Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday! Blogging Confessions

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish

This is the true story of two girls, picked to run a blog, read a ton of books and have their lives turned inside out, to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real. Sound familiar? No? Maybe a little bit?

Anyhoo! We are not on one of the gazillion seasons of The Real World, but we are getting real today and making some blogging confessions. We all have them, here are some of ours.

  • Writing reviews are HARD! - I hate writing reviews. Okay, this is a lie because I love gushing about books but when it comes time to actually sit down and write out all my jumbled feelings, I freeze up. I am not a writer even though I pretend to be, but when it comes to translating thoughts onto the computer screen, things can get a little daunting. Especially if you've seen some of the awesome reviews I've seen around this blogging community.
  • Jealousy is not my friend - I get really green with envy when I see some of these other bloggers and the books they get or how pretty their site looks or even how many posts they put up a day. It reminds me of high school and the cool kids table. When I see some of these blogs that have been around for maybe 3 or so years and all the stuff they are doing and getting and I sit and wonder when and if we will ever reach that status.
  • Starting but may not finish - I start too many books at the same time. I could be reading maybe 4 books at a time trying to find one that strikes a cord with me. I get frustrated with myself because I don't like to leave books not finished but there are many on my goodread lists not finished. Not because they are bad but mostly because I'm just not in the mood.
  • Addicted to numbers - I'm addicted to that little pageview counter. Every morning and multiple times throughout the day, I'm checking the blog stats. I know I shouldn't but part of me loves to see that number go up. If we have 20 views a day, I'm doing backflips (in my head). We blog for us but we also love interaction with fellow readers.
  • I love blogger - This sounds weird, but it is true. I love setting up posts and scheduling them. Before Keira started doing the weekend ones, I was putting up all of them and I loved it. I still love the posts I do even if I'm not writing them. Maybe it is the memories of working on yearbook in highschool, but the organization of it all is amazing. And when we redesigned the site? I was in HTML heaven!
  • I hate 90% of my reviews - Sometimes it feels like I'm not really articulating how I truly feel. Like, maybe I'm not saying enough, or have said too much without really saying anything at all. I'm constantly comparing the quality of my reviews to others, and obviously reaching for betterment, but I am undoubtedly my own worst critic.
  • Constructive criticism should be constructive! - Neither Nikki and I are new to blogging, however, we are new to *book* blogging, so we'll take all the advice and feedback we can get from fellow bloggers and readers. However, I personally shut down when I find that someone has nothing nice to say (after spending a good half hour speculating why they have nothing nice to say). I guess what I'm trying to say is, we all have our personal style; we're here because we all have one common bond, our love for books, and no one is forced to read one blog or another. If you don't have anything nice to say, it's best to just move along.
  • It would be so cool if the real world would slow down for a minute - I love reading other blogs and commenting. I love getting comments and commenting back. But there are times when life prevents me from doing so, and it sucks. I tell myself this is what happens when I spend the time commenting on fifty blogs and get two replies.
  • I REALLY wanted that ARC! - You know the one that everyone else has already read, but you were denied? In the moment it feels like the universe is conspiring against me, but soon enough I remember that I will have a chance to read it once it's released and suddenly I don't feel quite so bad. It ain't always easy being the new kid on the block.
  • Sometimes I wonder if I read too much - Is it possible that one can read too much? I'm not sure. I mean, I participate in life, but lately I've noticed that in day to day conversation I always bring the discussion back to books. Are my friends and family going to tire of this? Am I that crazy book lady? Furthermore, and I discussed this with Nikki yesterday, are the books I'm reading reflecting on me? I love YA (and nearly every other genre) and have never felt ashamed for reading it, but since that completely elitist and unfair article by Ruth Graham, I've wondered how many of the people in my life are judging me by what I read.

Until Next Time!

12 comments:

  1. So, I'm not the only one addicted to numbers...

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  2. http://ouachitaya.blogspot.com/

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  3. Wonderful lists from both of you. I know how you feel. I have a hard time writing my reviews. I am worried that I am not explaining my point or love for the book well enough. And I am starting to feel like most of my reviews sound the same.
    I also tend to get a bit jealous of other bloggers. There are so many cute blogs out there. And the creativity they have to create a new and original feature. And the beautiful ARCs. I try to not let the jealousy consume me.

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  4. I hate most of my reviews too! and I have anxiety about writing a review, I can't translate my thoughts onto the screen very well. I stalk our stats counter too. Any amount makes me really happy!


    Thanks for stopping by!


    Amber @ The Book Bratz

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  5. Reviews are hard and I hate most of mine too. Everyone else's reviews seem so eloquent and mine are all clunky and choppy.

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  6. Any blogger that says they don't care about their numbers is a liar, lol. Great list today!

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  7. Writing reviews is hard! I can whip out a tag post within half an hour but reviews can sometimes take hours if not days. Great list!

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  8. It's rare that I feel like I've articulated my feelings properly. Everyone else seems to have this flow that I simply can't grasp. Argh.

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  9. You welcome! It's very rare that I'm happy with one of my reviews, but when it does happen, oh man, the joy. LOL

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  10. The ARCs! It kills me. LOL I wish I had half the creative talent as some of the bloggers I see. Beautiful beautiful blogs.

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  11. I think most bloggers are. Seems to be the general consensus. Thanks so much for stopping by, Clair!

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  12. I agree, writing reviews is way too hard! And I too have ARC envy - comes with the territory as a new kid on the block methinks :) Also, I usually have several books on the go - I can put them down for a while and then come back to them later on. Great list!

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