Armchair BEA: Giveaway Winner!

I'm thrilled to announce the winner of A Book and a Latte's first giveaway!

Congratulations to Nicci at Paper Dreams!

Nicci won her choice between these two books, in physical or ebook format.

Congrats :). 

Armchair BEA: Wrap Up

Whew, what a week! It was crazy fun. Peeps met new peeps. There were Twitter parties. There were giveaways - galore! Prizes were won :).  I won a few giveaways through Armchair BEA, and I have to give a shout out to the fantastic sponsors, authors, publishers, and book bloggers that made such an incredible list of giveaways. I plan to do a post about what I won once I get them in the mail - can't wait to show you!

Here's a recap of my ABEA posts from the week:

• Armchair BEA - I'm Participating!
• Who Am I? An Introduction
• Giveaway Day 
• My "Best of 2011" in YA
• Interview with Jennifer from Books, Personally
• Jennifer at The Literate Housewife Interviews Me
• Nurturing Book Blogging Relationships
• Blogging about Blogging (social networking)

Seriously, this was so much fun! Thank you to all the fabulous peeps at Armchair BEA! I definitely plan to participate next year! That is, if I'm not in NYC at BEA and BBC :). I do have to say, I was really surprised by how exhausting this was - lots of posts, and lots of blog hopping... it didn't help that I was really sick this week. I met so many great people and I'm really glad I participated (I almost didn't because I thought I was too new). I learned so much, and my favorite parts of ABEA were the interviews, twitter parties, and the giveaways of course :).

I have to say that I'm kind of looking forward to getting back to normal next week. I plan to get some book reviews up now that I can re-focus on those... I'm so behind! 

Armchair BEA: Blogging about Blogging

Happy Friday! Today is day 5 of the Armchair BEA, and the day of the Book Blogger Convention (BBC) happening in NYC. Today's ABEA topic focuses on blogging. I am still considered a "new born" in the book blogging world so I'm not really in a position to give advice, but I'm going along and I'll share what I've learned so far... I'm using one of the prompt questions from today's ABEA "Blogging about Blogging" post. But first, there's still time to enter my giveaway to win DIE FOR ME by Amy Plum or Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton! Contest ends May 29th 11:59 PM.

How do you utilize social networking in relation to your blog? What may be the pros and cons of doing so?

I utilize Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Goodreads (of course, if it counts as one), and Formspring with A Book and a Latte. To be honest I can't give them all attention on a daily basis but they each bring something fun to the mix, and sometimes it's easier to share things (videos, pictures, articles, etc.) on certain ones than others - depending on the source. Twitter has been fantastic for getting to know other book bloggers and authors, and building/nurturing those relationships. I swear, I'm addicted to Twitter now! I encourage all bloggers to get a twitter account and just dive right in! It's so much fun and you have nothing to loose (except maybe your time once you become addicted) :). I think the key is to really interact, do more than just advertise your blog posts and giveaways.

I honestly believe social networking brings another dimension to your blog. Through them you can introduce peeps to your blog, and the relationship you build outside of it will hopefully keep them coming back. I think the people who get to know you on social networks are also more likely to start discussions in the post comments... which come on... that's just awesomesauce! Unless of course technical issues cause your blog to make comments disappear *sad face*, which happened more than once to A Book and a Latte this week!

Pros: Connect with more people, build relationships, and share more types of information among the different social networks.

Cons: To get the most out of social networking for a blog, it needs to be public, in my opinion. If you choose to have a public profile that means EVERYTHING you post on it is there forever for anyone in the entire world to read. Just be aware, careful to not share too personal of details, and keep a level of professionalism. Sometimes keeping up with them all is overwhelming... but the longer I'm at this, the less I stress on staying on top of it all. I'm mainly on twitter... I share stuff through facebook and or tumblr depending on what it is and how easy it is to share it from the source. I have FUN with it :).

You can find A Book and a Latte here: Twitter; Facebook; Tumblr; Goodreads; and Formspring.

Do you utilize social networks? What are your pros and cons for them?

Armchair BEA: Jennifer from The Literate Housewife Interviews Me!

In case you missed it, and didn't get enough of me from my introduction post... Jennifer from The Literate Housewife interviewed me yesterday on her blog! You can view it here. I just want to thank Jennifer for her hospitality, it was so much fun answering her questions and getting to know her this week! I hope you go check out her blog and say hello!

Geez... I'm jealous of everyone's buttons... I need to make one ASAP!

Armchair BEA: Nurturing Relationships

If you're knew here, and wondering what the heck Armchair BEA is... click here. You may notice that I changed ABEA button designs today... that's because this event has caused my "to-read" pile to triple in size and I'm just overwhelmed with books at this point! Plus, I thought this design could use some love on here :).

Today's topic for Armchair BEA is "Nurturing Book Blogging Relationships". I'm fairly new to this fantastic book blogging world, but it's amazing how many new friends I've made through blog comments and twitter. If someone comments on my blog I always try to respond with a comment on their blog. It may take me a couple of days (I'm behind now as ABEA has kept me busy and I've been really sick this week), but I do make an effort to respond to each one. Again, I'm a newbie but it seems to me that nurturing a book blogging relationship is similar to a personal regular friendship... You have to feed it and show it some love! Reach out to them on twitter, leave meaningful comments, and connect with them on facebook if you can.

The BEST part of my book blogging experience so far, hands down, has been the new friendships! I'd like to introduce you a few of my new friends :), although really everyone has been so welcoming and helpful!

One of my earliest book blogger friends was Amanda at Letters Inside Out. She is awesomesauce. It all started by commenting on her blog (or hers on mine, I don't remember) and then emails, and now twitter (@lostalice7). She's been super amazingly helpful and I hope we stay blogging friends. I wish her all the best with Letters Inside Out!

I've had so much fun getting to know Sarah at I'm Loving Books! From gushing about our favorite reads to her teaching me about blog features... I'm so glad we've become friends through our blogs and twitter (@ImLovingBooks)!


Another new and great blogging friend is Andie at From A-Z, and she's also on twitter - (@andiezohoori)! We bonded over our obsession with the TV show, The Vampire Diaries :). Actually that's how I met Amanda too! It's so much fun to have friends to gush over my favorite books, shows, and movies! Commenting through our blogs is great, but being able to keep in touch through twitter just makes it that much sweeter.

I can't list all the amazing people I've met here, but I just want to thank everyone for the support.  I've been so lucky to connect with so many great people and seriously, because of you all I'm now ADDICTED to twitter! When I should be doing a million other things - work, house work, pulling weeds (it's bad... scary bad), and you know... READING... where am I? Most likely on twitter :). Feel free to come find me @bookandlatte, I look forward to getting to know you!

If you'd like to learn more about me and how A Book and a Latte got started, check out my introduction post. Also, there's still time to enter my giveaway to win DIE FOR ME by Amy Plum or Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton. Happy Armchair BEA!

Armchair BEA: Interview with Jennifer from Books, Personally

Since I can't attend the Book Expo America and the Book Blogger Convention and rub elbows with peeps in New York this year, I'm thrilled to be participating in Armchair BEA this week. Today is round-robin interview day! Meaning someone interviews me (Jennifer from The Literate Housewife), and I interview someone else, and then the person I interview is assigned to interview another person, and so on... make sense? OK, let's get this party started!

An Interview with Jennifer from 

Books, Personally:

I'm honored to welcome Jennifer from Books, Personally to A Book and a Latte! 

Me: Hi Jennifer! It's wonderful to have this opportunity to meet and get to know fellow book bloggers from the comfort of our favorite chairs. Can you tell us about about your blog, and also a little bit about yourself?

Jennifer: Hi Jen! It's so nice to get to know you this week and thanks for hosting this interview! I blog over at Books, Personally and also contribute book reviews occasionally to The Best Damn Creative Writing Blog. I'm a mom (of two kids and very large dog), wife, avid reader, chief laundry-doer, and classroom volunteer.

Me: Do you have any pets? If so, any funny related stories to share?

Jennifer: We have a very sweet, very big, white, fluffy Great Pyrenees dog named Rosie. She's quite the local celebrity, attracting attention and adoration wherever she goes. I just consider myself lucky enough to be part of her entourage.

Me: Did book blogging change your reading habits, or the type of books you read?

Jennifer: Such a great question - it did, actually! I've developed a real interest in indie/small press short story collections since I started blogging. I love participating in #fridayreads on twitter each week, and at Valentine's Day Shelf Unbound Magazine put out a special collection of modern love stories for Friday Reads participants. There I discovered some very exciting new-to-me authors and books, and have become a big fan. 

Me: What is your favorite thing about book blogging?

Jennifer: I love the reading and writing of course, but have found getting to know other bloggers and even a few authors to be the most rewarding part. Collaborating with other writers and bloggers on guest posts and interviews has been especially fun- there are a lot of interesting, and talented people out there working hard on their blogs every day.

Me: What genre of books do you enjoy reading the most?

Jennifer: I have fairly eclectic taste, but tend toward literary fiction, now some small press/indie short stories. I also enjoy some mystery or suspense, sometimes non-fiction.

Me: Who are your favorite authors?

Jennifer:  Carson McCullers is maybe one of my all-time favorites, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter made such an impression on me when I was a teen. I'd like to reread it. I'm rereading The Member of the Wedding - her writing is even more moving than I remember. I also love Audrey Niffenegger, Kate Mosse. Newly discovered favorites from small press/indie publishing include Patrick Somerville, Matt Bell, and Alan Heathcock.

Me: What is your favorite book(s) from your childhood? How do you share your love for reading with your kid(s)?

Jennifer: We love reading aloud together. Kate DiCamillo's books (ranging from the irrepressible Mercy Watson to the moving Despereaux and Winn Dixie) are maybe my favorites to read to read aloud, but we read everything and anything, and, quite frankly, we all adore Captain Underpants as much as anything.

Me: What book do you wish more people would read, and why?

Jennifer: I had the chance to read/reread some Langston Hughes poetry in February while the kids were celebrating Black History Month at school.  He wrote some incredibly moving poetry- much uplifting, much sad, all insightful, all beautiful, all reflecting an important era in American history. Not to be missed.

Me: I love that you share some of your writing on your blog. You are so talented! I was genuinely moved by Exfoliated. How long have you been writing? Are you published, or do you aspire to be published?

Jennifer: Aw, thank you! When my youngest went off to full-day Kindergarten, I figured it was my chance to try, just to see if I could. Blogging is a great way to test the waters and practice putting oneself out there. I follow a lot of real, everyday, hardworking,  amazing writers on twitter - I'm humbled and inspired by them, and I'm nowhere near -much less in- their league. I sure don't have any plans to quit my day job.

Me: If you were stranded on a deserted island, which 5 books would you want to have with you?

Jennifer: Ha! Well, maybe some old favorites for comfort (Rebecca, A Catcher in the Rye), some humor to uplift the spirit (David Sedaris, the entire Doonesbury collection), and The Daring Book for Girls - because I think it has instructions for Weaving A Grass Hut Out of Palm Fronds as well as How To Send A Message To Passing Naval Ships In Morse Code and other handy survival tips.

Me: What are some non-bookish favorites? 

Music/song - Favorite music/musicians - Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle 

Food - coffee, scrambled eggs on tortillas with salsa, Thai green curry. Not together. (I love curry too!)

TV Show - Battlestar Galactica (the newish one) (me too, me too!)

Movie - I worry it might be When Harry Met Sally. Please don't tell anyone. (such a good movie...)

Place you've traveled - Japan, Ireland, the Caribbean (Wow!)

Thank you so much Jennifer, this was so much fun! Everyone, please go check out Jennifer's blog Books, Personally. You can also find her on twitter @occasionallyzen.

Also, don't forget to enter the giveaway I posted yesterday if you haven't already!

Armchair BEA: Best of 2011

First of all.... I just have to shout out... that... A Book and a Latte now has 100 FOLLOWERS! WOOT! Thank you, and welcome everybody!

Today's topic over at Armchair BEA is "Best of 2011", so I've compiled a list of my favorite YA reads this year (in no particular order). This doesn't mean they were published this year, just that I had the pleasure of reading them in 2011.

Jen's "Best of 2011" in YA


Warning: Links take you to Amazon...

Wow, and I was trying to keep this list short! These are in no particular order:

• Shiver (Wolves of Mercy Falls) by Magge Stiefvater
• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
• Demonglass (A Hex Hall Novel) by Rachel Hawkins
• Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
• Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
• Die for Me by Amy Plum (currently reading, almost finished... love it!)
• Delirium by Lauren Oliver (hope to have review posted today!)
• Nightshade: Book 1 by Andrea Cremer

And now... here's a list of YA books I'm most looking forward to reading this year! Again, these are in order of how they came to mind... (ignore the order).

Hahaa... I swear I was trying to keep these lists short!

• Divergent (Divergent Trilogy) by Veronica Roth (ordered, should arrive tomorrow!)
• Blood Magic (The Blood Journals) by Tessa Gratton 
• Bloodspell by Amalie Howard
• Dreams of Significant Girls by Cristina Garcia (have the Galley Grab, can't wait!)
• Wolfsbane (Nightshade, Book 2) by Andrea Cremer
• Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls, Book 3) by Maggie Stiefvater (pre-ordered!)
• Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
• The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
• Sisterhood Everlasting: A Novel (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) by Ann Brashares
• Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

Whew. OK so what makes your top reads for 2011, and what are you looking forward to reading most this year? Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a copy of DIE FOR ME or Blood Magic!