Hi again Airmchair BEA bloggers! 

Today's topic is all about how to keep your blog fresh and fun! Just like the photo says, I tend to think that most of us are in a "permanent state of re-invention" at least where our blogs are concerned!

So far it seems like I've been changing the design of my blog every 6 months. I really do it for me, because I want to look at something new. Ironically, I actually change the design yesterday and I hadn't even seen what today's topics were!!  I think when I'd like to see something fresh, the readers and bloggers who frequent by blog also wouldn't mind seeing a new page.  I don't really mess with the layout, just the design.

I also try to think up new and exciting features. For example, I'm doing a Summer of Indie Author Features event this summer.  By the way, it starts tomorrow!!  I haven't really read much Indie, so I thought it would be fun not only for me, but for my blog subscribers to meet some Indie and self published authors.  In my personal opinion, I think that introducing different features once in a while mixes thing up and keeps it fun for everyone!

Lastly, I read all kinds of books. Thanks to my wide variety of reviews, I think that also contributes to keeping my blog fresh.  It's always fun to read about something out of your comfort zone, and again, I think that my blog readers enjoy being introduced to something different.

What helps you keep your blog fresh? Please share!

Happy Reading, 
~Tamara

Check out my previous Armchair BEA posts! 
Genre: From Picture Books to Young Adult | Genre: Literary Fiction | Paths To Becoming a Better Blogger | Genre: Genre Fiction | Introductions

Good morning blogger friends!

This topic is about children's picture books to middle grade to young adult novels. I must admit, I don't read children or MG books. I might if I had a child to read to, but I don't. Though I read many books in my youth, I guess I didn't really have any picture book favorites. None that I remember anyways. I recall really loving the Anne of Green Gable books in grade school and V.C . Andrews books in middle school, but that's about it.

I enjoy reading some young adult books.  I've noticed that in the YA world, I tend to lean toward Fantasy, Urban Fantasy and Dystopian.  Even though I wouldn't classify Shelf Addiction as a YA blog, I do tend to read a good amount of it. Diversity on my book shelf is always a good thing!

I noticed that with in YA literature, there are two levels.  Books geared toward younger teens, like 13-15 years old, and books geared toward older teens, more like 16-18 years old. I find that I enjoy the books geared toward the older teens best. In my opinion, with YA series and trilogies, the characters in the start out around 16 and grow up a little more in each book.  Usually, along with their progressing age, usually the subject matter gets more serious or more adult sounding with each book. Some of the YA books seem to come very close to New Adult books at some point.

If you're new to YA lit or are looking for some recommendation, I suggest any of the books listed below. 

A few of my favorite YA series include (in no particular order):
The Vampire Academy series, by Richelle Mead
The Hunger Game trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
The Mortal Instruments series, by Cassandra Clare
Divergent trilogy, by Veronica Roth

Here are a few of the YA books that I've enjoyed so far this year. Click on each photo to check out my review!

Do you read children's picture books, middle grade or young adult novels? If so, please share with me some of your favorites!

Happy Reading,
~Tamara

Check out my previous Armchair BEA posts! 
Genre: Literary Fiction | Paths To Becoming a Better Blogger | Genre: Genre Fiction | Introductions

Hey again Armchair BEA friends!

I mentioned briefly yesterday in my Genre fiction post that I didn't much care for reading Literary fiction. Yep, that's still true. But since I'm in a book club that votes on what we read, sometimes I lose that battle.  I have read my share of Literary fiction books in the last couple years thanks to book club!  I know for sure in the next 6 months I may very well be reading a book or two in this category. If nothing else, I know that my reading is well rounded. 

 I have nothing against the genre.  I think that many of the Literary Fiction books would make really good movies, but it's just not my preference. It reminds me of sitting in my college English Lit class trying to stay awake! Lol, I know that doesn't sound too good, but it's true!  

Here are a few books often considered Literary Fiction that I've written reviews for. Click on each photo to check out my review!

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini - I actually enjoyed this one.
The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides - This one was a miss for me.
Room, by Emma Donoghue - I thought this was good.

I want to briefly back track for just a moment because I didn't get a chance to post on the Classic Fiction genre topic. I feel somewhat the same way about Classics as I do about Literary fiction.  Literary fiction books and Classic fiction books are somewhat similar to me, mainly because they both seem to be character driven instead of plot driven.  Check out the popular book lists below, you will see that many books appear on both lists.  Even thought I don't read Classics often, I've enjoyed a few of the them, especially books that take place in Great Britain.

Here are a few Classics that I've enjoyed.

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen 
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë 
1984, by George Orwell
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

Here's a bit more info on Classic, Genre and Literary fiction. 
What some reading suggestions?  Popular Classic Fiction Books | Popular Literary Fiction Books

What's your take on Literary fiction? Please share!

Happy Reading,
~Tamara

Check out my other previous Armchair BEA posts! 
Paths To Becoming a Better Blogger | Genre: Genre Fiction | Introductions

What's in the Shelf Addiction blogs future?  I'd love to take on one or two reviewers. I'm not sure how I'll incorporate that quite yet, but I'd love to bring on reviewers that read the genres that I don't, which will allow for more diversity. In addition to adding more diversity, I will strive to keep my content fresh and interesting.

My advice? First figure out what your blogging goals are. Once you know where you want to end up, you can draft the road to get there. Stay true to yourself. Be genuine and don't worry what others think. Remember that it's impossible to please all of the people all of the time. Just be you and the like minded readers and bloggers will find you!

Find what you like and stick to it.  Just consider that while it's great to be comfortable with what you're doing, you'll be even greater if you step outside of your comfort zone and try new things! You may discover something awesome!

What's your take on blogger development? I'd love to hear your ideas! 

Happy Reading, 
~Tamara

I adore genre fiction, for mostly one reason. I read for fun! In my humble opinion, I don't find many literary fiction books very entertaining to read. I may like them in movie adaptations, but reading them? Not so much.  On the other had I find genre fiction very fun and easy to read.  Genre fiction allows me to escape my life for a little while to live vicariously through the characters on the pages!

My favorite genres seem to go in spurts. Years ago, for a bit I was reading mostly African American Lit, then I was all about Romance, in between I dabbled in a little Chick Lit, Horror.and Suspense   I've been really into Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance/Fantasy for a few years now with a stint in Dystopian...I tend to like a wide range of genres.  I do like to mix things up here and there by throwing in different genres into the reading list.  I don't want to get bored by reading only one type of book.  

The genres I tend to shy away from are traditional Science Fiction, Historical Fiction and Mystery. I'm not sure why, I just don't pick those books up.

Hey fellow bloggers, 

Here are my five questions! I'm glad you stopped in!

Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?  I'm Tamara and I love books!  I've been blogging off and on for 3-4 years. When I started  my book blog about a year and half ago, blogging finally stuck! I guess I found the perfect outlet that allowed me to be consistent with blogging.  I started Shelf Addiction because I LOVE books and LOVE talking about them!  I've actually reviewed books for a long while before I started blogging. You can can find out more about me by watching my YouTube intro video here!  You can also check out my bio here!

I'm also co-hosting my first read-a-thon with 6 other blogger friends! Check it out here! Sign up for our Summer Lovin Read-A-Thon!


Have you previously participated in Armchair BEA? What brought you back for another year? If you have not previously participated, what drew you to the event?  This is my second year participating with BEA.  I hope to be a little more involved than last year.  I'm always so busy and it's hard to participate during the day due to my work schedule, but I'll give it a go!  I'm looking forward to meeting even more book blogger friends.

What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2013?  Right now I'm reading Tangled Threads by Jennifer Estep.  I'm really enjoying this series.  I don't really have any favorites so far this year, but recently I read The Immortal Rules and The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa and really loved them. They're so different from many of the other YA vampire books, which is why they've stuck with me. In case your curious, the links to the reviews are below.

Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you.  I love cooking and making jewelry! Check out my food blog here and my online jewelry boutique here!

If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why?  I would love to have dinner with L.A.Banks! Ms.Banks died a few years ago, but she will always be remembered by her fans.  Her Vampire Huntress Legend series turned me on to my love of Urban Fantasy/Fantasy/Paranormal Romance. I was addicted to her books and read all 12 book with reckless abandon! Ever since then, I jumped into the UF world never looked back!


Tell me about you! Share your post and I'll stop by!

Happy Reading,
~Tamara

The Immortal Rules Review | The Eternity Cure Review