Monday, September 10, 2012

Blogoversary Celebration Day 2: Now & Then

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Welcome to day 2 of my blogoversary celebration. Since yesterday was just the launch/announcement, today is the first actual post and it’s going to be about what kind of year I had; where I’ve been, what happened, what changed.

Then
This adventure all started on September 9th, 2011 when I started Xpresso Reads and posted for the very first time *sniff*. It’s safe to say I had no idea what it all entailed. I had been reviewing on Goodreads for a year, and before that I was using some lame Facebook App for a couple years. So I wasn’t new to reviewing, but blogging was a whole new world for me. I had heard of book bloggers but I didn’t know much about what it was like to have a book blog; let’s just say I had to learn fast. I loved every minute of it! Tomorrow I have a FAQ post where I will be going in more details about how I put myself out there, but I had a ton of fun going around and making friends. A lot of you guys will be my friends for life and this was worth it if only for that one reason!
Where was I this year?
-Interviewed at The Teen Book Guru
 -Interviewed at Reading A Little Bit of Everything
-Interviewed at One a Day YA
-Guest posted for Zombies vs Unicorns month at YA Bookmark
-Guest posted for My Reading Spot at Bewitched Bookworms 
      Firsts:

      -My first review on Xpresso Reads: Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
      -My first WoW: Lola and the Boy Next Door (Eep I still haven’t read it O_O)
      -My first book haul post: IMM (1)
      -My first Netgalley approval: Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (And by the time I got to it it had expired 🙁 See! Learning experience! >.<)
      -My first print ARC: Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones (From St. Martin’s Press)
      -My first review request & first interview: Michelle Madow for Remembrance (loved it!)
      -My first Fresh Batch post: Sept 25th – Oct 1st 2011 

      -My first sidebar tour banner: Touch by Jus Accardo
      -My first commenter: Amy from Following the Reading (and I still talk to this girl! She rocks!)

        Now

        Yep, my blog has had quite the makeover à la Parajunkee. She did an amazing job and I highly recommend her if you’re looking for a makeover. Aside from the design, I have grown quite a lot as a reviewer and a blogger. It was a big learning curve and I’m happy to have gotten so many supporters – some of you I have known from my very first week! I will be mentioning a few awesome people later this week! 😉 I hope there will be many more years to come, and a lot more friends to meet!

        I’m sure most of you have heard by now, but new very recently is the launch of Xpresso Design where you can purchase banners and buttons for any type of use or event. Find more details here! I absolutely love working on my sidebar banners and event buttons, so after several requests, emails, and friend suggesting it, I decided to start this little design venture and we’ll see where it goes from there.

        Where do I stand after this year?
        -308,000 Page views
        -135,000 Unique visitors
        -2,900 RSS Subscribers
        -20,002 Total comments
        -526 Posts
        -238 Reviews
          Yup, it was quite the wicked year!

          Stop by tomorrow for a FAQ post where I will go into more details by answering frequent questions I get about followers, comments, ARCs & more.
          Now, to fit today’s theme, you can win two of the earliest books I ever received for review on the blog, and two of the most recent.

          Giveaway

          Then

          Jus Accardo and PT Michelle both wrote two of my earliest reviewed books on Xpresso Reads. For this event, they have very generously offered up copies of these pretties for giveaway (click on the covers for my reviews).

                   

          -One print re-release copy of  Touch (with the extra Kale scenes) by Jus Accardo + a swag pack
          -One ebook copy of Brightest Kind of Darkness by PT Michelle

            Now

            Helen Keeble and Darynda Jones both wrote two of the most recent books I received for review on Xpresso Reads. They have very generously offered up copies of these pretties for giveaway (click on the covers for my reviews – note: My review of Death and the Girl Next Door will be posted later today!)

                

            -One signed copy of Fang Girl by Helen Keeble
            -One signed copy of Death and the Girl Next Door by Darynda Jones

              Giveaway details:
              There will be TWO winners: first winner wins the “Then” books, the second winner wins the “Now” books. A very big thank you to these four wonderful authors for this giveaway opportunity!

              Both open Internationally
              Giveaway ends September 24th, 2012
              Use the Rafflecopter below to enter

              a Rafflecopter giveaway

              Where else can you find Xpresso Reads?
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              Giselle

              Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

              Latest posts by Giselle (see all)

              46 Responses to “Blogoversary Celebration Day 2: Now & Then”

              1. Leanne Yang

                Congrats for one year in blogging! Crazy how your blog grew so fast!! (:

                I’m on my sixth month so far. But I TRULY started really reviewing and blogging in July. So it’s sort of just 2 months.

              2. Danny

                Oh I love looking back and seeing what we all did in the beginning and how much we changed :)) I also still remember my first ARC and I was squealing like a little kid :))

              4. Kathy Ann Coleman

                Isn’t it crazy how much difference a year can make? The great thing is that considering how consistent you are with your blog, that can only get better. (That’s my problem–writing and reading at the same time don’t work, lol.)

                Fang Girl looks totally amazing and I can’t believe that I still haven’t read Touch yet. (At least it’s not sitting on my bed like half the other stuff I “haven’t read yet” though…)

                Herre’s to your continued success. *clinks glass* I hope the coming year is equally fabulous for you. 🙂

              8. Tyler-Rose Neath

                Congratulations! You’re blog has come so far in one year! I started at the end of 2010, but only REALLY started in the summer of 2011, so I just passed a year… But look at your blog! WOW!

                Once again, congratulations!

              9. miki

                ^^ it’s sure the blog has changed since its beginning but always for the better.

                I really hope to win the Now pack *____* darynda jones i want!!!

              11. BecAlora Walker

                Congrats for a year and your amazing success. I’ve seen myself that blogging is very hard and networking can be even harder, but you’ve done amazingly well and I can’t wait to see you continue. You’ve proven time and time again that you are a driven and talented girl with opinions that are much worth hearing. 🙂

              15. Riya

                Wow Giselle! :’) I’m getting a little teary-eyed just reading this post! I’m so happy for you and all the success and love your blog has gotten over the past year… ONE year and you’ve already established yourself and your blog as one of the biggest and most reliable out there? That’s SO amazing and mind-blowing. Seriously, when I reach that one year mark I just hope my blog is half as wonderful as yours. <33

                Haha I can’t really imagine your blog looking like anything else, but your old design was pretty damn cool too!! And thanks for the amazing giveaway! You are so generous and kind and I bet your piggy bank must be exploding cause you host so many amazing giveaways haha 😛 Oh the woes of being a teenager….

                Anyway, can’t wait to read your post tomorrow, G! Lovely post and congats! Here’s to many more years of blogging to come! *clinks glass of champagne*

              18. Amy

                Wow!! You have had a fabulous year. You will be my friend for life for sure. Besides, our kids are going to marry each other and we are going to move to Intercourse, AL lol!!

              23. Christina

                Dear Giselle,

                The amount that you’ve accomplished in a year is truly awe-inspiring. Not only do you have 3333 followers (for real, that is hilarious), but they’re INVOLVED. Basically, you’re awesome and everyone knows it and wants to share your xpresso.

                BTWs, I totally remember that facebook app. I was really excited about it for five minutes like five years ago. It was so lame.

                Bahaha, I love that you haven’t read your first WoW. I don’t think I get to too many of mine either.

                NetGalley: that didn’t happen with my first one, but I did have that problem early on. The Kindle option is a lifesaver!

              24. Mel - Thedailyprophecy.

                I just went to see your first review. So much fun to see the difference in your blog. I really like the design you have now ^^ I recently got my first ARC and it’s definitely something you will remember 😀

              27. Kelly @ Dandelion Dreams

                Such a good giveaway! Happy Blogoversary!

                I’m still trying to really get started on the whole review thing. I’ve been reviewing for a while, but it’s always been books that I’ve bought for myself. I just received my very first book to review over the weekend and I was ecstatic! I can only imagine how happy you are right now. 🙂

              28. Eileen

                Eek! Congrats Giselle! Okay it’s official: your blogoversary is the most epic ever! Also, the firsts are awesome 🙂 Shame about the NetGalley title though lol. Your firsts are awesome too my firsts are all lame and meh O_O Anyways, congrats again on your blogoversary and I can’t wait to see what you have next 🙂

              29. Aneeqah

                I’m so excited for you Giselle! I’m really looking forward to reading your FAQ post tomorrow. =) It’s great to see how your blog has grown- and boy, has it grown!! You’ve done so well in only a year Giselle. I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us in the next year! <3

              31. Kristilyn (Reading In Winter)

                Wow — I love all your firsts! It’s funny because my very first NetGalley approval ALSO expired before I got to it. 🙁

                And holy crap — so many page views! My year’s coming up and I *might* hit 40,000 … that pales in comparison!

                Congratulations!

              35. Candace

                Congrats on your blogoversary! Pretty sure I have read your blog since nearly the beginning.
                Thanks for the giveaways! Quite a few of these are books I’m dying to read!

              40. Chrystal

                It’s always fun to walk down memory lane. I wish I had done a screen shot of my blog from the BEFORE like you have.

                I love the design of your blog and of course all of your tour buttons that you create. Congrats on starting Xpresso Design. 🙂

              43. Kristin @ My ParaHangover

                I’m still stupefied that you’ve only been blogging a year! You’re so pro!

                Thanks for sharing your Then and Now’s – they really are fun! It’s really nice to know someone else has let NG titles expire (that does cure you, though, huh?)