Nice to Meet You, Where You Been? (2015 Book Blogger Love-a-Thon)

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Although Valentine's Day was last week, it's never too late to continue sharing the love! During these next two days, Alexa from Alexa Loves Books is hosting the 2015 Book Blogger Love-a-Thon, an event dedicated to spreading the love to blogs and bloggers. I've decided to join in on all the fun, so you'll be seeing a LOT of activity here and on Twitter!

As a way to meet me and/or get to know me better, here is a little questionnaire :)


1. What's your name?
My name is Amaris (it rhymes with glamorous!) and it means promised by God.

2. Where in the world are you blogging from?
I currently live in Northern California and have been here my whole life.

3. How did you get into blogging in the first place?
I was obsessed with Xanga in 2003 (I wish I was lying when I say I've had at least 30 usernames on that site) and have always loved the idea of sharing content and connecting with other users. In the past couple of years, I started two blogs mainly about beauty/lifestyle things but I never stuck around because I wasn't passionate about it. I didn't take blogging seriously until I realized that I wanted to talk about books in March of last year, so I'm glad I've finally found a place that I love!

4. How did you come up with your blog name?
I started amarisafloria during my "I-don't-know-what-to-blog-about-but-I-want-to-blog" phase, so I wanted something simple. The "amaris" part is my name, of course, and I just made up "afloria" because I thought it sounded pretty. I'm thinking about changing it to "Amaris in Wonderland," but I probably shouldn't because it might confuse a lot of people :x

5. What genre do you read and review the most on your blog?
I read and review mostly contemporary on my blog, but I've been trying to expand my horizons and branch out. (If you have any non-contemporary recommendations that you think I'd enjoy, PLEASE let me know!)

6. What other types of posts do you do on your blog, apart from reviews?
Up & Coming, a feature created to share upcoming books that deserve more attention, is one of my favorite things to share at the beginning of each month. I don't write as many discussion posts as I'd like to, so hopefully I can push myself to write more. (I did, however, write about explaining YA to non-bookish people last month!)

7. Best blogging experience so far?
Being able to talk to and meet other bloggers/readers has been so much fun. I don't normally talk to other people about the books I read, so knowing that there are others who want to fangirl/share in the excitement of reading a certain book makes me excited :)

8. Favorite thing about the blogging community?
I love that everyone is so responsive and respectful.

9. Name the five books you're most excited for this 2015!
I know this question is most likely referring to books that haven't been released yet, but I wanted to share the books that I'm most excited to read this year and have already been published: Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi, Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, and The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson.


10. What's an underrated book or series that you think everyone should read?
This is a bit tough for me to answer because I recently got into reading and have only touched the popular books, but I'm surprised that there aren't more people talking about Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott. It's often compared to The Hunger Games, but the two have a ton of differences worth reading about!

11. Which book boy or girl would be your book BFF?
The first person I thought of was Kenji from Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me trilogy. He is just so SASSY and hilarious, but also protective. He would be the perfect BFF :)

12. Apart from reading, what are your other hobbies or interests?
I love scrapbooking! Since I'm not that great at graphic designing on the computer, I unleash my creative side by literally cutting and pasting photos and different types of paper :p I have yet to start a book for this year, but I have all my pictures ready for printing. I also love to snowboard and explore new places, but I don't often get a chance to.

13. Apart from book shopping, what else do you like shopping for?
To be honest, I don't really like shopping. I have this long list of things I need to shop for on my phone (an umbrella, a cap, etc.) but I never look at it because I'm picky and it'd take me ages to find the perfect fit. I do, however, love browsing stationery/craft stores (like Paper Source and Michaels) and Target. I LOVE TARGET.

14. At a party, the DJ suddenly changes the song — and it's your song. What song would be playing?
I kind of have a weird relationship with songs — I automatically like it if I can sing along, but I'm not attached to any one song in particular. If I had to choose one, it would be Luck by American Authors.

15. Pick out either a book you want turned into a film/TV show, or a film/TV show you want turned into a book.
I would love to see Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill turned into a film. London, silly boys, and a quirky storyline? YES PLEASE!

If you are participating in this year's Love-a-Thon, link me to your questionnaire so I can read it and respond! If not, you can still share your answers with me :) I'm excited to see how the rest of today goes. I'll be back in a little bit with quotes about love and friendship!

39 comments

  1. Oh great picks! KoD and ToG are both amazing and absolute favorites of mine. I blog mainly about fantasy novels, but I'm branching out into contemporary more as you seem to be doing the opposite. ;) I'd love to be friends with Kenji too, he's hilarious! Lovely getting to know you!

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  2. You picked some great books to read! I read Fire & Flood somewhere last year and really really liked it. I think it got some attention around its release date but then it kinda went off the radar. It's sequel is coming out in just a few days so maybe now it'll gain more popularity.

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  3. Read Scarlet now! And then Cress! You won't regret it ;)


    I never really understood Xanga but I can relate to the countless blogging usernames. Haha. I also started blogging in 2003 but on Blogspot and I had no idea what I was doing either. Until I decided to find a topic and focus on that in June 2013. I'm glad I did because it opened up the book blogging community and I love it so much <3

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  4. OMG MTB DEF SHOULD BE A MOVIE!!! I adore that book! And I really hope you enjoy ToG and Ignite Me when you get to read them this year! I'm hoping to read Kiss of Deception soon too!

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  5. Hi Amaris! You've got some great picks in there, I also want to read Prisoner of Night and Fog and The Kiss of Deception!
    Also, if you want some not-straight up contemporary but amazing, I highly recommend Every Breath by Ellie Marney! It's simply amazing!

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  6. Great post! I really like your blog. I'm a fairly new book blogger and was wondering what you think is the best thing to do when you're just starting out?

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  7. I also had xanga way back in the day!!! Oh my gosh, I'd nearly forgotten about it! Okay -- THRONE OF GLASS. I will forever be pushing that series on everyone I know because I adore it so so much. One of my favorite fantasy series and I hope you love it!! Target is such a weakness, I LOVE that store. I go in for one thing and come out with a bazillion other things. I also really liked Kenji! I kind of ended up getting annoyed at everyone in the series except for Kenji -- he was my favorite. :)


    So nice to "meet" you, glad I discovered your blog!

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  8. I LOVE THAT YOU USED TAYLOR SWIFT LYRICS IN YOUR TITLE. (Yes, that had to be said in all caps.) I love Target too, mostly because I can find any number of things I need (and maybe some I don't realize I need until I see them). And I'm excited for you to read all of your five - they're all really great reads! (I'm particularly excited about Throne of Glass, because I ADORE that series and fangirl like crazy over it.)


    Was just thinking about non-contemporary recs for you, and I think you might enjoy the Unearthly series by Cynthia Hand if you've not read it already! It's paranormal, but very contemporary writing, so it's a compromise.


    Thanks for joining the Love-a-Thon!

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  9. Your name is beautiful!!

    Throne of Glass is amazing, but you probably have heard that once or twice before haha. The Kiss of Deception is definitely one I want to read also!!!

    I LOVE TARGET TOO! It's so sad because all the Target's in Canada are closing... so there's that :(

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  10. OOOH. FELLOW NORTHERN CALIFORNIA RESIDENT. REPRESENTTTTT.

    Dude, Scarlet is frickin' amazing! You get to meet Wolf! WHO IS MY FAVORITE! YOU MUST READDDDDD SOOON.



    Gah, browsing through stationary/craft stores are the best. Though, the worst when you don't have money. Lol.

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  11. Thank you so much for visiting my blog and leaving a comment! I absolutely love the theme of your blog! Looking at the five books you are looking forward to reading this year, I am currently reading Throne of Glass and it is amazing! Also, Prisoner of Night and Fog is so so good, a great and unexpected twist for a novel written in regards to that time period. I personally want to read Kiss of Deception because of how much praise readers have been giving it, as well as Cinder. I have yet to read that series and I know I should start ASAP.

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  12. Aw I love Kenji! His friendship with Juliet is the best :)

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  13. Eeep yes to Prisoner of Night and Fog! That was one of my favourites last year.

    I wish I had the patience for scrapbooking so I'm truly in awe of you!

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  14. Meant to be would be a great rom-com movie! I'd go see it. I love the name Amaris! It's so pretty. Kenji is so funny and was one of my favorite parts of the Shatter Me trilogy. Great pick and nice to meet you!

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  15. It's nice to meet you, Amaris! I cannot wait to see the rest of your Love A Thon posts!
    By the way, American Authors is one of my favorite bands too!

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  16. Amaris is such a pretty name! <3 And I love your blog design so much! It's simple but really pretty and I love the colours.


    HAHA OMG XANGA. I was on that site for a while too back in 2005 or so. :D Then I moved onto Livejournal. Ahhhh, those days.


    Ahhh, I really need to read Throne of Glass and The Kiss of Deception as well! And I haven't started The Lunar Chronicles yet! I should check out Fire & Flood too! :D


    Stationery/craft stores are the best. <3


    Cynthia @ <a href="http://www.afterwritten.com/>Afterwritten</a>

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  17. Hello Amaris! That's a beautiful name. :) Pleasure to meet you!

    We're the opposite. I mostly review fantasy, and am looking for more contemporary recommendations. Haha. I see you're looking to some really great books.

    Ignite Me was a great end to that trilogy. :) And Throne of Glass is a fantastic series. You have to read it! Scarlet is what actually got me hooked on the Lunar Chronicles, so it's worth the read. Ahhh, so many good books on your list.

    Paper Source is such a gorgeous store. I love their products. I don't need it, but I have such a hard time not buying everything. Haha.

    Here's my Love-a-Thon questionnaire.

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  18. Thanks, Heather! I hope you enjoyed the Love-a-Thon!

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  19. I have heard so many good things about The Kiss of Deception and Throne of Glass, it's a bit embarrassing to admit I haven't read it yet! Which contemporaries have you read and love?

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  20. Thanks, Kaylie! I'm glad you liked Fire & Flood — have you gotten the chance to read Salt & Stone yet?

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  21. AHHHHH I KNOW I KNOW! I really liked Cinder so I have NO IDEA why I haven't started Scarlet yet! I find Xanga really similar to Blogger/Blogspot, which is why am still on Blogger/Blogspot rather than WordPress. I'm so glad you are a part of this book blogging community, I very much enjoy your blog :)

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  22. YES! I think it would be so much fun ... plus LONDON. I AM A HUGE FAN OF LONDON. I READ IGNITE ME A COUPLE OF DAYS AND MY HEART IS OVERFLOWING WITH FEELS. It was perfect and I can't believe it's over ...

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  23. Hi Pili! I have added Every Breath by Ellie Marney to my TBR list, thanks for the recommendation :)

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  24. Hi Carlisa, thank you so much! When I started my book blog, I was really just looking for a place to share my thoughts on the books I read and find people who were doing the same thing. I've found it the easiest to meet people through Twitter so just start conversations and share little things about yourself :)

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  25. Hi Lily! I love living in California, but I hope to be in New York one day and experience all four seasons :p I've heard a ton of good things about The Kiss of Deception but if you don't want to buy it, you can always check it out from your library!

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  26. I've read a couple of posts that "middle school" me wrote ... all I have to say is THANK GOD nobody was following my Xanga! It is SO embarrassing. I'm glad to have met you as well, looking forward to future chats on Twitter hehe :)

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  27. YES, I LOVE TAYLOR SWIFT. I make sure to take my time in Target — who knows what I'll need? ;) I've added Unearthly to my TBR list! Thanks, Alexa :)

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  28. Aww, thank you Lauren! Target is CLOSING?! How does that even happen!!!

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  29. WOOHOO! I'm hoping to move away in the next couple of years though, haha. I really loved Cinder, so I really don't know what I'm waiting for :/

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  30. You are very welcome, Klaudia :) Yes, you need to start The Lunar Chronicles! I've only read Cinder so far, but it was a great introduction. I haven't heard many people talk about Prisoner of Night and Fog, but I'm glad you loved it!

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  31. YES. I just read Ignite Me and I loved every conversation he had with Juliette, James, EVEN WARNER. He is such a fun and real guy.

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  32. I'm actually attempting to scrapbook (my main goal is to take more pictures of things I do TO scrapbook, hahaha) but I haven't started it yet ... except for cutting out "2015" in card stock and glittering it up :p

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  33. Thank you, Katherine! :) Yes! If only we could tell movie people to film it, hmm ...

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  34. It's very nice to meet you too, Tessa! AHHHH, this is the first time I've heard someone say that American Authors is one of their favorite bands! What is your favorite song?! Or songs, if that makes it easier? :p

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  35. THANK YOU, CYNTHIA!!! I never used Livejournal because I only knew how to customize layouts on Xanga :p

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  36. Hi Kim! Thank you so much :) I just read Ignite Me a couple of days ago and I am still thinking about how that book played out. It's officially my favorite in the series, Tahereh's writing is SO BEAUTIFUL. And YES, PAPER SOURCE. Everything about that store is perfect!

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  37. I love all of their songs, but my favorites have to be Best Day of My Life (especially the acoustic version), Believer, Ghost, and Heart of Stone. I cannot wait to see what their next album is like (even though I have no idea when or if it will come out). Which one is your favorite?

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  38. I would kill to live in California! Where I live it's literally just rain 75% of the time!


    I have no read The Kiss of Deception either but I really want to! It's just that every time I go to put it in my basket I just end up not buying it!

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