Armchair BEA Day 5: My First Three Blog Loves

Welcome to Day 5, the FINAL day of discussions at Armchair BEA 2014! If you are participating, today's the day when you can discuss a topic of your own choice, it can be about anything like blogging games, events, activities, thoughts etc. Additionally, you can also talk about today's main topic: Middle Grade/ Young Adult.

Topic of Choice 
Today is the day to talk about something that you feel we have missed or that you want to spend a little extra time chatting about. Ideas include, but are not limited to: a genre that does not fit into those featured earlier this week; logistics, such as blogging resources, procedures, or advice; or something completely fun with book to movie adaptations or favorite blogging games, features, memes, events, and/or activities. It’s your freebie day to choose what you like! 

Well, so I'm just thinking about listing the top three book blogs I came across while I had started out book blogging in the first place. They are my first favorite blogs, in terms of resources and features they showcase.

1. Small Review

This was my lifesaver back when I didn't know how to insert the "colored box" in my posts. Well, I did know how to customize a blockquote but at that time I wasn't planning on doing that either, not before customizing other more important things. So I was just randomly surfing the net with no hope for finding a solution and then all of sudden it was there, this blog with a tutorial showing exactly how you can create a colored box and customize it in different ways. I remember myself squealing with happiness at the sudden apparently gigantic discovery :p But seriously, this blog has been one of my favorites since then, even though I don't follow it on a regular basis. It has got some pretty useful resources, so if you are just starting out or looking for something nice for your blog, consider having a peek at it (and no, I'm not being compensated in any way for recommending this :p)

Armchair BEA Day 4: Beyond the Borders

We are halfway through the week of Armchair BEA and today's discussion is all about stepping 'Beyond the Borders'.

It’s time to step outside your comfort zone, outside your borders, or outside of your own country or culture. 
Tell us about the books that transported you to a different world, taught you about a different culture, and/or helped you step into the shoes of someone different from you. What impacted you the most about this book?

What books would you recommend to others who are ready or not ready to step over the line? In essence, let’s start the conversation about diversity and keep it going!

I personally like almost any sub-genres under Young Adult. Still there are a few genre, like paranormal, mystery and thriller which are not as frequent as others. Then there are a few NA reads I've enjoyed. And of course, some very popular classics. Overall, there are too many to recommend but I'll randomly pick and try to mention a few *peeks into the Goodreads 'read' pile* :

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1) by Michelle Hodkin

Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.

I got and finished this book just a few months ago. I haven't yet read the second one. Still, I'm dying to get my hands on the third one which isn't published yet. This book was a really refreshing read for me, after having read almost the same kinds of genres at a stretch for quite sometime. And its mystery and paranormal element is wonderfully executed. There were moments when I felt as disturbed as Mara over a situation. I feel that if you can connect and empathize with the main character of a book, then that's a successful writing!

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Armchair BEA Day 3: Expanding Blogging Horizons

Hello! So I'm glad to fianlly catch up with the schedule of Armchair BEA :) Looking at my workload, it seemed for a moment that I won't be even able to see what everyone's upto this time, glad I could beat my schedule *fistbumps with self*.

So, today's topic of discussion is 'Expanding Blogging Horizons & Novellas/Short Stories'. Since I haven't read much short stories for a long time, I think I'll pass the latter. 

What do you think about when you think about going beyond blogging or expanding your horizons? Is it a redesign of your blog? Have you branched out into freelance writing or even published a novel of your very own? Or, have you moved into a different venue like podcasts or vlogging? This is the day to tell us about how you have expanded on blogging in your own unique way.

Firstly, I had started out blogging as a hobby. In this process, I have gotten to know loads of really wonderful people since then, many of them have even ended up becoming my book besties :) I feel all this is more than I could ever ask for. So in terms of book blogging, I am content with what I have right now. 

In terms of reading though, I plan to widen the range of my reading genres. I hope to read as many classics as possible. I am very much into Young Adult genre, but I have always loved classics like Dickens, Haggard though I haven't been able to read all of their works. In terms of reviewing, I'm trying really hard to use whatever spare time I manage to get in posting up my reviews that have been sitting in the Drafts area for all eternity. Though I don't want to strain myself, since that would contradict my blogging hobby in the first place. 

But yes, in terms of blog designing, I am strongly aiming to improve myself gradually. It may not be anything of professional sort though. I have completed my Major in English Literature and Linguistics, a totally non-tech subject, but blog designing is something I really enjoy doing at those times when I'm having a break from reading or book blogging. Once I have sorted the major things out, I may start a blog design site of my own as well, just to see how it turns out.

Armchair BEA Day 1 : Introductions

Hey there lovelies!! It's been a crazy week for me...but I'm finally back :)

I was hoping to post a  few reviews of my reads from last week and put up a participation post for Armchair BEA, but my hectic schedule didn't let me. So I decided to put up my Day 1's Introductory post, along with today's topic at Armchair BEA, If you still don't know what this event is all about, check it out on their official site: Armchair BEA-

If you're a book blogger who can't attend Book Expo America and/or the BEA Blogger Convention in New York this May, you don't have to miss all the fun - this virtual convention is the place to be! Watch this space for all the news about daily blogging themes, discussions, giveaways and more!

Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? Where in the world are you blogging from?