Climbing out of the book pile.
Or…the way that review books have changed my view of reading.
Here’s the thing. I’m still a relatively new book blogger. My blog will celebrate its 7th month anniversary in 6 days, which makes me a baby compared to a lot of book blogs out there.
Unfortunately this means I get overlooked a lot. I have to put my time and energy into getting out there and promoting myself, but making sure I walk the line that keeps me from being obnoxious.
Hopefully you’ll think I’m funny instead.
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Really what this post is about is how review books have changed my view of reading in general.
I remember the first time I ever received a review request from an author. My heart skipped a beat and my mind couldn’t believe that they chose me! ME! Little old me, with a new blog and a small amount of followers. I took that request right away, devoured the book and reviewed it.
Then the requests came more frequently. More self-published authors and Indie publishers started contacting me, and it became harder for me to say no. I wanted to support all of these people! After all, they chose me. Shouldn’t I return the favor and review their book for them?
It’s only recently I realized how much I miss reading the books on my shelves. How much I miss visiting the library and picking through the books. Reading was starting to become a job. So, I cut back on ARC tours, started the difficult process of saying “no” sometimes and went with it.
You know…I’m much happier now.
Having review books has taught me that sometimes too many books can be a bad thing. It also taught me that reading and sharing your thoughts can be an amazing experience. I know now that I’m not a machine,I can’t read everything (even though I rather wish I could) and sometimes I will want to read something that I have on my self. I will always support that authors that contact me. I’ve just learned to do so with posts other than reviews when I just can’t fit another book onto my reading list.
It was a learning experience.
What is this rambling post about? Thanks. Thank you to this blog and the blogging community for allowing me to share my love of books, and for teaching me how to manage my time. This blog isn’t about how many books I can get. It never was. It’s about sharing my love of what I read and hopefully adding some new books to your TBR.
That’s all really. I’ve decided to slow things down and just enjoy what I read! Thanks for sticking with me through the thick and thin. I hope this happiness comes through in my reviews.
Much love,
