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This week's topic: Ten Reasons I Love X -- could be a certain book, character, author, your indie bookstore, a fandom, a tv show, reading, a hobby, a genre. Honestly anything you want to gush about.
6 years ago this month, these fabulous ladies and I started planning this blog and what we wanted to do with it. While our blog anniversary isn't until the end of the month when we actually debuted the blog, today I just want to spread some love and talk about why I love the online book community so much in honor of 6 years in this great community!
1. You will never run out of things to read -- seriously being around you people makes my TBR grow exponentially! It's kind of ridiculously how many books I've added because of this community over the past 6 years.
2. When you NEED to talk about a book or some bookish problem, there is ALWAYS someone available for you: The best thing about being friends with people online is that people are from ALLLL AROUND THE WORLD. So like when I finish a show that breaks my heart into a million pieces or a book that I just HAVE to rave about -- there is always someone there for me. Like that time I watched Dance Academy and got to THAT PART at 2am and thank the lord because so many of my friends across the pond were there for me!!
3. Along with that, having friends around the world pretty much means every time I travel I PROBABLY have a friend I can visit wherever I go: It was so nice last month when my husband and I were in London because I got to meet up with some London bloggers I adore! FRIENDLY FACES ALL OVER THE WORLD.
4. Everyone is so generous and wonderful -- I see the generosity of this community constantly -- sharing books, giving advice, authors taking time to chat with fans or give encouragement about writing, rallying together around people, raising money for important causes or for our friends in the community! It's such an amazing community.
5. It's so easy to meet friends or make really great connections because of the way books are so personal: What I mean is that I find the nature of talking about books a pretty personal thing because every reader brings their own life and experiences into it and I LOVE how this easily opens us up to connecting with people just by talking how we relate to something in a book or by gushing about our favorite characters or thinking critically through a book together.
6. Creativity abounds: I've been in this community for 6 years and I am ALWAYS so impressed by the creativity in this community.
7. We are made up of passionate readers: WHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD CAN YOU FIND MORE PASSIONATE PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO TALK IN ALL CAPS ABOUT BOOKS????? The bookish online community is unparalleled LETS BE REAL. I'm so proud of this community for being so passionate about reading and literacy and connecting people with books they love. I've seen that passion do many things for the publishing industry and for readers. I'm seriously so proud of what our passion has accomplished and how we champion books and authors we love and use that passion also for better representation and to fight some of the broken things in publishing. This community CARES SO MUCH about books and readers and authors and just publishing as a whole and pour soooo much time and energy into it.
8. There's so much to learn from it: I don't think I have ever learned so much from any other community I've been apart of. When I started this journey of blogging back in 2010 I wasn't aware of sooo many of the things the bookish online community has taught me. I thought feminism was stupid and in these years I learned what feminism really is and am proud to be a feminist. I didn't know much about sexism. I really didn't know about many of the racism issues that happen or the daily microaggressions I've now seen people I care about have to deal with. I didn't realize diverse representation was a problem. I really didn't know much about the LGBTQIA+ community. THERE WERE SO MANY THINGS I JUST DIDN'T KNOW. And it was humbling because I realize how many things I've said were just SO WRONG in my life because I JUST DIDN'T KNOW -- slurs and sexist thoughts and so many other things that I never knew were harmful which is something I would have never wanted to do. I'm happy to learn and do better. This community has taught me SO many things and I get to learn from such a diverse group of people.
9. I am able to get personalized book recommendations: I mean, I can't walk into many places and have someone be like JAMIE JAMIE JAMIE this book is for you. But the online book community doesn't hesitate to let me know if they think I would love a book because they KNOW me or what kinds of books I like. Or when I am looking for something super specific I can shout it out on my blog or Twitter and people rush in with very specific recs to my very specific reading needs. IN AN INSTANT.
10. Because y'all make me feel like I belong: seriously, this community has been a lifesaver for me in SO many ways over the past 6 years. It would take me forever to explain why. What I do want to say is that this community made me feel like I found my people and gave me the courage to BE the person I am rather than the person I was putting on. I embraced things I loved that I previously hid. I just really grew into my own because of this community -- because I felt like I was heard, understood and that I could be so ridiculously open in a way that I couldn't with a lot of people in my life. I was more myself HERE then I was IRL. All of this really translated into my IRL life through the years and I finally felt like I knew who I was and I was happy with it.
SO...I love all you online book people whether you blog or vlog or take pictures of books or tweet or WHATEVER YOU DO. If we've connected over books....I HEART YOUR FACE.
6 years ago this month, these fabulous ladies and I started planning this blog and what we wanted to do with it. While our blog anniversary isn't until the end of the month when we actually debuted the blog, today I just want to spread some love and talk about why I love the online book community so much in honor of 6 years in this great community!
1. You will never run out of things to read -- seriously being around you people makes my TBR grow exponentially! It's kind of ridiculously how many books I've added because of this community over the past 6 years.
2. When you NEED to talk about a book or some bookish problem, there is ALWAYS someone available for you: The best thing about being friends with people online is that people are from ALLLL AROUND THE WORLD. So like when I finish a show that breaks my heart into a million pieces or a book that I just HAVE to rave about -- there is always someone there for me. Like that time I watched Dance Academy and got to THAT PART at 2am and thank the lord because so many of my friends across the pond were there for me!!
3. Along with that, having friends around the world pretty much means every time I travel I PROBABLY have a friend I can visit wherever I go: It was so nice last month when my husband and I were in London because I got to meet up with some London bloggers I adore! FRIENDLY FACES ALL OVER THE WORLD.
4. Everyone is so generous and wonderful -- I see the generosity of this community constantly -- sharing books, giving advice, authors taking time to chat with fans or give encouragement about writing, rallying together around people, raising money for important causes or for our friends in the community! It's such an amazing community.
5. It's so easy to meet friends or make really great connections because of the way books are so personal: What I mean is that I find the nature of talking about books a pretty personal thing because every reader brings their own life and experiences into it and I LOVE how this easily opens us up to connecting with people just by talking how we relate to something in a book or by gushing about our favorite characters or thinking critically through a book together.
6. Creativity abounds: I've been in this community for 6 years and I am ALWAYS so impressed by the creativity in this community.
7. We are made up of passionate readers: WHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD CAN YOU FIND MORE PASSIONATE PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO TALK IN ALL CAPS ABOUT BOOKS????? The bookish online community is unparalleled LETS BE REAL. I'm so proud of this community for being so passionate about reading and literacy and connecting people with books they love. I've seen that passion do many things for the publishing industry and for readers. I'm seriously so proud of what our passion has accomplished and how we champion books and authors we love and use that passion also for better representation and to fight some of the broken things in publishing. This community CARES SO MUCH about books and readers and authors and just publishing as a whole and pour soooo much time and energy into it.
8. There's so much to learn from it: I don't think I have ever learned so much from any other community I've been apart of. When I started this journey of blogging back in 2010 I wasn't aware of sooo many of the things the bookish online community has taught me. I thought feminism was stupid and in these years I learned what feminism really is and am proud to be a feminist. I didn't know much about sexism. I really didn't know about many of the racism issues that happen or the daily microaggressions I've now seen people I care about have to deal with. I didn't realize diverse representation was a problem. I really didn't know much about the LGBTQIA+ community. THERE WERE SO MANY THINGS I JUST DIDN'T KNOW. And it was humbling because I realize how many things I've said were just SO WRONG in my life because I JUST DIDN'T KNOW -- slurs and sexist thoughts and so many other things that I never knew were harmful which is something I would have never wanted to do. I'm happy to learn and do better. This community has taught me SO many things and I get to learn from such a diverse group of people.
9. I am able to get personalized book recommendations: I mean, I can't walk into many places and have someone be like JAMIE JAMIE JAMIE this book is for you. But the online book community doesn't hesitate to let me know if they think I would love a book because they KNOW me or what kinds of books I like. Or when I am looking for something super specific I can shout it out on my blog or Twitter and people rush in with very specific recs to my very specific reading needs. IN AN INSTANT.
10. Because y'all make me feel like I belong: seriously, this community has been a lifesaver for me in SO many ways over the past 6 years. It would take me forever to explain why. What I do want to say is that this community made me feel like I found my people and gave me the courage to BE the person I am rather than the person I was putting on. I embraced things I loved that I previously hid. I just really grew into my own because of this community -- because I felt like I was heard, understood and that I could be so ridiculously open in a way that I couldn't with a lot of people in my life. I was more myself HERE then I was IRL. All of this really translated into my IRL life through the years and I finally felt like I knew who I was and I was happy with it.
SO...I love all you online book people whether you blog or vlog or take pictures of books or tweet or WHATEVER YOU DO. If we've connected over books....I HEART YOUR FACE.
Great topic, Jamie! Love it. :)
ReplyDeleteOMG YES to pretty much all of this for sure. I ended up picking something similar (book events) but yeah so much fun and many of the ideas cross over. I love the bookish community!
ReplyDeleteAn apt topic to pick with your six years drawing in. I really love all the reasons you've shared in your list, and in many ways you've summed up the bookish community so perfectly.
ReplyDeleteI love all of these! And I especially agree with point 8, I'm still fairly new to the online book community but I've learned so much already! About genres, tropes, (under)representation etc.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great list Jamie! I agree especially that there is so much to learn! I've only been doing this a couple of year and every day I feel like I learn something new! Love it!
ReplyDeleteYes to all these!!! Wonderfully said!
ReplyDeleteHere's my Tuesday Post
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
Aw that's so sweet but SO true!! I love that there's always someone online to talk to - it makes the book community feel like an entire new universe of AWESOMENESS. And omg, my TBR, the question do I thank or scowl at the community for making it so large!?
ReplyDeleteHere! Here! and Amen!
ReplyDeletehttp://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2016/06/i-love-authors-and-you-should-too.html
Great list! The bookish community is the best!
ReplyDeleteI just had to add my Ten Reasons I Love Classic Literature
ReplyDeleteand I really enjoyed reading your reasons for loving the blog and also some of the others. As always, such a great way of thinking about our reading.
Marianne from
Let's Read
Fantastic list!! I love the bookish community and I have learned a lot from being a part of it as well, :D
ReplyDeleteGreat topic :) There are so many reasons I'm glad I joined the book community and talking about books is one of them!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT
Here comes my answer! My blog i originally in swedish but you can easily translate it into english or whichever language you'd prefer :) http://tickmick.blogspot.com/2016/06/top-ten-tuesday-vecka-23.html
ReplyDeleteLovely list! These are some of the reasons I've decided to join in. :)
ReplyDeleteC @ thoughtsfromlibraries.blogspot.com
I totally agree with #8! It's amazing how much I've learned from the book blogging community. I've picked up so many more diverse books and been exposed to lots of topics and issues I never thought about before. I'd like to think the online book community has contributed to me becoming a better person!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT
I agree with all of these points! :)
ReplyDeleteFor anyone in the bookish community who loves Liane Moriarty please check out the #ReadSavannah event that is coming up in Sept. at www.shereads.org (may need to scroll down to find it but it's there!). This one-day event will feature a moveable feast, lots of authors, with the final headliner being Liane. It's sure to bring the book community out in force and we'd love to see you there!
ReplyDeleteThese are SO true!!
ReplyDeleteYeeeeessssss to all of this! The bookish community is so incredibly amazing for so many reasons!
ReplyDelete-Amy