How the hell has it been one year already? This year has just flown by and I can't believe how much fun it has been and how many amazing people I have met! When I started Alluring Reads I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. I had explored book blogs a bit, but I had no idea how huge the book blogging community really is. There are so many fantastic blogs out there and getting to know everyone and getting to call some of you guys friends has been so great. I'm not going anything too huge to celebrate but I wanted to do up a post with some milestones and thank you's and of course a fabulous giveaway!
So first here are some exciting milestones that I reached this year that I am pretty damn proud of: I have somehow managed to get over 1730 people to follow my blog who seem to care what I have to say about stuff. This is so flattering and I never thought in a million years that the blog would grow this fast. I have racked up over 122,000 page views on 359 posts (195 of those being reviews.) On those posts there have been 5,270 comments and I have appreciated each and everyone. It means so much that people take the time to leave their thoughts here on the blog and always makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!
I know that a lot of people seem to show a now and then of their blog when they celebrate their one year but I have no screenshots of my blog from when it first started out. Let's just say that it had nothing on how beautiful my new Xpresso Design is. This is actually the 4th look that this blog has had and this one will be staying for a very long while. I didn't really know what I was doing in the beginning so as I kept finding out how to add new elements to the blog I kept changing it and never really felt like it was ME. I got to work pretty closely with Giselle on this des... ugh who am I kidding. No I didn't. I picked this shadow girl and told her to do what she wanted and she blew my freaking mind with what she came up with!
It's important to me to take the time in this post to recognize all of the ladies I have come to be closer than I could have ever imagined with in this past year. I don't want anyone to feel left out, so just know that if you have ever commented on my blog or chatted with me on twitter, I appreciate you taking the time to do so. My blog would be nothing without each and every person who has ever stopped by and even just read a single post. I can't tell you how thankful I am for all of you. This part of the post is for the people that I have come to talk to on a daily basis and who have helped me out immensely in the last year. So here goes the flattery...
You ladies seriously rock! I wasn't an online person at all before starting my blog so I didn't know how close you can become with people that you have never even met but I feel like I know you ladies personally and I appreciate all of your help along the way. Giselle, my blog would have imploded in on itself so many times now if I didn't have you and I freaking love how sassy you are. My day would get pretty boring without our ridiculously long chats and I appreciate (more than you will probably ever know) everything you have done to help me along the way. Thanks Bitch! Amy & Katie you guys are way too sweet for words. I always look forward to your thoughtful/funny comments and I know that you guys are always there to listen when I am having a bad day and need to rant. Kara, you are my muscle! I always know that when something in this bloggy world is getting to me I can turn to you and you know how to handle it. Most recently I was seriously at my wits end (think about it, and you'll know what I mean) and you talked me off the cliff, girl. I appreciate you being there so much. Now onto Christina and Blythe, seriously ladies, you didn't have buttons back when Giselle did her blogoversary post in September and you STILL don't. Jump on it! But anyway, I love how even when we disagree (which happens quite a bit) we have the best chats about why we feel the way we do. I feel like I don't have to hold back with you ladies (which is great because I seriously have no filter between my brain and my mouth.) Some of my chats with these ladies are epic and I'm really sad that I won't be meeting them this year at BEA but you guys have to video chat me at one point! I want in on the fun too!
Book blogging has become a huge part of my life and I didn't even realize how important to me it had become until a conversation I had recently with my sister. I was talking about how sometimes I think it would be nice to go back to work to have a bit of a break from the kids and she said "You have a full time job! You work on your blog more than I work at my job!" And you know what, it's true! Between reading, networking and doing up posts and such book blogging it really is a lifestyle. But you know what the best thing is? It doesn't feel like work. I put all these hours into this baby and it's become just that, my third baby! I really love that I have a place to let my voice be heard and I love all the joy it has brought into my life.
Book blogging has become a huge part of my life and I didn't even realize how important to me it had become until a conversation I had recently with my sister. I was talking about how sometimes I think it would be nice to go back to work to have a bit of a break from the kids and she said "You have a full time job! You work on your blog more than I work at my job!" And you know what, it's true! Between reading, networking and doing up posts and such book blogging it really is a lifestyle. But you know what the best thing is? It doesn't feel like work. I put all these hours into this baby and it's become just that, my third baby! I really love that I have a place to let my voice be heard and I love all the joy it has brought into my life.
Giveaway
What would a celebration be without a giveaway, right? So I have decided to up the amount of my normal giveaway and multiply it by 4!
There will be 4 winners of this giveaway and each will win up to $20 from The Book Depository.
The average hardcover from TBD is around $15 and a paperback is under $10 so winners will have a choice of getting 1 HC or 2 PB's.
Giveaway is open internationally as long as TBD ships to you (Click here to check if they do)
Don't forget to add the beautiful button (designed by Giselle) to your sidebar for extra entries!
Last day to enter is April 3, 2013
Fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter
Grab the button!
