I'm One Year Old Today!

It's official, my blog is 1 year old today!  It was July 17th, 2009 that I decided to try my hand at blogging, and I haven't looked back since.  The year has been filled with a lot of fun and some hard work.  I'm not sure I knew what I was getting myself into a year ago, but I'm so glad I went for it.  Now I may end up rambling a bit in this post but please read to the end because there is going to be a giveaway buried in the gushing.

When I first started this blog, I had no idea what the heck I was doing.  All I knew is that a friend of mine on the Barnes & Noble book club page had started her own blog a while back and seemed to be having a blast, so I figured I would check it out and I've been here since then.  For those of you who don't know who I'm talking about, I would like to thank Deb of Bookmagic for introducing me to this fantastic world that I really never knew that much about before. 

I also owe a humongous THANK YOU to everyone in the book blogging community for making me feel at home and answering my questions when I didn't have a clue as to what I was doing. I wish I was able to list all of you by name but I'm not sure this post would ever be finished if I did so.  You guys are really the warmest and most welcoming group of people I know and I'm so proud to be counted amongst you.  Without really knowing it you guys have helped me through some rough spots this last year and for that I owe you more than I can ever express.  I'm looking forward to the years to come.

I was looking at my stats and I noticed that so far I've reviewed 89 books (I'm shooting for over 100 the next year), 13 DVDs, and even one CD.  Now this has been a year filled with some great books and some I wished I hadn't read, but even then I've learned a lot about what I look for in a book.  Before this blog, I could have told you whether or not I liked a book, but I wouldn't have been able to really go into the reasons behind it.  Not that I didn't know the reasons, but because I wasn't able to put my thoughts into words that anyone else would have understood.  Through reading the hundreds of blogs that I now subscribe to, by writing my own posts, and by having some terrific conversations with all of you, I think I'm finding my voice and making it stronger by the day.

I've also done 52 Favorite Fictional Character posts, one a week, where I talk about some of my favorite characters from books, TV, and Movies.  I even got a character from a poem into the mix early on in the series.  By doing this series of posts I've been able to revisit some of my old friends that I haven't really paid that much attention to at times.  I've been able to reconnect with them and have even bought books or DVDs based off the rediscoveries.  I'm only bringing this up because here is where the giveaway is going to come into play.

From now to the end of the month, July 31st, you will be able to enter into a giveaway to win a $20 gift card to Barnes & Noble or Amazon.  This will be open internationally so everyone will have a chance at it.

The giveaway will end at 11:59 PM CST on 7/31.  All you need to do to enter is pick your favorite character that I have posted about in my Favorite Fictional Character posts.  Just click on the link above to take you to the original posts.  In your comment please leave your preference between the two retailers, whether or not you want a physical or an electronic one, and your email address.  You must be a follower of the blog to enter.  After I pick the winner through random.org, I will email them and they will then have 48 hours to email me back or I will pick a new winner. 

I just want to say thank you once again to everyone who has made this last year special for me.  You will never know how much I appreciate the open arms and kindness you have all shown me.