Book Blogger Hop #4

Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books in March 2010. As of February 2013, it’s hosted by Billy at Coffee Addicted Writer.
Today’s Question(s) is …

Have you ever experienced a blogging nightmare? If so, what was it?

My Answer(s) is …

Yes. I’ve been blogging since June 2007. Back then, I didn’t understand copyright laws. I thought I could use any image I found on Google search if I didn’t use it to sell anything or claim I was the artist.

Around Christmas 2007, I found some artwork of a Christmas tree that I loved. I tacked the image onto a digital newsletter/card. I sent it as an email to family and friends and posted it on my blog for my followers to read. One of the artist’s friends found my post and reported me to the artist. The next morning, I woke up to 50 or so nasty comments calling me a thief and liar. She asked all her friends and acquaintances to post mean comments on my blog. Her friends berated me on Twitter as well.

I’m not condoning what I did. I now understand copyright laws so much better. From that time forward, I’ve never used an image without permission. Most of the artwork on my blog has been purchased and licensed from stock photo sites. I’ve also commissioned a couple of artist friends to draw me some things. I’m glad I learned from this and learned that I was in the wrong so I could make amends.

I do think the artist and her friends didn’t handle the situation in the best way possible. They didn’t need to berate me or post nasty comments on my blog. All the artist needed to do was tell me what I’d done and ask me to take the image down or give credit where it was due. I would’ve stopped using the image without any fight and apologize for my mistake. I did anyway. I let her know I was sorry for using her artwork without permission and told her it wasn’t my intention to steal it. I even posted about the situation and my apology on my blog to make my wrong-doing public. I also linked to her website so she’d get more traffic and possibly more work.

In the end, she forgave me. Because I took her artwork down, I wasn’t prosecuted. It was a very eye opening experience. I’m glad I could learn from my mistake and how to avoid doing the same thing again.

What about you? Have you ever experienced a blogging nightmare?

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Book Blogger Hop #3

Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books in March 2010. As of February 2013, it’s hosted by Billy at Coffee Addicted Writer.
Today’s Question(s) is …

Are any of your bookcases buckling under the weight of too many books?

My Answer(s) is …

The short answer is no. The long answer is still no AND I have six large bookcases from IKEA that are perfect for what I need. I could also add a couple more in the room designated as my library without any issues. For now, six are more than enough.

They’re IKEA’s HEMNES white stain with light brown bookcases. I adore them. The only thing that would make my library better is purple walls like in my old place.

What about you? Do you have enough shelf space?

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Book Blogger Hop #2

Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books in March 2010. As of February 2013, it’s hosted by Billy at Coffee Addicted Writer.

Oops! I totally read the schedule wrong! … I’ve decided to keep the question and answer I originally thought was on the schedule for this week.

Today’s Question(s) is …

Do you have a genre you haven’t read before but would like to?

My Answer(s) is …

I’m a very eclectic reader. I adore fantasy, contemporary romance, historical fiction, mystery/thriller, dystopian, science fiction, and memoir. I read more fantasy than any other genre and 69% of my books usually have some sort of romance in them. For me, the more kissing the better! I haven’t read much horror or LGBTQ+ fiction and I definitely want to read more of both.

The one genre I’ve never embraced is Christmas. The only Christmas story I’ve read, if you don’t count picture books, is A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens back in 2010. I think I haven’t read any other Christmas stories because I don’t really decorate or go all out for the holidays. Corey and I spend Christmas Eve with some friends, build LEGO on Christmas Day, and sometimes have dinner with his family.

I used to adore Christmas stories when I was younger. Way before there was a Hallmark channel, my mom and I’d always watch the current year’s Hallmark Christmas movie together. I always looked forward to the Hallmark Christmas commercials. I can still remember my favorite one.

If I did read Christmas stories, I’d focus on Christmas romances. My IRL book club is planning to read IN A HOLIDAZE by Christina Lauren for our December book and I’m actually quite excited about it. I’ve also read a few reviews lately of Christmas romances I might be interested in reading. Maybe, it will become a favorite yearly tradition. Only time with tell, I guess.

What about you? Is there a genre you’d like to check out sometime?

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Book Blogger Hop #1

Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books in March 2010. As of February 2013, it’s hosted by Billy at Coffee Addicted Writer.
Today’s Question(s) is …

Have you ever reread a book? If so, why did you decide to reread it?

My Answer(s) is …

Um. This is such a strange question to me. I know there are readers who don’t like to reread, and I’m pretty sure they’ve still reread at least one book. I could totally be wrong, though. Maybe I’m overthinking this question a bit. This doesn’t bode well for future posts.

You’ve probably already guessed my answer. And, if you read my blog regularly, then you’ll definitely know my answer. Yes, I’ve reread a book. I’ve reread many books. There are some series I make a priority to reread every three or four years. This includes Harry Potter, Twilight, The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, The Hunger Games, Graceling, and a few YA and adult stand-alones. Each year, an average of 33% of the books I read are rereads. So far this year, I’ve read 28 books and 8 of them were rereads.

Even though there are over 1500 books on my TBR, I need to reread some of my favorite stories. I love revisiting my favorite fictional places and spending time with my favorite characters. Every book I rate between 4 and 5 stars are ones I’d consider reading again. I actually only give a book 5 stars if:

  1. I want to reread it.
  2. It makes me feel happy in some way.

I’ll reread a book if it fulfills a requirement for a challenge. I’ll reread to participate in a read-along, like I did with The Chronicles of Narnia this year. And, I reread for my mental health.

Trigger warning. Only continue reading if you’re in a good space. Those who read my blog regularly know I deal with a few different mental illnesses: Borderline Personality Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, and PTSD. Because of these disorders, suicidal ideation is something I struggle with almost weekly. Most of the time, my ideation is between a 1 and 2 (out of 5). This means I have fleeting thoughts and maybe a fleeting plan when it’s closer to a 2. Every now and then, my ideation gets to one of the higher numbers. I’ve been at a 5 (acting on the urge) five times in my life. Fortunately, I’m still alive.

When I’m at skills breakdown, for me that’s an ideation between a 4 and 5, it’s harder to access and use the skills I learned in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) that help me get out of crisis. When my ideation is that high, the most effective skill for me is ice diving. This gets me to a point where I can do other distress tolerance skills. The ones that help me the most are distraction and self-soothing. THIS is where rereading comes in.

I distract with activities, emotions, and/or thoughts AND I self-soothe with hearing by listening to a familiar audiobook, one that I know will help me regulate my emotions. The Harry Potter audiobooks work the best for me because I adore every single character, the arc of Harry’s journey, and the wizarding world in general. When I have a hard time thinking clearly, I can feel calmer and more rational after listening to a chapter or two. At that point, I can use other emotion regulation skills to get me into a more stable place.

Anyway, now that you know more about me than you could possibly ever want to know, what about you? Do you like to reread books or focus on reading new ones?

I learned in DBT that life is full of dialectics, or two opposing truths. In this case, the two opposing truths are: 1) I don’t agree with JKR’s stance regarding trans people, and 2) I still AND will always love Harry Potter.

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