24 June 2011

Hop & Follow Friday! (14)

Happy Friday, lovelies!

This week flew by--and not necessarily for a good reason! My purse was stolen on Tuesday evening at work and my NOOKCOLOR was in it! I feel like I lost an arm or something! Seriously, I have to relearn what life was like before! LOL! Ah well, staying positive and moving on...and it's FRIDAY!!!


TGIF is a weekly meme hosted by Ginger at GReads where she poses a thought-provoking question to prompt some blogger discussion!

This week's question:

Summer Love: Where's your ideal place to take a summer vacation & get lost in a book?


I guess I have two answers to this.  First, my ideal, awesome, super dream summer vacation spot would be this awesome 14th century watermill-turned-vacation cottages in Normandy (France).  There is this small "complex" of cottages that you can rent 1 or more and it is situated on very picturesque land with waterfront view (duh, watermill!).  It looks like a perfect, dreamy location for a relaxing summer getaway with a good book (or 8) and a bottle (or 4) of wine. *sigh* Someday.  My second, more realistic answer, is that I would like to take a vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina, where my husband's family used to vacation, and rent a small house on the water for a week or so and just relax with a book.  I'm very much the type of person who likes to kick back and relax away from people on vacation. 



"Follow My Book Blog Friday" is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View where bloggers make new friends, including this week's featured blogger--Mickey @ I'm a Book Shark!  Pop on over to Parajunkee's blog and join in the follow fun!!  All you have to do is follow the featured blogger, write your own post answering this week's question, and then leave your link!  Oh yeah--and then follow some new peeps!


This week's question:

Q. In light of the Summer Solstice. Also known as Midsummer...let's talk about fairies. What is your favorite fairy tale or story that revolves around the fae?
Ooo...I'll answer both, I think! My favorite fairy tale is Cinderella.  I know, I know--boring answer. I did a project on the Cinderella story for a storytelling class last fall and kind of fell in love with the huge variety of Cinderella stories out there. I love that it is so adaptable and almost every culture has some version of it.  Everyone should check out Vasilisa the Beautiful because it was a really cool version of the story.  In terms of my favorite story that revolves around the fae, I'm a huge fan of Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely books. I was kind of in love with that series not so long ago! I really love Marr's writing--her storytelling is fabulous!



The "Book Blogger Hop" is a weekly bookish meme where you can get to know fellow bloggers! It's generally hosted by Jen @ Crazy for Books, but this week it's hosted by Lori @ Lori's Reading Corner.  Stop by and join in the fun!

This week's question:

When did you realize reading was your passion and a truly important part of your life?

Is it a cop-out to say when I started reading on my own at the age of 5? Seriously, reading has always been that important to me. I actually think I could read a little on my own in pre-school and it's the kind of passion that just grew and grew and grew! I read so much that by 5th grade I had read more books (according to my accelerated reader points--not even ALL the books I read) than anyone else in the entire school. (I got a t-shirt for it!) The local public library made me sign up for adult summer reading when I was 12 because I read too many books otherwise (and then I discovered Danielle Steele and no one stopped me). Reading kind of faded into the background in later high school and college. I didn't stop reading, but I didn't read very much during those years (YA was NOT as prominent then as it is now or I might have continued).  I "rediscovered" my love of reading in my senior year as a way to connect with my students (while I was student teaching) and as a way to escape from the stress of school (and everything else I had on my plate at the time).  Ever since that rediscovery (which I will openly admit began with Twilight at the recommendation of my students), I haven't turned back once!


**I have a real hankering to host a giveaway for my lovely followers! Let's say if I can get to 200 followers today I'll put up a giveaway. Spread the word.**

39 comments:

Amy @ bookgoonie said...

Love both of your vacation spots...sigh...Stop by and see what I said http://wp.me/p1h3Ps-i6
Also add Stiefvater's far books, Lament & Ballad, to your list if you get a chance.

karen! said...

I'm just popping by from Parajunkee. I haven't put up my follow-friday post yet, but I thought I'd get a head start on my visiting (and maybe get some ideas of fairy books for my to-be-read list).

I LOVE your vacation spot. It sounds absolutely wonderful.

Happy Friday!
I'm following you now.

morsie reads

Anonymous said...

Thanks for stopping by! I too love Ash, but Puck reminds me more of my boyfriend so I have to be loyal! ;)

I also love Wicked Lovely.

Annette Mills said...

Sounds like my kind of vacation -- either of them! I've been to the outer banks -- it's really pretty there!

Booking It with Runner Sami said...

Both of your vacation dreams sound wonderful! I think time to read is the key factor for sure.

Lori @ Romancing the Dark Side said...

New follower stopping by on the Friday Follow to say hi!! Cinderella is classic not boring! :) Have a great weekend!

The Book Angel said...

Hopping by from the Hop!
Love your answer to this week's question. It's definitely not a cop out haha. I am the exact same. I've always been an advanced reader like that too.

My Hop is here:
http://faybaysbooks.blogspot.com/

Literary Cravings said...

Stopping by from FF, thanks for stopping by my blog. Yours is great! new follower!

Pedantic Phooka said...

Happy Follow Friday! Hopping through via Parajunkee. I'm a new follower.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Holjo @ Pedantic Phooka
www.pedanticphooka.com

Tracy Smitrh said...

Hopping through from th Follow Friday hop. I am a new gfc follower as countrysunset40. Come on over to viit when you get the chance.

http://tracystreasureofbooks.blogspot.com/

Have a great day!

TheJennaGirl said...

Thanks for stopping by the book element! I just popped over to Vasilisa the Beautiful and it looks intriguing. I'll have to read the rest when I get off work tonight (stupid work, always getting in the way of reading! *sigh*). Happy Friday!

New Follower :)

Lisa Mandina said...

Hi, I'm a new follower from the book blogger hop. I am the same as you, was reading at such a young age I can't remember knowing how important it was, it just was. I also like your little post about wanting to host a contest. I have a goal to get to 100 followers in the next couple weeks, so thinking of hosting a contest to help get people to follow. Hope you'll stop by and check out my blog when you have time!

Katie said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I'm following you back. Your answer isn't boring. I love Cinderella! Besides Ariel, she is my favorite (:
-Katie @ Magic Is In Words

kathy said...

Fun answers. I think a lot of people take "time off" from reading at the end of HS/beginning of college. I never read for fun at that point in my life, either.
And I love Cinderella, too. :)
Happy Friday!

Mickey said...

So glad you're a follower now!!! Thanks for checking out the blog, too!

Definitely check out the Fever series when you get a chance :o)

Following you too!
Mickey @ imabookshark

Deepali said...

What a nice answer - I started reading similarly young, so it feels good to find a fellow mad reader :)
Dee, hopping from e-Volving Books

Logan E. Turner said...

No! Major bummer about your purse and NookColor! That's the worst feeling.

That watermill in Normandy sounds so cool. I'm going to have to Google that.

I'm a new follower, hopping over from TGIF.

Logan

Bookish Brunette said...

My fav is Sleeping Beauty... Always!

The Bookish Brunette

Natasha said...

Stopping by the hop to say hi!!
Reading really brings people together, don't you think? I love it!!

Here's mine if your interested:
http://www.bookmarkyourthoughts.com/2011/06/book-blogger-hop-june-10th-2011.html

Natasha said...

Wrong hop sorry!!! lol
http://www.bookmarkyourthoughts.com/2011/06/book-blogger-hop-june-24th-2011.html

Howard Sherman said...

When did I first realize I loved reading? I wish I could prove a pre-natal predilection towards books but my memories don’t stretch back quite that far.

The earliest memories I can recall involved books. First having them read to me then reading them on my own the minute I had the ability.

Books have been a major part of my life ever since. My passion for the written word knowing no bounds, I started writing books on top of reading them about ten years ago.

Want to know what my favorite childhood book was? Hop on over to my blog and find out: http://www.howardsherman.net

Howard Sherman, Implementor
http://www.howardsherman.net

Richard said...

thanks for the follow :) i'm following you, too

i read many different versions of Cinderella as part of a college Lit class...the Chinese version was one of my favorites!

Richard @ Bound & Determined...

Tristan said...

Hey Jessi, I have yet to read the Wicked Lovely series but I definitely will be. Cinderella is a great fairy tale, everyone loves an underdog!

Darcy said...

Hey stopping by from follow friday, great choices & great blog! Looking forward to more posts. Have a great weekend. New follower!

Darcy @ Open Book Empty Cup

La Toya said...

AH France sound perfect!!! And I feel like I've been reading for as far back as I can remember too! :)

xo,
Lah @ Lazy Girl Reads

La Toya said...

PS: I'm your 200th follower! I am the champion!

LLM said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog and following. I'm now following you too.

LLM - ABookGeek

Alison Can Read said...

Hopping through. Reading faded for me too in high school although I always was reading something. I got a lot more into it my sophomore/junior year of college.
My Hop

bookbitereviews said...

Hopping by since you did first. I havent yet, but am going to read Wicked Lovely, sounds really good =]

Jamie @ Bookerella said...

New follower! I can definitely relate, I was reading at that age too. I was so proud to be one of the only kids to be able to read an entire book to my kindergarten class. I've always loved books, even though going through high school I struggled with wanting to read anything extra since they forced books on us I didn't want to read in the first place. I have to admit, Cinderella was never one of my favorite stories...until I saw Ever After with Drew Barrymore. That is honestly one of my favorite movies and in my opinion one of the best tellings of Cinderella!

Jamie @ Bookerella said...

New follower! I can definitely relate, I was reading at that age too. I was so proud to be one of the only kids to be able to read an entire book to my kindergarten class. I've always loved books, even though going through high school I struggled with wanting to read anything extra since they forced books on us I didn't want to read in the first place. I have to admit, Cinderella was never one of my favorite stories...until I saw Ever After with Drew Barrymore. That is honestly one of my favorite movies and in my opinion one of the best tellings of Cinderella!

LLM said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog and following. I'm now following you too.

LLM - ABookGeek

Tristan said...

Hey Jessi, I have yet to read the Wicked Lovely series but I definitely will be. Cinderella is a great fairy tale, everyone loves an underdog!

Pedantic Phooka said...

Happy Follow Friday! Hopping through via Parajunkee. I'm a new follower.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Holjo @ Pedantic Phooka
www.pedanticphooka.com

Lori @ Romancing the Darkside said...

New follower stopping by on the Friday Follow to say hi!! Cinderella is classic not boring! :) Have a great weekend!

Booking It with Runner Sami said...

Both of your vacation dreams sound wonderful! I think time to read is the key factor for sure.

Amanda said...

Thanks for stopping by! I too love Ash, but Puck reminds me more of my boyfriend so I have to be loyal! ;)

I also love Wicked Lovely.

Amy @ bookgoonie said...

Love both of your vacation spots...sigh...Stop by and see what I said http://wp.me/p1h3Ps-i6
Also add Stiefvater's far books, Lament & Ballad, to your list if you get a chance.

Literary Cravings said...

Stopping by from FF, thanks for stopping by my blog. Yours is great! new follower!

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