My Blogging Problems is a feature where I think about the things I struggle most with when it comes to blogging. There are plenty of issues when it comes to blogging. How do you write reviews? To comment back or not? How do you tackle your TBR? Is DNF-ing a book sensible or admitting defeat?
This time, I am looking at something which is very important to blogging, the blogs you follow. They inspire you, they motivate you, they start you thinking and I want to know how you choose which to follow? This is something I continually wonder. I have this question in my mind so often when I’m browsing my blogs and catching up on my blog reading. I can’t always find a common link between the blogs I follow and regularly read. I have no clue why I follow the ones I do and I want to know why you guys do.
It’s not even just that I want to know, though. I will explain where this idea came from in the first place to understand.
I was reading a book review on a blog (I can’t remember which blog or which book or when) and it was a book I had read and enjoyed and the review was quite negative. The things which I had enjoyed about the book the blogger had not and I was surprised but knew people are free to their own opinion. I then got thinking about it and realised, as a whole, the blogger and I had quite different tastes in books, which got me questioning why I was following their blog in the first place. And then I got to thinking whether or not you have to like the same books as the bloggers whose posts you like to read (you don’t FYI) and it all came back to how I decide to follow a blog in the first place.
I’m probably going to have a two-pronged discussion on this as I have posed myself two questions in that little story. I am beginning with why you follow blogs in the first place and we will move on to whether or not you have to like the same books as a blogger you follow another week.
Reasons I start Following Blogs
1. Pretty Blog Is Pretty
One of my main (and extremely shallow) reasons for reading a blog will be the actual layout and design. Show me a pretty blog which is easy to browse and I can end up reading for hours. The aesthetics draw me in. I am a shallow person. Now, that isn’t to say this blogger will end up keeping my attention, but they’ve certainly managed the first step of catching my eye. It’s the same way a pretty book cover can draw me in to find out what the books is about; a pretty blog draws me in and makes me find out what the blogger is about.
2. OMG, You Like That Book Too???
One desperate attempt after another to find something in common with someone else and then cling. “Hey, you have ten fingers, I have ten fingers, let’s be friends. We’ll make rules and slogans. Then if we find someone with nine fingers, we can beat the crap out of them.”– Dead Like Me
Another reason I start following blogs? I see a review for a book I adored and find out they like it too. I then preceded to read more of their blog posts and find out are tastes are incredibly similar so I need to start following their blog immediately for all the recommendations.
Blogs I Follow For This Reason: I can pretty much guarantee I’ll like the books suggested by Kaja and Danya so their blogs for sure Of Dragons and Hearts, Fine Print and also certain bloggers on Smart Bitches and I trust all book reviews from Cait at Paper Fury
3. I like the way a person blogs and want to stalk them obsessively to learn their secret
This one isn’t as common as some of my other reasons for following blogs. This is one which explains why I follow some big bloggers, but also for blogs that just do things a bit differently. If someone writes continually good and interesting posts and then you see a lot of comments occur on it I get intrigued. It’s also for people whose posts I find funny. For bloggers whose reviews I always read. And it’s for bloggers who are creative, the ones who have pretty pictures on their posts they made themselves and things like that. They are the blogs I follow for aspirational reasons.
Blogs I Follow For This Reason: Paper Fury, Read At Midnight
4. They Read Books Or Genres I’m Interested In But Don’t Know Very Well
There are never many blogs like this which I follow as they are normally the kind of blogs you check out once while you’re trying to find something new to read. They are the blogs which help me expand my reading horizons and they’re always harder to judge because you have to trust they know what they’re talking about as you don’t know the genre well.
Blogs I Follow For This Reason: Smart Bitches, Trashy Books (because you can never have too much romance),
5. They Write Really Good Discussions/Lifestyle Posts/And Generally Something Different Outside Reviewing
We may all be book bloggers, but there are some of us who are better at being creative about how we do it. There are plenty of bloggers who post really interesting reviews whose opinions I trust, but then there are the bloggers who have more creative ways of exploring books. They post music posts, or mood boards or whatever and it’s really interesting. They are bloggers who do something a bit different with the books they love and I find that really cool and want to bask in the glow of their awesomeness.
6. They’re Just Really Nice Bloggers Whose Blogs You Like To Visit… Why Do I Have To Have A Reason?
Look, there isn’t always a reason for me following the blogs I do. I just like the people and they’re friendly and I keep stopping by. Do I need to keep thinking of excuses?
Blogs I Follow For This Reason: Most of them.
I mean, do you only follow bloggers who you have similar tastes too? Or do you follow blogs for their looks (don’t lie, I still do that sometimes)? Do you follow blogs where they review books you’ve not read? How do you decide who to follow and not follow? I mean, what makes you decided to commit to being able to read every post on a blog rather than just dropping by? Tell me your reasons below… I need to know!
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