Blogging isn’t my day job, but it is my passion and my super power. I am like Clark Kent in my office, doing spreadsheets and going to meetings. And then…BAM!…book blogging superhero. It may not sound like a very exciting super power, but I can be at a Wizard’s school one day and in the court of Henry the Eighth the next. That is a pretty cool thing and by blogging, I can take others along with me.
Becoming a book blogger just kind of organically happened to me, and it has been awesome. I started out blogging about other things, travel, cooking and knitting, but reading and reviewing books has become the main focus of my blog, Steel Magnolia. It is now a regular habit every time I read a book to think about how I want to write about that book.
My history with books goes all the way back to Dr. Suess and One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish, the very first book I ever read. Since then, I have been a reading fool, completing Gone With the Wind in the sixth grade and it only took off from there. I will even admit to having started several novels myself, thinking that because I can read them, I can write them (we’ll see, it’s so harder than it seems!)
A few years ago, I got a Little Free Library for Christmas, and an opportunity to share my love of books with others. We were amazed at how many people became “members” of our little library. We could hardly keep it in books and had more than a few people knock on the door to express their appreciation for whatever they found inside. This is where my book blogging started in earnest. I wanted to record the wonderful books and people that passed through and in front of our Little Free Library. After a two year stint on a busy street in Providence, Rhode Island, the library is taking a break while waiting HOA approval to go up in our new yard.
As I get older, my reading gets more diverse and prolific. I will read just about anything that you put in front of me. I do have favorites, don’t get me wrong. I love historical fiction and a good chick lit read for the beach, pool or just the back porch. However, the best part about being a book blogger is that I get to read and discuss such a variety of books.
I choose my books in many different ways. I have a local library card and often reserve books online or grab one from the shelf at my mom and dad’s house. I hit the bookstores and used book sales in the area and pick up anything that looks interesting. I also have several programs I participate in that I can read new books often before they are released. I reread stuff I loved years ago, venture off my fiction path and read a self-help book and am currently even reading a graphic novel about a unicorn.
I have been blogging about books for a few years and have recently honed in on the best way to let readers know what books they might enjoy. I have recently even updated and refined a ranking system to visually tag each review to make it easy to pick a book on the go.
Blogging has been a great way for me to practice writing, to express my thoughts and feelings and to join a great community that includes writers, bloggers, readers and fans. With all the great resources out there these days, Pinterest, GoodReads, etc, there are so many options for discovering your next read. I hope that my blog is becoming a place where my readers feel like I am taking them with me on my super journey into the books we read together.
Other super bloggers, how do you choose your books and why do you use your super powers for blogging?
Editor’s Note: Our thanks to Kelly Lee for her post. Hope you’ll visit us again!