Sound Off!

One of the things I incorporated into my previous contest was a survey about various things pertaining to my blog. I got a ton of responses to it and I loved reading about what you guys thought. I enjoyed reading what people liked and even what people didn't like. The whole point to it was finding out what I could do better on and what I should keep the same. So now that I've got a few people's opinions on my blog, I'm asking for those of you who didn't fill out a survey to let me know what you think. 

When I asked for your favorite thing about the blog, the majority of the answers said something along the lines of:
The quality of the reviews...they almost always match up with my opinion of the books.
I like how your reviews are short and to the point. They seem honest like you would say if you totally hated a book, which a lot of reviewers just won't do.
The book reviews
It's got like everything! You pick some awesome books to review =)
I enjoy reading your reviews.
I really love the book reviews of course. You seem to read pretty fast and have some really good reviews posted.
My favorite thing about Liv's Book Reviews are the reviews. They are great and and I like how you sometimes compare the book or tell why you did or didn't liked it.
You don't choose the same as everyone else all the time like other book blogs I visit. I like that when I check out your site I know that the book you review isn't going to be the same as any site that week or so.

I'm so glad to hear that! :) I work really hard on my reviews and I'm glad you guys like them!

One of the big issues seemed to be with my layout. I, personally, love it. But I there are some people out there that aren't too fond of it. 

When I asked about your least favorite thing about the blog, a lot of people said:
I would suggest changing up the color of the layout. It kind looks washed out to me.
the design isn't creative enough. can you kick it up a notch? kind of just a suggestion.
the background isn't my favorite color??
The layout is a little boring. Maybe a little more eye catching colors.
I would love to see a more exciting background/color scheme.
I don't particularly like the teal/sea green background
All the green gives me a headache.

But then I got comments like this:
I love the background color
I love your color scheme! Seriously! :P
I love the colors and your blog just has a really welcoming feel to it.

I think that was probably the biggest issue. What do you guys think? For the colors/layout or against them? 

The other thing which people were split on was the music player.
I have a confession. When I am at school and I can't get on my itunes I go to your site for music! We have similar taste in music and I constantly need music for typing anything!
The Music! While your book reviews are awesome, I think the fact that your site has music really sets you apart. 

Verses

I must say I'm not a fan of the music. I don't know if there is an option where the music doesn't play immediately upon entering the site, but if there is, I would like it if the blogs with the music implemented it. It's not I don't like music or the selection you choose, it's just often loud and not really what I want when reading reviews.
the music player scares me out of my mind when it starts playing automatically, but maybe I'm just jumpy.

I want to keep the music, but I've set it so that you have to actually click play to hear it so that those of you who are jumpy don't get scared. :D

Reading the surveys was just a really good way for me to get feedback; it was through that that I got the idea for the Bits 'n Pieces feature and the new banner at the top of the blog.

Also, I don't think a ton of readers comment regularily so it was a cool thing to see what a bunch of people, who I didn't even knew read my blog, thought!

If you guys would let me know what you thought of the comments and suggestions and your opinions on them, I would be so grateful. I want to get everyone's opinions. And I promise, if you say you hate something I won't hold it against you. :) I want constructive criticism, so the harsh opinions are the most valuable ones.