Blue Sky Bookshelf: one year

October marks the starting point of this blog. Blue Sky Bookshelf has been running for one year, people.

This all started because of two reasons:

I had the common problem of most book lovers, which was that no one I knew loved books as much as I did. If they did, which probably happened a maximum of once, they didn't have the same taste in books as I do.
My sister had started a blog earlier that year and every time we were together, she kept pressuring me to blog. She claimed that there were so many people like us, it would be a great way to develop thoughts, and really, what was the harm? If I didn't like it, I could always stop.

Well, I caved. It was probably one of the best decisions I ever made too since I have experienced more than I ever dreamed ~~that sounds so corny, but it's so true~~. I won't list stats because I think it's incredible that I even made it this far. A year ago, I had zero people to interact with, zero followers, zero reviews, and zero everything. I reread the same books over and over, not trusting my sister's suggestions (ever since she picked out The King's Shadow for a school reading assignment for me *shudders at the past torture*) and as silly as it sounds, not trusting myself to branch out. But then blogging forced me to pick books my eyes usually only skimmed over. Who knew there were so many books and authors out there?!

I also can't even begin to list all the amazing people I have met in the past year. I don't have the greatest memory and I know I would kick myself later for forgetting a key person. Just know that I appreciate all the squeal-fests, ranting sessions, fist pumps, hugs, support, comments, and everything else that you all have done for/with me through the grand internet. All of you have shaped my reading habits as well as likes and dislikes, contributing to showing me a whole new world. *breaks out into song*

Along with other bloggers and readers, I have met the most amazing authors. From interviewing several of them (Robin LaFevers, Marissa Meyer, and Stacey Kade) to meeting them in person (Leigh Bardugo, Ally Carter, and Jessica Brody) to having lovely chats and connecting with them (Natalie Richards, Stacey Kade, and bff Jessica Brody) to many other encounters with many other authors; I realized that they really are amazingly nice and down-to-earth. The fangirl inside of me has danced in the computer chair too many times to count when an author replied via Twitter or commented on here. Would I have ever been able to connect with them without this blog? Nope, not for me anyways.

So after all that rambling mush, to celebrate this humongous moment in my blogger life, I'm doing TWO giveaways! However, this will only be for followers since this is commemorating the start of the blog and all the lovely people who have read it.

Prize 1: a book of your choice from The Book Depository up to $15 and this is INTERNATIONAL as well! Don't worry about shipping factors because I have Amazon Prime.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prize 2: one of these ARCs (or paperbacks) that I have received this past year, but only for people in the US. Shown below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway