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!

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

(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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