Tea & Tomes (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tea_and_tomes) wrote2010-06-15 07:40 pm
tea_and_tomes) wrote2010-06-15 07:40 pm
Book Blogger Appreciation Week
Or, "What Being a Book Blogger Means to Me."
News about Book Blogger Appreciation Week is everywhere now, and nominations are starting. I love this concept. It's a great idea to help promote readership, to recognise the efforts of people who blog about the awesome books they read, and gives people a well-deserved sense of accomplishment if they win one of the awards.
That being said, I won't be registering Tea & Tomes for consideration.
Why? In a nutshell, I don't think this blog is worthy of any awards. I'm not saying that as a way of fishing for sympathy. I'm just stating my opinion of the matter. This blog is very new, has very few followers (though I love each and every one of the people who take the time to read my bookish ramblings), and doesn't have a particularly impressive layout. St the very best, I might be able to submit it for a Best New Book Blog award, but when blogs like Floor-to-Ceiling Books are in the same category, I don't stand a chance. (Admit it, Amanda, you know your blog is awesome!)
Again, not fishing for sympathy. Just stating what I think. Perhaps next year, this blog will have come far enough along that I might feel comfortable submitting it for consideration. But this baby's only really 6 months old, and needs a lot of work.
These awards do make me think about why I started this blog, though. I figured, in the beginning, that I read a lot of books and have opinions on them. I did the 50 Book Challenge on LiveJournal for quite a number of years in a row, and figured heck, why not get a blog dedicated to talking about the books I read.
I didn't realise what kind of doors that would open up for me. I may not have noticed so much before, but I read a lot of the same books over and over again. Sure, I may have read over 50 books every year, but usually at least half of them were books I'd read the previous year, and the year before that... Doing a book blog made me realise that I couldn't get away with that. I'd have to branch out, read new things, take a chance on new books that I may have passed over before. I've already found a few fantastic books this way that I might not have even considered picking up otherwise, like Michael Grant's Gone.
I didn't realise how many wonderful new people I'd meet. Half a year into this, and I've made some acquaintances, contacts, and dare I even say friends. I've actually had people sending me free books, in exchange for simply offering my opinions on them. I've been alerted to a thousand and one new books that I want to read (whether I can afford them is another matter), and actually had a chance to talk to an author or two, even if just in passing. I've been invited to a convention, even if I had to turn down the invitation. Sometimes I think about all this and can't quite wrap my head around it all.
This is, I think, the most fun project I've ever embarked upon, and I don't regret doing it for a moment. And if I do have any regrets, it's that I don't seem to be able to read and review fast enough for my own liking!
I wish everyone the best of luck in the Book Blogger Awards. Maybe next year, I'll feel confident enough to join you!
News about Book Blogger Appreciation Week is everywhere now, and nominations are starting. I love this concept. It's a great idea to help promote readership, to recognise the efforts of people who blog about the awesome books they read, and gives people a well-deserved sense of accomplishment if they win one of the awards.
That being said, I won't be registering Tea & Tomes for consideration.
Why? In a nutshell, I don't think this blog is worthy of any awards. I'm not saying that as a way of fishing for sympathy. I'm just stating my opinion of the matter. This blog is very new, has very few followers (though I love each and every one of the people who take the time to read my bookish ramblings), and doesn't have a particularly impressive layout. St the very best, I might be able to submit it for a Best New Book Blog award, but when blogs like Floor-to-Ceiling Books are in the same category, I don't stand a chance. (Admit it, Amanda, you know your blog is awesome!)
Again, not fishing for sympathy. Just stating what I think. Perhaps next year, this blog will have come far enough along that I might feel comfortable submitting it for consideration. But this baby's only really 6 months old, and needs a lot of work.
These awards do make me think about why I started this blog, though. I figured, in the beginning, that I read a lot of books and have opinions on them. I did the 50 Book Challenge on LiveJournal for quite a number of years in a row, and figured heck, why not get a blog dedicated to talking about the books I read.
I didn't realise what kind of doors that would open up for me. I may not have noticed so much before, but I read a lot of the same books over and over again. Sure, I may have read over 50 books every year, but usually at least half of them were books I'd read the previous year, and the year before that... Doing a book blog made me realise that I couldn't get away with that. I'd have to branch out, read new things, take a chance on new books that I may have passed over before. I've already found a few fantastic books this way that I might not have even considered picking up otherwise, like Michael Grant's Gone.
I didn't realise how many wonderful new people I'd meet. Half a year into this, and I've made some acquaintances, contacts, and dare I even say friends. I've actually had people sending me free books, in exchange for simply offering my opinions on them. I've been alerted to a thousand and one new books that I want to read (whether I can afford them is another matter), and actually had a chance to talk to an author or two, even if just in passing. I've been invited to a convention, even if I had to turn down the invitation. Sometimes I think about all this and can't quite wrap my head around it all.
This is, I think, the most fun project I've ever embarked upon, and I don't regret doing it for a moment. And if I do have any regrets, it's that I don't seem to be able to read and review fast enough for my own liking!
I wish everyone the best of luck in the Book Blogger Awards. Maybe next year, I'll feel confident enough to join you!