Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Ten Reasons Jamie Loves The Online Book Community


For future Top Ten Tuesday topics & info on how to participate, click here!
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.




Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly link-up in the community where we provide a prompt and other lovers of listmaking join in on it with their own top ten list. Feel free to have less than 10 or more if you need to at times and put a spin on the topic if you need to! Just please link back to us if you are participating :)

To join, link up below with the URL to your blog POST (not your blog), your name and your email (which will remain hidden). Then bounce around the Linky!

 Megz @ Barefoot Whispers   Miriam Michelle Gonzalez   Puput @ Unboxing My Thoughts  
 Aimal @ Bookshelves & Paperbacks   Lenoreo & Curly Carla @ Celebrity Readers   Olivia @ Rainbow of Books  
 Lindsey @ Bring My Books   Grace @ Rebel Mommy Book Blog   Ellen @ The Canon  
 Bettina @ sweesomastic.de   Anushka @ Going Through Books   Tasheena @ Dear Reader  
 Serenity @ Book Charmers   Kelsey @ kelseyempfield   Tanaya @prettypagesblog  
 Kayla @ Sunday Morning Coffee   Dashie   Aj @ Read All The Things!  
 Holly @ Nut Free Nerd   Tasha @ The Bookie Monsters   Dana @ DanaSquare  
 Katey @ Read, Write, Design   Laura & Jen @ Reads We Review   Shelf Worn Books  
 Mari @ Story and Somnomancy   Becca @ The Bookkeeper's Apprentice   Brandi @ Brandi Janee's Bookshelf  
 Emily @ Infinite Lives, Infinite Stories   Stephanie @ My Bookish Itinerary   Deb Nance at Readerbuzz  
 Charlie @ A Books Eternal Glory   Mikayla @ Mikayla's Bookshelf   Erica @ Novel Ink  
 Barb (boxermommyreads) @ Booker T's Farm   Rachel Troyer @ Obsessed With Fairy Tales   Jenna @ Fictional Neverland  
 Debbie Rodgers @Exurbanis   Lisa & Becca @ Lost in Lit   Jen E @ critic and fangirl  
 Maybe Books Will Be Our Always   Michelle @ Pink Polka Dot Books   Beckie B.  
 Joseph @ thoughts and afterthoughts   Stephanie@Don't be Afraid of the Dork   Lisa @ Captivated Reader  
 Brianna and Angelina @Fables Library   Alice@ The Geeky Burrow   Lillian @ Mom with a Reading Problem  
 Deanna @ A Novel Glimpse   Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library   Pretty Deadly Reviews  
 Marie @ Pages to Explore   Alison @Hardcovers & Heroines   Brandy @ Random Musings of a Bibliophile  
 La La in the Library   Aly @ Of Wonderland   Hannah @ Broc's Bookcase  
 Jennifer @ YA Book Nerd   Jenna @ Reading with Jenna   Bruna @ Bruna Writes  
 Lisa @ Loca For Language   Bekah @ Will Bake for Books   Lindsey @ Lindsey Reads  
 Aubrey @ Aubrey's Book Nook   The Literary Counsellor   Alexandria @ Heart Full of Elves  
 Tanya @ Girl Plus Books   Selah @ A Bibliophile's Style   Keanna @KeyReadThat  
 Sara @ A Gingerly Review   Ara | The Bookish Agenda   Mia- Top Ten Oldies But Goodies!  
 Rachel Patrick   Miranda @ A Real Writer's Life   Elisabeth @ The Dirigible Plum  
 Heather @ Based on a True Story   Marie's Reads   Arwen@ I Love A Good Book  
 Mallory at Story at a Time   Eve @ Functioning Insanity Reviews   Mandy @ The Reading Diaries  
 Ara @ Open Pages   Elena @ ElenaSquareEyes   Find Me at the Library  
 Kyra Morris   Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense   Kristin @ Lukten av Trykksverte  
 Katrina @ Kaleidoscope of Books   Shon @ Tangled 'N' Books   Bonnie @ For the Love of Words  
 Kourtni @ Kourtni Reads   Curious Daisy   Amy @ Read What I Like  
 Emily @ Midwestern Book Nerd   Gabby @ 500 Books   Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog  
 BookSophisticate   Anna @Adventures with a Book Nerd   There will be books  
 Amanda @ Good In The Stacks   Sam Whitehouse   Marianne @ Let's Read  
 Chelsea @ Books for Thought   Girl with her Head in a Book   Stephanie @ Adventures of a Bibliophile  
 Jessica @ a GREAT read   Lauren @ My Expanding Bookshelf   Becky & Angharad @ Two Book Thieves  
 megan @ love literature art and reason   Liza @ Quite the Novel Idea   Annemieke @ A Dance with Books  
 Chrissi Reads   Amy @ Book Babbles and Blues   JJ@bookloversblog  
 Jennifer @ Feminist Fairy Tale Reviews   Helle @ Bookish Utopia   Jackie  
 Mariela & Allyson   Kati   Martha @ I'd Rather Be Reading  
 Amanda @ Cover2CoverMom   Amelia @ Keep Your Feet   Valerie @ He Said Books or Me  
 Amy   jessicabookworm   Diana @ Little Miss Drama Queen  
 Caroline @ Stardust Words   Jacquie @ Rattle the Stars   Emma @ Awkwordly Emma  
 Deborah @ The Road of a Writer   Sue @ Crushingcinders   Jen @ Decorate The Soul  
 stacey@books,dreams,life   Candace&Kattie@LiteraryDust   Marie @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books  
 Evie @ Just Another Belle   Courtney @ Incessant Bookworm   Megan Easley-Walsh  
 Jocelyn @ 52 Letters in the Alphabet   Ayla @ Books & Babbles   Jen @ Star-Crossed Book Blog  
 Amy @ Every Book You Need to Read and More   Majoring in Literature   Kelly F. Barr  
 Jess @ Little Book Heaven   Alba in Bookland   Savannah @ ReadingBifrost  
 Becksa @ Ranty Runt of a Reader   Rachael @ Parawl Perwyl   Alice @ A Readers Fiction  
 Rachel @ Go Read A Book   Maggie @ The Novel Orange   Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookworm  
 Ashley @ What's She Reading?   Amy @ Amy's Bookish Life   Amber @ YA Indulgences  
 Lindsay @ Lindsay's Library   Esther @ Chapter Adventures   Jade @ BookMuffin  
 Cindy @ Oodles of Books   Zahra @ To the Bookstore and Back   Beth @ Betwixt the Pages  
 Cait @ Paper Fury   Ashley   Jim @ YA Yeah Yeah  
 Ely & Michelle @ Tea & Titles   Sarah @ Exploring All Genres   legolegislegimus  
 Tracy @ Cornerfolds   What Aimee Read Next   Lori @ Palmer's Page Turners  
 Aria @ Stuck in Wonderland   Estefani @ FICTION JUNGLE   Cassie @ Rants and Raves of a Bibliophile  
 Nori @ readwritelove28   Amanda   Kathy @ Kathy Reads Fiction  
 Mishma @ Chasing Faerytales   Sarah @ Scheherazade Reads   C @ Thoughts From Libraries  
 Christine @ BookishlyB   Yasmine @ Swissbookworm   Shayna @ The Bibliotaph  
 Wendy (Literary Feline) @ Musings of a Bookish Kitty   Ricki and Kellee @ Unleashing Readers   Sydney @ Singing Librarian Books  
 Jess @ Such a Novel Idea   Taylor @ Stay on the Page   Milka@ReadReadRead  
 Brittany @ Beauty and the Bean Boots   Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know   Diana @ Voices in my Head  
 Jaime @ Two Chicks on Books   Lefty @ The Left-Handed Book Lover   Lauren @ Always Me  
 Emma @ The Testy Badger   Alyce @ Everything Alyce   Analee @ Book Snacks  
 Jessica @ Peace Love Books   Sarah's Book Shelves   Lois @ My Midnight Musing  
 Rivalie @ Forever Obsession   Andi @ Andi's ABCs   Jordon @ Simply Adrift  
 Kristine @ The Writer's Inkwell   Kirstie @ Upside-Down Books   Ashley @ Running While Reading  
 Sheri @ Read in a Flash!   Kat @ A Myriad of Books   Islandgeekgirl @ Overflowing Bookshelves  
 Liv @ Curlyhairbibliophile   Abbi@Christian Novels   Jamie @ Watch Game Read  
 Alyssa @ Book Club Babe   Kendra @ Reads and treats   Marcilia @ The Plot Bunny  
 Vanessa @ Cross My Heart and Hope to Read   Katrina @ Chased By My Imagination   Lynn @ Smoke & Mirrors  
 Heather @ Feminism in Cold Storage   Jessica @ A Cocoon of Books   Gillian @ Writer of Wrongs  
 Bri @ Transported By Books   Sonia @ The Book Wielding Harpie   Elien @ So Bookalicious  
 Rissi @ Finding Wonderland   Aliaa @ Mademoiselle Le Sphinx   Tom @ Reading Nook Reviews  
 Camila   Sam @ Suicide By Books   Cora @ Tea Party Princess  
 AngelErin @ Angel Erin's Book Obsession   Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies   Stefani @ Caught Read Handed  
 Meggan @ Between The Pages   Kristi @ Hidden Staircase   Bonnie @ A Backwards Story  
 Reg @ She Latitude   Julie @ Keep Calm With Books and Coffee   Kerr and Rachel @ Paein and Ms4Tunes' book blog  
 imyril @ there's always room for one more...   Kate @ Parchment Girl   Emma  
 Bri @ Paperback Bri   Lynn Williams   Amy @ Pages of Starlight  
 Bobbie @ A Page to Turn   Maggie@ Never Done It That Way Before   Dawn @ Dawn's Dreams  
 Nicole @ Reading Books With Coffee   Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity   Tiara @ The BiblioSanctum  
 Kate @ Mom's Radius   Courtney @ The Green Mockingbird   Kelsey @ librasaurus  
 Giovanna @ BookComa   Carrie @ Reading Is My SuperPower   Jen @ Book Lovers Alliance  
 Quinn @ Quinn's Book Nook   Rachael @ A Little Bit of Literature   Akilah @ The Englishist  
 Camryn @ The Writing Crafter   Got My Book   Kate @ Fangs and Fur  
 Cassi @ My Thoughts Literally   Austine @ NovelKnight  

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)



19 comments:

  1. Great topic, Jamie! Love it. :)

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  2. OMG 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!

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  3. An 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.

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  4. I 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.

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  5. This 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!

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  6. Yes to all these!!! Wonderfully said!

    Here's my Tuesday Post

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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  7. 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!?

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  8. Here! Here! and Amen!

    http://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2016/06/i-love-authors-and-you-should-too.html

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  9. Great list! The bookish community is the best!

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  10. I just had to add my Ten Reasons I Love Classic Literature
    and 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

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  11. Fantastic list!! I love the bookish community and I have learned a lot from being a part of it as well, :D

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  12. Great topic :) There are so many reasons I'm glad I joined the book community and talking about books is one of them!
    My TTT

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  13. 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

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  14. Lovely list! These are some of the reasons I've decided to join in. :)

    C @ thoughtsfromlibraries.blogspot.com

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  15. 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!

    My TTT

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  16. For 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!

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  17. Yeeeeessssss to all of this! The bookish community is so incredibly amazing for so many reasons!
    -Amy

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