Hello everyone, and welcome to the new Erin Reads! I’ve been working on a self-hosted site for a while and am proud to unveil it. Please update your subscriptions!
Note: if you’re a current Erin Reads email subscriber, I’ve already made the move for you. All you need to do is follow the instructions in the Feedburner confirmation email to activate your subscription to the new site.
I’m also now able to have a spiffy new Google Friend Connect box over in the right sidebar. If you’d like to help make it look less empty, please become a follower!
Now that we have the housekeeping bits squared away, it’s time for…
A GIVEAWAY!
Help me celebrate the new site! Up for grabs is a book of your choice from The Book Depository, up to $15, as long as they ship to your country. Details:
- To enter, just leave a comment on this post. You can comment as many times as you’d like, but I’ll only enter you in the drawing once!
- For a bonus entry (+1), tell me something you like about Erin Reads, something you’d like to see more of, or something you feel could be improved.
- Be sure to include a way to contact you!
- Giveaway will close one week from today, on Halloween. Winner will be announced on Monday, November 1st.
Howdy Erin! Glad to see that you are well in your new location (both online and geographically). I like your header image, and the overall layout… no need to enter be in the drawing, just wanted to say ‘hi!’
Thanks for stopping by, Melissa! I’m happy the blog looks ok to you. I’m pretty much sold on the wonders of WordPress!
Congrats on making the move! I’m in the middle of moving my blog to being self-hosted right now and even though my husband is doing the bulk of the work for me it’s still intimidating to me.
My husband had to help me through a few rough spots in getting this new site set up! Good luck with your moving process. I hope it goes smoothly!
Hi Erin, thanks for doing the automatic email sign up. I did sign up and now see you have followers which I prefer to use as it’s easiest for me to see them through my dashboard on my blog. I think that makes me follower number 1 yay!
Great, I’m glad you can use Google Friend Connect! My old blog wouldn’t accept the code needed to run it. I’m happy someone will be using it!
I love the new site! It’s so professional-looking.
I read your posts because your reviews satiate the reader in me. (Which is hard to do!) You read a great span of books–David Sedaris to John Green to Kahled Husseini. And this is what I read! So, all parts of my reader self are represented here.
Thanks for the giveaway and for doing what you do!
mrsderaps @ hotmail . com
Thank you! I’m glad you share my eclectic reading tastes 🙂
Welcome to your new home! Like Melissa M. above I like the overall look of your site. But I come for the reviews more than the design! You can reach me at my personal email (entered above) or at LoveYALit (at) gmail (dot) com.
Thanks for the welcome and for coming by! The reviews shall definitely continue 🙂
Congratulations on the move! (No need to enter me in the drawing either – the last thing I need right now is another book).
Ok! Thanks for taking the time to say hello 🙂
I love the new look Erin!! And a giveaway to go along with it, you smart girl! I didn’t think about doing that. 😀 I’m not sure what book I’ll pick if I win, but I’m sure I can find something. 😀
Honestly, I can’t say there’s anything here you should change. I love your reviews and you’ve moved from my “new-to-me blogs” folder in Google Reader to my “daily” folder in the last little while. It’s also been wonderful talking to you on twitter and by email.
I hope your move to self-hosted has gone smoothly!! 🙂
Thanks! I’m thrilled to have made the “daily” cut 🙂 That’s quite exciting! I very much agree — the email and Twitter (and comment) chats have been great!
I was wondering what this secret project would be! Love it, it looks brilliant.
Hmm… I think what I like best are the different types of books you read and how you write about them. You write in a way that’s engaging and often create questions for the reader to want to answer.
books @ carnelianvalley.com
Thanks, Charlie! I’m happy you like the questions. My goal is to get people talking…books are more fun when they get discussed!
Nice new site, Erin! Although I’m pretty new to your site, I love the simple, easy to follow design. Keep doing the special features like the weekly roundup…adds a little fun and variety.
I’d also like to thank you for getting me back into audiobooks. At our book club meeting you mentioned how you enjoyed them. I listened to a few a while back but you inspired me to try it again. Right now, I’m listening to my first fiction audiobook, “First Lord’s Fury” by Jim Butcher. I wasn’t sure if fiction would work for me in audiobook form, but I love it.
Look forward to the new site and your reviews!
Thank you, Paul! I’m so happy you’re back into audiobooks. I think once you find that right book that really works for you, your faith in audiobooks is restored. At least, that’s what happened for me. I’ll be interested to know what you think of “First Lord’s Fury”!
Yay for you! Saw you mention your move on the College Students group 🙂 Awesome giveaway!
Anyway, what I like about your blog: maybe it’s not exactly the blog, but I love how you challenge yourself to read books from around the world!
My e-mail; daisyjdebruin@gmail.com
Thanks for coming over from the CS group, Daisy! I’m glad you pointed out reading around the world. That’s definitely one of my goals!
Congratulations on the move to self hosted! The new site looks fabulous!!
Thank you! I’m glad you stopped by!
Your blog looks great at your new site! Congratulations on making the move!
It’s so sweet of you to offer a giveaway in celebration of your move. If I win I would love a copy of one of these works by Alice Munro: The Progress of Love, Friend of My Youth or Too Much Happiness.
Thank you!
~ Amy
Aimala AT gmail DOT com
Thanks Amy! Great choice of books to win! I need to read something by Alice Munro. Thanks for the reminder 🙂
I like your new Saturday Feature, “My Week in Books”. It’s a great way to discuss the books you focused on during that past week and share our thoughts about particular book! I enjoy your reviews but I think “My Week in Books” is more like a conversation about books and trading thoughts and opinions with each other about those books. i’m looking forward to participating in it.
Great idea, Erin!
~ Amy
Aimala127@gmail.com
Ooh, thanks! I’m glad you’ll be participating. I love book conversations!
reviews and reviews and more reviews…can never have too many!
I can do that 🙂
Congrats on going self-hosted! I love the flexibility that comes with being self-hosted, and I hope you do too…
As for book depository books! Wow, I can think of a few, so I’d love to be entered for that.
Thanks, Rebecca! So far it’s been great…so much more control!
Love the new look!
Thank you!
Wow! Big move! Looks awesome. 🙂 I’ll update you both blogrolls ( The B&B and my personal one).
One thing I like about Erin Reads: I really enjoy your reviews! They are thoughtful and I respect your opinions!
Thanks for coming by and for updating the blogrolls, Jamie. I appreciate both!
Awesome contest! Thanks!
Thank you for visiting 🙂
I’m so glad that you have GFC, I find it hard to follow blogs via email because my email account gets so bogged down as it is, that I overlook some things. With GFC I can just log into blogger and single out the blogs.
jlynettes @ hotmail . com
I’m glad it works for you, Jennelle. I was debating whether or not to include GFC. It seems like people will use it, thought!
I just realized that your site’s colors are very close to what I intended my bedroom paint and trim to be but in the end (as per usual) the actual paint was more brown and tan than these lovely colors. Ah well!
That’s so funny — my old bedroom at my parents’ house is a lighter shade of the purple on the edges of Erin Reads! My father refers to all colors in that grey-brown-purplish range as “doeskin.” Sounds like that’s what you ended up with. I hope it looks nice 🙂
Great site. I saw your post in the College Students group. It looks that this would be both fun and difficult to put together (difficult to me anyway-I have no computer skills whatsoever. LOL). I’d love to start my own blog, but I probably won’t until after I graduate.
Your reviews are awesome! I really enjoy reading them.
klamber1@unca.edu
Thanks for stopping by, Kayla! It’s not so hard to set up a blog, especially if you sign up through WordPress (what I did first). Good luck!
I love this! I’m jealous. I want to be this cool! You are so awesome.
Aww, thanks Tamera! 🙂
Congrats on the new site, Erin. It looks lovely. I love the easy email sign-up feature, which means I can sneakily read your posts while I’m pretending to work 🙂
Thanks! Ooh, sneaky is good. Glad I can contribute to your pretending to work 🙂
Thanks for the giveaway! I love the new site design, and I’ve been reading your reviews for a while.
Thanks for saying hi, Skye! I’m glad you enjoy the reviews 🙂
I have just found your site so I can’t comment on any differences from your previous site.
I think this site looks fine and no doubt you will still be making changes as you go along.
I have joined as a Follower, so I will see what happens.
Thanks for the giveaway.
Carol T
buddytho {at} gmail DOT com
Thank you for following, Carol! I hope you decide to stick around!
Hello, and congratulations on getting a new blog site. I saw your post in the College Student’s group. I love the layout you have here. It’s very clean and readable while being pretty at the same time. I also love your Halloween themed posts, especially the comparison between Jekyll & Hyde and Dorian Grey. Please enter me in your giveaway, and count me as a new follower. 🙂
– Emily @ Reading While Female
Thanks for stopping by, Emily, and for your feedback! I’m glad to have you as a new follower, and I’ll definitely enter you in the giveaway 🙂
Congrats on your move! It is something I have thought about a few times, but never actually gotten around to doing! Well done!
Thanks, Marg! My husband finally bought me the domain, and then I felt like I had to get a move on and set up the new site 🙂
Well. This is my first time to visit your blog and i likey:):)
Anyway, Congratulations on your move and it’s good that you have GFC. I am a new follower. I liked the appearance of your blog the first time I saw it. It’s simple yet beautiful. It doesn’t have a shocking look:) Cool giveaway.
karol_ina08@yahoo.com
Welcome! Thanks for following. I hope you enjoy the blog!