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Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Top Ten Tuesday: Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
1:55 PM
Happy Tuesday! I don't remember submitting today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt, but apparently I did. I'm turning 50 this year and my memory is...not great. Anyway, the topic du jour is: Top Ten Ways in Which My Blogging/Review Style Has Changed Over the Years. One of my favorite things about blog hopping is seeing how other bloggers do their thing. It's always interesting to compare/contrast others' approaches with my own, so I'm excited to read everyone's lists today.
As always, TTT is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.
Top Ten Ways in Which My Blogging/Review Style Has Changed Over the Years
I've been talking about books here at BBB since 2006, almost TWENTY years ago. Crazy! Although I live in the same house that I did back then (after living elsewhere for fourteen years), a lot has changed in almost two decades. When I started my blog, I was a 30-year-old stay-at-home mom looking for a creative outlet. I had three small children, little free time, and a lot of stress. Nineteen years later, I have four children (we adopted our youngest in 2008), a daughter-in-law, a grandbaby, abundant time to myself, and a life that is generally smooth and peaceful.
As my life circumstances have changed over the years, so has my reading and blogging. Here's how:
1. Read, Review, Repeat—Back in the day, I reviewed every book I read on my blog. It didn't matter whether it came from a publisher, the library, or my own shelves, I took the time to write a detailed, thoughtful review. Since I read a whole lot faster than I review, this quickly became a huge source of stress and pressure for me. Eventually, I realized that I was creating my own issue by demanding too much of myself. It was only a handful of years ago that I finally gave myself permission to review only what I wanted to review and to do it on my own timeline. So liberating! Since then, the number of reviews posted on my blog has massively dwindled, but I'm a much happier blogger.
2. Goodreads for the Win—It took me some time to get into this iconic book site, but now I'm totally addicted! I keep multiple TBR lists there, follow friends, participate in the yearly Goodreads challenge, and more. I'm on the site almost every day. If you don't follow me there yet, you definitely should.
Even though I don't review everything I read on my blog, I do review everything I read on Goodreads. As soon as I can after I finish a book, I record my initial thoughts on GR simply because I like having a record of what I've read and what I thought about it. If I end up writing a more in-depth review on my blog, I can refer to my GR review and those fresher thoughts. Even though my GR reviews are generally rougher than my blog reviews, I still post them on NetGalley and Edelweiss when they're referring to ARCs.
3. Faster, more efficient reading—As I mentioned, I had three little kids when I started this blog. I had to sneak in my reading and blogging during naptime and in the early morning before they woke up. I'm not sure how many books I read in a year back then (probably not many), but now I usually get about 200. Since I don't have small children, I don't have a job, I don't watch tv, and I don't have many other hobbies, I have all the time in the world to read. When I'm driving (frequently), doing housework (ALL the dang time), or exercising (not enough of the time), I listen to audiobooks to pass the time and up my book count.
4. More succinct reviews—In the early days of BBB, my aunt told me she didn't like my reviews because I gave too much of the book's plot away. Fair point. My writing has always been wordy and that probably won't ever change, but I do think I've gotten better at penning reviews that are more succinct and spoiler-free. Writing quick reviews on Goodreads has definitely helped me with this.
5. Picky, picky, picky!—When I first started my blog, I was so excited that publicists were offering me free reads that I eagerly accepted every book that was offered to me. It didn't take long for me to feel totally overwhelmed and pressured to read them all, even if they were not at all my cup of tea. I have become much more selective over time. These days, I probably accept less than half of the books I'm offered.
6. More balance, less snark—As a baby blogger, I earned a fierce reputation as the Simon Cowell of the book blogging world. If I didn't like a book, I did not hold back! I was riding pretty high on my own wit when I received several hate emails from angry authors and lost a writer friend whose book I didn't love. After some humbling, I started to tone things down. I still believe in writing honest reviews, but I've tried to take a kinder, more balanced, less snarky approach.
7. Bye, bye book tours!—Once upon a time, I was super into participating in blog tours. Back then, it was sometimes the only way to get early copies of hot titles. Greedy little me signed up for so many of them that I had at least one tour stop every week and usually more. Keeping up a hectic schedule like that sucked the fun out of book reviewing, leaving me feeling panicked, stressed, and guilty when I couldn't keep up. Some time ago, I decided to give up blog tours completely. What a relief! Now and then, I'll agree to a tour stop, but they are very, very few and very, very far between.
8. Schedule free me—As a matter of fact, I have stopped doing any kind of scheduled posting. I participate in TTT most weeks, but that's about it. For years, I've been telling authors and publicists that I review only on my own schedule. If I get to their book, I get to it; if I don't, I don't. Judging by the amount of books still coming to my doorstep, most people don't mind my lackadaisical attitude.
On the other hand, having no schedule means I rarely post these days. I don't want my blog to be completely forgotten, so I may have to be a little more disciplined on this one. We'll see.
9. Challenge Me—I've always loved reading challenges. Back in the day, there were tons of them going on in the book blogosphere and lots of them were competitive, offering generous prizes of books, gift cards, and so on. I took them seriously, participating in a bunch every year. Although I still join more of them than I should, I only do them for fun these days. I also host a couple of my own, which I enjoy.
10. Old favorites, been and gone—In almost twenty years of book blogging, I've fallen in love with so many wonderful blogs and bloggers. It's sad when they disappear from the book blogosphere. Over the years, some of those bloggers have died while others have just moved on to other pursuits. Although so many of them have gone away, luckily, there have been many more that have taken their place over the years. I'm so glad that the book blogging world is still going strong.
One thing that hasn't changed since 2006 is that I still love reading and promoting books. Being a part of the book blogosphere for all these years has been such a joy. Thank you for hanging out here with me and for all of your thoughtful comments, delightful book recommendations, wonderful support, and more. You make me feel included and seen, something that can be tough for bookish introverts to find. Even though I'm a senior citizen in the book blogging world, I'm not ready to let it go. That might not ever change!
How long have you been blogging? What changes have you noticed in your reading, reviewing, and blogging habits over the years? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. I also try to respond to comments left here.
Happy TTT!
Labels:Blogging,Top Ten Tuesday
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Wow! You have so many years of blogging to celebrate! 🙌 I’m celebrating 8 this summer. I’m sorry about your hate mail. 👎 Authors need to remember that reviews are for other readers. I feel sad when someone gives my 5 star read 1 star…..so I can imagine how negative reviews hurt their feelings. But still, they need to avoid engaging. I know there’s been a couple of authors who have a bad rep for attacking reviewers. I’m glad we’ve connected in the happy bookish blogosphere! #readingpeoplearethebestpeople ~Carol @ ReadingLadies
ReplyDeleteLOL, I cannot see you as the Simon Cowell book blogger!! It made me laugh out loud. I need a more relaxed approach to my blogging. Love stopping by, have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI use Goodreads, too, but my reviews on it are so short as to not really be a review. I can't make myself settle long enough to even write a reviewish comment there. Ha!
ReplyDeleteI have had my present blog for almost then years, but I did have another blog for about a year before that. I remember you commenting once about your snarky reviews, and I found that hard to believe, but I'm glad you eased up on your own, Susan. I am still doing blog tours and every year say I am going to cut back, but I haven't yet. Some good observations here.
ReplyDeleteHi! To think 19 years ago you were a young mom and 18 years ago I was 45 getting my divorce and blogging became a lifeline for me. I have a ton of time to read, and I even went to school to get my editing degree, but life happened and I’ve been caring for my parents and now just my mom. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteA great read with wonderful insights from an experienced blogger! It's a huge accomplishment to have stuck to anything, let alone reviewing (which is so time consuming) for so long! I really enjoyed reading your takes on what you choose to review versus what you don't, as that's something I struggle finding a balance with myself.
ReplyDeleteLove your list, Susan! Thank you for coming up with this week’s prompt. I love Goodreads! Happy Tuesday!
ReplyDelete