Feature and Follow Friday #95

Welcome to the Feature & Follow

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Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View 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!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) 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!

What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.

Our Feature -The Housework Can Wait

Hey there! My name is Lauren and I'm a stay-at-home/work-at-home mom for two little girls/walking, talking balls of energy. I spend a large portion of time just waiting for one of them to spontaneously combust. It really wouldn't be surprising.

I started my blog because I love to read (when I can squeeze it in around work and my various Mommy duties) and I always want to talk about the books I read after I finish them. The problem is that most of my friends don't read what I read. And those that do, don't want to drop their work/Mommy duties at my every whim to talk about the books I read. Blogging is the perfect outlet for me to get all my words out of my brain and out into the world. And the best part is, I've ""met"" other people who like the same kind of stuff I do! Huzzah!

My favorite books include Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, the Farseer/Liveship/Tawny Man trilogies by Robin Hobb, the Ender/Shadow series by Orson Scott Card, and The Princess Bride by William Goldman. Right now I'm trying to finish Glitch by Heather Anastasiu, but it's proving difficult since it's on my iPad and my 3-year-old keeps stealing it to do puzzle apps. So I'm getting ready to start The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen.

Q: What is one thing you wish you could tell your favorite author?

I would love to tell Ann M. Martin what a difference the Babysitters Club books made in my life. I picked up my first one in second grade and went from a semi-enthusiastic reader to an obsessed bookworm who scrambled to get my hands on any book I could find. Just shows that one book can turn on the switch.

Otherwise, there's not a lot I would like to say to others. Instead, I would like to hang out with them and learn from them. I'd like to interrogate JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer about the wizardry and vampire world building in their series. I'd love to trap Stephanie Perkins and Sarah Dessen in a room and not let them out until they reveal all their secrets about writing great contemporary teen novels.

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Now for the Follow Fun!


With GFC going the way of the dodo bird for many bloggers, there is no better time to start following blogs via RSS feed. If you use a reader, it would be great if you followed my RSS directly.

We have a new button, so update your blogs if you are used to doing this meme!

<a href="http://parajunkee.com/category/ff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4710921228_e3140444bf_o.png" /></a>

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
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. If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn't have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
6. 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"
7. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
8. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

CAPTCHA:

If you have CAPTCHA word verification enabled on your blog, please take it off. It makes it much more difficult for readers to comment. Please look at my CAPTCHA Eradication Post to learn how to get rid of it.

Happy Follow Friday! Come back at midnight CST for the Facebook & Twitter hop!!