Top Ten Tuesday: Reasons Why I Love Book Blogging

Hello!  Happy Top Ten Tuesday!  What is TTT? TTT is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.  Check out their blog for more info and to see upcoming themes.

This week’s theme was ten reasons why I love ________.

This week we were given free rein over what we wanted to gush about.  I decided that I wanted to gush about why I love book blogging… Book blogging has seriously changed my life.  In the short 3 months since I started my blog, I have learned so much.  My only regret is that I did not start one sooner!

What do I love about book blogging?  Read more to find out 🙂

» Feeling a sense of accomplishment

I love that feeling of accomplishment every time I upload a post.  Being a stay-at-home mother, I often struggle to find things that make me feel productive.  Maintaining my own blog has been a wonderful way to feel like I have achieved something.

» Motivation/Inspiration from fellow book bloggers

I am still very much a rookie on the book blog scene.  I love exploring fellow book blogs to find the motivation and inspiration to keep improving my own blog.   I especially like to visit the sites of the veteran book bloggers to gain the motivation to someday be where they are now.  500 WP followers?!  3,000 overall followers?!? Will I ever get to that point?  I hope so, but if not I am still going to keep on doing what I’m doing.  Sometimes it can intimidating being the small fish in a big pond, but I am going to keep working hard to evolve.  Who knows?  Maybe someday I’ll be a big fish too 🙂

» Receiving free books

NetGalley, Blogging for Books, and The Reading Room have now become an unhealthy obsession for me.  Thankfully Blogging for Books only sends out one book at a time, or I would be in over my head like I am with NetGalley… By a show of hands, who else went way overboard and requested a ridiculous amount of books (like 100ish) and was granted over 60… Anyone?  My dreams of reaching a 80% feedback ratio will never be realized… Don’t get sucked in like I did.  Only request a few books at a time, and only the ones you will read.  In the mean time, anyone have a shovel I could borrow to dig myself out of this hole?

» Connecting with authors

I totally geek out every time an author connects with me in any capacity.  I literally act like an idiot teenager when I get a notification that an author posted my review of their book on their social media.  I feel no shame.

» Creative outlet

Aside from reading, I didn’t really have any other hobbies before I started blogging.  I needed something to help occupy my free time, something that could give me a creative outlet.  Now that I have been blogging for a little over 3 months, I am currently working on creating more original posts that are not the same book reviews, weekly memes, book hauls, and wrap ups.  These posts have taken much longer to complete than I anticipated… coming up with new ideas for posts isn’t the issue, but rather perfecting the posts seems to be holding me back.  I seem to be more critical of these types of posts.  Hopefully I can muster up the courage to post one soon.  I’ve also started trying to dive into the world of bookish photography to not only spice up my blog posts, but also to be more active on my bookstagram.

Obviously I am still an amateur, but I will keep working on it.  Do you have a bookstagram?  Feel free to link in the comments so I can follow you!

» Writing book reviews

I had NEVER written a book review prior to starting my blog.  EVER.  It has been a real learning curve, but I think I am starting to find my book reviewing groove.  When I first started writing book reviews, I felt like I had to write these long and profound reviews, but over the course of my short blogging life, I have realized that every book is different, therefore every review is different.  Some reviews will be long and profound, and others will be short and direct.  I have learned that this is okay.  That is the beauty of writing a book review, it is whatever YOU want to write.

Want to read my first book review?  Feel free to laugh at my expense → Book Review: The Girl Who Wrote in Silk by Kelli Estes

» Discovering new books

Since starting this blog, I cannot even tell you the number of books that I would have NEVER picked up if I hadn’t been recommended them by a fellow book blogger, read a great review, or been awarded the book by the publisher… One of my goals for 2016 was to expand my literary horizons.  Before, I mainly read historical fiction, but now I have branched out and give all genres a chance!  I feel like I have really grown this year as a reader.

»  Gushing about my favorite books

I love to subtly shove my favorite books in your face.  Sorry, not sorry.  At least you can take comfort in the fact that I will read your favorite book gushing posts too.

» Being apart of the bookish community

This!  I have connected with so many new and interesting people by being a part of the bookish community.  Before March 2016, I had never heard of book blogging, booktube, bookstagram, etc etc.  My mind was blown.  I don’t have many people in real life to talk books to, so this community fills that need to interact with other bookish people.

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What do you love the most about book blogging?

Feel free to link up to your own TTT post!  I love to read them 🙂