I’ve been doing this blogging shindig for five years. FIVE YEARS. There’s been a lot of ups and downs (mostly ups!) and lately I’ve been thinking about what the book blogging community, and book blogging in general, have given me.
@ThePaige_Turner friendship + found my way to express my love for books. π
β Christine (@tinethereader) May 21, 2016
Personally, it’s given me freedom. Confidence. A sense of identity. Something to be proud of. Friendship. Happiness (INSANE amounts of happiness). And a deeper appreciation for books that I had previously taken for granted.
@ThePaige_Turner defs friendship! Like finding people who like the same books can be πππππππ
β cw (on hiatus) (@readthinkponder) May 21, 2016
Sure we can get caught up in ARC envy and other silly, petty, things, but at the end of the day we’re all here to talk about books and share that love with each other. It’s a very vulnerable experience, putting your thoughts on the Internet. Sometimes that doesn’t go so well (I’m reflecting on my Lady Midnight disaster earlier this year) but most of the time it’s great and we can all flail around and talk about our feels getting shot in the heart.
@ThePaige_Turner an outlet to discuss books + friendships + a community where I feel like i belong.
β Jamie (@booksandladders) May 21, 2016
Followers, likes, page views; it’s all arbitrary. At the end of the day I’d rather have two followers that I genuinely love interacting with than ten thousand who I never get a chance to interact with on a personal level.
@ThePaige_Turner the book community gave me a chance to be surrounded by those who lift me up & made me stop feeling guilty for being (1)
β alexandra (@twirlingpages) May 21, 2016
@ThePaige_Turner passionate about more than one thing β€β€β€
β alexandra (@twirlingpages) May 21, 2016
What’s so incredible is the fact that we’re living out adventures in our minds everyday and then we get to go into the real world and share that love. Book blogging has brought me so many new perspectives and viewpoints and taken me to corners of the world (metaphorically) that I may have never been otherwise exposed to. That’s a beautiful thing.Β
@ThePaige_Turner Friendships, opportunities, escape from stressful uni and life in general, and motivation to read read read! π
β Alyssa Susanna (@Alyssa_Susanna) May 21, 2016
It’s been a distraction. It’s been a motivation. Heck, it’s probably going to help me through a lot of my senior thesis which is going to focus on books. How many other people can feel say that they feel that sense of community when they’re talking about things they love (okay probably a lot).
BEST FRIENDS: after moving so many times, and “breaking up” with besties so many times, it’s so good to have besties https://t.co/ySLs8UrU5c
β Angel (@AvidReaderBlog) May 21, 2016
Do you ever think back to grade school days when you were told not to talk to strangers online because they were probably predators? HAHAHA I laugh. I laugh so much. 99% of the people I’ve met during my book blogging journey have been crazy, wacky, sincere, beautiful, and just all around LOVELY people. And I wouldn’t trade those friendships for anything.Β
@ThePaige_Turner the greatest friend in the world aka you
β Bayy (@bayy_245) May 21, 2016
@ThePaige_Turner it gave me you. pic.twitter.com/7a5UM2FqZp
β Sierra Abrams (@yearningtoread) May 21, 2016
So next time you get caught up in the hecticness of your life or even just the book blogging community (we’re pretty fierce when we need to be), then just remember, we’re here to share our love. Love of books, love of the written word, and love for each other. Or maybe I’m just a sap that, even after five years, is still exhilarated with every review that I write.
@ThePaige_Turner It really helped me thru a weird time of life & kept me sane. It gave me a reason to get up in the morning. Gave me purpose
β SJ Bouquet (@SJBouquet) May 21, 2016
And as I write this alone in my apartment, there’s some bumbling drunks wandering outside my window, I’ve never felt more surrounded. There’s all my friends from back east who need TO COME TO CALIFORNIA ALREADY. There’s my CA peeps (west coast, best coast), my fab CO book signing partners in crime, and all the midwestern folks sitting in between us all reminding us that they’re more than flyover states, as well as the international friends who are sending virtual hugs, long distance via air mail.
You’re all amazing.
Bonus: Cheeky responses that I just HAD to save for last.
@ThePaige_Turner it’s brought happiness to my cold, dead heart.
β Hannah Siddiqui (@TheRoadToHannah) May 21, 2016
@ThePaige_Turner definitely not friendshipπ
β emily !!! (@BlueEyedBiblio) May 21, 2016
PS. Follow all these people on Twitter immediately. They’re so great. SO great.Β
This discussion is so sweet and nice, and I loved reading these tweets! I agree, the book community is overall quite fantastic and I love it a lot, and I think this discussion is so important right now in regards to all the drama currently going on after all the book conventions and SJM controversies but I digress. Lovely post, Paige!!
(I totally meant to respond to you like ten thousand years ago. Ooops!) Thanks for your comment π I think sometimes we forget to share the love sometimes and get too caught up in the negativity. We can never share too much love!
Well said, Paige! Aaand we sorta almost met IRL!
What I love about the BB community is that it is 98% welcoming and friendly! Sure, it can feel like a clique sometimes, but I’ve had a generally awesome experience! Scandals come and go, but the happy memories stay far longer! (Eeek ai sound like a greeting card, but it’s 1am in CA so I blame that!)
As someone who doesn’t really have family that love to read (well I actually have a few but they aren’t as obsessive as I am!), I need to find someine to talk to about books! I’ve managed to coerce my husband to read a few books but he’s no fun with discuasions! So yes, this community has helped me get over my book hangovers or book slumps.. and has kept me company in the times when I really needed it!
Maybe we’ll bump into each other IRL in one of the bookish events! π
FYI: I linked to this post in my weekly Sunday Summary today: http://gotmybook.booklikes.com/post/1404817/sunsum-2016may29
Oh wow thank you so much!
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