Category: Book Blogger Hop

This prompt was submitted by Julie @ JadeSky:

Why did you start a book blog?

Well, one day I was taking a tour of a lab and was bitten by a radioactive pilcrow…

No? Not buying that?

Okay, there was a period, slightly over a decade ago, when I was just reading too quickly, without any reflection, or really thinking about it. I was practically binging non-stop. I’d end up checking out the same book from the library multiple times and wouldn’t understand why it felt so familiar (that’s when I started keeping a log). I didn’t like that. Authors deserved a reader who would take a beat and think about the book, who’d really appreciate their work. Also, what was the point of reading like I was just going through them like Pringles? What was the benefit to me (other than keeping me occupied)?

So I plunged into Goodreads, resolving to post something about every book I read, as a way to force myself to ruminate at least a little on what I was consuming. I wanted to soak it all in. But I largely didn’t have any Friends or Followers there and wasn’t good about finding people to interact with, so it was easy to take breaks from it and fall into old habits.

I’d been blogging for over a decade in a few places—some related to theology and whatnot, and I had a personal blog about everything—I thought about putting my Goodreads reviews there, but no one seemed to read/care about any blog post I had about books. So why go to the trouble?

But I’d heard about book bloggers. It’s important for me to say this—I had never read a book blog at this point. But I liked the idea. If I’m just one voice in thousands on Goodreads, who notices if I don’t say anything. But if I’m the voice on a blog (even if only 3 people see it), it’ll be noticed that I stop.

I played around with a few templates, copied over a handful of my most recent Goodreads posts, and dug in. After posting pretty regularly for a month or so, I started to tell people that I’d done it. But not many—I think I was up and running for about three months before I showed my wife! I just wanted to make sure I could do it regularly.

8 1/2 years and 3,500+ posts later, here we are.

Book Blogger Hop

 

This prompt was submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver’s Reviews:

Do you use Goodreads as the main website to keep track of what you have read? If not, please share what you use?

A main website? Sure, it’s the first website I used for tracking–and has stayed as my primary since then. I also use LibraryThing and StoryGraph, but I haven’t invested the time to really get into those. I should probably put a little more effort into them. Maybe if I got a follower or two there…

But my actual primary tracking is a Google Docs spreadsheet (because I’m too cheap to pay for Excel, and I like being able to access it anywhere, so I don’t use LibreOffice’s version). I used to use one of my own devising, but for the last two years, I’ve used the Ultimate Book Blogger / Reader Spreadsheet Template from Reader Voracious, which is much nicer than anything I’ve cooked up (and I don’t even use all the features).

What about you?

Book Blogger Hop

This prompt was submitted by Julie @ JadeSky:

Would you ever consider dressing up as a book character? If so, which one?

I guess it depends on what the dressing up is for. Halloween? Nah, it’s not my thing.

But sure, I’ve thought about cosplaying at various conventions as a book character (and would probably only do that rather than TV/Movie character). I could probably pull off a Tolkein-esque dwarf or maybe one of the guys from Saga in Kings of the Wyld. I’d actually planned an Arthur Dent cosplay for a local convention that ended up getting canceled, and was pretty close to coming up with an Ebenezar McCoy (from The Dresden Files) costume for Day 2 of that con. Maybe one day…

What about you?

Book Blogger Hop

 

This prompt was submitted by Julie @ JadeSky:

Are you more willing to read traditionally published books than self-published (indie) books? Or do you not have a preference?

Are you more willing to read traditionally published books than self-published (indie) books? Or do you not have a preference?
I don’t have a preference, really—other than a handful of times a year when someone/multiple someones (including me) is doing a celebration of Indie books/publishers/authors/genres when I think about it a bit more. I really don’t spend that much time thinking about where a book comes from.

I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not—I think I could argue both ways.

There’s an important twist on that question: Am I more likely to read traditionally published books than self-published (indie) books? And the answer to that is, yes, I’m absolutely more likely to—because I’m exposed to them more, I see the advertisements for them, they show up in various algorithms more, etc. Outside of blogs and social media, I’m not going to hear a lot about self-pubbed/indie books. If that word-of-mouth kind of thing is positive, or if it comes from someone like Fahrenheit, Red Dog, Down & Out Books, etc., I’ll grab it. But I’m far more likely to hear about a book, and therefore pick it up and read it, if it’s traditionally published.

What about you?

Hey, look, after 1.5 years of meaning to get around to it, I’ve finally dipped my toe into the Book Blogger Hop. I generally find the topics interesting, but have over-thought my responses. By imposing a strict time-limit on myself for answering the question, I figure I can join in the fun.

Book Blogger Hop

This prompt was submitted by Julie @ JadeSky:

Are you more likely to choose to read a book based on the synopsis, or the cover?

98.6% of the time, I’m choosing to read a book based on the synopsis. Covers lie and/or mislead. Well, synopses do, too, I guess. But really, those are the exceptions (and those who produce those need to be punished). Whether it’s the official inside-the-jacket-flap/back-of-the-book/author-or-publisher-website synopsis, an elevator pitch I hear on podcast interview with an author, or a blogger’s version of the synopsis–it’s knowing what the book is about more than whatever picture is on the front that’s going to get me to read a book.

At the same time–outside of getting a recommendation from a blogger/author/etc. it’s going to come down to the cover to get my attention and get me to read the synopsis (even if it’s just the author’s name on a cover).

What about you?