Feature & Follow Friday #79

Welcome to Feature & Follow Friday (err Thursday) on Parajunkee.com

If you are new to the #FF fun, Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. Feature & Follow Friday is now hosted by TWO hosts, Rachel of Parajunkee and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

*Thanks so much to Rachel for allowing me to be part of the Follow Friday fun. Parajunkee is one of the best blogs out there and FF is a highlight of the blogging community. The FF has been one of my favorite parts of my week for over a year and I'm so excited to help my fellow book bloggers get to know each other better.

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you! Now to make this #FF interesting we do a FEATURE blogger.

If you are interested in becoming a Feature click on the link here for Follow Friday Feature or go to Parajunkee and click the drop down link above FEATURES > Feature & Follow Friday and get on the waiting list!

It is also required, that if you participate you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) and the two Feature blogs.

Our Feature - Bad Ass Book Reviews

My name is Erika, I own the blog Badass Book Reviews. I'm a mom to four children who are seven and under. I started blogging to get my opinion on whatever books I was reading out there to the masses. I didn't realize just HOW many bloggers there are out there! *Waves Hi* I find I like to have fun, blogging allows me to socialize with other readers and more grown-up type people :lol: Talking to kids all day get's old fast, like that commercial where the Mom talks babyish and gibberish at her husband when he comes home from work--I didn't want to be that woman. So, after being a goodreads nerd for over a year, I started a blog. (did I mention I have template ADD?) I think I have found a look I like, but we'll see.

I tend to be snarky --hence the name badass book reviews. I am addicted to Starbucks Peppermint Syrup in my Coffee. I like Dark Chocolate. I mostly read Urban Fantasy, Paranormals, Romantic Suspense and Contemporary Romance, but if it sounds interesting to me, I will read it.

Question of the Week: Many readers/bloggers are also big music fans. Tell us about a few of your favorite bands/singers that we should listen to in 2012.

Music is a huge deal for me. I listen to a wide variety of bands/singers. My favorite groups probably fall into the Indie Folk category. Here are a few of my favs:

Bands:

The Decemberists
Death Cab For Cutie
Bon Iver: Check out the video for my favorite song "Calgary." So beautiful:



The National
Blind Pilot
The Civil Wars
The Wailin' Jennys
Metric
Fleet Foxes
Mumford & Sons
Florence and the Machines
The Shins - new album coming out in March!
Cloud Cult - a Minnesota band with lyrics speaking of life, love, religion, and death. Shaped by the death of the singer's 2 year old child in 2002. It's a different sound but very beautiful once you get used to it. Here's a video of "Running with the Wolves," from the newest album - one of their most accessible songs:



Singers:

Gillian Welch
Neko Case
Iron & Wine - A signer named Sam Beam. This song, "Love Vigilantes" never fails to make me tear up:



Abigail Washburn
Sufjan Stevens
Tegan & Sara
Laura Marling: Check out "Sophia," one of my favorite songs from 2011. It changes from slow to very upbeat about 3 minutes in:



Jeremy Messersmith
Sarah Jarosz
Laura Veirs
Alison Krauss

Now for the Follow Fun!

<center><a href="http://www.alisoncanread.com/search/label/FF" target="_blank" ><img border="0" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4710921228_e3140444bf_o.png" /></a></center>

RULES To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers - Bad Ass Book Reviews & Book Lover Musings.
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
7. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Happy Follow Friday! Follow it up with your twitter address if you want to get that one out!

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