Since I know you're all dying to know if you won the $25 Amazon gift card I had up for grabs, I'll

get right to it: If you are Sarah (of Sarah's YA Blog), then you're the lucky winner! Congratulations! Since this is an actual gift card, not just a code, I'll need your mailing address so I can send it off to you. Email me at blogginboutbooksATgmailDOTcom and I'll pop it in the mail.

Thanks to all who entered and especially for your wonderful book recommendations. Getting all these wonderful suggestions makes me feel like I won something :) I didn't want to forget any of them, so I made a list, which I will use whenever I'm looking for a good book to read. Here it is (alphabetized by author's last name - because I'm just anal like that). Oh! And I crossed out the titles I've already read. Okay, here it is for real:

• Abu-Jaber, Diana. Birds of Paradise. (Julie @Read Handed)


• Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Purple Hibiscus. (Shelley @Book Clutter)


• Bick, Ilsa J. Ashes. (Cialana @Muggle-Born.net)


• Bradley, Alan. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. (Nancy @Desperate for a Good Read)


• Bradshaw, Jessica. Hazy Shade of Winter. (Will I Stay Mormon?)


• Cashore, Kristin. Bitterblue. (Melissa @The Book Nut)


• Cass, Kiera. The Selection. (Tara @Taming the Bookshelf and Malvina Beatrice)


• Chima, Cindy Williams. The Demon King. (Rita @Rita's World)


• Creagh, Kelly. Nevermore. (Sarah @Sarah's YA Blog)


• Creech, Sharon. Walk Two Moons. (Trish @A Bushel and a Peck)


• Crowley, Cath. Graffiti Moon. (Kara)


• Diamant, Anita. The Red Tent. (Michemily @Circles and Dots and Other Distractions)


• Dumas, Alexandre. The Count of Monte Cristo. (Linda)


• Ford, Jamie. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. (Gayle @Glimpses)


• Goss, Theodora. The Thorn and the Blossom: A Two-Sided Love Story. (Melvina Beatrice)


• Hale, Shannon. Austenland. (Pam @A Cookbook Blog)


• Hillenbrand, Lauren. Unbroken. (Sheri @The Kersey Family)


• Hull, Helen R. Heat Lightning. (Kathy @A Year of Actually Reading My Own Books)


• Ibbotson, Eva. A Song for Summer. (Cindy @Being Cindy)


• James, E.L. Fifty Shades of Grey. (Veronika)


• Jio, Sarah. The Violets of March. (Susan @The Book Bag)


• Lord, Cynthia. Rules. (Laura H.)


• Marchetta, Melina. Saving Francesca. (KT)


• Martin, George R.R. A Game of Thrones. (Lilly and Lisa @Lisa Is Busy Nerding)


• McCallan, Trish. Forged in Fire. (Stephanie)


• Montgomery, L.M. Otherwise Blue Castle. (Pam @A Cookbook Blog)


• Narayan, R.K. The Man Eater of Makgudi. (Mel U @The Reading Life)


• Niffenegger, Audrey. The Time Traveller's Wife. (ohmyklaine @Rowan Reads)


• Pekkanen, Sarah. These Girls. (runner10)


• Penny, Louise. Inspector Chief Gamache series. (Kay @Purple Sage and Scorpions)


• Queen, Stephanie. The Throwbacks. (Stephanie)


• Roth, Veronica. Insurgent. (Karen and Gerard @Grab A Book From Our Stack and Oh! Paper Pages)


• Rothfuss, Patrick. The Name of the Wind. (cjhansen)


• Sepetys, Ruta. Between Shades of Grey. (Sarah @Workaday Reads)


• Shusterman, Neal. Unwind. (Sabrina)


• Smith, Jennifer E. The Statistical Probability of Falling in Love at First Sight. (Kristin and Kara)


• Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me. (Cialana @Muggle-Born.net)


• Stefano, Lauren. Fever. (Brandileigh @Blkosiner's Book Blog)


• Sullivan, Michael. Theft of Swords. (KT)


• Waldman, Amy. The Submission. (Lindsey @Literary Lindsey)


• Walls, Jeanette. The Glass Castle. (Sheri @The Kersey Family)


• Watson, S.J. Before I Go to Sleep. (Jessica @The Blue Stocking Society)


• Zusak, Marcus. I Am the Messenger. (Jessica @The Blue Stocking Society)

Thanks for entering, everybody, and thanks for the recommendations!

In Book Blogger land, nothing heralds an upcoming weekend more than the logo above. Traditionally, the Book Blogger Hop begins on Friday and lasts through the weekend. No longer. For various reasons, our host (Jen) has given the popular event a facelift. She almost dropped it altogether and I'm so glad she's decided to keep it going. It really is my favorite book blogging event. The rules have changed a bit, though, mostly in the fact that the Hop is now a monthly thing, not a weekly thing. Hopefully, this will allow more bloggers to participate and in more meaningful ways.

No matter its format, I'm always get excited about the Hop. It's one of the best methods out there for finding great new book blogs. Who doesn't love that? So, please, head over to Crazy for Books and sign up for the Hop. It really is a whole lot of fun.

Whether you're an old friend or a new one, welcome to Bloggin' 'bout Books! I'm so glad you've found me. Feel free to browse around, enter the contest I'm running for a $25 Amazon gift card, and leave me lots of comments. I will definitely return the favor. Happy Hopping!