Book Blogger Love-a-Thon • On the Subject of Book Blogging

THE PAST

My (Reading) History

One of my earliest memories is of being read a bedtime story when I was about three years old... and insisting that I be read another when the book was finished. What I don't actually remember (but is forever caught on video) is what happened every single time my mother asked me what I wanted to read; I'd toddle over to my bookshelf, pick out at least ten different books and bring them over to her to read.

I started reading on my own when I was about four years old. I remember the days of the Berenstein Bears and Dr. Seuss, Disney classics, fairytale books and Winnie the Pooh. I graduated to chapter books eventually, working my way up the "reading ladder" until I was reading books way past my grade level. I remember that I'd be finishing more than a book a week, beg my parents for a new one and this is where my library humbly began.

As you can see, reading as always been a part of my life. I owe my reading skills and my incredible love of stories to my parents, who read to me every single night when I was a baby. I'm very grateful for that (though I'm not so sure they are, as they weren't aware it would turn into a full-blown obsession!).

The older I got, the fiercer the obsession with books became. I always asked for books on special occasions; I could never resist a trip to the bookstore. I accumulated many books over the years, reading both the good stuff and the not-so-good stuff. I started acquiring personal opinions, personal favorites, personal turn-offs, the whole she-bang - and all the while, my library just kept growing and growing.

Until it is what it is today - a constantly growing, carefully curated selection of books that I love that I want to pass on to my children, share with others and keep close to my heart.

Reading is the one thing that has remained constant in my life as I've grown, and I'm absolutely certain it is the one thing that will never change.

Me, A Book Blogger?

In 2010, I discovered the world of book blogging by accidentally stumbling across The Story Siren. I don't remember what I was searching for, or why I had clicked on this particular link, but it was as if a light shone down on Kristi's blog - this was something I had never thought of or dreamed possible.

As I read more book blogs (chief among them being the ones I mentioned this morning), I was amazed and inspired by the creativity, dedication and talents of all these wonderful people. A fleeting thought came to me then: could I do it too?

Despite being intimidated by the wonderfully talented people I admired and despite not knowing much about book blogging, HTML or any of those other things, I decided to start my blog in the spring of 2011. I wanted to be able to chronicle my thoughts on the books I loved, keep a record of the books I've read (which I had just been listing down somewhere prior to this blog) and join this really awesome community of people. Plus, a lot of my family and friends rely on book recommendations from me, so this was a cool way to do that for them.

THE PRESENT

I Love Book Blogging

I never thought it possible that I would come to love this book blog and this community of book bloggers so much. But it's happened and I guarantee that it is definitely one of the best decisions I ever made to begin blogging about books.

The Blog

To be honest, I wasn't sure anyone would even want to read my thoughts on books when there were so many greater blogs out there. But I did start my blog to write my own thoughts down for ME - and that's still how I write it now, though I'm more professional in writing my reviews. It's been amazing to me how my little blog venture has grown in the past ten months, including the design, the widgets and the posts I generate.

The Book Blogging Community

Through this book blog, I have met some of the warmest, kindest, sweetest, funniest, coolest, nicest, smartest people EVER. My friends are all over the world these days, with different perspectives and jobs, and I think that's really awesome. Everyone has been great about sharing about my blog, sharing their resources and just being incredibly awesome when it comes to my reviews and posts on the blog. I'm so proud to belong to such a great community of people!

The Highs

• My book blogger friends
• The new titles/genres/series I get introduced to
• Getting thoughtful comments on the blog
• Twitter conversations with my favorite bloggers and authors
• Getting contacted to review some really cool books
• Being able to share what I think about books - and have people respond to that
• Having an outlet that is fulfilling to me (even though it could be considered a second, unpaid job!)

THE FUTURE

I have a lot of goals for this blog, which you can read in detail in THIS POST. But here are my goals for the year for the blog in a nice little list:

• Read 120 books - and try to whittle down my TBR pile.
• Organize and systematize my library - and try to whittle it down to the books I really love.
• Be more organized with my blog schedule and write reviews without delay.
• Introduce some new features onto the blog.
• Keep up the interaction with my fellow bloggers.

This was posted as a response to Mini-Challenge #1 for the Book Blogger Love-A-Thon.

The Love-a-Thon is an event hosted by one of my awesome friends Katelyn from Kate's Tales of Books and Bands.

You can find out more information by checking out THIS POST.