The purpose of this blog hop is to talk about why we started blogging!
I’ve always been obsessed with documenting and indexing my books. On my own, I tried to keep lists of which ones I’d read, which ones were first editions, which ones were signed, and so on. At the time I just had an Excel spreadsheet that I tried to keep updated (but I usually ended up slacking).
In April 2012 I suddenly got the idea of creating a book blog! I figured it would be a great way to keep track of the books I’ve read, document my thoughts, and give them quick ratings. So really it started off as a way to organize my reading. But it has become so much more than that!
The book blogging world has an amazing community — one that I never knew existed. I’d dabbled into blogging before, with a web design blog and a relationship blog, but none of them have been as fulfilling as my book blog, and that’s because of the community. Book bloggers all support each other in a way that I never thought possible. I have met so many amazing bloggers and authors, and I don’t know how I ever lived without this community!
The community has also opened my eyes to books that I probably never would have found otherwise. I used to be so picky about the books I’d read, but I’ve been branching out a lot more lately and I am so grateful for that. I have discovered some seriously amazing drool-worthy books that I now feel like I can’t live without. Some of those books are by popular, New York Times Best Selling authors, and some are by less-known but equally amazing debut authors. I love participating in blog tours, getting review requests from authors (many of which seriously have some “hidden gems” for books!), and participating in weekly memes like Waiting on Wednesday.
I think one of my favourite things about getting into the book blogging world is meeting so many amazing self-published authors. I have to admit, before I started my blog, I never read books by self-published authors. But the book blogging world has exposed me to the world of self-publishing and I LOVE IT! I feel so inspired and lucky to be surrounded by authors who have not only accomplished the incredible feat of writing a book, but have put their blood and sweat into getting their book out there. I love being able to support them as a blogger and rave about their books. I always dreamt about writing a book but it always felt like such a far off dream. But these amazing self-published authors have made me want to just dive in and give it a try. THANK YOU!
Some people say that there are people in the book review world who look down on bloggers for being young, immature, teenagers. I couldn’t disagree more. Book bloggers really bind together to create an amazing community that supports one another and supports all the amazing authors out there. I am so happy to be part of this community. 🙂
Love this post!!! I came up with the idea for a BookBlog when I was getting tired of posting about Twilight. Yes, I had a Twilight Blog:-) I contacted my Twi-friends and asked if they would be up talking about other books instead and that is how the Bookworms were born!
I had no freaking clue how HUGe the Book Blogging Community was and … I had no idea what an ARC was. But, now, I wouldn’t trade my Blog for anything!
I love to read and talk about books, that’s why I started this adventure!
🙂
And, of course we are not a bunch of immature Teenagers. I hardly count as a Teenager anymore. But I get where that is coming from. There are some out there, that just do this for the sake of a free book. But, it’s easy to distinguish the serious blogger from those.
What I love besides talking about books is promoting authors!!!!! And. the contact with some authors has been an incredible experience in my life I would never, ever want to miss!
I love your story Danny! It’s so cool that you went from Twilight to book blogging!
Yeah there are a few immature people out there who just want free books or a lot of pageviews/followers. I hate it when I see people spam pasting the same comment on all blogs on a “meme day”. 🙁 That just shows me they don’t read the posts and only care about commenting everywhere so they can get more people to visit their own blog. *sigh*
Congratulations on your newish blog! I’m a new follower on Networked Blogs. I agree on several of your points–I love blogging for the support, for learning about new books, and for keeping track of my reads (are you on Goodreads too? I love that site). Happy blogging!
Thank you so much Jennifer!! I am on Goodreads and I’d love to be friends with you there! Here’s my profile: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8769426-ashley-booknook
LOL, Only you would start a book blog to organize and account for your books. This made me smile. 😀
Thanks for the giveaway.
Haha, I know, I’m such a dork 😀
This is such an amazing post – thank you so much for sharing it! I just love how supportive the book blogging community is, both to its bloggers and the authors it supports. I can’t tell you what an immense debt I owe to bloggers, and I’m so pleased to be able to say ‘Thank You!’ from the bottom of my heart!
My best,
Terri
Thanks for stopping by, Terri! 🙂
I’m really enjoying this hop and reading all the insights being shared by authors and bloggers —
Like you, I also started blogging just to catalogue all the books that I’ve read for the year and, like you, now it has also become more than that. ^_^
Cheers to the book community! ^_^
How cool that we both started for the same reason!! 😀 Thanks for stopping by!
Luv your hot pink color scheme, Ashley! You’ve developed a great way to keep track of your reading list and have fun! I started blogging in Nov. 2010 to write about topics related to the mystery genre (and a few other eclectic topics). I was writing a novel (and writing … and writing) and thought the blog would keep me motivated. It worked! I also started doing indie-author interviews in January of this year.
Thank you Gail! Wow, your two year blogoversary is coming up soon! 😉 It’s so cool that blogging kept you motivated. That totally makes sense! Thank goodness for blogging. 🙂
You know, Ashley, I never really thought about it being a 2nd anniversary soon. Now you’ve got me thinking what I’ll do for the date. Thank you!
I am pleased to be considered a tiresome teenager 😉 Its great to meet all of you fellow bloggers and Indies!
Just stopping by from the Celebrating Bloggers Blog Hop. I love your blog and connecting with people is definitely one of the reasons I keep blogging.