All That Glitters is Gold Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris

Welcome to the All That Glitters is Gold Giveaway Hop, hosted by Mama the Fox!

When I first saw the name of this particular blog hop, the following instantly came to my mind:

“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost…”

I first read those lines more than 50 years ago (OMG, OMG, OMG) when I was in the 4th Grade. A friend’s older brother had introduced me to The Lord of the Rings, and those are the words that Gandalf used to describe Aragorn, the last of the Rangers. I’ve been hooked on epic fantasy ever since – and will forever remember the person who introduced me to what become one of the great loves of my life. And by that I mean epic fantasy in general. As much as I loved LOTR, I still have arguments with it. (Not nearly enough women, not remotely enough women with agency, ARRRGGGHHH!)

But this blog hop is all about gold that actually does glitter. Or at least posits that all the things that glitter are gold. I was thinking that silver glitters, but it gleams more than it glitters. Or it glistens. Or something. I digress.

We all have things that glitter in memory. For me, that first introduction to epic fantasy is one, as is the memory of watching the original Star Trek with my dad, at least the final season, as it was broadcast. From thence comes my lifelong love affair with science fiction.

What about you? What was your first introduction to something that turned out to be a lifelong love or lifelong influence? Answer in the rafflecopter for your chance at one of my usual prizes, either a $10 Amazon Gift Card or $10 in books from the Book Depository.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more glittering prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on the hop!

MamatheFox and all participating blogs are not held responsible for sponsors who fail to fulfill their prize obligations.

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105 thoughts on “All That Glitters is Gold Giveaway Hop”

  1. I got hooked on my mother in laws Harlequin Romance books way back in the 80’s. Got back into reading a few years ago.

  2. Reading was always a wonderful experience which I enjoyed. My late mother was instrumental in introducing me to libraries and reading many years ago. Anne of Green Gables series was my first experience with reading meaningful novels. These books were hardcover and borrowed from the library many years ago.

  6. My friend invited me to her grandparents farm when we were about 11 years olds and thats where my love of horses began!

  7. My first introduction to Friends was when my aunt bought me a boxset for my birthday – have loved the show ever since!

  8. Apparently my Dad used to read to me while I was still in the womb, and my Mum being a music teacher, well, my life has always included music of one kind or another.

  10. My immigrant parents, who learned English by ear, taught me to learn as much as I could. They were a great influence & provided a lot of encouragement.

  14. my 4th grade teacher was concerned that i was bored and she handed me shakespeares “the tempest” and i’ve been hooked on the bard ever since!

  17. When I was younger, I snuck a copy of Flowers in The Attic…I now love to read a variety of things.

  18. Awesome question. I have many people who greatly influenced me with many things starting at young age and continues today, decades later.
    Mom for reading, lifelong love of beach and nature.
    Grandma for cooking, good ole southern.
    Teachers
    Dad fishing and camping..activism. Gardening too.
    When first married, older neighbor and besties got me into breeding birds, growing orchids and violets and refurnishing furniture.

  20. My love for reading came from my mother, she read to me until I could read then my love for reading truly began with my first real book – Black Beauty.

  22. An ex-boyfriend got me started reading fantasy novels. Read them rarely, but I had never tried them before.

  24. My love of gardening came from my great grandmother. She always had beautiful gardens and I’ve tried to make mine as beautiful as hers.

  30. “What was your first introduction to a lifelong love or a lifelong influence?” I discovered “Peanuts” when I was about 6 and have never looked back!

  31. My Dad introduced me to reading nonfiction books. He was always reading and had many books on his shelves and I would borrow them and I loved how I would learned something from what I read.

  32. I was introduced to music through my parents as a small baby and I love it!! I play piano, but love a wide variety of music now.

  33. My mother read to me when I was very young and then taught me to read on my own well before I started school–in fact, I started early because of my reading ability. And no book was off limits to me. Thanks, Mom.

  34. When I had trouble sleeping as young child, my parents told me to try and read until I fell asleep, and so my lifelong love for books began 🙂

  37. I fell in love with writing before I was even able to write— making up stories for my younger sister!

  40. I have no idea – that would be space/astronomy, but I just basically always remember it being there kind of thing, so have no idea what sparked it.

  43. I liked social sciences at early ages really like geography and maps are very neat. I like what you can know, I guess.

  45. My best friend in college wanted to introduce me to the last single guy in her boyfriend’s fraternity…who became my husband later.

  47. When I first read A Wrinkle in Time it kindled my love of reading.
    Thanks for the contest.

  48. I think feeding a squirrel outside on my porch as a toddler was one of my first introductions to animals up close, and they have been my fascination and passion in life ever since! Thanks, DAD!!! 🙂

  49. My mother introduced me to reading from a very young age. To this day I can not pass up reading a good book

  50. What was your first introduction to a lifelong love or a lifelong influence?

    still searching

  51. Definitely my love of books–from the moment I learned English in Grade 1, and the teacher read a picture book at storytime. I couldn’t get enough books, learning, reading.

  52. My mom started taking me to the library before I was even in school and I have been going ever since.

  53. My mom got me started on watching classic musicals and dancing,I still love it.

  55. I really started loving to read in about the 3rd or 4th grade. I was no longer reading mostly “learning to read” books, but real enjoyable stories.

  57. I met my husband when I was around 25. I will never love anyone the way I love that man.

  59. I was exposed to books at a very young age, and I have loved reading ever since.

  60. My whole family is into reading and books. I remember loving reading from a very young age <3

  61. I went to a kids cooking summer workshop and fell in love with cooking and baking! I still love it now!

  62. I think when I first watched my Wizard of Oz VHS when I was no more than 2…. that movie has stuck with me for 25+ years. It will always be my favorite.

  65. My lifelong love is reading and my mom was responsible for giving me the love of books.

  66. Hmmm. I would have to say books. We did not have much growing up but we loved our local library!

  67. My grandmother introduced me to the world of horses at a young age. They are wonderful creatures that we can learn a lot from by observation.

  68. One of my lifetime loves, I was introduced to at an early age from my parents, is animals and I currently work in the animal care field and have several loves at home.

  70. I like to think I’m always finding lifelong loves and influences. My first was probably becoming a student librarian leading to my career as teacher/ librarian.

  71. My first introduction to a life long love is when our oldest daughter was born 26 years ago next Sunday. I love being a mom to our 2 daughters. Along with having a wonderful husband to share the joy of parenting with, becoming a mom is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. 🙂

  72. I was introduced to reading adult books (NOT porn!) when I was 12 years old. My then-new stepdad’s ex-wife left be behind maybe two or three hundred paperback books, consisting of Harlequins, Silhouettes, Mack Bolan books, Longarm books(westerns), gothic regency, and romance books, also known as bodice rippers back then. This was in the summer of 1980. I wish I still had these books.

  76. My husband taught me to snorkel in Hawaii and I fell so in love with the underwater world that I learned to scuba dive.

  78. In high school I was suppose to read a book from a foreign author. I kept putting off choosing one, and my teacher finally had enough. She handed me Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, and told me that it was what I would be reading. Because of her I found my love for books.

  79. My grandmother was always reading during the day when she wasn’t working around the house and that is where I got my love of reading from.

  80. I was first introduced to reading right out of high school. I never liked reading before that. Once I started I could not stop!

  83. My Dad would read me stories at bedtime and I was excited when I was old enough to read myself and he took me to the library. I discovered Beverly Cleary books there. They were so good, I became a lifelong reader!

  85. When I was in high school, my ex was an avid reader of fantasy. I had tried to pick it up before but couldn’t get invested in it. However, he persuaded me to read this one book–and I was HOOKED. It was the Drizzt Do’Urden books, in case anyone was wondering!

  86. I remember reading my first romance novel and it was by Linda Howard, and I don’t remember why I decided on reading Open Season, but it opened the door to a whOle lot more fun reading.

  89. got a scifi book by arthur c clark when i was a kid and been hooked ever since

  90. My niece is my lifelong love! I met her minutes after she was born, she’s 12 now.

  92. I’m not sure what your question means, but God is my “lifelong Love” and I got introduced to Him by my parents at a young age…my husband (love) and I met on an online Catholic Match website. Thanks and God bless!

  93. I read this cool book by Dean Koontz when I was a kid, about a smart dog that could spell via scrabble letters. I’ve been a fan since.

  96. I loved reading since elementary school. I was inspired by the Book It program, the Scholastic Book Fair, and the ability to pick whatever books I wanted to do reports on every month.

  101. My mom taught me to read at 3 years old. Ever since I’ve lived a ton of lives and traveled to other universes and all over the earth by reading. 📖

  102. I started loving to read paranormal books after I read Anne Rice’s Interview with a vampire when I was 8

  105. My first introduction to the farm animals was when I was 8 & I fell in love with all the animals.

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