Feature & Follow (July 13)

My very first Feature & Follow! I am interested to see how this will turn out. ;)

 

 Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. 

Each week there is a new question to be answered and new bloggers to meet. 

There is also a featured blog every week so you never know who you will meet! This is a great way to gain new followers and find new bloggers to befriend and talk to. 

Who knows, you could even be a featured blogger one week!

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This weeks question is...

"What drove you to start book blogging in the first place?"

To this I reply - This blog started as a way for me to relieve all the various stresses in my life, and somehow morphed into a Book Review Blog. Can anyone say peer pressure?  I kid, I kid!


But seriously, I have many a friend that does book reviewing and I kept hearing how great it is.

"Mel, you should try it, it's a lot of fun! I think you would be good at it because you have such a way with words."  --From some of the friends. Hence the peer pressure comment. <3

I was told that you get to meet authors (How friggin cool is that? For me its like having my own personal genie.) you get free books to review (No one can turn down a free book. I don't care who you are.), you meet some of the most talented and awesome people (I have found this to be very true as well. A lot of reviewers have me weak in the knees with their work and they're just uber cool people.), and you get to share your opinion with anyone who will listen (That right there was the kicker for me. I won't go so far as to say that I am vain, but I'll talk the shit off of someone's ear, anyone's ear really, as long as they let me. lol). So that is how I got my start.

Continuing is probably the hardest process but it's as equally rewarding.

The magnitude of book bloggers that are in circulation and still keep popping up is gargantuan. So to say that it is just as big as facebook or twitter, wouldn't be all that inaccurate. ;) I love to meet new people and make new friends, so this was a plus for me as well.

There is never a day that goes by that I don't find a new book or series that I want to read because of a fellow blogger. That alone is worth book blogging in my opinion. For me, being approached by an author for a review is like shooting up without the drugs. (I have never in my life experienced drugs, so this is merely a speculation on my part.) LOL I get an amazing high from it and I love that feeling.

I have to admit that when it all started out, I was iffy about it. Sure, it was something new and fun but did I, hell, DO I have the talent and the know how to pull off something like a book blog? The jury is still out on that one, haha. I still feel rather shaky about my overall performance, and it's discouraging when you don't have a lot of followers, and the ones you do have aren't always there to comment on your material. Lack of feedback translates into there being a problem with you or your site. >.<  I guess that means I just have to try and pimp myself out more, right? ;)

The things you need to know if you want to be involved in giveaways or hops, or to do interviews, or to just have a visually appealing and well put together site is just overwhelming. Don't even get me started on the review policy and contact pages; we could be here all day. ;)P

Thankfully, I have help with my blog from a couple of my friends who are fellow book bloggers, but I still get lost in the fray. The material you read is confusing if you don't know what you are looking at or even what you are looking for. If I wouldn't have had them to help me, I wouldn't have a review blog. It's just too intimidating. lol

At any rate, I have strayed from the original question and accidentally turned it into a bit of a whine fest, so I am going to put down the digital pen for now and walk away. lol

Happy reading to all who stop by! I hope it wasn't too excruciating to work through. :)P

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Thanks for stopping by! 

 - be sure to leave me your links! -