Thank you so much to Brent at Linky Tools for his super-fast response to my blog issue. I thought there was a linky issue that was causing my blog layout to go all wacky with the Hop this week, but it turns out that wasn’t the case at all! He diligently worked on the issue for hours and resolved the NON-LINKY issue for me. Amazing! THANK YOU SO MUCH, BRENT! You are fantastic!!!
If you haven’t read the changes to the Hop, please read this post before entering your link. If you do not read this post first, you will have major issues entering your link. Do not email me if you have issues and have not read this post first! Got it? (If you have issues and you HAVE read this post and done everything correctly, then, by all means, please e-mail me!)
Grab the Logo!
Welcome to the NEW Book Blogger Hop!
Are you a book blogger? Are you a reader? Then welcome to the place where all of us connect over the weekend and chat about books!
Background on the Hop
In March of 2010, in response to what I thought was a void in the book blogging community, I started the Book Blogger Hop. I loved all of the #FF tweets on Fridays, where everyone tweets out their favorite people to follow in order to gain new followers and give their friends some exposure. So I thought to myself – “How cool would it be to have something like that where fellow book bloggers could come and find new book blogs to follow, find new books to read, and gain more exposure for our blogs?” This CRAZY idea became the Book Blogger Hop!
The Book Blogger Hop is much more than just a “follow for a follow”. It’s about making connections. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of book bloggers around the world. It can seem like we are blogging in a bubble, always checking out the same blogs over and over again. The Hop is about taking the time to make a quality visit to another blog, getting to know the person who is writing, and seeing if you really *want* to follow that person! I am not a big fan of blindly following other blogs just to increase your follower numbers, because who is to say that the people will come back? Just because they are “following” you doesn’t mean they’re reading your blog. How many times have you “dumped” the messages in your Google Reader account due to the daunting number of messages there are, many from blogs you “had” to follow (in order to participate in a hop, giveaway, etc). I’d much rather have a lower “follower” count and know that these people are following me because they WANT to follow me, not because they HAVE to. I like the knowledge that I’m connecting with people on more than just a “have to” level.
With that said, let’s get some of the nitty-gritty out of the way. You may be asking – what exactly IS a book blogger? Here’s MY take: Do you have a blog? Do you blog about books/authors? Do you write book reviews on your blog? Do you rave about books and authors on your blog? Is your blog content primarily about books? Then you are most likely considered a book blogger!
How it Works
As long as you meet the qualifications of a book blogger, you may add your book blog link into the linky list below. But before you do that, there are a few requirements. Read up, to save yourself a headache with the linky! 
1. Before you add your link, you must post about the Hop on your blog and link directly back to THIS POST (not just my domain, but the direct post for the Hop). The linky is going to review the link that you enter in your submission, looking for a link to this post on your blog. If it doesn’t find one, your link will not be approved. This is called back linking and I had to institute it because people were taking advantage of the Hop and getting some free advertising without promoting the Hop themselves. You can read more about this here.
2. While you are creating your post, answer the following question (there’s a new prompt each week)!
What’s the ONE GENRE that you wish you could get into, but just can’t?
Here’s MY Answer: I really wish I could get into the whole paranormal/fantasy genre, but I just can’t seem to do it. I’m not sure why. I read Robert Jordan and Dean Koontz and Stephen King as a teenager and loved exploring new worlds and the creatures that they created. But now? It doesn’t interest me at all. Isn’t it funny how our tastes change over time? I think it’s fascinating.
3. Now it’s time to enter your blog link into the linky below (after the list of instructions!).
Instructions:
- Click on: You are next – Click here to enter
- A new page will open
- In the “Link Title/Blog Title” box, please enter the NAME OF YOUR BLOG and in parentheses after your blog name, please state the main genre that you review (i.e. Crazy-for-Books (contemp. fiction))
- In the “Link” box, please put a direct link to your blog hop post
(i.e. http://crazy-for-books.com/2011/07/book-blogger-hop-722-725.html) - There is a note about the Back Link requirement. Please make sure you have linked back to this blog hop post in the post on your blog or your link will not be accepted! Did you read that important note I told you about at the top of the post?
- Please enter your e-mail address in the box provided in case I need to contact you about your link submission.
- The list is randomized, so your link will not appear in a specified order. If you are looking for your link, I suggest you do a Ctrl-F on your PC keyboard and type a few letters of your blog name so you can find it easily.
That’s it! Now you can start hopping around, visiting other links in the list, meeting fellow bloggers and chatting about their blogs and books they are reading. If you aren’t a blogger, this is a great opportunity for readers to find new sites to follow and meet some new friends who enjoy reading the same things that they do! I strongly encourage you to take some time to visit these blogs and spend some time with your blog friends. We all work hard on our sites and we enjoy getting company, so let’s read more than just the blog hop post – let’s connect! That’s what the Hop was created for! Happy Hopping!
It is interesting how our tastes change. I think there are plenty of people who love the supernatural genre so it is nice to read blogs that review different books. Even though there are plenty of genres I don’t read, I still love hearing what people think about the books they’ve read.
WOW! It took me five times to figure out what it meant by a back link. LOL. This is a new linky also where it puts the first one last.
Thanks!
I have posted the blog post and tried to link it AFTER I published it as well but it is not linking. I will come back to it a bit later.
Jen, I sent you an email about the layout issues… brent
I think this is fun and have changed the time I post my blog so I can participate. Thank you for doing this. Every week I look at a few of the blogs trying to find that “kindred spirit!”
Your efforts are appreciated.
I think you asked for questions last week. You can figure out how to ask it, but maybe you would want to ask people if they have ever seen or used a bookmobile. And if so, to give an anecdote, and if not; what do they imagine a bookmobile is like.
I think it’s interesting that our interests change as we age too. I used to love mystery and even though I still enjoy it, it’s not my primary love anymore.
Tried again and it wont accept the link!
http://musingsfromsrilanka.blogspot.com/2011/07/friday-book-blog-hop.html
is there still something I am missing????
You have to link directly to the POST not just to crazy-for-books.com. Your link to “Jen” just goes to crazy-for-books.com. Try linking it directly to the Hop POST.
I make an effort to vary the content on my blog. I try to alternate reviews with commentary as much as possible. I’m also trying to mix up my genres. I’m currently reading a lot of YA paranormal/dystopian books, so I try to put in something else every few reviews. (That was a lot of “trys” for such a little comment.)
My taste is constantly changing too. I can usually go back to the genre’s that I loved before but I maybe don’t enjoy them in quite the same way. I am going through a YA slump just now although I plan to get through some I have there in my TBR pile next month. I was once a huge sci fi fan but don’t read quite as much as I used to. I still love Stephen King but it’s his older work that I read as a teen. Not such a huge fan of his new books.
Since last week’s pie chart about where I get my books was so popular, I thought I’d share what types of books I do read. Please stop by to see which genres I don’t typically read.
I am with you Jen I just can’t seem to get connect with Pananormal and Fantasy genre.
Thanks for the hop and hope you have a great weekend.
Hey!
Thanks for running the blog hop, i love meeting new people and finding blogs! It took me a while to figure out the back link thing, but i got it in the end
Please stop by if you’re bored or want to say ‘hi’
Have an awesome weekend
Imo
I chose fantasy and historical fiction. I can do some paranormal like vampires or witches, but I’m not big on the Harry Potter type of fantasy books.
The change in linking was easy for me. I appreciate you hosting this meme. Thank you!
Thanks for hosting the Blog Hop! I’m a new book blogger, but I completely understand why you put the new rules into place.
I also believe that our tastes change as we get older. I would never of read anything link Jodi Picoult when I was younger, but now I occasionally enjoy reading her books.
Oh, I really hope you can get into the fantasy genre one day. I’m so into it and it has SO much to offer!
I did it, but now can’t find the list of links so I can go visit others!
Cool question, but I can’t find a way to add my link or to see the links to other blogs.
My problem with genres is that I was trying to get into the stuff that I saw everyone reading and loving (ie YA/Paranormal Romance). I feel bad but I just don’t lke it!!
I’m the other way around, I guess! I struggled through LotR as a teenager but really tended to struggle with big, wordy books and much preferred YA fiction. These days I’m the other way around! I like my books to paint vivid pictures of their surroundings, and the more strange and fantastical the better.
Once Upon A Time
We share that in common Jen. I have a difficult time getting into paranormal and science fiction and most fantasy. The exception would be the Harry Potter series. I have linked in this week. Please come visit.
Thanks for not giving up on the hop. I am sorry for the issues that you had. I think I did it correctly since my link was accepted! Happy weekend.
A-Ha! I think I got the linky thing right. I was doing the same thing before, so I hope it’s right ,lol.
Anyways, you don’t like paranormal? Wow, and it’s in vogue nowadays. In some regards, tastes definitely change in time; I find it happens to me more in music then in reading though.
Maybe because when reading I can go for almost anything as long as it gets my attention, but with music, I am more specific.
All the best, and see you next week!
I think the changes you implemented are a good thing; I can’t imagine trying to police all of those links myself, so WTG!
I DO still like horror/supernatural/fantasy; however, they used to be pretty much ALL I read and now they’re mixed up with so many other genres. I haven’t been able to ever get into romance, however.