Archives for September 2013

VOILÀ! THE NOVEL HERMIT IS OFFICIALLY A SELF-HOSTED BLOG!

September 11, 2013 Comments : 16

Well, you guys. It didn’t take long. Here it is.

Like the title says, The Novel Hermit is officially a self-hosted blog. CELEBRATION TIME!

MOVING ON UP

I decided to go the self-hosting route because – 1. I wanted freedom that WordPress.com did not allow me + 2. I was jealous of people who had made the move (I wholeheartedly admit this). I was so frustrated that I couldn’t fix my layout. I had to make do with what I had, which meant making extremely minor fixes. (Not a fan.) And I was getting irritated with my blog URL. I wanted to own my name and my site, but being on a free blogging platform did not give me that. The URL addresses got extremely long, especially for my discussion posts, and that made it difficult to submit links.

Every time somebody that I knew or followed announced to the internet world that they decided to move their blogs to WordPress.org, I hissed in envy because I wanted to do that too. My first thought was always, “Aww man, I want to self-host my blog too!” and then I would debate with myself whether I should make the move. I wanted that happiness in actually owning my blog. However, with a heavy heart, I usually talked myself out of buying a domain and a web host.

MY INITIAL WORRY

I talked myself out of self-hosting my blog because of my anxiety about money (which I got over fast when I realized the amount I would pay wasn’t as bad as I had expected), and about not having a clear idea of how to set-up everything. I had no idea how I would transfer my blog and didn’t have the money to get somebody to do it. I would be going into the whole self-hosting thing blind, something I did not want to do (because I get stressed out easily). I feared that I would mess everything up. So I put it off.

D.I.Y.

I always knew I was going to transfer all the content on The Novel Hermit by myself. I just didn’t know how. So, when Ashley at Nose Graze, wrote an extremely thorough DIY blog transfer walkthrough, I nearly screamed in joy. It was a total gift/sign from the heavens or wherever. This walkthrough was perfect for me. Yeah, her post is about a Blogger to WordPress.org transfer (even though my blog is on WordPress.com), but it still worked. I was extremely thrilled that Ashley used RFE Hosting as the example web host for her walkthrough because I had decided early-on that I wanted them to be my web host provider. My anxiety continued to ease as my questions were answered by Ashley and I familiarized myself with her post to ensure I didn’t miss anything.

With the help of that handy walkthrough, I went through the process of buying my domain and then my web host, and transferring my content over. It was surprisingly easy. For those who want to go the self-hosting route, but are not savvy at technology or great at DIY, Ashley’s walkthrough is extremely helpful. She lays it out on the table for you, so all you have to do is follow the steps.

THE WAIT

I had to wait a few hours for RFE Hosting to finish setting up my account. That was the only thing that took a few hours. I was extremely antsy because I wanted to get a move on things. It took me under an hour to get everything transferred over to the new blog, which is fairly fast, but that’s probably because I didn’t have a lot of content to transfer to the new self-hosted blog.

LAYOUT

I am not CSS-savvy. Not at all. I had so many issues trying to figure out what each code meant. It took me so many frustrating hours. I fiddled around with the CSS coding. Sometimes, I fixed what I wanted, and other times, I didn’t. It was like having to turn off the lights but you realize that there are a bunch of light switches. When you push one down, another one turns on. You pushed another, a different turns off and another turns on. I tweaked so many layouts, trying to find the best one for my blog. I wanted to keep using the one that I had been using on WordPress.com, but the layout was funky (sidebars were too thin and I couldn’t figure out how to make the width bigger, and I didn’t how to get rid of the header text). I was sooo tempted to purchase a theme, but I knew that was not an option.

I somehow managed to fix the theme that you see in front of you to the best of my abilities and I am 88% happy with the layout. I feel it’s a bit impersonal and that bothers me. There are some things I want to add, but like I said earlier, my CSS abilities is limited. So, to CSS-savvy people, I have a question – how can I insert borders (like the blue ones you see in the sidebar) in-between posts? I don’t know the coding of that and Google isn’t helping me. :(

AT THIS MOMENT

I am still working on this blog. I’m trying to understand the whole SEO thing and Google Analytics. I will get used to it. I just need to fiddle with things. That’s how I learned how to use InDesign. :D

If you have questions about transferring blogs from WordPress.com to WordPress.org, feel free to ask me questions. But if you don’t, tell me what you think about my layout and plugins you think I must install. (To name a few, I have CommentLuv, Askimet, Editorial Calendar, and WordPress SEO by Yoast.) I know the Ultimate Book Plugin is what I should get, but MONNNEYYYY. :( I’m pretty excited for this new adventure as a self-hosted blog.

Waiting on Wednesday

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY | Reality Boy by A.S. King

September 11, 2013 Comments : 7

wowfestivo

Waiting On is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Reality Boy by A.S. King
October 22, 2013
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Pre-order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Gerald Faust knows exactly when he started feeling angry: the day his mother invited a reality television crew into his five-year-old life. Twelve years later, he’s still haunted by his rage-filled youth—which the entire world got to watch from every imaginable angle—and his anger issues have resulted in violent outbursts, zero friends, and clueless adults dumping him in the special education room at school.

Nothing is ever going to change. No one cares that he’s tried to learn to control himself, and the girl he likes has no idea who he really is. Everyone’s just waiting for him to snap…and he’s starting to feel dangerously close to doing just that.

In this fearless portrayal of a boy on the edge, highly acclaimed Printz Honor author A.S. King explores the desperate reality of a former child “star” who finally breaks free of his anger by creating possibilities he never knew he deserved.

Why I’m waiting?

I am always fascinated when I find fictional books about reality shows. I cannot begin to imagine what it is like to be scrutinized by millions of viewers. I assume there’s a lot of pressure and stress that comes with it. I would not want to put myself out there to either swim or get ripped apart by the media. I like having my privacy, thank you very much. ;D

I love the idea that this boy is trying to control himself, control his anger. I just wonder how Gerald will grow, especially in a world that only knows him as the kid who got angry a lot on TV.

What books are you waiting on?

Blog News

ANNOUNCEMENT | The Novel Hermit Will Become A Self-Hosted Blog

September 9, 2013 Comments : 5

BIG NEWS, EVERYONE.

I’m taking the plunge. I decided to self-host my blog. YAYYY.

I had been thinking about going the self-hosted route for a while, but I had a lot of anxiety, mainly because of money and of having to transfer all the content myself. The lovely Ashley of Nose Graze wrote an extremely thorough DIY blog transfer walkthrough, which eased my anxiety extremely, so I thought why not make the move?

I don’t know how long it will take for my self-hosted blog to be set up and transferred. It shouldn’t take very long though since my blog doesn’t have vast amounts of posts and comments, but we shall see in the next few days. Here’s to hoping I do everything correctly. :D

In the mean time, you can catch me on Twitter! Do say hello. :D

Holy Mother Cover

Cover Change | Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker

September 5, 2013 Comments : 9

Inspired by Pure Imagination Blog and Stacked.

Let’s be honest, nobody follows the age-old cliché that tells us not to judge a book by its covers. If you say you do, I am side-eying you. Book covers are the first thing that attracts any of us readers to a book. Before you pick up a book, the cover can essentially make or break a book. If I don’t like a cover design, I won’t pick it up. Lucky for us, publishing companies publish different cover designs, especially when a paperback book comes out. Sometimes we like it, sometimes we don’t. Whatever the changes with cover designs, I will discuss it.

Today, we look at the cover of Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker.

I don’t like the paperback cover of Unbreak My Heart. It irritates me because of the romantic-esque design, which makes me scrunch my nose in distaste. I’m not a big fan of couples showing PDA on the front cover, especially if the romance doesn’t play a large part in the book like the cover design suggests. Yes, there’s a budding romantic relationship between Clementine (the main character) and the boy she meets, but it is not the most important part of the book. A large part of this book is about Clementine on a sailboat, trying to forgive herself for betraying her best friend. Do we have any semblance of that on the cover? No. We have a kissing couple with the girl lifting her leg up (this is not the Princess Diaries!).

I prefer the hardcover design because what you see is what you get in the book – Clementine on a sailboat, thinking back to the events that brought her out to the open sea. I like that everything is covered in pink except the girl, the sails, and the ocean. That’s the focus. It’s more memorable to me since I rarely see YA cover designs of people on a sailboat. Whereas, the paperback…well, you know my thoughts on it.

Final thought: I wish the paperback wasn’t changed to this gag-inducing cover (I have a cold-heart. ;D). The hardcover design is a better image of the Unbreak My Heart story. But that’s my personal preference.

What did you think of the cover design and the changes? Do you like it? Is there anything you would change?

Waiting on Wednesday

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY | Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund

September 4, 2013 Comments : 6

wowfestivo

Waiting On is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund
October 15, 2013
Balzer + Bray
Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Pre-order: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Centuries after wars nearly destroyed civilization, the two islands of New Pacifica stand alone, a terraformed paradise where even the Reduction—the devastating brain disorder that sparked the wars—is a distant memory. Yet on the isle of Galatea, an uprising against the ruling aristocrats has turned deadly. The revolutionaries’ weapon is a drug that damages their enemies’ brains, and the only hope is rescue by a mysterious spy known as the Wild Poppy.

On the neighboring island of Albion, no one suspects that the Wild Poppy is actually famously frivolous aristocrat Persis Blake. The teenager uses her shallow, socialite trappings to hide her true purpose: her gossipy flutternotes are encrypted plans, her pampered sea mink is genetically engineered for spying, and her well-publicized new romance with handsome Galatean medic Justen Helo… is her most dangerous mission ever.

Though Persis is falling for Justen, she can’t risk showing him her true self, especially once she learns he’s hiding far more than simply his disenchantment with his country’s revolution and his undeniable attraction to the silly socialite he’s pretending to love. His darkest secret could plunge both islands into a new dark age, and Persis realizes that when it comes to Justen Helo, she’s not only risking her heart, she’s risking the world she’s sworn to protect.

In this thrilling adventure inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel, Diana Peterfreund creates an exquisitely rendered world where nothing is as it seems and two teens with very different pasts fight for a future only they dare to imagine.

Why I’m waiting?

I adore Diana Peterfreund.

You can say I’m in love with her writing. I vaguely remember what The Scarlet Pimpernel is about, but that won’t detract from what I assume will be an awesome book. In this book, the characters are gender-flipped. I LOVE THAT. Here, we have a female as the leading main character (instead of a male like in the original book) and she’s a spy! Yeeessss. (I don’t know if you know this about me, but I am really into spies.) And they are pretending they are in love? Can this book get any better?

What books are you waiting on?

Reviews

REVIEW | Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn

September 3, 2013 Comments : 3

Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn
June 11, 2013
St. Martin’s Griffin
Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

When you’ve been kept caged in the dark, it’s impossible to see the forest for the trees. It’s impossible to see anything, really. Not without bars . . .

Andrew Winston Winters is at war with himself.

He’s part Win, the lonely teenager exiled to a remote Vermont boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy.The guy who shuts all his classmates out, no matter the cost.

He’s part Drew, the angry young boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who spent a fateful, long-ago summer with his brother and teenage cousins, only to endure a secret so monstrous it led three children to do the unthinkable.

Over the course of one night, while stuck at a party deep in the New England woods, Andrew battles both the pain of his past and the isolation of his present.

Before the sun rises, he’ll either surrender his sanity to the wild darkness inside his mind or make peace with the most elemental of truths—that choosing to live can mean so much more than not dying.

First sentence: “I don’t feel the presence of God here.”

You know a book is good when the first sentence hits you in the face, leaving you in awe. I was pretty much like that the entire time I was reading the book. This is one of those books that continues to resonate in my mind like I’m still turning stones over, trying to make sense of it all by rereading it and searching for foreshadowing.

Charm & Strange is difficult to talk about without giving away too much of what happens. It’s a bizarre, yet powerful story that is told from a male’s point of view, and that switches between the past (“antimatter”) and the present (“matter”). In the past, Andrew Winston Winters (frequently called “Win”) is a ten year old boy who is forced to spend his summer at his grandparent’s place with his older brother, Keith. Things occur during this part that makes us, the readers, see why Win would react and deal with it the way he did later on in the story. In the present, Win is a sixteen year old at a boarding school in Vermont, hiding secrets of his past. He’s a loner, choosing to avoid any socialization with his fellow classmates, but despite that, he attracts the attention of a new transfer student, Jordan Herrera and his former roommate, Lex Emil, Win’s former roommate, who both show concern for Win’s well-being. In both parts, Win struggles with thoughts of “badness” (of violence and of shame) that threaten to take him over at times.

This book is incredibly misleading and frustrating, in a good way though. I didn’t know what to expect since the narrative is framed in a way that doesn’t reveal too much of Win’s secrets. I didn’t know what was going on half the time, but by the end, everything hit me like a ton of bricks. (Only one word was left in my mind when I finished it: “Shhhiiiiiiiiittttttt.”) It left me reeling and pondering over Win and how powerful the human mind is.

Stephanie Kuehn did a wonderful job at keeping the suspense and portraying sensitive issues (she uses an interesting metaphor for Win’s plight). You can say that this story is a character study on the human mind and how it copes with tragedy/trauma/loss. A child’s mind can only take so much before it eventually shuts down and represses everything or masks it into something they can understand. When you start reading, you can’t help this overwhelming sadness come over you. You just know that something bad has happened, but you don’t know what. You just keep turning the pages.

Just know that this book is not light nor is it paranormal. It deals with sensitive issues (like abuse, suicide, incest).

If I had to describe Charm & Strange in a sentence to convince you to read it…I’d say, it’s “a truly confusing, strange, yet poignant and heartbreaking book, where you don’t know what’s going on with the protagonist, but as the story continues to build, it sucks you in because it’s a big mindfuck, and you question your own sanity for staying up until five in the morning trying to finish this book.” I know I’m keeping it extremely vague, but you should go read it. Experience it yourself. Just prepare yourself…just a bit.

gradeB

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