Category Archives: miscellaneous ‘bookish’ things

miscellaneous 'bookish' things

my autographed books

15 Comments

I have a lot of signed books, and they’re my favorites. My precious babies! I wanted do a showcase of them today because, well, I haven’t before, and… I thought you might like to see them. Plus, I’ve kind of forgotten myself which ones I have signed. So here they are!

emily

It’s a good collection, really. Of course, you all know about meeting Kiera Cass and getting The Selection and The Heir signed, and those books are the only ones I’ve met the author and gotten them signed in person. But about the other ones…

emily
She signed it: “Emily, you are an amazing girl, and never put a limit to what you can do. Anything is possible through God. Dakota Lee.”

I was seven or eight years old when my parents went on some business trip (Orlando? Chicago? I don’t know know-o.) Anyway, they brought me back this book at a book signing for a book called Flash of Freedom by Dakota Lee. Dakota was twelve when she wrote this book! I remember liking it, but I haven’t read it since. I love that the signing is personal!

Two summers ago, my mom ordered the first three books in the Fairy Tales series by Melanie Dickerson. (One of my favorite series of all time!) and one of them came signed! We ordered it from Amazon, and it said nothing about being signed. Lucky me!

emily

The next book in the stack is Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord, which I won in a giveaway on Bookish Serendipity. And… I haven’t actually read it. Agh! I know, I know. Horrible.

emily

The next one is the first book in the Countryside series by J.T. Cope IV. (Who happens to have the same last name as me! What are the odds?!) The book was sent to me by the author, but… I haven’t finished the book. I’ve tried, I have, and I need to – and will! – finish it one of these days.

emily

Then the last book I’ve got signed is Dead Fred, Flying Lunchboxes, & The Good Luck Circle. (Phew! What a title!) This is another book my parents got me when they went on a trip somewhere. I’ve read about half of it with my mom, but it’s not really my cup of tea. I think my little sister would love it, though.

emily

Do you guys have any signed books? Which ones? 🙂

Emily

Edit: I actually have another book signed, and I forgot about it! It’s by Heather Vogel Frederick – my favorite book in the Mother/Daughter Book Club series, Pies & Prejudice. My friend gave it to me about two years ago. (She bought it at a used book store!) I also have two book marks from Heather in a letter she wrote back to me. (I actually have two letters from Heather, since I’ve written her twice.) 😉

emily

emily

miscellaneous 'bookish' things

meeting kiera cass (!!!!!!!)

16 Comments

OHMIGOSH I seriously can’t believe this has happened! I met THE Kiera Cass today! And I got to ask her a question during her Q&A! So I want to tell you everything that happened, and tell you a few things you might need to know if you’re planning on meeting her (I know one of you might!) So here goes…

emily

We got there two hours early. Yes, two hours. (The time flew by for me, really!) We got the book at Barnes & Noble the day before, but copies of The Heir were available at the library. (Though I can’t say that for sure about every location for the signings. However, buying the books from the library did benefit the library, so either way.) There were only four or five other girls who got there that early, but at first it was just me and my family hanging out at the library for a while. Then a line started to form and I stood there for a minute. The people at the library kept saying the signing would be in one room, and then it was another… so it was a bit hectic.

About 6 o’clock, an hour before the event started, they started setting up chairs and the few girls and I who were there early grabbed some front row seats. (I was in the second row.) Let me tell you, talking to the girls there was half the fun! We all gabbed about The Selection (scenes we loved, the possible movie, and Kiera herself!) and even some other books. We got talking about other things as well, like the fact that most of us were awkward bookworms and how excited we were to see Kiera. For several of the girls I was sitting with, it was our first author signing! I even got one girl’s phone number. 🙂

Love my dad for snapping so many good pictures! ;)
Love my dad for snapping so many good pictures! 😉

It started getting busier and busier, and I was SO glad to have gotten there early, because I got a front row seat. Most of us didn’t realize Kiera was going to be doing a Q&A as well, so that was exciting! You can watch a few minutes of the Q&A I videoed below, or here. 

She talked for about twenty minutes, and took questions from the crowd. I did get to ask her a question!! There were a lot of people who didn’t get to ask her anything, but being up front definitely helped get her attention. She was talking about the original ending to The Selection, and guess how it originally ended?? MAXON DIED, Clarkson died (not much of a loss there…), but Amberly lived and adopted America? So I asked her if America’s family was any different because Amberly adopted her… I said “Because I loved America’s mom!!” and she agreed. “And her dad, too, I LOVED her dad!” She said that yes, her parents probably wouldn’t have been in the picture, but her siblings would still be around. You can watch the video here, or below. (You can’t hear my question, but you can hear her answer.)

After that, a lady went up and said that they needed to get Kiera to the back where she would be signing books, and for everyone to stay seated and calm… that didn’t happen. It was very chaotic! So here was the handful of girls (myself included) who got there two hours early to be in the front of the line, and Kiera was going all the way to the back of the library and we were still upfront! Thankfully, some of our parents talked to someone and we ended up in the front of the line.

Here’s a picture someone tagged Kiera in on twitter! Do you see me?? I wasn’t smiling there, but I was grinning like an idiot (almost) the whole time!!!! =)

It went really quickly, because there was a lot of people. Kiera didn’t have time to personalize the books, so they had her sign your books while you were next in line. Then you got your turn with her! When it was my turn, I said “Ohmigosh!!” and she said “Hi!” Then it went like this:

Me: I read The Heir already!
Kiera: Really??
Me: YES!
Kiera: Are you okay?
Me: NO!

More video! Watch me freak out and jump and down and hand flail here, or below!

Then I gave her a big side hug and my parents took the pictures!

emily

I was so happy, and my smile was SO big. I had a BLAST!

emily

Emily

 

 

P.S. The Heir book review will be up Friday! 😀

blog segments, discussions, miscellaneous 'bookish' things, personal life

monthly recap!

12 Comments

Hey, lovelies! Apologies for not posting yesterday. I haven’t had time to write a whole bunch of May posts in one day like I did last month, but I GOT THROUGH EXAMS. Also this next week is VACATION TIME (!!!!) for my family and I, so that’s exciting! Good thing though – I’ve got all the book reviews for May written. So you won’t run out of book recommendations! And one post has got three in one. Like those shampoo, conditioner, and body wash soaps at the store.

the books!

I read seven books this month, and I should like to include Code Name Verity in this stack, which makes eight, because I finished it on May 1st. If I started it on May 1st, then it wouldn’t be counted. Make sense? No. Well too bad. Oh, oh – and I re-read FOUR. FOUR glorious re-reads. Re-reads are very important to me. If a book isn’t worth a re-read, then it isn’t worth the read. Of course, the re-reads this month were all Kiera Cass books in preparation for the HEIR, which debuts May 5th, which will be signed by the Kiera Cass and given to a #1 fan named Emily on May 6th (eeek!! Still can’t believe that!), but it still counts for something.

emily

Lovely stack, really. If you  notice one missing, it’s because I read Crunch on my Kindle. I do use my Kindle, I do. It’s not my best friend, as you can see, but I do use it. I’m adding a drop-down bar for where I talk about the books since it takes up too much space of the post. 😀

[learn_more caption=”Click to hear about the books!”]#1: Crunch by Leslie Connor: First book read in April! I reviewed it last week and gave it 3.5 stars! I don’t like using half stars, but I felt like it wasn’t a three star, and it wasn’t a four star, so what else I could do? It was teetering between “I loved this book!” and “Kind of mediocre.” (As seen on my review policies page here.)

#2: Dauntless by Dina L. Sleiman: You’ll be getting this review this Monday, folks, and I do believe I added some really pretty pictures of Dauntless hanging out in my dad’s garden. Tell me, WHAT is more beautiful than flowers and books?? No, don’t answer. (EDIT: That would be cats and books.) Pretty good, pretty good. Dauntless got 4 stars!

#3: This Means War by Ellen Wittlinger: I don’t want to give away too much, since I did a mini review for this miniature book (it was really really short!), but short doesn’t mean bad. It most certainly does not. 5 stars! Plus this was a historical fiction (cold war vibes, people!) so that was fantastic.

#4: Keep Smiling Through by Ann Rinaldi: Moving onto WWII historical fiction. I love a good WWII historical fic. I do mean LOVE. I DEVOUR THEM. Buuuutttt but…. not this one. I gave it 3 stars. But does that mean I don’t want you to read it?? NOOOO. You must, you must read it. It got 3 stars for the… well, I’ll explain in the review. Still. Read it for yourself, alright?

#5: Serendipity and Me by Judith L. Roth: Awwww. Sweet, sweet, sweet! Just so sweet! And can we admire the cover? ADORABLE. Get a lollipop and maybe some tissues and get reading! 5 stars!

You knew I had to include my cat in the fun.
You knew I had to include my cat in the fun.

#6: Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr: Oh. Um… this was really sad. The whole book was written in a sad mood. But it was so BEAUTIFUL. Why do I choose books that make me cry?! I gave it 5 stars, but… buuut… it was so saaaad. I also took some beautiful pictures for this review, though, so that’ll balance it out, yes?

#7: Princess Academy by Shannon Hale: Sweet flying pancakes. This was awesome!! I haven’t reviewed it, but I’ll probably give it 4 or 4.5 stars, because it was so creative! So… so wonderful! Agh! So glad I read it.

#8: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein: Holy cow holy cow holy cow holy cow holy cow holy cow holy cow. My brain hurts from thinking. My eyes hurt from crying. My heart hurts from breaking. WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF. This is THE best historical fiction I’ve read since The Book Thief. Yes. That good. Very heavy material. Little bit of language. But AMAZING. 6 stars. What? That’s not a rating? OH WELL. (And in case you were wondering why I haven’t been answering any comments… I WAS BUSY READING & THEN RECOVERING FROM FINISHING THIS BOOK!!)[/learn_more]

the blog posts

What were you guys excited about this month?? Well, let’s see. Well, you LOVED For the Bookish’s blogoversary, but I think you reeaallly liked my first-ever-giveaway (of course you did! Who doesn’t love free BARNES & NOBLE GIFT CARDS??) annnnd in second place for the most views, What The Mother/Daughter Book Club Taught Me.  That’s exciting! I loved that post! My personal favorite post was Authors Appreciating Readers. What about you? Which was your favorite post from April?

Also, because I’m nice and I LOVE reading other people’s blogs (turns out I’m not just a blogger, I’m also a blogling! (aka: person who reads blogs)), here are some of a few of my favorite posts on blogs I follow from April!

upcoming in may…

(april showers bring may flowers!)

As I mentioned before, I AM MEETING KIERA CASS IN FOUR DAYS. FOUR. DAYS. Which means The Heir comes out in about THREE. And can you just all stop and watch the beautiful trailer for The Heir that came out on Thursday?? (You can also watch it here.) I think know my mom is sick of hearing it, but it’s SO EXCITING.

Do you think I’m excited? I’m pretty excited.

Also all of the books mentioned that I read in April will be posted with their reviews here in a few weeks… and I’m doing a guest post on Inside Out Magazine in their culture & creativity section soon! Not sure when, but I’ll keep you posted. That was pretty exciting, as it’s one of my favorite blogs and I was so excited when the executive editor emailed me! I also hope to have a few guest posts of my own (well, from other people, of course), visiting with us in May, so stay tuned!

I hope everyone had a lovely April and an even better May!

I want to hear from you – what books have you read in April?? Favorites? Favorite blog posts? (On FTB and other blogs!)

Emily

blog segments, discussions, miscellaneous 'bookish' things, personal life

stacking the shelves

28 Comments

Hey, guys! So many books to be read. So many flashcards to study. Seriously, where is there someone I can pay to finish this last week of school for me so I can be DONE. All I want to do is sit on my bed and read and eat chocolate and blog and flip out over Kiera Cass and The Selection and there is LATIN to be done.

Anywho. One more week, just one more week! Of course, recently I’ve been reminded that I could be enduring another month of school if it weren’t for the marvelous fact that I’m home-schooled this year. Really, no complaints!

I got several books this week! Here’s the stack:

emily

Short disclaimers: I’ve read The Book Thief, and The Bronze Bow is school-required. But they’re BOOKS, and they’ll be added to my shelves, soooo…. stacking the shelves. 

Alright #1: The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. I cannot tell you how long this one’s been on my book wishlist. I told my dad that reading a book you’ve wanted to read for a long time is like finally meeting a friend of a friend you’ve heard so much about. So finally, we meet, Princess Academy! I do think we’ll be good friends! Plus I’ve been told this one’s like an MG Selection series, and that makes my heart sing.

#2: Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters. Yes, that’s a title. Oh – by Lesley M.M. Blume. I found this one whilst browsing thriftbooks.com (which I haven’t but need to order some books from!), and then saw it at a used bookstore nearby and had to have it. Plus you totally can’t beat two bucks, right?! I’m really looking forward to this one. It sounds like a really cute, funny one!

#3: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Again, used book store. Four bucks. For about a year I couldn’t bring myself to buy it for 13 or $14, when I had it on my Kindle, but FINALLY I have it in print, on my bookshelf. I can smell the pages. So, so very glorious. I may have to re-read it now that I’ve got it to hold in my hands… to feel the pages. Ahhh. Anyway, this one’s a classic already, so it’s good to have it in my little library. Kudos to my mom because she agreed it’s a classic and she bought it for me. (Also kudos to Emily for giving her the puppy-dog eyes.)

#4: The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare. School-required.

I kid, I kid! It looks really good. I’m sure I’ll love it. And besides, if anything, the wonderful-smelling pages will keep me hooked. (Happy sigh.)

Okay, so now it’s time for “Make everyone jealous because I have really cute bookish things and aggghhh they’re so cute!” Ready? Okay.

emily

“Pretty Girls Read Books.” Aggghhh!! *Squeals!!* I’m obsessed. Isn’t it so cute? Perfect for carrying all the books I’m bound to read on my vacations/trips this summer. And to the pool. Oh, gosh, I’m thinking about summer again. And mostly about all the books I’m going to read this summer. Somebody help me! =)

And to pin onto the cute bookish bag…

emily

These pins are just the cutest. Which one is your favorite?? I got each one at seperate times I went to the used bookstore. (It’s called 2nd & Charles, by the way – it’s a chain used book store so check if it’s in your area and then GO THERE. Seriously, it’s the best used book store in the history of used book stores.) I have to say I like the Future Author one. Apparently I missed it the first two times when I got the other pins. Anyway, they’re MATCHING and they’re CUTE and I just love it.

How was your week? What books did you get? Aren’t the pins and the bag so cute??!

Emily

 

blog segments, miscellaneous 'bookish' things

the taylor swift book tag!

20 Comments

I discovered The Taylor Swift book tag. It was bound to happen someday. Actually, I discovered the tag a few months ago, but I haven’t gotten to it yet. (Can you BELIEVE THAT?!) Anyone who knows me well knows almost anything by T-Swizzle will be blared loudly in my room. And now I can combine TWO of my favorite things! HUZZAH.

So basically, I talk about a book that reminds me of the Taylor Swift song. (If you haven’t listened to them, GO! NOW! SCOOT!) And then read this post, of course! =)

emily

We are Never Ever Getting Back Together (pick a book or series that you were pretty sure you were in love with, but then wanted to break up with): TOUGH ONE. I rarely read a book I don’t like. (Case in point: I have yet to post a review beneath 3 stars.) Buuut if I had to choose, I guess I’d say The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen. We didn’t click. I won’t be reading it again. I didn’t even read all of it in the first place.

Red (book with a red cover): The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez. It’s sort of red. Props for having the word ‘red’ in the title?? I rated it 4.5 stars! It was pretty darn good.

The Best Day (nostalgic book): THIS IS THE BEST STINKING SONG BY TS EVER. So (obviously), I’ve gotta pick a book that is the best stinking book Emily has ever read. Nostalgic, right? Mandy by Julie Edwards Andrews orrrr The Main Street series by Ann M. Martin. Forever childhood friends.

Love Story (book with a forbidden love): Forbidden love, forbidden love… urm. Looking at my bookshelf now. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli? Does that count as forbidden love? The Selection by Kiera Cass? (Aspen is a cast below America, so it’s not like it’s illegal for them to marry, but not really acceptable…) mm. I need to find more books with forbidden love.

I Knew You Were Trouble (a bad character you couldn’t help but love): Ooh!!! Umm… Ida B? By Katherine Hannigan. She was annoying, but lovable. I dunno… If they’re bad, I stay away!

Innocent (someone ruined the ending for you): LUCKY FOR MEEE. Nobody’s spoiled the ending for a book I’ve read yet. Mostly ’cause a) I steer clear from spoilers on book reviews and b) none of my friends keep up with which book I’m reading/don’t always read the same books as me. =) Also anyone who ruins a book for me will die. Just sayin’.

Everything Has Changed (a character who has gone through extensive development): Allie from Interrupted by Rachel Coker (atheist who doesn’t trust anyone to a Christian who falls in love? Hello?) and Dit from The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had by Kristin Levine (that book review is coming soon!) Both of them changed incredibly from beginning to end of their books, in an incredibly awesome way.

You Belong With Me (pick your most anticipated book release): ohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh. Okay. The Heir by Kiera Cass. I’m getting butterflies thinking about it. EEEEEE!!!! Plus I’m going to be in Washington D.C. on May 6th, the day after it comes out and Kiera Cass is going to be there and I’M GOING TO MEET HER. TO GET A BOOK SIGNED. PERSONALLY. BY THE KIERA CASS. No big deal.

Forever and Always (my favorite book couple): Confused ’cause this song is about a break up… particularly about a break-up in which Joe Jonas broke up with Taylor in 27 seconds on the phone. GET YOUR TAYLOR SWIFT FACTS STRAIGHT, PEOPLE. So in this case, I’m going to pick my favorite book couple who broke up/ended horribly. {spoiler if you haven’t read the Family Tree series by Ann M. Martin} Dana and Matthew, from The Family Tree series book #2, OR Zander and Abby from The Family Tree series #1. AGGHH. WHY ANN M. MARTIN?!

Come Back, Be Here (pick the book you would least like to lend out, for fear of missing it too much): Interrupted or Chasing Jupiter by Rachel Coker. I lent Interrupted out once. (My dear friend didn’t finish it. ‘Said it was too emotional. WHATS WRONG WITH YOU.) Never again.

So what books would you put with which songs? Do you agree with me on any of them? Read any of these books? ARE YOU A TAYLOR SWIFT FAN? Tell me below! I neeeeeed to know!

Emily

miscellaneous 'bookish' things, personal life

a weekly recap

16 Comments

Hey, guys! This past week was my spring break and I’ve enjoyed it sooo much. Now to get through the next few weeks and it’ll be summer vacation before I know it! I read three books this week, gave eight inches of my hair to Children with Hair Loss, and I hosted my first ever giveaway on For the Bookish! Plus at the end of this post, I have some exciting news!

the books

Three books! HUZZAH. Not my best, but decent enough.

emily

Crunch by Leslie Connor was really good! In between 3 and 4 stars (check out my review policies to see how I rate books), and even though I don’t really like giving half star ratings, Crunch got 3.5 stars. Dauntless by Dina L. Sleiman gets 4 stars (my mom got it for me for Easter! I need to get my mom to pick out books for me more often!) And This Means War by Ellen Wittlinger will definitely be a favorite of mine – 5 stars!

the hair

Thursday, my mom took my sister and I to get our hair cut, and I decided to do something different! I showed the hair stylist what I wanted, and she told me it was enough to donate. I gave eight pony tails to Children with Hair Loss! Of course, lots of pictures of my new ‘do was ensued.

emily

I just love it! So light and cute and much easier to fix! =)

the giveaway!

Last Friday for For the Bookish’s ONE YEAR BLOGOVERSARY (eeek! I still can’t believe it’s been a year!), I hosted my first ever giveaway. It was a fantastic success. I announced the winner yesterday in my post where I talked about my reviews (congrats, H.M. Wilson!) I’ll definitely be doing more giveaways soon. =)

How was your week? Have you read any of the books I read this week? =)

exciting news…

A lot of you follow my blogging buddy Trisha (from Forever Trisha), and recently we’ve been emailing back and forth, and Trisha had a fantastic idea! She told me about her idea for a Blogger Book Club! We’re inviting several specific bloggers to join, but any blogger can join – and if you don’t have a blog, you can still join, too! Every week or so (we haven’t decided exactly when), we’ll talk about the book we’re reading via chatzy.com. We’ll set up a private chat so only the people in the group can join. We don’t all have to be on the chat at once (since we’re all in different time zones), but this way we can still read what we all have to say about the book. I’ll probably be typing the discussions as a blog post, but it’s up to your about that. =) Trisha and I decided to start with one of our favorite books – The Mother/Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick! I know many of you have read it, but we thought it’d be fun to re-read it anyway. Plus, it’s fitting to start our book club with a book about a book club! More details about the Blogger Book Club will probably be coming soon!

Emily

discussions, miscellaneous 'bookish' things

help me pick out dresses & books

19 Comments

Hey, guys! Today I can officially tell people I’ve been keeping up with my book blog for over a year. So today’s a pretty exciting day, too. (Well, not for the disciples some 2,000 years ago, right??) 😉 But tomorrow is going to be even better! (If you haven’t guessed already, it’s EASTER SUNDAY tomorrow!)

My family and I are going to be visiting a friend’s church and going a few hours away to an annual Easter family gathering on my dad’s side of the family. I haven’t been down there for Easter for a few years, so that’s pretty exciting. Plus it’s my baby cousin’s first Easter! I can’t wait to see her!

emily

Look at that crazy hair! We already have one thing in common. My hair’s pretty crazy too. This is what my friend’s face looked like the other day when she saw my bed head:

Come on, I had to use that gif! Anyway, I’m still debating what to wear for Easter.

emily

I think I have a thing for navy. What do you think? Polka dots? Lacey dress? Plain navy? Ohhh the decisions.

If you noticed in the title, I’m doing a “DNF recap,” which in case you didn’t know, “DNF” stands for Did Not Finish. Because (oops, started a sentence with because. Apologies, second grade teacher!), being the bookworm that I am, I tend to actually NOT read some books sometimes. You know that feeling you get when you know you have money to spend? It just feels SO GOOD to know you’ve got money in your wallet.

Yep. I replace money with books, and wallet with bookshelf. Which means I currently have $0 in my wallet, and a LOT of unfinished books. Here’s the stack:

emily

Uh-huh. I know! I feel awful. I didn’t even realize there were so many. I also have a couple… (alright, alright, 6) books on my Kindle I haven’t read…

emily

emily

 

Do you recognize any books from the stack or on my Kindle? Aren’t there SO MANY??! I am soooo behind.

Which dress do you like? Which book should I read first? Let me know!

Emily

blog segments, miscellaneous 'bookish' things

IT’S FOR THE BOOKISH’S BIRTHDAY!!! + MY FIRST GIVEAWAY

27 Comments

It’s SO hard to believe I’ve been blogging on For the Bookish for ONE WHOLE YEAR! It feels like just yesterday I asked my dad to help me set up my blog URL and find a good design for it. (I still think my blog design is the coolest ever. It pays off to have a web designer for a dad.) =)

emily

When I first started blogging on For the Bookish, I wanted to talk about books I was reading and meet girls with similar book interests. That’s still the main purpose of For the Bookish, but I would have never guessed how much I would have grown to love blogging. In my mom’s words, it’s become sort of like my outlet.

I love talking to everyone who comments on my blog, and following other book blogs like mine. Because of For the Bookish, I’ve found so many great books to read and so many great friends, all over the world! (Including getting my first pen pal through the blog- which is so awesome because I’ve always wanted one and now I have the best pen pal ever!)

So thanks to everyone who takes the time to leave a comment, or read a post. Thanks for telling me about great books to read and giving me a place to ramble and be silly and still take me seriously. 🙂 I’ve had a fantastic year blogging on For the Bookish, and I hope I will for many more years to come!

To thank you all, I’m hosting my FIRST EVER giveaway on For the Bookish!! I’m giving away a $15 Barnes & Noble gift card to the winner. Enter below! =)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you guys so, so much! Until Monday!!

Emily

blog segments, discussions, miscellaneous 'bookish' things

for the bookish’s one year blogoversary tag!

23 Comments

Hey, guys! As promised, today is For the Bookish’s one year blogoversary TAG! That means I’m tagging myself, and YOU! Answer the questions I answered below on YOUR blog and don’t forget to add your link way at the bottom of this post. 🙂 And if you don’t have a blog, but follow and comment on For the Bookish, I’ve got some questions for you, too!

emily

When did you start your blog? I started my blog on April 3, 2014. (THAT’S ALMOST A YEAR AGO. HOLY COW.)

What the purpose of your blog? Has it changed since then? I started my blog to talk about the books I was reading and rant about authors and characters and post book reviews! I’m still doing that and having a blast with it.

Did you blog on another blog before then? I’m adding this question ’cause believe it or not, I blogged for a good four years before I started For the Bookish. (‘Betcha didn’t know that, now did you?) When I was eight, my dad helped me get a domain name so I could blog about anything I wanted. I mostly talked about my cat and what I ate for lunch… (who am I kidding, I still talk about my cat and recipes/what I ate recently! Haha!), and then I kind of stopped. For the Bookish is more about books and reviews and authors (and anything bookish!) than it is my personal, what-I-ate-for-lunch boring kind of stuff, even though I do post on Saturdays sometimes about what’s been happening in my life.

Why did you start your blog? I sort of answered this in the last two questions, but I wanted a blog specifically for talking about bookish things! It’s been really fun getting to know everyone who follows my blog in the comments, and since starting For the Bookish I’ve discovered more books and book blogs than I ever would have.

What made you first think writing a blog could be fun? (Did you follow other blogs, did you know someone who wrote a blog, did you want to make money off of it?:) Well, like I said, I blogged on my other blog for four years before I started For the Bookish. (That was great, because I was already really familiar with WordPress and I knew what I was doing, for the most part. And besides, my dad is a web designer!) I only followed 3 or 4 other blogs, and only one of those, I think, was a book blog. I think a girl from a Taylor Swift fan club I joined a couple of years ago had a blog, and she nominated me for a Liebster award. That’s when I realized there was a whole little community of different blogs, and there such things as blog awards and guest posts and memes and tags and all!

How did you come up with your blog name? Is there a meaning (quote, life lesson, etc) behind it? Actually, I came up with ‘For the Bookish’ as a name for a bookstore, not a book blog. I would like to own a book store someday, and so naturally, in a story I was writing, I gave a character my dream book store, but I had no idea what I should call it. I don’t remember the other ideas, but For the Bookish was my favorite. If I own a book store one day, I think I’ll name it For the Bookish, too. Or The Shop Around the Corner. 🙂

How/when do you get ideas for your posts? In the shower, in the car, while reading a book, when I’m supposed to be doing Latin. You get the picture. I don’t really know how to answer this. Ideas just pop into my head when I’m not even thinking about them. Sometimes I’m a little stuck, and I don’t know what I’m going to blog about. That’s where tags, guest posts, and even book reviews come in handy.

When do you type up your posts? Usually on Sunday. Since December or January, I’ve started blogging consistently every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and sometimes on Saturday, for random rambles/goings on in my life. But most Sundays, I’ll type up the next three posts and schedule them to automatically post, so they’re already up on the blog before I even wake up. Sometimes I’m running a little behind, and I know what I’m going to blog about, I just haven’t actually written the post. (That’s why sometimes I post a little late in the day.) Right now, I’m typing this on Saturday, and you won’t read it till Wednesday!

So now it’s YOUR turn! Answer the questions on your blog and tag everyone else to join in. I can’t wait to see your answers!

If you don’t have a blog, I’ve got some questions for you, too (and even if you do, feel free to answer these questions in the comments!)

  1. How long have you been following For the Bookish?
  2. What are your favorite kinds of posts?
  3. What kind of books do you read?
  4. Are there any books I’ve reviewed on FTB you wouldn’t have read otherwise?
  5. Who are your favorite authors?
  6. What would you like to see more of on For the Bookish?

I hope you guys all like this tag! I hope you all join in! I can’t wait to see your answers. Add your link to your post below:

‘); // ]]>

Emily

blog segments, miscellaneous 'bookish' things

interview with anna banana // animal lover, novelist, & coolest little sister

24 Comments

Hey, guys! So here’s another post for For the Bookish’s one year of bookishness coming up (April 3rd is my ONE YEAR BLOGOVERSARY!) I’ve had this idea for a while and thought it would be fun for For the Bookish’s birthday posts. You can read the interview below, or listen to it below! Sooo, finally, meet my little sister!


emily

To start things off, Anna, why don’t you tell a little about yourself? Well, I like to play with our cats… and we’re taking care of our friends’ dog, Olive, for three weeks, and I like to take her outside. Hmm… what else do I like to do?

Don’t you take a martial arts class called Arnis? Yes, I do! Oh, and I like to play on Animal Jam (animaljam.com), and my username is acope321, if you want to buddy me. (Anna is obsessed with Animal Jam!) and I home-school…

You mentioned playing with our cats and Olive, the dog we’re taking care of for a few weeks? You like animals? Yes, I LOVE them.

What are your favorite animals? My favorite animal would probably be a snow leopard. I love arctic wolves… I have one on Animal Jam named Princess Icy Wolf. Anyway, I really love exploring outside, and stuff like that.

Do you like to read about animals? Yes, I love reading about animals.

What are your favorite books? My favorite book… well, I love all books, but my favorite book – there’s this magazine called Zoobooks, and I love Zoobooks. I also like books that have animals. And I love, love, love these books my dad has. They’re like puzzle books and crafts…

What are they about? They have different things, like about people.

They’re like brain teasers, right? Yeah, some are like brain teasers.

So what kind of chapter books or novels do you like reading? Well, I like The Boxcar Children, that is like my FAVORITE books!

You LOVE The Boxcar Children, don’t you? And I’ve read books 1, 2… and now I’m on book 3, and they’re epic! They’re epic books. You can order them on Amazon, they’re really good.

Do you have a favorite author? My favorite author would have to be Dr. Suess, though he’s dead. (That’s okay! Jane Austen is dead, too, right?) Lots of my – most of them – of my favorite authors are either dead or in jail!

We don’t know that one guy is in jail! (Some kid told me in the 4th/5th grade Shell Silverstein was in jail. He died in 1999!) Who was your other favorite author, who wrote those poetry books? Shell Silverstein.

What kind of books does he write? Well, he writes like poem books. There’s this one I can repeat:

“I made myself a snow ball as perfect as could be.
I thought I’d keep it as a pet and let it sleep with me.
I made it some pajamas and a pillow for it’s head.
Then, last night it ran away.
But first — it wet the bed.” 

And that’s just one of his many poems! I love that.

So you really like poetry, like Shell Silverstein and Dr. Suess. Yeah!

So, Anna, do you consider yourself a bookish person? 🙂 Um… well, sort of. Not really, I more prefer playing outside, but I do love books. There aren’t a lot of books that I like, but if you find the PERFECT book, I… love it. If you find the perfect book, I LOVE IT.

So you like to read, and a couple years ago you started writing, is that right? I believe you spent nearly two years writing a book! Yes, actually! It’s, uh… three years.

Three years! Wow, that’s dedication. Yeah, I started it three years ago.

So three whole years ago! That’s what, you started it when you were 7… now you’re 10? I think it was like 5 or 6… I think I was 6. I started it in the first grade, it’s called Journey to an Unknown Land. 

“Journey to an Unknown Land….” It’s not published… I still have to make it better (add better adjectives… and stuff), because I started it in the first grade! And you can tell what grade I was in when I was writing it, on certain pages.

Yeah, because your writing got better! It’s 61 (Front and back on notebook paper!) pages, it’s the longest I’ve ever written – longest I’ve ever finished, actually.

So what was the writing process for you like? How did you start writing it? How’d you get the idea…? Well, I like journey adventures – oh, my favorite movie is Journey to the Center of the Earth.

So you kind of got inspiration from that? Like there’s a part where they’re in this ocean and I have this book, I can read you a page from it.

That’s okay. So your story, Journey to an Unknown Land was kind of inspired from Journey to the Center of the Earth? Yes, and like when I was writing the story, I read other kinds of books like it, so it could give me inspiration.

Yeah, that’s a pretty good piece of writing advice, to read the kind of genres that you’re writing. So what is Journey to an Unknown Land about? Well, there’s this little girl named Lizzie (I’m probably gonna change her name), annnd… she is kind of a… brat, but there are these bullies that bully her everyday and then she gets in a fight with her mom at dinnertime, ’cause she’s always just being rude and stuff… when she goes on a journey to an unknown land, she realizes there’s more to life. Annnnd there’s this little thing named Emily – like she’s a little furry square with a tail, that’s all it is. And there’s like this unicorn thing, it’s not full unicorn, it’s like just a beautifully colored horse, and I forgot its name, but she meets them, and on the way she meets others, and so it’s more than just them, but they go along with her on the way. Not the others, she just help the other things out, but the horse and Emily, they go along with her on an adventure.

So for three years you wrote this book – how long is it? It’s about 60 pages long.

Wow! That’s impressive. Do you plan on editing it any time soon? You mentioned having to add adjectives, and things… because you started it in the first grade! Yeah, I need to edit it a lot. 

Well, that sounds fantastic to me! I can’t wait to read your finished novel, I’ll definitely have to share that on the blog. 😉 So that’s it for today! I enjoyed interviewing you today, Anna Banana! Mm… please don’t call me that. I go to Arnis (my martial arts class), and there’s this girl, and eeeevery time she calls me ‘Anna Banana.’

It annoys you? YES.

Well, I’m going to call you that anyway. Bye, everyone!

Emily