Discussion: What the Book Blogging Community Gave Me

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.

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.


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.

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.

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 

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).

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 

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.


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.

PS. Follow all these people on Twitter immediately. They’re so great. SO great.Β 

6 Replies to “Discussion: What the Book Blogging Community Gave Me”

  1. 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!!

    1. (I totally meant to respond to you like ten thousand years ago. Ooops!) Thanks for your comment πŸ˜€ 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!

  2. 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! 😊

  3. FYI: I linked to this post in my weekly Sunday Summary today: http://gotmybook.booklikes.com/post/1404817/sunsum-2016may29

    1. Oh wow thank you so much!

  4. […] Paige @ The Paige-Turner expresses what the book blogging community has given her (and others) […]

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