BBAW 2012: Day 3, What Book Blogging Means to Me

It's day three of Book Blogger Appreciation Week and today we're supposed to talk about what book blogging means to us.

What book blogging originally meant to me:
A way to talk about what I've read. I started my blog for the sake of talking about books, honestly, I did. But it's grown to mean much more than that.

What book blogging has grown to mean to me:
Community. It's become a way to make friends, to squee over the same books, to share opinions that might not match (but are respected nonetheless), and in general, the book blogging community is just an awesome group of people.

I mean, don't get me wrong, the drama definitely makes me roll my eyes at times, but as a whole? I love the book blogging community and I can't see myself leaving it anytime soon.
.

BBAW 2012: Day 1, Appreciation

It's day one of Book Blogger Appreciation Week and today's topic is: appreciation. Blogs that we visit daily and enjoy reading. There are a lot of blogs that I try to visit on a daily basis--and I feel terrible because I really need to get better at commenting on all of them! D:

But my top three would have to be:
Eleusinian Mysteries
Brodie is an Australian blogger and if you're not following her yet, you might want to start! Honestly though, I've always loved her reviews and most of the time I share her tastes in books. (And then I'll usually see her add new books to her Goodreads TBR shelf and spend a good hour adding books to my shelf as well--she's always ahead of the game!)

Books to Infinity
Not only have I gotten to meet her--and occasionally bother her on Twitter--but I love her review style! (And again, we tend to share the same taste in books. <3)

Birth of a New Witch
I love her reviews. Why? Because they're in-depth. (She also reviews manga--which is one of the many things that I love about her blog.) If anyone is capable of making me really think about a book I've read, it's her. (And I mean that in an insanely positive way.)

I love finding new blogs to follow and I love adding to my TBR because of other bloggers--which is a bit counterproductive, but when it comes to books, I certainly don't mind. Seriously though, when I look for new blogs to follow, that's what I look for. Similar tastes in books, the ability to make me see a different point of view, and the ability to make me add books to my TBR shelf on Goodreads. What more could a girl ask for?

.

BBAW: Cause and Effect--ie. What Happens When You Blog

Today's BBAW topic is all about how book blogging has effected your reading style, the way you acquire books, etc. Honestly, I can tell you that book blogging has changed a lot about how I read, what I read, and who I chat with about what I've read. That's the short answer, but now for the long one!

Before I started blogging, I had an absolutely terrible habit... I used to read the last paragraph before starting in on a book. I know that it doesn't sound that horrible, but once I started blogging, I stopped doing it. Not necessarily because I didn't want to know what the ending was anymore, but because I wanted to get the full experience--as silly as that might sound. I wanted to get sucked in and toss my hands up in the air when the ending left me hanging. Knowing the ending was--simply put--no longer an option.

Were there books that I'd never have known about if it wasn't for blogging? Definitely! Before I started blogging, I'd just walk into the bookstore, look at covers, read the summary, and pick up books based on that alone. Thanks to blogging, I know about books far in advance--and pre-order on occasion. This means that I go into the bookstore with a game plan. ;D Also, whenever a book is hyped by another blogger, I'm much more likely to go pick it up if we have similar reading tastes. Have I mentioned that I've been buying a lot more books than I would've beforehand too? Because it's definitely true--and I've put myself on a book buying ban this month because of it. xD

Have I made connections with other readers due to blogging? Of course! By other readers--for the most part--I mean to say fellow book lovers and bloggers, but you get the point. This has led to me tweeting more about books and using Twitter to talk to other readers--as well as visiting other blogs and either agreeing with reviews or sharing what I might not have enjoyed quite as much.

Honestly, blogging has changed my reading habits and what I read as well (although it hasn't dramatically changed what I read). If you've been thinking about starting a blog, definitely go for it--although be warned, you might be going to the bookstore a lot more than you usually do! :P

BBAW: An Interview With Alex from A Girl, Books and Other Things

Today I have Alex from A Girl, Books and Other Things on the blog for a quick interview!

When you aren't blogging, what are you up to?
Well, I just started to work at a library part time, so books still take a big chunk of my non-reading time. But it's nice over all. Also, recently I got into baking, so at least two or three times a week I'm in the kitchen making cupcakes or cinnamon rolls. 

What inspired you to start blogging? Also, what do you love most about blogging?
I started blogging mostly because I didn't really have anyone to talk to about books. Some of my e-friends read, but we hardly ever liked the same books - as my tastes tend to be a bit fluffy - and of my 'real life' friends, no one was a big reader. So it was mostly about sharing the book love with other people. 

What I like the most about blogging is definitely discovering books I wouldn't know otherwise and the fact that it forces me to keep an schedule. 
 
What advice would you give new bloggers?
First, that blogging isn't one of those "if you build it, they will come" endeavors, you have to work to get the word out and it is a lot more work than what you thought at first.

Also, comment on other blogs with similar tastes to yours, it's the quickest, easiest way of networking; but make them meaningful comments, not just "Nice, come look at my blog"

Lastly, as much as we all love tinkering with our blogs to make them pretty and unique, deep down, it's all about the content.

If you could swap places with a book character, who would you choose? Why?
I think I would like to be a girl in a Meg Cabot novel, because they are always so funny. Maybe Meena Harper so I could be around Alaric Wulf all the time, or Suze Simon so I could be a cool ghost-busting girl. Someone like that.  Other than that, maybe Chloe in the Darkest Powers trilogy, because then I would have super charged necromancer powers and a hot, werewolf boyfriend.

If you could only take three books with you on vacation, which three would you choose? 

Right now, I would take a romance novel (probably The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt, because I haven't re-read it in a while), then Overbite by Meg Cabot because I got it on my short TRB List and I just need and excuse to pick it up, and What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen because I bought the book earlier in the year but haven't found a way to squeeze it into my reading schedule.

----- 

Thanks so much to Alex for being my interviewee and definitely go swing by her blog today! :)

BBAW: Community

If you haven't heard, it's Book Blogger Appreciation Week and the topic of the day? Community! :D

When I first started blogging, I can't even begin to tell you how helpful I found The Story Siren's Blog Help section and Parajunkee's Book Blogging 101. I'm huge on researching before I do anything and I took a ton of notes before I even began building my blog. If you're a new blogger or unsure about something, chances are, you can find your answer in the two help sections that I've mentioned. If the answer isn't there, never be afraid to ask another blogger! 

Bloggers that can make me smile? Brodie from Eleusinian Mysteries and both Lana & Julie from Bloggers[heart]Books. I love how enthusastic Brodie can be about books that she really loved and the .gifs that Bloggers[heart]Books use every now and again? Both appropriate and hilarious. 

These aren't exactly bloggers that I talk to and they might not know just how much their blogs have helped me out, but I just want to take a moment to let you know about them! If you didn't know about them before, definitely go check them out! :)