle Grade. I decided to read a bunch of books I never read as a kid including The Giver, A Wrinkle in Time, and The Westing Game. Meanwhile Twilight was at the height of popularity and if you wanted the thirteen year old girls you were mentoring to listen to you, then you read Twilight. But on the whole I mostly read a lot of Literary Fiction, Historical Mysteries, and Chick Lit. I decided to start my blog to talk about a particular book that I loved (The Alchemist) and to have something creative to do in my very limited free time.

Then a year and a half ago my job, working for an environmental non-profit, moved me to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In the process of the move I found it really hard to find a book that I enjoyed. I read one in particular that I truly hated. I wanted to complain about it and I needed an outlet! At the time I had a lot more free time than I used to, my working hours were more normal, and I didn't have any cable so I was watching a lot of YouTube videos. I found BookTube and decided that would be a great way to complain about this book. But then I remembered that I had a very neglected blog. I decided I should see if I can maintain a blog before a YouTube channel. So came back and committed to doing this more full-time and along the way two things happened.

First I found a whole community of people who also had book blogs. I started following a few blogs, commenting on a few blogs, testing the water. I found some great memes that helped me connect with the community. Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and The Bookish and Feature and Follow Friday hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee really helped me feel like part of this community. And then I decided to put my blog on Twitter. I was already a fan of Twitter but the opportunity to interact with so many of you as well as authors and publishers has been an amazing experience. I still freak out when someone responds to one of my tweets!

And because I felt like a part of the community I went to BEA! I had seen someones post about it when I first started creeping around the blogosphere and I just decided I'm going to do it. It was an amazing experience and I'm so glad I went. I got to meet so many fellow bloggers and book fans there. At first I was extremely nervous to say hi to bloggers I look up to and have been friendly with but everyone was so amazing! It was such a pleasure to meet everyone who I wasn't too embarassed to say hello too like all the ladies I shared a table with at BEA Bloggers Con, Elizabeth from Book YAbber, Octavia and Shelley from Read Sleep Repeat, and Nikki from There Were Books Involved. I can't wait to go back next year. It feels like going back to summer camp. Getting to see old friends, do things that you loved, and meet new people. I hope I get to meet more of you, especially those I was too embarrassed to say hi to last year! Oh and did I mention the authors? So many amazing an super sweet authors. Check out my recap.

But the second thing that happened was that I found my voice. I've never been very confident in my writing. I'm a voracious reader but I've never been a great writer. But forcing myself to do five posts a week, including at least two reviews has caused me to become much more confident with my writing. But it's more than that. I've come up with a system, a plan. When I decided to come back to blogging it was October so naturally I decided to read spooky Halloween books. But then the next month I realized my books also had a theme to them. And, my themed months were born. But my voice goes even further. A year ago I never would have responded to an author's tweet, asked them a question on a chat or book signing, requested an advance copy of a book I was excited about, or put myself out there in the way that I have. I did try the YouTube thing and as much as I liked it, I just don't think it's for me. I'm going to continue this blog thing. It's been so amazing coming up with creative content on the site.

But I'm looking forward to the next five years! I can't wait to continue to grow personally and within this community. It has been such a pleasure being a part of it! I'm already thinking about what I can do to make more interesting content for the site, how I can make it my own, and how I can keep going strong in the future. Okay enough with that, on to the gushy stuff. I wouldn't still be here if it wasn't for all of you. It is my fellow bloggers who made me feel like I can do this, that I am part of something larger than just me writing my thoughts about books just for myself. So thank you to anyone who has ever subscribed, commented, tweeted, or followed me. I'm still amazing that people read my posts!

So to say thank you I have planned a special giveaway. Because it's one year that is actually five I've decided to give away five books in one package/theme. But I'm feeling generous, and like I have too many books, so I have two separate packages with books from my two favorite genres. To win all you have to do is follow the rafflecopter down below. I will pick one winner for each prize pack so please let me know which one you want. You must be subscribed to My Thoughts Literally to be eligible and I'm sorry but it's US only, it's too much to ship internationally!

Historical Fiction Prize Pack

1.) The Nest by Esther Ehrlich (MG)
2.) Signed Copy of Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (YA)
3.) ARC Copy of Salt & Storm by Kendal Hulper (YA)
4.) ARC Copy of Neverhome by Laird Hunt (Adult)
5.) ARC Copy of Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth (Adult and my favorite book of the year)

Bonus: Harlequin Tote Bag


Fantasy/Supernatural Prize Pack

1.) Gabriel Finley and the Raven's Riddle by George Hagan (MG)

2.) Signed ARC of Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater (YA)
3.) ARC Copy of Jackaby by William Ritter (YA and one of my faves of the year)
4.) Vampires of Manhattan by Melissa De La Cruz (NA)
5.) ARC Copy of Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas (YA)

Bonus: Epic Reads Tote

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you to everyone who has made this past year so much fun to be book blogging. And of course HAPPY READING!