It’s not so much of a discussion post this time around but more me singing the praises of the awesomeness of the books blogging community. Recently, I’ve had a tough time of it in real life. My nan died and it sucked but I refused to allow myself to not blog and so powered through. I am still struggling to find a new blog/life balance (much like a work/life balance but blogging is way more fun than work). Whilst I’ve been struggling through real life stuff, though, bloggers have continually reminded me why I adore the book blogging community and why I keep blogging even though sometimes you have doubts as to why you keep going. There are plenty of reasons for why the book blogging community is brilliant but these are the ones which came to mind for me.
Supportive
One thing which has always been apparent to me is that everyone I have spoken to and whose blogs I have visited has been supportive. If you show even a little bit of doubt or uncertainty you’ll have about five people lining up to give you a boost. I love that when things are tough I’ve got folks telling me that it’s okay. I mean, I have folks offering me support and being kind. Anyone who tells you that online friends aren’t real friends hasn’t been going through a tough time and had folks asking how you’re doing and messaging on a tough day. Bloggers are the best and they are there for you always. They all deserve a massive hug for being awesome like that.
Diverse
Book bloggers are seriously all over the world. You will not find a more diverse bunch of people. You speak to folks in the US (yes, there are a lot of them) but there are also folks in Europe, Asia, Australia. Everywhere! It means you learn about a whole bunch of books and as there is a push for books to more reflect reality (thus not be a sea of white middle-class people). I mean, I had no idea the sheer number of books being published in Australia until I started reading books blogs, there are loads of them and we get to see but a smidgen of them! I mean, the way different people view books is insane as well! I am white, middle class and live in the UK. I have had an easy life, all things considered, so seeing other bloggers highlight books which they can relate to and represent their own experience is awesome. I have people explaining why certain reads are problematic to them and why others are well done at showing something which they can relate to. I have folks telling me about books I would never have even heard of if it wasn’t for blogs and the internet in general. It’s awesome, yay for blogging.
Friendly
I was terrified to start blogging. I didn’t comment on other blogs for a while and really, did not have a clue what I was doing. I just knew I wanted to talk about books like other folks, but I wasn’t totally certain how to go about it. Other bloggers made me feel so welcome. Like I said before, anyone who tells you that online friends aren’t real friends is a liar because the book bloggers I have spoken to in my time (almost four years of blogging) have always been friendly and approachable and sometimes I know more about what’s happening with them than real life friends. They’ll chat and ask you questions and if you’re daring enough to go to a bookish event then they’ll totally be willing to chat and hang out as if you do it all the time.
Helpful
Look, blogging is hard. You have to become a writer, a reviewer, make your graphics, design a website (or buy one) and manage and maintain the whole thing. You have to learn to do all of these things, especially things you may never have done before. You have to learn things and educate yourself and it takes time and effort and we have real lives as well as a blogging one to maintain. It’s hard and complicated and so the fact that bloggers everywhere write helpful guides helping guide on any question you might have. And most people are willing to answer questions you might have. It’s awesome, want to know how someone formatted on their blog? Most of the time people will give you advise. Want to advise on blog design? There are plenty of people you can ask for hints and tips. The most helpful bunch.
All The Best Recs
The best thing about bloggers, though? They always have the best recs. I never had so many books on my TBR as since I started blogging. You say you liked one type of book, one genre or one trope and folks are ready to recommend you 20 more. You read all these posts and say a book sounds good and bloggers will tell you to check out something else. It’s amazing really how much we push books at one another and how excited we all are to tell each other about these great books. The excitement to read new stuff and get everyone else to do the same is amazing. We are awesome.
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In conclusion, book bloggers are amazing and we should all definitely take the time to remind each other of that fact. This is me doing that. You’re all awesome and you deserve the love.
Why do you love book bloggers? What makes us all so great (because we all need a boost from time to time)?
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