BBAW 2011: The Final Day's Topic

Today’s TopicThe world of blogging is continually changing. Share 3 things you feel are essential tried and true practices for every blogger and 1-3 new trends or tools you’ve adapted recently or would like to in the future.

_______________________________________

I am very new to blogging.  I started my blog in June of this year, and I am learning something new everyday.  There are however a few things I've learned that I know are essential to my blog, and I try to practice every day.

1.  Be Yourself---There are times when I question the content of my blog.   I visit lots of other blogs, and I find myself saying..."I wish I could write that well!  or  "I wish I had something more exciting to write about!"  or  "I need to read more serious smarter books!".  But then I realize that the best thing I can do is be myself.  Yes, I live in a small town.  Yes, I am a wife and mom.  Yes, I live a busy, simple, and quiet life, and I love it.  I would not trade lives with anyone in the world, and the things that I find ordinary about my life, the books I read, or the things I write may be the exact things that someone else finds so interesting.

2.  Visit and Comment On Other Blogs...Visiting and commenting on other blogs is one of the most important things I feel I can do as a blogger.  It's how I learn, and it's a good way to grow my blog.  Being a part of and finding a place in the blogging community is very important to me, and it's something I work on every day.

3.  Be Honest...I knew from the beginning I was going to be completely honest on my blog.  If I like a book I will tell you, but if I don't I''ll tell you that too.  If I'm having trouble finishing a book or if a book is a struggle for me to read I'm going to be honest about it.  I think most people can spot fakeness and lies a mile away, and I'm just not going to do it.  Honesty is the way to go!

I'm always finding new tools and trends that I'd like to add to my blog.  The latest tool I've added to my blog is the "You Might Also Like" feature at the end of each post.  I think it will greatly increase my page views.  I know when I visit a blog I always look at atleast one of the posts listed there.

It's the last day of BBAW, and I've really enjoyed the daily topics.  I've had lots of new visitors to my blog, and I've found so many new blogs to enjoy.

___________________________________________

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

BBAW Day 4: Reading and Blogging

BBAW Topic #4

We have no blogs without books! Today’s topic explores that even more!
Book bloggers blog because we love reading. Has book blogging changed the way you read? Have you discovered books you never would have apart from book blogging? How has book blogging affected your book acquisition habits? Have you made new connections with other readers because of book blogging? Choose any one of these topics and share your thoughts today!

______________________________________________

I am very new to blogging...both reading blogs and doing my own blog, but I have quickly grown to LOVE both.

Before I joined the blogging community, I read mostly adult classics, children's classics, and historical fiction.  Those genres are still my favorites but my eyes have been opened to so many great books, and I now see what I've been missing by being such a book snob.

I do a blog post called "Ten Books I Thought I'd Never Read", and that was totally inspired by the realization that I've been missing out on some great books because I thought they just weren't for me.  I came to that realization through reading other people's blogs and through doing research for my own blog.

Another way my reading has changed is that I read with a purpose now.  I'm reading with a book review in mind.  I try to be aware of wonderful quotes from a book, or interesting places or people to research from a book.  I  look for anything new or different that I might be able to blog about.  So in that way, I feel I'm getting more out of my reading now.

Book Bloggers Appreciation Week: Community

Book Blogger Appreciation Week kicks off today!  It runs from September 12 thru September 16.  You can find out more about BBAW by clicking HERE.

Today's topic is Community, and I'm going to take this opportunity to highlight a blogger whose blog I love and who has encouraged me.

The blogger I'd like to talk about is Susie at Susie's Blog.  I found her blog by accident not long after I decided to start blogging myself.  I was looking around at all kinds of blogs trying to decide what I liked and didn't like to see what direction I wanted to go with my own blog.


The first thing I noticed about her blog was the beautiful picture of a flower garden at the top of her blog, and then I read her "About Me" section, and I knew that I was interested in what she had to say.  I immediately came across a book on her blog that I was very interested in reading, and it was one I would never have read other wise.  Reading it opened my eyes to all the great books I've been missing.  It was The Secret History by Donna Tartt.

Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

Susie was the fourth subsciber to my blog (and the first besides my husband, my daughter, and my sister), and I was so excited.  I didn't know if anyone would be interested in what I had to say.  I am a wife, a mom, and a high school graduate.  The only qualifications I have to be a book blogger is that I fill my life and my daughter's life with books, I am a Mom of a bookworm, and I have loved books my entire life.  I knew from the beginning that mine would not be a scholarly approach...I share stories from my life, my opinions, and my passion for books.  The fact that someone as smart and educated as Susie would take the time to look at my blog and even comment was so encouraging as I struggled to start my blog.  Susie isn't just a great blogger.  She is smart, fair, compassionate, and just an all around awesome person.  I always learn so much from her.

Susie was interested in what I had to say, and that has meant so much to me.

Thanks Susie!

Check out Susie's blog by clicking HERE.