There's Gunta Be Some Changes 'Round Here!

You may have noticed that of late there have been some changes around LibrariYAn. About a month ago, I attended KidLitCon, a gathering of kid lit bloggers. In addition to meeting some great bloggers, I walked away with new thoughts and ideas about the purpose of my blog and my vision for its future.

And so, the changes that I've made or that are in-process...

1. New background and altered layout: I've had basically the same setup since I began this blog almost a year ago. I felt like I need to mix things up and revisit the organization and aesthetic of the blog. So, there's a new background, a new header, and a few other changes to pretty it up a bit.

2. I'm an Amazon Associate: Since I began this blog, whenever I mentioned a book, I would link to its Amazon page, to provide readers a chance to read other product reviews/summaries, and offer a quick and easy way for interested parties to purchase said book. There I was referring people to Amazon, but what I didn't know was that I could make a small - very very small - amount of commission off of my referrals by registering as an Amazon Associate. So now, I have special links in my posts and also an Amazon search box on my blog that earn me a tiny bit of money, should you go from my blog and purchase something (anything!) from Amazon. In order to be in compliance with FTC regulations, you'll also see I note my participation in this program at the bottom of each post. Feel free to access Amazon through my blog any time you're interested in making a purchase!

3. Nonfiction Monday Meme: I haven't done this one yet, but I'm planning to start up this week. As a first-round judge for the Cybils, I've been reading an awful lot of nonfiction lately. At the conference, a bunch of folks talked about getting involved in memes* as a great way to get involved in the blogging community and drive traffic to one's own blog. So, I figured that blogging about the nonfiction books I've been reading and posting these as part of Nonfiction Monday is a no-brainer. If all goes well, I just might look into participating in other memes!

And well, I guess that's about it. I'm pretty excited about these changes. I'm so excited that I also got myself some FREE business cards at VistaPrint** which feature my blog address and contact info. I plan to hand out them out to publishers and librarians at conferences and the like.

See you on Monday!

* A meme is basically a regularly scheduled blogging prompt. A bunch of bloggers all create posts on the same topic/question to raise awareness, promote discussion, connect with others and/or have something to post about.

** Shout-out to librarian extraordinaire April Bunn for suggesting this to me ages ago.

Welcome, KidLitCon '09 Attendees!

I am the first person to admit that I'm not very good at keeping up with goings-on in the blogosphere. For instance, last week was Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW) and I had no clue until I started seeing all these posts about it coming up in my reader. But I'm trying to be better about that...

One blogger event that I am definitely NOT missing out on, however, is KidLitCon '09, which is happening (almost) in my (new) backyard at the Crystal City Sheraton just outside D.C. In just under a month I will partake in my first official blogger event, and I must say that I'm pretty excited. After a tremendously busy summer that took me all over the place and now settling into my new position as a middle school librarian, I've kind of let the blog go a bit, posting about once a week. As the conference nears, I'm feeling a little guilty about that, but also inspired to post more and increasingly pumped to see what I can learn from other bloggers.

So, if you're an attendee stopping by for a visit, welcome! Please feel free to look around and leave a comment so I know you stopped by, and I look forward to meeting you in person in October.

Back to Life, Back to Reality

As I sit on the couch of our rented villa on Hilton Head Island, looking out at the palm trees and the way the sun glistens on the water, I can't shake the knowledge that summer is coming to a close. It's been a fantastical journey for me these past several months during the "Parade of Awesome," and I'm almost sad to see it end...but there are so many new exciting things happening this fall, it almost seems silly!

Here are the things I'm most looking forward to this fall:

1. Starting my new job as a middle school librarian (August 31)
2. The release of Catching Fire and Hate List (September 1)
3. The release of Liar, complete with a fabulous new cover (September 29)

4. My third wedding anniversary AND the release of Fire AND The Maze Runner (October 6)

5. KidLitCon 09, where I'll finally get to meet bloggers, like Charlotte, in person (October 17)

6. Having more time in my schedule to blog regularly

7. Looking into writing some "real" reviews

8. Getting some collaboration going with the folks at the Alexandria Public Library

9. Exploring Alexandria's Old Town

10. Receiving new ARCs and giving old ones away as prizes!

What are you looking forward to this fall?