Awesome People, I Need Some Help!

Dear awesome people,

The 3rd Annual Book Blogger Love-A-Thon is quickly approaching, perhaps a bit quicker than I am prepared for but I’m excited for it nonetheless! Okay, maybe excited is a bit of an understatement for me considering I’m currently at the giggling, squealing, voice-can-only-be-heard-by-dogs phase. Obviously this event is near and dear to my heart and I have been absolutely blown away by the support and excitement surrounding the event by bloggers and authors already.

If this is the first time you’ve heard of the event, let me take a quick moment to explain it to you. I started the Love-A-Thon as a way for bloggers and authors to share the love. I wanted everyone to be able to take a day or two to learn about new blogs and spend time visiting some of the oldies but goodies; a day where bloggers and authors can come together to share the word about their favorite book blogs and have a lot of fun. Throw in a few mini challenges, twitter chats, and lots of giveaways, and you’ve got an event that is just as much fun to plan as it is to participate in. (If you want to learn even more about the event, or sign up!, you can check out this post here or contact me at katelynsblog@aol.com)

Now I suppose I’ve come to the part of this post where I actually ask for the help, the part I have actually been kind of dreading. I ask you to please bear with me because I absolutely LOATHE asking for favors. I’m totally one of those people who carry in 500 lbs of groceries and uses her feet to open doors when her hands are full because I just can’t stand asking people to help me out. But I really want this year to be super special for the Love-A-Thon and all of its participants. They are spending two whole days tweeting about, sharing, commenting and loving on their favorite blogs and Alexa and I would really like to give them a little love in return. We’ve already had a few gracious, amazing donations (seriously it was enough to make me giggle and cry at the same time. That’s serious people), and we have been compiling prizes over time, BUT we are still accepting more from now until the event starts on February 15th. Even if you aren’t able to participate in the event, you can still share your love for bloggers by donating towards the giveaway. Swag, gift cards, and bookish prizes are all welcome! If you would like to donate or you have questions or concerns regarding the event, please feel free to contact me at katelynsblog@aol.com. Thank you so much for all of your love and support <3

Love,

A very grateful little blogger

Tune In Tuesday (132)

Tune In Tuesday is a weekly feature in which bloggers get to showcase another one of their loves, music! This feature was originally created by Ginger over at GReads! but you can now find it here at Kate’s Tales of Books and Bands. If you would like to participate in this weekly feature, make a blog post showcasing a song (or a few!) and link up at the bottom of this post by clicking the cute blue guy! While you’re here make sure to check out all the other awesome blogs that have decided to participate!

Here we are, at the final day of Tune In Tuesday 90’s Edition. I am so sad to see this one come to an end but I am so happy you all joined me in celebrating a pretty awesome decade. I’ve got some awesome music planned for today so sit back, take a listen, and let me know what you think!

Waterfalls by TLC

This song, it NEVER gets old.

Strawberry Wine by Deana Carter

When I think back to my childhood, this song is one that always comes to mind. It was always just there.

Piece of My Heart by Faith Hill

Even though the Janis Joplin version is forever awesome, this particular one is the one I remember most when I think about this song. Whenever my cousin would visit from Texas, her, my sister, and I would all play this tape over and over again.

Friday I’m In Love by The Cure

My favorite band singing one of my favorite songs during one of my favorite years. It just doesn’t get better than that.

Hold On by Wilson Phillips

Best road trip song EVER.

Wannabe by The Spice Girls

My 6th birthday was a Spice Girls party. It was awesome enough that I remember it to this day.

Genie In A Bottle by Christina Aguilera

I used to pretend I was Christina but then I would hear my voice and that dream was shattered. Still love her songs though!

Baby One More Time by Britney Spears

I also used to pretend I was Britney. My fantasy was shattered in a much similar manner as listed above.

I Want It That Way by Backstreet Boys

This song, it was my JAM back in the day. Okay, it still is today…

You Were Meant For Me by Jewel

To this very day, this song is one of my very favorites. So heartbreakingly beautiful.

Tearin’ Up My Heart by N’Sync

Do you know how hard it was to pick just one N’Sync song? Really freaking hard.

LINK UP HERE:

BEA Bound!

That’s right people, I am in New York City for Book Expo America! I am so ready to let the book nerd festivities begin!

Last year I attended BEA and had pretty much the best time in the world and I am fully expecting this year to be about a million times better. This year I decided to take advantage of the extremely reasonable housing at Barnard College (if you happen to be staying there as well, let me know! I vote we tackle the crazy-confusing Subway system together!). If you are going to be at BEA, leave a comment letting me know and I will be sure to keep my eyes peeled for you. One of my favorite parts of last year was meeting all of the awesome bloggers and I think it’d be all sorts of cool if I could do the same thing this year. Also, if you happen to see me lurking around BEA, don’t be afraid to say hi! I may be slightly spastic and a bit obnoxious, but I promise not to be too weird or awkward.

Speaking of meeting bloggers, here are a few extra fun events I will be attending! First off is the Teen Author Carnival tonight! I will be sight-seeing by myself and then heading on over to that event around 6. If you happen to be in Time Square and want to meet up before the event tonight, just tweet me at @KatelynTorry! Also, please be sure to head on over to the 2013 BEA Book Blogger Picnic on Friday, May 31st! You can find all of the details regarding the picnic on this post. Andrea, Alexa, and Jen would absolutely LOVE to see you there!

I hope to see you all sometime within the next couple of days!

TGIF (46)

There once was an awesome blogger named Ginger and she decided to create a super fun feature where fellow bloggers would answer fabulous questions via blog posts every Friday. TGIF was born and we all have Miss Ginger at GReads! to thank for that! This week’s question is:

Reading Blues:

We all get them from time to time. What helps you overcome those reading slumps when nothing seems to grab your attention?

As always, another great question from Ginger! Like writers have their writing blocks, us readers/reviewers/bloggers most certainly have our own reading blocks! In fact, this whole past year has been one giant reading block for me *sad face* Sometimes work, school, and general life gets in the way. Other times I can be let down by certain books or overly impressed by others. And then let’s not forget the good ole’ excuse of being lazy. No matter what the cause of the reading slump may be there are always a few different things you can do to fix the problem!

–DON’T FORCE IT: If a book really just isn’t holding your interest, don’t push on until you can’t stand it anymore. I used to be very strict on myself about always finishing a book once I started one. It took some time but I have finally realized that I am not being fair on myself or the book if I am forcing it.

–FIND OUT WHAT’S BUGGING YOU: Maybe it is not that you are in a reading slump exactly. It could be stress from real life, the fact that your car didn’t start, or maybe it’s that Teen Wolf hasn’t been on TV for almost a full year now! Whatever the case may be, try to figure out if there is a separate source bugging you and then address it. If it’s school, I study and get caught up on homework. If it’s work, I focus a bit more time and energy towards that. Try it out, it really helps!

–SWITCH UP THE GENRE– It very well could be that you are sick of a certain genre. Maybe you’ve read one too many Dystopian or Contemporary novels. By switching it up a bit, you gain a fresh, new perspective. Plus as a super awesome All Time Low song says, “Too much of anything is too much.”

–READ A FEW BLOGS– Sometimes it is good to just step away from your “book” reading to do some “blog” reading. I don’t know about you guys but I sure as heck have been guilty of forgetting that I am part of a blogging COMMUNITY. There are other bloggers out there to talk to if I need it, who have blogs to read at my leisure, and they are there to interact with on a practically daily basis. It is always so much fun and refreshing to check out new & old blogs. I like that you are able to see what they have been reading lately, check out what is new in the bookish world, and join in a variety of book-related conversations. Also, seeing everyone else’s passion for books and reading can help reignite your love for it too!

–PUT THE REVIEW BOOK DOWN. RIGHT NOW!!!– Nothing wears me out more than endless amounts of review books. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE reviewing books for various authors/publishers but sometimes I can be a bit overwhelmed when I accept too many at one time or get too far behind. Don’t stress, it will only make your reading slump worse! Remember to take the time to read a book just for the fun of it!

–LISTEN TO MUSIC– Come on, this is a music blog almost as much as it is a book blog; you just had to know  that I would say it! If you’re already in a reading slump and things just don’t seem to be working out for you, then so be it! Close that darn book, turn on your favorite jams, pull out that hairbrush-turned-microphone, and have a DANCE PARTAYYY of epic proportions! Have a little fun, let the music carry you away, and when you are finally feeling the burn from all that booty shaking, try picking up your book again; I guarantee it will work out better for you!

This week on Kate’s Tales of Books and Bands (4/20-4/27):

TGIF (45)

Tune In Tuesday (56)

Unicorns and Rainbows!

Katelyn has officially lost it!