Visit Seekerville Today!

I should have posted this earlier today, but I'm just now getting to it. :) Sandra Leesmith graciously contacted me last week about being part of a post she was working on for The Seekers' blog (Seekerville) about "The World of Book Reviews". She interviewed several book bloggers about how they got started, why they write reviews, and tips for others to consider. 

I'm so honored that Sandra featured i blog 4 books as part of her post, and I enjoyed getting to know some of my fellow bloggers a bit better as well! I'm definitely in GREAT company! So ... if you haven't read it already, stop by Seekerville and check it out!

Celebrate with Christian Bookshelf Reviews!

Melanie from Christian Bookshelf Reviews is celebrating her 3rd Blogoversary with a party on February 1-9! 

Melanie has become a great blogger friend over the past couple of years! We have similar reading tastes, and she has encouraged me to check out some new authors/books through her reviews. Plus, we've had a blast participating in several read-a-thons and challenges in the past year.

Melanie throws a great party, so be sure to stop by to see what she has planned!

Announcing the Countdown to Christmas Party!

I've been hinting about some big news for the past couple of weeks and am excited to be able to share what I've been cooking up ...

I'm having a party!

Yes, you read that right. A party! On i blog 4 books!

I (with a lot of help from some really awesome friends—both old and new) am going all out with a huge Christmas celebration this year to help us all get in the Christmas spirit!

Countdown to Christmas {Etsy} Party

November 18-23

I'm starting off with a week-long party featuring some really fantastic artists on Etsy. Each artist has some fun Christmas-y items for sell in their shop. I'll be featuring these items, and the artists have graciously offered GIVEAWAYS to you, my readers! There will be at least one giveaway per day. I promise these are things you will definitely want to get your hands on!

Countdown to Christmas {Book} Party

December 2-14

After Thanksgiving, we'll pick up where we left off with a two-week party featuring some amazing authors and their Christmas books! There will be interviews, reviews, excerpts, and lots (and lots!) of GIVEAWAYS! To date, the guest list includes 19 authors! 

I'll post more details closer to the start of the party (or parties!), but in the meantime, I would love your help in spreading the word. A simple tweet or post on Facebook would be much appreciated if you have the time. I've also posted code at the bottom of this post for the two buttons so you can use them if you're so inclined. Just copy the code under the image and you can use them where you like.

I can't wait to celebrate with you in a few weeks!

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Merry Christmas!

I'm sure you're just as busy as I am but I wanted to take a minute to say Merry Christmas! We spent this weekend hanging out with friends, pulling the Christmas tree out of the attic (no ornaments yet!), moving furniture around, and doing a little more Christmas shopping. We are so close to being finished! I think we'll knock the rest of it out this week. Yay! I also spent a few hours doing a little crafty activity to help us create some new memories and traditions. I hope to post about that before Christmas but in all likelihood, it will be after. :)

My posting will probably be a little spotty this month. I'm giving myself "permission" to post less so that I can make time for more important things. Sorry, but that's just how it is!

Hope you all are having a wonderful beginning to your Christmas season!!! I'd love to hear from you if/when you have the time!

Update for Email Subscribers

I've recently learned that Google's Feedburner RSS is scheduled to shut down on October 20.  I didn't really think this would affect any of my readers, but much to my surprise quite a few of you are receiving the i blog 4 books RSS feed. Who knew?!

Anyway. I'm not planning to shut Feedburner down until Google does. (Maybe they'll change their mind!) BUT, I wanted to let you know that this service will be going away before the end of the month. I'd love for you to continue reading, so add me to your blog reader, join up through GFC, or you can follow me on Facebook or Twitter. If I decide on another free RSS option, I'll be sure to let you know!

Regardless, THANK YOU for reading!

Excited to share this new book with you!

I'm so excited to share with you that my friend Chad Gibbs just released his second book yesterday! I LOVED his first one—God & Football—and am confident that Love Thy Rival will be just as good.

Chad has the unique ability to write about serious topics—in this case, loving your enemies—with practical examples—in this case, sports rivalries—and tons of humor. I mean, who else can make the copyright page funny?!

(Side note . . . surely you know by now that I wouldn't recommend a book to you only because the author is a friend. Right?!)

Anyway. I haven't had the chance to read it yet, but I bought mine last night and it's in the mail now! The ebook is only $4.99 (Nook, Kindle, iBook), or you can buy a paperback copy wherever books are sold. (Or buy an autographed copy on Chad's website!) Plus, share about the book on Facebook or Twitter, and Chad will send you a free chapter. Come on . . . he's making it easy for you to give it a shot!

You'll be hearing more about this book from me in the next few weeks. In the meantime, though, here's the blurb . . . 

In his first book, the best-selling God & Football: Faith and Fanaticism in the SEC, humorist Chad Gibbs explored his own struggles to balance faith in God with passion for pigskin.  Now Gibbs is back asking how Christian fans can love their enemies, when we can’t even love rival fans.

From the cross-country culture war of Lakers vs Celtics, to the cross-state hate-fest of Alabama vs Auburn, Gibbs spent one year attending the most intense rivalry games in sports (Yankees vs Red Sox, Duke vs Carolina, and many more), observing the darker side of fan culture, and pondering the problems rivalry games present to the Christian fan.

The result… Love Thy Rival, an enlightening, laugh-a-minute look at what sports’ greatest rivalries teach us about one of Jesus’ most difficult commands: Love your enemies. 

You're Invited!

Happy Monday! I hope you all are enjoying this beautiful spring weather we're having! I know it's an early spring—which probably means an especially hot summer—but I'll take it whenever I can get it!

I mentioned on Friday that I've been working on a few things for the blog and I'm excited to let you in on one of the secrets today!

[Drum roll, please!]

On April 5, I will be celebrating my 2nd Blogaversary at i blog 4 books! I can't believe it's been two years, but it has been! (Well . . . almost, anyway!) To celebrate, I'm having a Titanic-themed party on April 2-6, and you're invited! Several incredible authors will be dropping by, and of course there will be giveaways!

Feel free to grab the button in the sidebar and share about this party on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. If you do, please leave a link in the comments section. Sharing about the party by April 1 may help you out in the giveaways. (Hint, hint!) Watch for other pre-party events as well!

So mark your calendars, dress in your best frock, and don't miss out on the fun!

(Oh . . . and if you missed Friday's post, would you take a minute and give me your feedback?)

Need Your Feedback :)

It's been a slow posting week around here for me. I've been working on a few things for the blog, reading (of course!), and been taking a mini-break from posting daily. I'm sure you've had plenty of other blogs to read in my absence!

Of course, a little down time has allowed the creative juices to start flowing, so I have a couple of ideas I want to run by you.

Book Discussions
I know there are a lot of online book clubs and in real life ones as well, but I just finished reading a book that I'm DYING to talk to somebody about. I'm not exactly sure how this would work, but I'm thinking the posts would be hosted here on i blog 4 books and people could comment away. It may be a one-post discussion or a series of posts over several weeks. I think most of the questions would allow for interesting discussion whether or not you had already read the book - but might actually prompt you to grab a copy next time you're looking for a new book.

Getting to Know You
The thing I've liked the most about hosting various authors for Blogside Chats recently is getting to know a bit more about them—including some totally random tidbits. It's just fun getting to know the people behind the book. I was tossing around some low-maintenance ways to get to know YOU a bit better. What about posting one or two random questions for you to answer each month? You could post on your blog and link up or just answer in the comments. Nothing too personal—just some bloggy fun. I know some of us—including myself—like to maintain our privacy out here on the inter webs. :)

So there they are. What do you think? Good ideas? Bad ideas? Would you participate? Can you think of a better way to do them? After all, they'll really only work with a little audience participation, you know?!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'll be back with lots of posts and a fun announcement next week!

500 and Counting

Yesterday, I posted my 500th post!

Seems like a lot to you? Yeah, well, it seems like a lot to me too!

I have thoroughly enjoyed the past (almost) two years of blogging here at i blog 4 books. I'm thankful for all of you who read this little ol' blog! I'm quite positive that I wouldn't still be blogging if no one was out there reading.

Because I'm doing a little happy dance in my chair right now, I thought I'd share the love and have an impromptu giveaway!

All the Details:

We'll keep things simple, so just post a comment on this post if you want to enter. Make sure I have a way to get in touch with you if you win! Feel free to share the news any way you like, but comments will be the only entries.

The giveaway will run through Monday, February 27. The winner will be contacted and have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. You must reside in the US to win.

Oh . . . you want to know what you can win? Well, it's your choice! You can win ONE of the following books from my shelves:

The Chair by James L. Rubart (ARC)

Heart of Gold by Robin Lee Hatcher

The House of Hope by Elisabeth Gifford

Threads of Hope by Andrea Boeshaar

Announcing the Winners

I had lots of fun with the giveaways over the last week or so. You can expect more giveaways this year. In fact, I've got another one scheduled for the beginning of February, so keep an eye out!

But let's get down to the business of announcing the winners!

The winner of the (in)courage giveaway is . . . 

Crystal at Just Another Book Lovin' Girl

The winner of a copy of The Accidental Bride by Denise Hunter is . . . 

Gwen

Congratulations, ladies! I've emailed both of you. If you didn't get the email, contact me and let me know!

(Winners were selected randomly via random.org.)

What's Ahead for 2012?

I realize that most bloggers have finished up with all of their posts about resolutions and planning for the year ahead of us. Well, I'm the exception. :) I've been working on this post for the last two weeks and am finally finishing up!

You may have noticed that I've been a bit hit-or-miss over the past few weeks. I'm hoping to get back on track with posting reviews and all sorts of other things. However, that will have to wait just a bit longer. Hubs and I are taking on a pretty big cooking project this afternoon. I'll give you just a hint: 10 lbs of ground beef + 6 lbs of rotisserie chicken + 7.5 lbs of chicken fingers = 2 months worth of meals. We will be cooking up a storm this afternoon. Hoping to take some pictures and then do a bit of blogging about our new meal plan.

Until then, though, here are a few things you can be looking forward to seeing here in the coming year. Consider these "resolutions" if you wish.

Reviews
I started i blog 4 books as a place to post my book reviews, and you will still be seeing plenty of them! I actually have quite a few stashed away from December to post so you may even see more than normal in the weeks to come. I'm also hoping to create a catalog of sorts so that you can more easily search my reviews by title or author. You will probably also see a few Snappy Reviews posts throughout the year if I get backlogged.

Blogside Chats
I attempted to start posting author interviews last year. I posted three. Not near as many as I hoped for. I think I've got a better system now, so hopefully, I will be able to do this more effectively. They will be posted as Blogside Chats and will give us all a chance to learn more about the book, the author's writing life, and get a glimpse into the author's real life.

Memes
I plan to participate in three memes this year: Teaser Tuesdays, Thursday 3, and The Friday Five. I probably won't post all of them every week, but I'll participate regularly. I'm not sure if this really counts as a meme or not, but I'll still be posting Friday's Freebies when there are great free e-books to share with you.

Reading Challenges
I've already posted quite a bit about the reading challenges I'll be participating in. I'm doing a grand total of 10 different challenges, so you'll be hearing about my progress in those from time to time during the year. (Click "Challenges" at the top of the page for more details.)

Month In Review
I got this idea from Crystal at Just Another Book Lovin' Girl. Basically, I'll post a summary of everything that's been going on at the end of the month. If you missed anything, you'll be able to go back and catch up. Plus, it will help me keep track of what I'm really doing here.

Giveaways
My goal this year is to have at least one giveaway per month. If authors or publishers want to do more, then we'll definitely do more, but I'm shooting for 12 for the year.

Community
Part of why I love blogging so much is because of the community that it creates . . . or can create. I don't always do a very good job of getting to know other bloggers, leaving comments, etc., but I'm hoping to change that in the next few months. So please leave comments for me and I'll do my best to respond to them. Also, let me know if you have a blog. I'd love to read up on what you're doing as well.

Organization
From time to time the number of reviews I've committed to can get a tad overwhelming. Add in the number of emails that I receive related to blogging and it's just crazy! So, I'm working on being quicker to respond to emails and get some organization in place for my reviews. Let this be the year of stress-free blogging. ;)

Miscellaenous
I'm tossing around a few other ideas as well. The blog will probably undergo a design makeover soon. I'd love to have a big Blogaversary Bash but I'm not sure I've really got the time to devote to it before February. If not this year, then next year for sure. I'm also trying to come up with a Christmas blog event that will take place during the four weeks leading up to Christmas. I've got a few ideas but I'm trying to figure out the best way to make it happen - or if Christmas is even the best time. Thoughts?

So . . . what are your blogging goals for this year?

Changes!

As of this month I’ve been blogging on this site and reviewing books for a year-and-a-half! It’s a bit crazy to think that something that started as a money-saver for me has turned into a hobby that I truly enjoy! In light of my halfaversary (you know, halfway between anniversaries!), I’ve decided to revamp the blog a bit. You’ll notice some of these changes immediately and some will be rolled out in the next couple of weeks.

A lot of the blogs that I follow regularly have some really great regular features. So … I’m going to try to post some regular features. You've already seen a couple of Teaser Tuesdays, but be looking for Game Changers, Random Questions, and Freebies. And of course there will still be reviews ... that's what the site is for afterall!

I'll also be hosting a fantastic (if I do say so myself) Halfaversary Giveaway (the biggest one yet!) and attempting a Halfaversary Rummage Sale later this month.

The other big change that you may notice is that I’m pulling some of the personal stuff off of this blog. This has been something that I’ve wrestled with since I started. Due to the nature of Hubs' job and my desire to be a bit more open in my blogging, I need a more private place to do that. So … I will continue to blog personally on a different site (Aqua Submarine). If I know you in real life, I’d love for you to follow me over there. Just let me know and I will send you an invite. If I don’t know you in real life (only in blog life), I hope this doesn’t hurt your feelings and that you will continue to follow me here. :) I will still post some reflections, Scripture memory, and some other random things, but this new blog will allow me the freedom to open up a bit more.

Oh … and one last thing (I promise!). iblog4books now has it’s very own Facebook page. Check it out when you have some time!

Summer Reading Program

As much as I love to read, I absolutely despised reading for school. The worst was "summer reading" for school. I think we mainly did this in high school, but it seemed that we always, always, always had to read the worst books. (Even my English-major-brother says that some of these weren't very good!) I always put it off until the last possible minute ... or didn't even really finish at all.

So the words "summer reading" don't have a great connotation for me.

But I ran across a couple of really need Summer Reading Programs that I thought I'd share with you ... and these are the kind I LOVED growing up.

Tyndale House Publishers - Read five books on the reading list, post your reviews, and choose a free book. Read five more, post reviews, and get another free book. Easy enough, right? I've read several of the books on the list and there are some good ones!

Barnes & Noble - This is a great one for kids. Read any eight books and you get a freebie. We all love freebies, don't we?!

Master Books - There are options for kids (ages 5 and up) and adults. Read the books on the list and choose between two prize packs.

Pizza Hut Bookit Program - Does anyone else remember this one? I had a collection of these buttons filled up with little gold stars that I could turn in for a personal pan pizza. It seems the program has changed a bit, but this could be fun for kids who just completed grades K-6.

Plus your local library is sure to have some fun reading program going for kids and adults alike.

Let's give "summer reading" a new definition ... one that is more fun than the high school summer reading I was required to do!