Feature and Follow Friday #208

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 ayou 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.

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How To Become a Featured Blog?

We pick our featured blogs randomly each week from the blogs who participated the week before.

Please be sure to feature your e-mail address clearly on your blog. Either on the main blog, on a Contact page, or on an About Me page. If I can't find your email easily, I will choose a different blog to feature.

Our Feature - Natalie Hearts Books

1. When did you start blogging?

I had tried to consistently blog for years, but it just never stuck. So, I made it one of my new year’s resolutions for this year to actually stick to it. I read somewhere that you should pick one topic that interests you and blog about that, and of course, I picked books. I made my first post on the 20th January and I haven’t looked back since.

2. What is your favorite part of book blogging?

The community – finding out that there was this huge, welcoming community of people, who are as obsessed with books as me, was fantastic. Even though I study English literature in university, the level of passion for books there is nothing compared to the book blogosphere.

The other bonuses of book blogging is finding out about new and upcoming releases way earlier than I used to and receiving free books are of course, a great bonus of this little hobby of mine.

3. What type of books do you mainly blog about?

I have an eclectic taste in books and I hope my blog reflects that. The types of books that I have blogged about so far include science fiction, fantasy, contemporary and graphic novels.

4. What are your favorite books?

I love everything that Neil Gaiman writes, so his books are definite favourites. I also adore C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, Robin Hobb’s The Farseer and Tawny Man Trilogies and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials. Some standalones I love are: Red Rising by Pierce Brown, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloane.

I feel like such a traitor for missing off so many books.

5. What has been the best thing that has happened to you because of book blogging?

I should probably say it’s the bookish friends I have made, but really, it is getting approved for an eARC of Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb, I nearly cried I was so happy.

Question of the Week: What are some of your favorite picture books - either current ones or ones from your childhood?

*First thing:  A reminder that if you want to be chosen as the Feature for #FF, please have your email address somewhere on your blog. I know there are other ways to contact people including Twitter and contact forms, but I've set up my #FF system in such a way that I need an email address. So for better or worse, that's the requirement for now.

We have done this question before on #FF. But it's been awhile and I think it's a really fun topic, so I decided to do it again.

Like a lot of kids my age, I loved series like the Berenstain Bears, Angelina, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Spot the Dog.

Apparently, I was obsessed with The Pokey Puppy when I was really little, but I don't remember that.

I learned how to tie shoes with The Shoelace Box. I also loved a book called The Monster Under My Bed.

I'm a big fan of Alice McLeran's books Roxaboxeni and The Mountain That Loved a Bird. Most people haven't heard of them.

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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.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

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

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!

Next Week's Question:

If you had a time machine (i.e. a TARDIS), where would you go?

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