Follow My Book Blog Friday (Nov. 25th)

Q: It’s Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. so we want to know what you are Thankful for – blogging related of course! Who has helped you out along the way? What books are you thankful for reading?

This is a little awkward for me, since my six month blogversary is coming up on the 8th of December and I intended to do a post of this nature then. Oh well, though. :) Here we go. I'm narrowing this down into books and people, although I must admit that the two tend to tie together anyway, so it's almost a top ten. *shrug* I have a lot to be thankful for. 

Five People I'm Thankful For:

1. Giselle from Xpresso Reads

Why?: Not only is Giselle's blog beautifully designed and well organized, she is also one of the most consistent visitors -- and commentors -- that visit me here. She's also one of the people I chat with on Twitter and someone whose opinions on books that I value because we often seem to have similar taste.

2. Bonnie from A Backwards Story

Why?: Bonnie and I were guest post partners for Just Contemporary. We discovered we had similar reading backgrounds, which made our posts pretty interesting in their similarities and differences. Bonnie is another person that I tend to talk with via twitter and is also someone who is going to be reading Moon Dance when I'm ready for crit partners. (I can hear Jay breathing a sigh of relief here.) 

3. Rachel from Parajunkee's View

Why?: Someone who helped me a lot and who might not even know. I've read pretty much every Book Blogging 101 article she has written. I got my scrolling events, friends and giveaway marquees by using code I found on her site, and I have my (gorgeous!) quotes because of one of her articles. Knowledge is power, and someone being willing to part with it so freely is blessed with a generous spirit.

Darkfallen & Greta from Paranormal Wastelands

Why?: These two are talented bloggers and they are also absolutely hilarious. I've done several things with them now -- I took part in Zompacolypse, they were my first Saturday Spotlight guests and now I'm involved in Bloggerhood of the Traveling Book -- and these guys are some of the most naturally friendly people to work with in the world.

Marie from Ramblings of a Daydreamer

Why?: Marie is an incredibly nice person who runs a well written and pretty blog. She has become a good friend and is one of the other blogging friends that I share an interest in writing with, too. Marie is another person that I can count on hearing from often, which is always appreciated. 

Books I'm Thankful For: 

Summer on Fire

by Kevin Craig

This is the book that made me decide to start book blogging. I really loved Summer on Fire and had a good time writing the review and realizing that people actually cared about what I had to say. If I hadn't read this book, there is no certainty that my blog would have taken the path that it did. I won this book from Kevin in a giveaway that he did on Absolute Write. 

Graffiti Moon

by Cath Crowley

Not only is this an absolutely beautiful book, full of gorgeous writing, a gripping plot and memorable characters, it is also the first book that I was approved for via NetGalley. I signed up for NetGalley specifically hoping to read this but had no idea whether I would get to. I am extremely thankful to the people at Random House for the opportunity and I hope that they enjoyed my review. 

My First Physical Copy ARCs:

I won copies of Grave Mercy and The Fine Art of Truth or Dare in a giveaway over at The Party Pony. I haven't read these yet, since they are not releasing until February and March next year, but I am very excited to. 

Mortal Obligation

by Nichole Chase

This is an absolutely awesome book that I had a lot of fun reading. It was also the book that the first blog tour I ever took part in was for. I had a really good time visiting each site and seeing what everyone else thought of the book. I also had a lot of fun interviewing Nichole and talking with her via Twitter. Many thanks to Bree from The Magic Attic for having me along. :)

The Sky Is Everywhere

by Jandy Nelson

Did you really think I'd skip posting this? This is my favorite book, a story that I likely would never have read had people over at Absolute Write not pointed me in it's direction. This was one of the first contemporary YA books that I read and one of my earlier reviews. It is also the book that inspired me to create The Kat's Meow Award for Amazing Storytelling. 

Thanks so much for dropping by to see which bloggers and books I'm thankful for. What made your list? I'd love to know so feel free to leave a link. :)