Ivy Book Bindings Turns 3!

I can't believe it but it's that time of year again: blogoversary time! 

I started this blog when I was in high school and I'm about to enter my sophomore year of college now, so the full impact of these three years is really hitting me all at once. But, I think this past year of blogging has been, perhaps, one of my "worst" years. Not in terms of content--because I feel as if I've now become comfortable in my skin, both who I am as a person and who I am as a reader--and I also truly believe that the values I look for in novels have become clearer and clearer in the types of books I choose to read and review and the manner in which I do so. I've also become less "anal" about blogging, choosing to post when I can and also choosing to review select books I truly feel passionately about. I've also had so many incredible experiences this past year, even blogging-related like meeting my all-time favorite author, Kristin Cashore, who is fittingly the first (and so far only) author I've managed to meet. Yet, compared to my first two years of blogging, I haven't been as present in the blogosphere--I actually manage to be surprised by a new book release--and, furthermore, I don't feel as if I'm as close to a lot of my blogging buddies as I once was. In large part, that has to do with me. And that's fine. I'm a college student and it's a good thing that my priorities are face-to-face relationships and my education but it also makes me look back on the days I'd send long e-mails about novels to friends or receive packages in the mail from across the sea. If I'll ever have the time to return to that level of dedication I don't know--although I do hope to do so--and while this past year has been a bit of a transition year for me, what with--you know--college, I'm hoping my fourth year of blogging will be one in which I am better able to balance blogging, bookish friendships, and life. For me, the problem has never been about making the time to read--because that's a passion that will never change--but rather about making the time to blog.

Anyhow, now that that long sentimental rant is over and done with, let's get to the exciting part: the giveaway! I haven't had a chance to do a giveaway on the blog for a loooong time so if you win this one, you can pick any book you want and I'll either order it and have it shipped to you or pre-order it for you if it hasn't already released.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I may not have explicitly taken the time to detail out all the thank-yous I owe to people in this past year but I cannot thank you all enough. For all the readers who stop to write me comments, for all the bloggers who have kept in touch and continue to leave me the nicest of notes, for all the newcomers who have discovered my blog and enjoyed its content, and especially for those of you who I never interact with but who subscribe and read and like my posts: thank you. If it wasn't for such an amazing readership, I wouldn't have the level of motivation I do to continue to post. I truly adore this community and am so grateful, not only to have been welcomed with open arms, but to have been a part of it for three years! So thank you--each and every one of you. You cannot know how much this has meant--and will continue to mean.