Need coffee. Hang on a sec.
Ok back. MMMMM better.
I used to be soooooooo good at going out and visiting my fellow bloggers. I prided myself on visiting twenty blogs a day minimum, reading reviews, checking in…. and now, sadly not so much. I mean to. I want to. And then I write a review. Read a book. Listen to audio while cleaning the house. Work on Library projects. Go on coffee dates. Meet friends for lunch. Connect with my son. Spend time with my hubby. Work on business connections. Write proposals. Create events. Reflect on what I am going to do with my life….
I am the queen of the time suck.
SO… this morning it surprised me as much as it probably surprises you that when browsing my email (pre-coffee…. maybe that is the trick) I spotted a post title from my good blogger friend Care about Book Blogger Appreciation Week. I LOVE that week and I clicked to read when it would be only to find out that this is actually the last day of it.
Wait….
what?
Yes. That really is how out of the loop I am.
I would have loved to participate but because I am now a blogger with my head in the sand I am missing stuff.
Poo.
So this last day of BBAW I am going to quickly catch up on what I have missed and give you my “pretend I have been doing this all week” post. Ready? Here we go.
Day 1: Introduce yourself by telling us about five books that represent you as a person or your interests/lifestyle.
Well ok… hi. My name is Sheila and I have been blogging here at Book Journey since June 2009. CRAZY right? And let me just say…. TOUGH question. Let’s see how far I get.
- The Harry Potter series. These books are a household staple around here. My boys grew up on them and my son Justin and I really bounded over these books. We started a tradition of going to Harry Potter world in Florida every November and we were able to do that three years in a row. These books will always be a big connection to my son for me. They are a part of my heart.
- The Three Sisters Trilogy by Nora Roberts. Yes Nora Roberts. The book, Dance Upon The Air was the first book my book club read in August of 2001. We all loved the magical aspects of the book and the magic must have worked on us too because that same book club is now 16 members strong and has been meeting every month now for 14+ years.
- READY PLAYER ONE. OMG I LOVE this book. I have listened to it on audio three times now and EVERY time I talk about it I want to read/listen again and NOW it’s going to be a movie! SO EXCITED! This book brings out the gamer in me. Yes, I am a girl who loved playing Nintendo, Xbox, Play Station with my kids. AND….. without my kids. I mastered all of the Zelda series and still years later find myself drawn to strategic game play.
- Hunger Games Trilogy. Ok not sure if I would say these books define me….. but they are kick a**. I love strong characters. I love survival stories, fiction and non fiction.
- The Bible. My faith does define me.
Ok…. I wish I could honestly add an impressive title like “Ulysses changed my life” (In truth I have never read it), or “If I could only take one fiction novel to a deserted island it would have to be Gone With The Wind”, uh…. no. Read it, liked it…but Harry goes to the island with me. HARRY POTTER.
SO basically what I see here in my choices is that I am a faith driven person who LOVES to read about magical worlds, the “what if’s” in life and strong female protagonists. And I also love gaming.
Day 2: IT’S INTERVIEW DAY!
Missed it! Love this part. Ahhh well 🙂
Day 3: Blame a Blogger
Have I ever read a book because of a blogger recommendation? You bet! Do I remember those recommendations? No way. I can recall a couple big genre moves I have made though because of bloggers.
Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness hooked me on non fiction. When we were roommates at BEA in 2010 she told me about the book The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks. That was it. I was sold. Non fiction became a big part of what I read.
Candice at Beth Fish Reads, my BEA roommate for 2014 and hopefully 2016 loves to review foodie books and cook books. Her enthusiasm and great reviews pulled me into finding it hard to resist a good foodie book and I love to make recipes I find in books, especially fiction books.
Day 4: Staying Connected
I used to be so good at this as I mentioned above. When I first started blogging the rule of 20 blogs a day is how I grew this blog. I would make a goal of visiting 20 blogs a day and not just my faves. I would click on bloggers who commented on my favorite blogs. I would always leave a comment and watch to see if they visited me. Most did. I made sure once they got here, I had something interesting up so they would want to come back. It worked. I have a twitter account for Book Journey but I rarely use it. I do not have a Facebook page for Book Journey…. just seems like a one-more-thing. Basically what you see here is what I do. I talk books, life, food, and try to keep it real. I do hope to get back to reading more blogs. I do enjoy it.
Day 5: Blogger Burnout
It is true. Some of the rock star bloggers that were my blogging idols when I started have dropped off. I was sad to see them go but understand that life happens, jobs change, babies are born, interests change… This past year for me I thought there was a good chance I was done. We took a huge hit this past year and it blew my life wide open. It still does. What I found for myself is that once again Book Journey changed a bit. I felt safe here to share my heart and my heart ache. I talked about what was happening. Honestly – I have met many of you through the book expo. Others of you from our talks here and reading your blogs, I feel as though I know you. Book Journey for a while went away from book reviews and instead became a place I could just talk it out. Honestly when I look back at the things that have helped me get this far, this blog would be one of them. I don’t want to let this connection go.
My suggestion to those feeling blogger burnout is if it starts to feel like work you either need to change up what you are doing or walk away until it feels right. It’s your blog. If one day you feel like writing about burned toast instead of the latest hot read – do it. If you no longer find that you can post 4 times a week like you used to, change it to what works for you. It is your corner of the internet. DO what works for you 🙂
In closing, I wanted to be a part of BBAW because you all matter to me. It is hard for me to put into words what this past year and your generous outpouring of love for me and my family has meant. And to think… it all started with a book review and one girls desire to connect beyond her life circles. Thank you all for being a part of my online book friends life circle.
Sheila
PS Thanks Estelle for putting this together. Thank you Care for posting about it so I seen it. I hope to get around to those who participated so I can read their great posts this week.