Book Blogger Confessions 1


This is a cool little meme that Tiger from Tiger's All Consuming Books and Karen from For What It's Worth started up. I like it. I think it gives us a chance to be a bit more open with our followers about how stressful and rewarding blogging can be. Here's the first topic:

January 2nd: How has the "job" of book blogging changed your reading habits? Both pro and con.

Pros:
I have been introduced to many new books. My library has expanded quite nicely. Well that's a pro for me. It's probably a con for my parents. It's also nice to interact with authors. Sometimes they tweet back when I review their book and put it on twitter. Some comment on my reviews and that's nice too. There have been a couple times when I didn't tag the author on twitter because I didn't know their name, but they still somehow found that I reviewed their book and commented. That's always a nice surprise. I have been contacted by a publisher and a couple authors to review books. 1 author I turned down because I didn't have the time to review her book, and I didn't think I was fit to make a good opinion on her book. The other author I was already a fan of and I was extremely excited when she offered to give me a copy of her newest book to review. That was an incredible honor for me. I accepted the publisher's offer to read a couple books on a whim and it worked out well. The books were very good. I have to force myself to think about why I did or did not like a book. That additional bit of thought is another nice thing blogging has done. It has helped me to become more vocal about what I do/do not like. I don't think my opinion matters much, but with books I like to think that I have a decent opinion. My friends seem to think so too. :)

Cons: It is a job, except I'm not getting paid. I didn't realize how much dedication it takes to run a blog. This, on top of school, and personal things I've been dealing with takes a lot out of a person. I don't want to be judged based on what I read either. I talked about expanding my library in the Pros section. One of the things I've gotten into since reviewing is Paranormal Romance and Erotica. Reading those books don't bother me, but I'm sure it bothers some of my friends. I don't want people to think bad thoughts about me just because I read those books. I try to joke around about them, but I don't know how well that works. I don't want my religious beliefs to be hurt by these books either. There are some books that I'm not entirely sure I'll read because of what I believe. I know some people won't read books about angels/fallen angels because of this. So far I haven't had an issue with that, and hopefully it'll stay that way.

Comments

Karen said…
Thanks for joining our meme!

I think all those new books we find are both a pro and a con! lol So many new spectacular books but so little time.

Oh how I wish we could get paid for this. Great answers.
Jackie said…
I was a little weary about starting a book blog because I was afraid people would judge my book choice. I mean, I'm technically an adult now, and I still love and adore young adult novels, and that's what I mostly review. I was always afraid friends and family would think I was immature. But, that's not been the case! All of them have been really supportive, and I've made a couple of friends within the book blogging community too!
Unknown said…
Excellent point about how blogging gives us a voice--I think it's very important to be able to express what we like and don't like, and to share our thoughts. So glad you had the great experience of being contacted by an author you already liked! It's a major rush. :-)