Hey Guys!
It is hard to believe that 2011 is already over! I started this blog in February of this year and it has been a crazy, amazing, fulfilling and enlightening journey. I could not have done it without you guys and the amazing book blogging community out there. So in this post I wanted to thank you for sticking through me with everything! Thank you so much for taking the time to follow and interact with Book Briefs and with me. Everytime I get a comment/email/tweet, a smile lights up my face. It means the world to me to hear what you guys have to say and to talk to you. I still feel like a newbie in the blogging community sometimes, and interacting with you guys makes me so happy. So in this post I have lots of things for you guys.
- Book/blogging stats for this year
- 2012 bookish resolutions
- Blog Tour hosting recognition
Blog Stats!
Ok first let’s start with the stats. I did a lot of reading and blogging this year. I know there have been a few gaps, but I tried to keep my blog as regular as possible. I am a full time law student, so sometimes life gets too hectic for me to do everything I would like.This year I had:
- 269 posts
- 1,512 comments
- 34,616 page views
- 1,145 followers! (I still can’t believe it)
- read 152 books
- posted 96 reviews (you can see my reviews here)
2012 Resolutions:
And I am going to try and do even more. I decided to enter Butterly-o-Meter’s bookish 2012 resolution challenge. So what are some of my resolutions for 2012?
- Read 175 books
- Post 125 reviews on my blog
- Complete ALL of my 2012 reading challenges. (i’ve signed up for 13 including this one and I am thinking I want to make it an even 14 so let me know what other one I should sign up for! Here is my challenge list!
- Comment on other blogs more. I subscribe to hundreds of blogs through email and I read ALL of their posts, but that takes a lot of time, and I don’t comment nearly as much as I should. I keep thinking, “wow I love that blog so much, but the owner doesn’t even know because I am not a regular commenter” Well that is , hopefully, about to change!
- Finish my TBR review list from 2011. I have too many books to read. I know, know, that is a total Book-Blogger-problem. AKA not a problem at all, but I do. and I would like to get this list down a bit.
- Read books that I have bought myself, not just review books.
Here are some of my other resolutions for 2012
- Kick butt at my externship. I am going to be a law clerk for a judge in Circuit Court, and I am more than a little nervous to be thrown into the fray.
- Find a summer associate’s job- bonus points if it is with an estate planning firm. (so if you know any attorney’s looking for a summer associate- throw them my way. I have a pretty CV for them :). Just kidding…kind of.)
- Keep organized.(in every aspect of my life)
Blog Tour Talk:
Ok I have wanted to talk about this for awhile. One of the best things I did as a new blogger was get involved with blog tours. They are a great way to read the books you are excited about reading and they allow you to , sometimes, host giveaways at no charge to you. Plus you get to know lots of new authors and books that you might not have found on your own. I love participating in blog tours and throughout the year I have become a part of a bunch of different tour companies.
I wanted to take the time to recognize a few people/companies that I feel go above and beyond with their blog tours.
note: I love all of the tour companies that I work with- if I didn’t I would not choose to work with them. But I wanted to say thank you to these 4 people for always really doing a great job. I don’t think they get enough thanks. Running and putting together a blog tour is a lot of work! So in no particular order:
1. Julie at A Tale of Many Reviews. (the link is to her blog tour site)
Julie has her finger on the pulse of what good YA and adult books are. 9 times out of 10, it is a book that is right up my alley! Plus, I know that when I sign up for a tour with her, she will send out all the information that I need right away. I know that I will always get the date that I want and she is so flexible if something needs to be changed. I also love the great variety of guest posts she works out with the authors. She features dream casts, this or that, top 10 lists and other fun posts that add variety to the ordinary guest post on a topic blogs. She also has really great giveaways in her blog tours, and my followers always love them.
So thank you so much for running your blog tours. I really appreciate everything you do!
2. Emlyn at Novel Publicity
Emlyn’s blog tours are top notch promotion. Seriously, she gets a ton of bloggers involved and she has a full week of events through the various social media outlets. Her tours might cost a little more, but she does so much! She has TONS and tons of prizes, both for bloggers and readers. ($100 amazon gift cards, kindle fires, signed books galore) and she even makes it as easy as possible on the bloggers. She gives us pre-formatted posts! I love how she incorprates google+, facebook, blogs and twitter in her tours. Plus she is so nice and gets back to you really quick. I don’t know how she has time to do it all! Her tours take a lot of work, and she pulls them off effortlessly.
Thank you so much Emlyn. Your innovative blog tours are always a pleasure to take part in!
3. Roxanne at Bewitching Book Tours
This lady runs her blog, is a publicist at entangled and runs so many blog tours! Do you not sleep?? I don’t know how she does it all. She runs YA, Adult, anything and everything. I have so many books to pick from in any given week from her. I really like how she sends out her emails too, and she gets back to you normally within the day letting you know your date and post. Her media packets are always nice and efficient. she gives you all the information that you need to know. She makes doing blog tours as easy as possible on the blogger.
Thank you so much Roxanne. I love taking part in your tours. You are wonder woman. How do you do it all?
4. Bree at The Magic Attic
What I love about Bree is that she just wants to help authors out and she schedules all of her YA blog tours on her own time- FOR FREE. Yes for free, and they are great blog tours! She always has beautiful banners, great media packets, fun guest posts and excerpts, and cool grand prizes! She does an excellent job! and this is on top of being a student, a figure skater, a blogger, and a bookworm that reads 750+ books in one year! Umm, can you say impressive??!
Thanks Bree, you are kind of a Renaissance woman! 🙂 You rock.
So that’s it. 2011 has come and gone and I have loved every crazy minute of it. Thank you so much to all of you for sticking with me, and I promise 2012 will be filled with even more book-goodness from me! 🙂
So tell me, what are your 2012 resolutions? also, if you have a book that you would like me to review or take part in a blog tour for please let me know. Or if you are an author, feel free to check out any of these awesome blog tours!
Happy New Year everyone!!
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Emlyn Chand
Thanks for the shout-out, Michelle. I’ve loved having you aboard the Novel Publicity tours; you made your impact right away as one of our top bloggers! And I can’t believe how many books you read WHILE studying. Wowza. Good luck with that externship, girl 😀
Roxanne Rhoads
Thanks for being part of the Bewitching Book Tours host team.
Christina Farley
WOW! You have accomplished so much this year. I’m super impressed. And inspired! Congrats.
Christy (Love of Books)
Happy New Year, Michelle!! It’s been great getting to know you. I could ask around about the summer job if you want to come out to CA. lol
Megan
Happy New Year Michelle! I can’t believe you’ve only been blogging since February AND as one who knows I am AMAZED that you’ve done all of this while in law school. I barely managed my waitressing job while at GULC. I love reading your posts and reviews. Keep it up and good luck with all things legal!
A Tale of Many Reviews
Thank you for the shout out and participating in AToMR Bog Tours! You are one of the consistent bloggers I can count on and go-to when I need a dependable blogger. 🙂 13 challenges!!! Are you crazy?! haha Happy New Year!
April (BooksandWine)
Awww you are so sweet with your recognition of the different blog tours! 🙂
I bet you could accomplish every single one of your goals this year.
Also, law school? color me impressed! Best of luck with your externship 😀
Braiden
Best of luck for 2012 Michelle with all those resolutions of yours. I’m sure you’ll do excellently well at all of them.
Braiden
Valerie StuckInBooks
Sounds great and good luck with all those goals. Not sure I can keep up with you! 😉
Thanks for visiting & supporting StuckInBooks.com
Valerie
the Vintage Bookworm
Wow you really are into a lot of challenges. I thought I was addicted. There are a few on your list now that I want to join. Uh-oh! Wasn’t I supposed to be recommending some to you?:P
A few that I’ve joined that I don’t see on your list are: Off the shelf challenges, the dystopia challenge, YA/MG challenge, and the ABC challenge. =D If you want a complete list of those I’m following go here (http://vintagebookworm.blogspot.com/p/book-listchallenges-for-2012.html) and you can also find a link to the hostees websites.
SpadesHighReads
Those are some great resolutions!! I wish you luck ;o) Keep up the good work!