Happy Book Blogger Appreciation Week! Have you hugged a book blogger yet today?
I haven’t had the chance to join in all of the great discussion topics each day this week, so today, I decided to do an abbreviated version of four of the discussion posts.
Two bloggers who have made blogging a unique experience for me:
1. Melissa from I Swim For Oceans: Surprisingly, in my two years of book blogging, I only discovered Melissa’s blog about six months ago. Thank goodness I did! Not only is she one of the sweetest bloggers around who really understands the value of community, but she also writes amazing book reviews.
2. Lauren from Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf: I am SO impressed with Lauren. Lauren is only in high school, but I’m pretty sure she is about 17x more poised and mature than any high schooler I know. Her reviews are extremely insightful and well-written.
Two tips for keeping the community in book blogging:
1. You only get out what you put in. Cliche, I know, but so true. When you take the time to visit other blogs, leave thoughtful comments and join the conversation, you become a part of the community.
2. Be patient. It takes time to get to know people and grow your blog. It definitely doesn’t happen over night. Two years into blogging and I’m still constantly learning, growing, meeting new bloggers and improving my blog.
Two ways book blogging has changed the way I read:
1. I rely on book blogs to find new book recommendations. Pre-blogging, I’d wander around Barnes and Noble with a piece of paper and a pen and I would loop the entire store writing down titles of books that looked interesting. I still love wandering around the bookstore, but now I rely almost solely on the recommendations of my book blogging friends.
2. My reading tastes have expanded ten-fold in the time I’ve been blogging. I’ve tried genres I never expected I’d read, let alone enjoy. Hello dystopian novels!
Two tried and true practices:
1. Participate in book blogging memes like In My Mailbox, Top Ten Tuesday and Waiting On Wednesday to find new blogs to read and engage in the book blogging community.
2. Use Goodreads! It’s an amazing way to keep track of the books you read and discover new ones too. I also love the lists features and being able to comment on other people’s reviews.
Two new trends and tools I’m adopting these days:
1. This isn’t exactly new, although it is new-ish to me. Just this past winter, I posted my first vlog. I enjoyed the experience and now that I have a new toy that happens to have a lovely built-in webcam, you just might be seeing more vlogs here on Cover to Cover.
2. Dystopian novels. I just realized that I loved every single dystopian novel I read in 2011…and I’ve seen more this year than I’ve ever seen before. Definitely a trend I’m into!
Have you joined in Book Blogger Appreciation Week? Let me know so I can visit your blog!
I’m definitely with you on dystopian novels! That’s absolutely not a genre I would have picked up pre-blogging. Furthermore, getting heavy into book blogging also inspired my return to reading young adult fiction — and I’ve read so much great YA the past few years!
I love your little mini responses for each day! Very concise, and it’s fun to go back and revisit the themes from the other days. Glad you joined in!
Awww, Jessica, thank you so so so so much for your kind words. It is people like you and blogs like yours that make our community so great. I always know I can count on your for stunning reviews and features 🙂
Commenting and answering comments are the lifeblood of a blog.
The memes you mention are an excellent way to get visitors to your blog. They go to read them, browse around, and then you might have a new follower.
@Kailana, Absolutely! I love them because it’s fun to find new blogs to follow and this is a great way to do just that!