BBAW Day 4: Readers and the Seven Realms

Another day of BBAW fun and I am excited for this topic. Today BBAW asks: Has blogging changed the way I read?

The short answer: Yes.

To elaborate on this, my post today is the perfect example.  Today, I am talking about my love for the Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima.   But not in the same way I would have before the blog.  Not only do I talk about the love, but now I have the chance to literally share it.

See, back in the pre-blog days, I'd occasionally rave to people about awesome books.  Now, I can rave, I can interact with authors, and I can participate in book celebrations, like this one.  It adds a whole new dimension (or two or three...) to the reading experience.  I love the author interactions, the celebrations and read-alongs and countdowns and cover reveals and giveaways that populate the book blogging world.  I love to host and to simply participate.  All these things have increased my enjoyment and give depth to my reading experience.  And, of course, it's fun too! :)  So, to illustrate, here we go:

As you may recall, I've raved about this series before (specifically The Exiled Queen and The Gray Wolf Throne)- it's pretty much everything you could hope for in an epic fantasy, especially a world so rich and deep it's almost impossible to distinguish it from our own.  It's the kind of book that you fall into and emerge calling yourself Frodo or Arwen or dressing in robes and clutching wands because you're so obsessed with the characters.  A story that will bring something new every time you reread it.

Emily of Emily's Reading Room invited me to join in this Seven Realms celebration by posting part of a puzzle that when put together will spell a secret word that will allow you to enter to win a set of signed Seven Realms books.  You can also change your Twitter avatar to one of the pictures below (each one represents a group from the books) and tweet using the hashtag #sevenrealms for more chances to win!

My piece of the puzzle:

You can find the links to the other pieces of the puzzle at Emily's Reading Room.

Once you have the word, email it to Emily (emilysreadingroom(at)gmail.com) with the subject: Seven Realms Week.

Below are the images to use for Twitter.  The crown represents the Queen’s Guard, the ring represents the Clans, and the amulet represents the Wizards.  On Facebook you can change your profile picture as well, and post on the Provo City Library’s Facebook Page they are offering another set of the books, signed.

So, what has blogging changed in your reading experience?

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage