Friday, January 29, 2010

The 2010 Make-Over

Dun da da dun! Yes! You have reached Jen's Book Thoughts. After much work behind the scenes, this is the brand new look for 2010 (and probably well beyond). I felt it was time for a change and wanted something a little cleaner, and a little more geared toward crime fiction.

I have a number of people to thank for their help and input on this undertaking. First and foremost, my good friend Michael over at Lazy Thoughts From a Boomer. I wouldn't have even known where to start without his guidance. He also provided a great deal of feedback as I was testing different ideas out.

Pop Culture Nerd would not let me settle when I was getting tired of going back and forth on different elements. For that I am extremely grateful.

My test viewers included Michael, PCN, Kaye Barley, Naomi Johnson, Tom Schreck, Sophie Littlefield, Rebecca Cantrell, and Kelli Stanley. Thanks so much for your input everyone. Decision-making is never my strong suit, so having your opinions was extremely helpful.

And most of all, I have to thank Hilary Davidson who linked me up with Lyman Feero. Lyman is the stunningly talented person who designed my header. I was literally giving up hope on finding the header that I envisioned, and then Lyman sent this beauty. It was as though he could see exactly what I was envisioning inside my head. I am so indebted to Hilary and Lyman for making this happen. Thank you both so, so much!

I'm still ironing out a few wrinkles here and there, so if you find anything hinky, let me know. But overall, I'm pretty happy with the new look.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on any elements. I discovered that everyone doesn't see the blog exactly the same. There's some color differentiation from computer to computer, so please let me know if the colors clash horribly on your computer. And let me know what you think overall.

I hope you like it, and if you aren't already registered, I hope you'll sign up for the blog updates. You can do that down in the bottom left corner.

As always, thanks for stopping by to share books with me and HAPPY READING!!

37 comments:

mybillcrider January 29, 2010 at 10:42 PM  

Lookin' good!

Literate Housewife January 29, 2010 at 10:42 PM  

Holy cow! What a change. I love it! I think it really matches your reading and reviewing style. Great job Jen!

Toni McGee Causey January 29, 2010 at 10:46 PM  

Wow, love the new look, Jen!

Naomi Johnson January 29, 2010 at 11:22 PM  

Suh-moking! Clean AND hot. What more could a slut-puppy like Brad P. ask for?

Kaye Wilkinson Barley - Meanderings and Muses January 29, 2010 at 11:30 PM  

Honey! It is BRILLIANT!
It's cool!
It's hot!
It's you!!
I love it, Jen. Love it to bits.

Hugs!
Kaye

Janet Rudolph January 29, 2010 at 11:40 PM  

Love your new look!!

Libby Hellmann January 30, 2010 at 12:22 AM  

This is WAY cool, Jen! I love it!

George January 30, 2010 at 12:40 AM  

Much nicer layout Jen; much less busy and easier to look at!

Rebecca Cantrell January 30, 2010 at 12:43 AM  

Gorgeous! That header still knocks me out!

Anonymous January 30, 2010 at 12:52 AM  

Wow! This is very nice. Clean and easy to get around. I like it!!

Timothy Hallinan January 30, 2010 at 2:21 AM  

Looks wonderful, Jen - cleaner and more focused. On the old site, I always felt I could smell cookies baking, and that was nice, but this is more businesslike, and very sleek.

Michelle Stockard Miller January 30, 2010 at 3:02 AM  

Very nice Jen! LOVE the header!

Jenn's Bookshelves January 30, 2010 at 7:15 AM  

I LOVE it!!

Lesa January 30, 2010 at 7:54 AM  

Love the header, Jen! It fits you and your blog. And, I really like the blog. Actually, it's a lot easier to read than the old one. I like your scroll for what you're reading, too. Nice job!

Lesa - www.lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com

Christine January 30, 2010 at 7:55 AM  

Good work, Jen! And the header? Perfect badass biblioslut! ;-) LOVE IT!

Diane A.S. Stuckart January 30, 2010 at 8:42 AM  

Awesome new look, Jen...really kick-butt!

Judy Bobalik January 30, 2010 at 9:22 AM  

Wow, I love what you've done with the place.

Jen Forbus January 30, 2010 at 9:38 AM  

Thanks everyone! You've definitely made me smile this morning.

Jen Forbus January 30, 2010 at 9:48 AM  

Crap! This is what I get for writing that post after working for four hours straight on uploading the new template. I forgot that I must also give kudos to Christine's husband Brian who showed me how to put my scrolling list together! Thanks Brian!! :)

Jamie Freveletti January 30, 2010 at 10:17 AM  

Very clean look. Like the stack of books looking a bit vintage next to modern woman. Also like her striated arms. This is edgier than the last!

DarcyO January 30, 2010 at 11:25 AM  

Love it! Plus, it loads pretty quickly on my old Mac.

Shane Gericke January 30, 2010 at 11:57 AM  

Jen! This is a fabulous new look for you. Well, for your website; you look just fine!

Congrats for sticking with all the element changes. They work.

Shane Gericke January 30, 2010 at 11:59 AM  

And I loooove the stockings. Ssssssssssizzle!

Alafair Burke January 30, 2010 at 12:10 PM  

Love the new look!

Pop Culture Nerd January 30, 2010 at 12:53 PM  

It's fantastic, Jen. Sleek is always good, and so is sexxxy.

That header is killer.

Congrats!

rhapsodyinbooks January 30, 2010 at 1:05 PM  

Wow, fantastic makeover!!!

le0pard13 January 30, 2010 at 1:28 PM  

That's one of the best image headers I've seen, Jen. Fantastic! Thanks, Jen.

Meredith Cole January 30, 2010 at 2:54 PM  

It looks terrific, Jen! Very cool, very crime--and very hot.

Christine January 30, 2010 at 4:36 PM  

Brian says "Your welcome, Jen!" I was going to say something cheeky about sharing my husband with you, but this a family blog. ;-)

Pop Culture Nerd January 30, 2010 at 9:12 PM  

What is all this nonsense about this being a family blog? What am I doing here, then?

Beth Groundwater January 30, 2010 at 9:48 PM  

I love the new look, Jen!

Cara Powers January 30, 2010 at 11:37 PM  

Racy header! It looks great. I only read your blog in GR. I think it's time to change the signature at the bottom to something more sexy.

trish January 31, 2010 at 1:20 AM  

It's so gorgeous! And I can't believe you did it yourself! you're my hero. :)

Lyman Feero January 31, 2010 at 11:27 AM  

Jen, the site looks great. Like others have said, slick and streamlined. You're also far too kind. Thank you for the note by post. You certainly didn't have to.

Jen Forbus January 31, 2010 at 12:28 PM  

Cara, is that still showing up in GR? I've been manually deleting it when I write my posts because I can't find where the setting is that's defaulting it in. Does anyone know? The woman who designed my last template put it in, so I don't know where it is or how to get rid of it.

Darcy, Thank you for letting me know about loading on the Mac. I am trying to guage all the different factors...OS, computers, browsers...yee gads!

Lyman, you're the best!! So glad you could stop and see your beautiful handiwork. As you can tell, everyone LOVES it! :) Thank you!

Lori L February 1, 2010 at 1:17 PM  

Love the new look! I haven't been able to visit for almost a week, so I was quite surprised today and had to double-check I was at the right blog!

Anonymous February 2, 2010 at 4:29 PM  

I am miserably late leaving my love, but WOW Jen this looks fabulous! I also like how the designer used a picture of you in the top image :)

Looking forward to 2010 with you and your crime fiction on this beautiful blog!

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