THURSDAY RAMBLINGS IS A CASUAL FEATURE/MEME HERE ON JOSIE’S BOOK CORNER WHERE I PICK A TOPIC AND DISCUSS IT WITH YOU. THIS IS A CASUAL POST, FILLED WITH RAMBLING AND CHATTING! SO BASICALLY, WE ARE SIMPLY HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE TOPIC AT HAND!
I started book blogging last year, in January 2015 and since then, I’ve experienced and learnt so much about the online blogging community. I remember telling myself: this is going to be a great way to share my opinions and thoughts with like-minded people who love books just as I do! But I never thought about all the other things that I have come to experience in over a year of blogging.
Going off on a slight tangent – I CANNOT BELIEVE I’VE BEEN BLOGGING FOR OVER A YEAR. Time flies. This year of blogging definitely has proven that when you have fun, you don’t notice time passing you by. Anyway, back to the topic at hand.
Many of you reading this post may be book bloggers as well as fellow readers. For you, I think you can relate to and agree that being a part of the book blogging community has re-shaped and altered your personal reading habits, personalities and style. Blogging makes a big indent on your initial reading life as a bookworm, and I know this from first-hand experience. It changes the way you think, the way you analyse a book and the way you interpret the way in which a book is written and the content within it.
Last year, in high school, one of the classes I did was English (which is a pretty general subject that any student must study to graduate from school). One of the most crucial parts of that class was being able to read what we were given and then critically analyse its content. It’s one of the things they train you to do in high school and in university as I’ve come to find out. I was given a novel to read and answer a number of journal questions about it – questions that needed deep thought and a ‘thinking-out-of-the-box’ mindset. I learnt so much more about how to read a book and see the hidden meanings and the hidden themes behind it. I could see the deeper thoughts behind a chapter or the development of a certain character, and it felt pretty awesome, honestly.
Book blogging, in a similar way, does this to you. Initially, we read books and acknowledge them for their ability to entertain us as readers. For their ability to engage us and make us feel something for the story, the characters, and the world that’s created for us.
MAKES US MORE CRITICAL READERS
When you follow book blogs or host one of your own, you come to realise that you read book with a more critical mind. You’re more aware of the way a book is written and what it delivers to the reader. This is only one of the many ways book blogging changes you as a reader.
Personally for me, I’ve found that book blogging has definitely made me a more critical reader. I spend much more time thinking of the why and the meanings behind the words, behind the characters and the great (or not so great) stories. I find myself judging the book’s delivery of the story and in turn I’ve come to realise that my expectations are constantly rising because I’m becoming more critical every day. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – in some cases it can be good! Especially for book hype: readers who are less critical are more inclined to hype a book more than it’s worth. However, each has their own opinion which is valid no matter how critical of a reader you are, but still. Reviews by critical reviews can be quite reliable.
INFLUENCES WHAT WE READ
Book blogging can influence what you read. Before I started my blog, I had no more than 200 books on my TBR on Goodreads. Since then, and since starting my blog, that has escalated to almost 600 books! Book blogging opens you up to the vast world of books. Once you’ve joined the booksphere, there’s no going back and it seems like there is no end to the community – they’re EVERYWHERE. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube and of course the multitude of blogs on all different blog platforms.
OPENS YOU UP TO READING DIFFERENT GENRES
Where you may have been a strictly contemporary genre reader, blogging opens you up to read new genres – and sometimes you find yourself falling in love with reading new genres. I’ve always been a fantasy lover, so I devour them like I devour cheesecake. Mmm… cheesecake. But through blogger friend’s recommendations and praising reviews, I have found myself exploring many of the other book genres that I never thought I’d venture to. (But horror, thriller and crime are strictly on the ‘to-never-read’ list. No negotiations.)
YOU BECOME A SUPER-SPEED READER (LOL, I WISH)
Sometimes, being a book blogger means having to read a little bit faster. If you receive ARCs, then you definitely know what I’m talking about. OH THE PAIN OF READING DEADLINES. But oh, the joy of reading and reviewing books before they’re published! Hosting a book blog means regular book reviews, and regular book reviews means being able to read quite a significant amount of books in a short time – this much, I am still learning how to do. Cait @ Paper Fury for example, read over 200 books last year. BLOGGER AND READER GOALS RIGHT THERE. QUEEN.
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