Moved to Wordpress

I’ve been wanting to make the change from Blogger to WordPress for awhile now. I use WordPress for my teacher website and found it to be more user-friendly and to have a more streamlined appearance.

The new site can be found at:
http://wordyhughes.wordpress.com/

There are a couple other ways you can follow my new site:

• Liking my new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/wordyhughes
• Following me on Twitter @wordyhughes 

I apologize for disappearing of the face of the internet. Between my job, grad school, illness, dating, and just life in general... things became too chaotic to blog.

But I'm done with graduate classes, have a new job, and am healthy. I am happily returning to sharing my love of books!

Top Ten Auto-Buy Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. For more information about Top Ten Tuesday and a list of upcoming Top Ten Tuesday topics, click here.

Top Ten Auto-Buy Authors

These are in the order that they occurred to me...

J.K. Rowling
(Harry Potter series)

Does this need any explanation?

Shannon Hale
(Books of Bayern series, Princess Academy)

Every single book that I've read by Shannon Hale, I've loved. She writes beautifully, and I'm always enchanted.

Scott Westerfeld
(Leviathan series, Uglies series)

Westerfeld is a master at world-building. Period.

Lois Lowry
(The Giver, Number the Stars)

Lois Lowry is a children's lit legend. I've bought many of her books, though these two are my favorites.

Marissa Meyer
(Lunar Chronicles series)

I'm thoroughly engrossed in this series, and I love what a huge scope the story has and such a wide cast of characters. Confident I will enjoy anything Marissa writes.

Laini Taylor
(Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight)

Laini Taylor's writing is so beautiful and captivating. And her imagination is amazing.

Maggie Stiefvater
(Wolves of Mercy Falls series, Scorpio Races, Raven Boys)

I've enjoyed all of Maggie's books for their originality and gorgeous writing.

Kristin Cashore
(Graceling, Fire, Bitterblue)

Cashore writes fresh, original fantasy with strong heroines.

Cynthia Hand
(Unearthly series)

I can't wait to see what Hand does next because I loved her blend of contemporary and fantasy, as well as her emphasis on positive family relationships.

Stephanie Perkins
(Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door)

This is the first contemporary/realistic fiction author that I can honestly say I ADORE.

Who are your auto-buy authors?  Do we have any in common???

Love-a-Thon Mini-Challenge #5

The Book Blogger Love-a-Thon is is an online event that spends one whole day celebrating book blogging, book bloggers and book blogs all over the world. This event is hosted by Alexa at Alexa Loves Books and Katelyn at Tales of Books and Bands.

Mini-Challenge #5:
Top Blogging Moments

Three big moments stand out to me:

Being in the Cinder Paperback
I was so incredibly excited when I heard my blog would be mentioned in the back of the Cinder paperback. I've never had my blog recognized by an author, much less in print, and by one of my FAVORITE books.
Blog Post: Cinder Paperback

My First RT and over 100 Hits
I am pretty new to twitter, but have definitely realized that I should have joined a longggg time ago. My blog has grown so much since I joined twitter and it has allowed me to connect with fellow bloggers even more than before. The first post that got retweeted was my post on why you should see Brave on opening weekend. And it was my first post to go over 100 hits. I love to think that something I wrote had an impact and was worth sharing.

When My Bro Made Me My Blog Button
I was so darn excited to have my own blog button. And it came as such a surprise. I had no idea my brother was working on creating a button for me, and when I saw it... it was perfect. I loved how he incorporated both owls and typewriters.  And it makes it extra special that my blog button was made for me by someone I love.

Can't wait to read other people's best blogging memories!

Book Blogger Love-a-Thon Mini Challenge #4

The Book Blogger Love-a-Thon is is an online event that spends one whole day celebrating book blogging, book bloggers and book blogs all over the world. This event is hosted by Alexa at Alexa Loves Books and Katelyn at Tales of Books and Bands.

Mini-Challenge #4: 
Letter to my Beginning Blogger Self

Dear Lauren,

I know you've been toying with the idea of expanding your blog.  You should totally do it.  There are so many good things that will come from book blogging:

• You'll meet fantastic people who love to read as much as you do!
• You'll learn about great new books that you otherwise wouldn't have picked up on your own.
• You'll get in a habit of writing daily.
• You'll become a stronger critical reader of books and figure out what you like and what you don't.
• You'll improve in your technology skills and want to learn more about web design.
• And... again... you'll meet some great people!

I know you're worried that blogging might take the place of your fiction writing. But you'll be okay. If you need to go on hiatus because you get too busy with grad school and writing, don't worry. The bloggers you make friends with will still be there when you get back. 

You'll find a balance with blogging. You don't have to post every day. You don't have to read a gazillion books a week. Just do what you can handle.

Write thoughtful and honest reviews.  Write thoughtful and honest comments on fellow blogs.  Share your love of books and have fun.

Best Wishes,

Your Future Self

Love-a-Thon Update

The Book Blogger Love-a-Thon is is an online event that spends one whole day celebrating book blogging, book bloggers and book blogs all over the world. This event is hosted by Alexa at Alexa Loves Books and Katelyn at Tales of Books and Bands.

Update
I plan to spend some time commenting and spreading love to other blogs today... But my birthday is February 24... so I have plans with family and friends this weekend.

I wanted to participate in the Love-a-Thon, and will be spreading some love, it just might be a bit belated love.  Hopefully I'll be online later tonight!

Book Blogger Love-a-Thon Mini Challenge #1

The Book Blogger Love-a-Thon is is an online event that spends one whole day celebrating book blogging, book bloggers and book blogs all over the world. This event is hosted by Alexa at Alexa Loves Books and Katelyn at Tales of Books and Bands.

Mini-Challenge #1: Favorite Blogs

Yay!  I get the chance to spread the love of my favorite blogs!  These are all blogs that I adore and read regularly.  I usually bombard them with comments all at once on weekends when I set aside commenting time.  And you should read and comment on them too ^_^

Best Reviews:
Real Men Read YA: If you haven't checked this guy out, you should because he's hilarious.  It's so refreshing to get a guy's perspective on our favorite YA titles (he loved Anna and the French Kiss!) and he always gives his reviews a funny twist.
Fake Steph: I love her "WTF Moments" towards the end of all her reviews.  They often make me laugh because I agree with her.  Whether it was "Whoa... that was weird" or "OMG... can't believe that just happened", we've all had those moments when reading a book, and I love that Steph has found a way to feature that in her reviews!
Small Review: I love how she breaks down her reviews into subheadings and her explanations of what worked for her and what didn't are always supported and well-written.  I also love that she does a decent amount of middle grade in addition to YA.  Middle grade love!
A Backwards Story: I love how Bonnie always dedicates part of her review to a book's cover.  She often makes me notice things about the cover that I wouldn't have otherwise noticed.

Best Book Discussion Posts:
The Overstuffed Bookcase: She has done some great events, readalongs, and discussions.  Several posts for the His Dark Materials readalong and several more for Lauren DeStefano's Chemical Garden series.  Her discussion posts are always well-written, thought-provoking, and worth checking out!

Best Blog Layout:
Novel Sounds: Their layout is lovely and their attention to the graphics in each post makes everything they write also a colorful treat for the eyes!
Recovering Potter Addict: I love everything about her layout.  From the Harry Potter that looks like a Powerpuff girl to her buttons in the "Harry Potter Font."

Best Author Blogs:
The World According to Maggie: Maggie Stiefvater's blog, my favorite posts are always her ones about writing, but she often does other funny posts.  And sometimes some angry ones... I certainly don't want to cross her when she's mad.
Squeetus Blog: Shannon Hale's blog, another author blog I enjoy.  I especially liked some posts she did on the absence of female characters in animated movies.
Lois Lowry's Blog: I adore the legendary Lois Lowry, and she keeps a lovely blog.  Maybe it's stalkerish of me... but I especially love when she posts pictures of her office and house.  I love picturing where she works!

Book Blogger Love-a-Thon Interview Swap

The Book Blogger Love-a-Thon is is an online event that spends one whole day celebrating book blogging, book bloggers and book blogs all over the world. This event is hosted by Alexa at Alexa Loves Books and Katelyn at Tales of Books and Bands.

My first post for the Book Blogger Love-a-Thon is an interview with Dana from Little Lovely Books.  I was instantly charmed by Dana's blog because of all the adorable owls!  Dana is a mom of 2 who enjoys blogs, reading, all things entrepreneurship and growing her faith in God. We sent each other questions about books and blogging.  Here are Dana's answers to my questions:

1. What inspired you to start blogging? 

Like many bloggers I know, I started blogging as a way to update friends and family on my kids. That turned into me posting about many different things. In an effort to keep it all straight I started my book blog so that all mybook related posts would be there.

2. What would your ideal cozy reading spot look like? 

Curled up on my couch with a freezing cold Diet Coke within arms reach.

3. What are three things you look for in a good book? 

I am huge on believable dialogue. interesting characters and a great setting.

4. Were there any blogs, friends, or resources that helped you when you just started blogging? 

Unfortunately, no. Very few even knew what a blog was. I just learned by reading other people's blogs and figuring out what I liked about theirs.

5. What are a few of your favorite book blogs? 

When I saw this question I checked my Google Reader and I currently have 35 bookblogs that I follow. I hate to pick favorites but I love Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner (http://www.perpetualpageturner.com/), Alexa at Alexa Loves Books (www.alexalovesbooks.com), Gillian at Writer of Wrongs (gillianeberry.blogspot.com), Kat at The Aussie Zombie (theaussiezombie.blogspot.com) and Eva from A Striped Armchair (astripedarmchair.wordpress.com).

To see what questions Dana asked me, and how I answered them, take a minute to stop by Dana's blog at Little Lovely Books!