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Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar // Night Markets, Star Courts and Desi goodness

GOODREADS // AMAZON // BOOK DEPOSITORY The daughter of a star and a mortal, Sheetal is used to keeping secrets. Pretending to be "normal." But when an accidental flare of her starfire puts her human father in the hospital, Sheetal needs a full star's help to heal him. A star like her mother, who returned to the sky long ago. Sheetal's quest to save her father will take her to a celestial court of shining wonders and dark shadows, where she must take the stage as her family's champion in a competition to decide the next ruling house of the heavens--and win, or risk never returning to Earth at all. This gorgeously imagined YA debut blends shades of Neil Gaiman's Stardust and a breathtaking landscape of Hindu mythology into a radiant contemporary fantasy.   ( A huge thank you to the  HOV Tours  and HarperTeen for the eARC and the opportunity to be a part of this blog tour.  ~When a book sees you~      Yes I am absolutely going to s

3 month Blogiversary and New Blog Design



     Hello everyone! Yes you read that right! 3 month blogiversary!! Well technically, It's 3 months on December 14th but as college has reopened for the semester, I'm not sure I'll get much time later on to do a complete redesign. (That's the official reason. The actual reason is I'm too impatient and can't wait to show you all my new blog design).

     So today's post is all about my experience in the blogsphere since September. 

1. Blogging has made me responsible.

     Yes blogging has definitely made me responsible. Scheduling posts, sticking to deadlines and interacting with other bloggers has taught me responsibility. I don't think I was ever this crazy about submitting an assignment for school but when it comes to getting a post published on time, I drop everything else I'm doing and devote my life to the particular post.


2. Blogging has taught me HTML and so much more.

     I'm pretty sure every blogger out there will agree with this. I just spend two whole days coming up with this new blog design. Editing the template, adding CSS are all a part and parcel of being a blogger. And most of the time, while editing my template...


3. Blogging has introduced me to so many amazing people.

     I believe this is the best part of it all. Making new friends! I've met so many amazing people in the past three months via blogging. To name a few, Di from Book Reviews by DiAmy from A Magical World of WordsZoey from MagiverseCait from Paperfury, Olivia from Books in Blankets and so many more! 
     Di taught me how to use a blockquote (Yes people, when I entered the Blogsphere I didn't know even that!). I really enjoy our conversations in the Blogsphere and a huge thanks to her for introducing me to Throne of Glass! 
     Amy writes amazing posts and I have so much fun discussing about books and movies with her! And it is great to be friends with another Cecelia Ahern fan ☺  
     Zoey is one of the sweetest people I've met in the blogsphere and we bonded over our love for Percy Jackson. She takes the time to write long and thoughful replies to all the comments on her blog!
     And Cait! I'm sure everyone in the Blogsphere knows Cait! She has the most amazing blog ever and her posts are hilarious! She is one of those big bloggers who takes the time to return the favor to all the people commenting on her posts. 
    Olivia writes such detailed and professional reviews that really help readers! I enjoy visiting her blog every time she posts anything new!
There are so many other blogger friends I've made and sadly I can't mention everyone as there are so many!!I'm really sorry but know that I appreciate all of you!



3. Blogging has improved the way I read.

     Now since I review all the books I read, I look at the stories with an analytical eye. And this has in a huge way improved the way I read. Earlier if a particular part of a book felt boring, I'd skim it but now i read even that and analyse why I find it boring. Reading books to review is a little hard at times but at the end of the day, totally worth it.




The New Blog Design

So guys, this is my new blog design! I'd like to that some amazing people for the gorgeous graphics I've used! I'd like to that The Smell of Roses for the gorgeous flowers! Do check out the freebies section there for wonderful cliparts with Creative Commons license!
A huge thank you to Angie at Angie Makes. Do check out the freebies section of her blog for gorgeous cliparts and vectors!
Thanks to Keren at Free Pretty Things for you ! She has the most gorgeous fonts, royalty free images, cliparts and so much more! Pay her a visit!




So how is my new blog design guys? Is it way too pastel-y? :P  Now that I have updated the new design, I'm having doubts about it :/ And what has blogging taught you?Tell me in the comments below!




Comments

  1. I LOVE your new design, the colours are lovely! And I am obsessed with flowers, so I love the flowers too :) And great list of what you've learned, I can definitely relate. (And thanks for the shout-out! <3)

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    1. Thanks Amy :) That means a lot <3 I was worried if the new look suited the blog or not! And yes blogging has taught me so much!! You're welcome :)

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  2. I very much like the new colours on your blog design-pnk blue and purple always work nice together. When I started blogging I wanted to read all the books offered me and almost had a meltdown trying to read 30 books a month with deadlines! Now I've gradually found the right balance which allows me to read and review but connect more with fellow bloggers and now I enjoy blogging more than I ever did! So I guess I learned something too!

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    1. Aww thank you so much <3 I know what you mean! I felt the pressure too. I finally learnt to go easy on myself!Now I love blogging and interacting with everyone in the blogging community :)

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  3. YOUR BLOG DESIGN IS FANTASTIC UMA AHH <3 <3 And congratulations on your 3 month blogoversary! (my 3 month was in November but I forgot lol. I will celebrate at one year only... Anyways, what is a blockquote? I do not know that. *hides under the bed*
    Prabhleen @ Booksarelife987

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    1. THANK YOU :) <3 I'm glad you think so!! lol! Yeah a one year blogiversary will be huge! :) That's no problem! I didn't know either. If you see my reviews, the blurb is put in a different colored box like feature. that is a blockquote.. There are many styles of blockquote but this is the simplest one :) It requires a little editing in the HTML part of the posts! Lemme know if you have any more questions and I'll explain :)

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  4. HAPPY 3-MONTH BLOGVERSARY!! *flings cake and confetti at you* And I absolutely adore the design! SO PRETTY I SHALL STARE AT IT FOREVER. 😍 And omggg, you say such nice things *blushes* thank you!!
    Blogging has also taught me so much about the technical side! I mean, I don't think I speak fluent HTML or anything😂 But I have passable knowledge that I sure didn't have before blogging! And I totally agree with the changing-the-way-you-read-thing! I analyse books sooo much more now that I blog and it's awesome. Helps improve my writing too. ;D
    Anyway, I hope there are many more months (and years!) to come for you with your blogging! 🎉🍰 KEEP UP THE AWESOMENESS.

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    1. THANK YOUUUU *Catches the cake and dances in the confetti rain* Awww Thank you Cait :) That's huge coming from you! And well they're all true *blows kisses*
      Exactly! I know so much new stuff now! True it really helps us aspiring writers :D
      Definitely!! Not planning on leaving the blogshpere ever!And YES I WILL KEEP UP THE AWESOMENESS!!

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  5. Awwww! I love the design. I need to look at it on my PC, my laptop is only 13' and I feel like I can't appreciate it enough unless I look at it on the big screen. Love the colour schemes! Now, I do know my HTML and CSS to a certain degree and I've got some experience tweaking Wordpress blogs, but not with Blogger... I really need to change that in 2017 and make my blog more appealing to look at! Congrats!

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    1. Oh and... thank you for the very kind words! AND... thank you for always linking to interesting blogs, I've discovered a load of bloggers thanks to you! THANK YOU!

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    2. Thank you so much!! Oh yes I hope you like it on your PC too!That's huge! Because I keep hearing Wordpress is difficult to learn than blogger so I think blogger will be easy for you :) Let me know if you need any help. I know of so many blogs where they've detailed everything about working with blog settings and design :)
      And anytime :) It's nice to have amazing blogger friends! Oh you're welcome! I'm glad you checked out the blogs I've mentioned! Thanks for stopping by :)

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    3. Just for your information: the header looks amazing on a big 24' screen. The colors pop nicely :) I love it. I'll definitely take you up on your offer to help, if I get lost trying to figure out Blogger design. Thank you!

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    4. Thank you so much :) <3 You're welcome! Anytime :)

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  6. CONGRATS on the blogiversary, and new design! This is such a fun post. Love what you say about HTML (especially the .gif paired with it). Also, Cait is fabulous. Her sense of humor and how she interacts with the community (always trying to reply and visit everyone's blogs) is always so gracious.

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    1. Thank you so much :) <3 Hehhee..That happens to me all the time!! Oh yes! Cait is awesome!! I love her posts and how she visits just about everyone who visits her blog..and that is a LOT :) Yay for amazing people!

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  7. Uma! As I mentioned, I LOVE the new design! Also happy 3 month blogiversary! You've done so much in such a short time. :) I definitely don't think it's too pastel-y, just gorgeous. :)

    Thanks for the shout out *blush* I've just loved our interactions and friendship and really enjoy reading your posts and comments. You're a wonderful addition to the book blogging community.

    Keep up the awesomeness and can't wait to spend many more months (and years!) chatting about books.

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    1. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH DI!! Aww..thank you..I was worried after I'd updated the new design!

      Oh you're an awesome person :) I do too! It's so much fun <3 Thank you! You are too :)

      Definitely! The blogsphere will have to deal with me fore decades to come *Evil Laughter* :P

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  8. Happy Blogiversary, Uma!

    I love your blogs look, but since you asked, it does have some problems. First, the filesize of your blogs title banner is too huge. 564KB! It loads too slow with my internet connection.

    The other problems, the banner is also too tall, plus your navbar bleeds to two rows on small screens, with a huge blank space between it and your posts. Visitors to your blog with small screens will only see your posts title, because everything above it is pushing it off the screen.

    Blog titles need to be at a maximum height of 165 pixels, saved in Photoshop at a quality of 8 or 9 in jpeg format. The png format should never be used for images like yours.

    If you like, I could give you a hand with this, and HTML & CSS. I'm about to launch a blog for giving tips and tricks, as well as on hands help with tweaking banners.

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    1. Thank you and Thanks for the feedback :) It's just I never use my phone for blogging and only check up on blogs via my PC, so I guess that part never occurred to me!

      Thanks for the offer nut I've just worked on my whole blog design and I don't feel like editing stuff again or changing the look of the blog anytime soon. Maybe in the future if I plan to work on my blog design I'll take you up on your offer :)

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    2. Nut? LOL! Sorry if I came off as Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory. :)

      What I meant by small screens was computer monitors. I'm so old school, I rock a cell phone that's 10 years old. No internet. So I'm not worried about my PC's display.

      I guess it's time I brought a new one. :)

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    3. OMG! sorry I meant *but I've... :P Oh ok..I see what you mean. I will work on it sometime ^_^ thank you

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