The Secret Life of a Book Blogger (tag)

Thank you to Paul @ The Galaxial Word for tagging me in the very new and very exciting ‘Secret Life of a Book Blogger’ tag! Read on for a behind-the-scenes look into my own blogging world and to discover my true thoughts on this community!

Let’s get started!

How long have you been a blogger?

Oh gosh, this question makes me feel like a senior citizen on here! I’ve been blogging for over three years now on Written Word Worlds, but I recently started this particular blog so that I could have the freedom to talk about more things, not just post book reviews. Even though I’m currently in my last year of high school… and go to bed at 1am because of all the homework I’m doing… and am struggling to find the time to read at the moment… Listen, I was young and ambitious. And by young, I mean two weeks younger than I am right now. But dare to dream, right?

At what point do you think you will stop?

I WILL NEVER STOP. NEVER. YOU CAN’T MAKE ME. I won’t even stop when the internet is ‘so 2020’ and it has been surpassed by something way better and way cooler. Blogging and book reviewing online is a part of me. I need to share my thoughts, otherwise I’ll explode.

What is the best thing?

I think this has been said by a lot of other bloggers and it’s kind of cliched now, but I honestly think it’s the sense of community I feel when blogging or book reviewing. It’s honestly so great to hear other people’s thoughts on their books and have little conversations down in the comments. Everyone is so friendly and passionate about reading and blogging, which makes this a place where we can all come to and share our thoughts without the fear of being stabbed through the computer screen. Unless you haven’t read The Mortal Instruments. THEN imma come for you. 😉

What is the worst thing?

I wouldn’t say it’s the worst thing, but writing book reviews does take up a lot of time. I love writing them and I love sharing my thoughts, but sometimes I think it would be a lot more convenient if I could mentally convey everything that I wanted to say onto a Word document, already spell-checked and grammatically correct with beautiful, poetic language and a few jokes here and there. Someone please make that a reality!

How long does it take you to create/find pictures to use?

The only pictures I really use on book reviews is one of the book cover – which takes literally two seconds to find from Goodreads. I don’t use gifs 1) because I’m kind of an internet noob and wouldn’t know how to put them onto my blog, 2) because I like everything on my blog(s) to be mine and not have to have that constant worry in the back of my head that I’ll be sued for stealing someone else’s work and 3) because I like my book reviews to be more of a written record of my thoughts rather than a compilation of moving images. Call me old-school.

Who’s your book crush?

Oh my God – too many! Honestly, I form a crush in almost every book I read. If I really had to narrow the list down, I’d have to say Jace from The Mortal Instruments, Will from The Infernal Devices, Patch from Hush Hush, Adrian from Bloodlines, Finch from All The Bright Places, and every male protagonist from all the books by Rainbow Rowell. My whole life is made up of swooning, swooning, and more swooning.

Which author would you like to have on your blog?

I would love to have any author on my blog, to be honest! Preferably an author who wrote a book that I have read and liked. As a writer and an aspiring author, I think it would be very useful to get some more hints and tips about everything book-related. And yes, I classify ‘writer’ and ‘author’ as two completely different things. I think that to be a writer, you just have to write and enjoy it. Anyone can write an essay for school, but that isn’t writing. And writing isn’t being an author. To me, an author has to be someone with published and buyable works.

What do you wear when you write your blog?

I wear whatever I happen to be wearing at the time? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I could be wearing anything from pyjamas to a ball gown, and you’d never know. I’m going to leave that up to your imagination. 😉

How long does it take you to prepare?

I don’t really prepare my book reviews – it’s just the writing-up of them that takes a while. Usually, I can write and upload a book review within the hour. If I’m doing a random blog post, like the three I have on this blog *hides face* it doesn’t take me that long. Usually, I’m inspired to write those, so the words don’t seem to come  from me but through me. *Aaaand cue the end scene of Ruby Sparks*

How do you feel about the book blogger community/culture?

It’s literally the most loving, enthusiastic community online. LET’S NEVER BECOME LIKE YOUTUBE.

What do you think one should do to have a successful blog?

Write. Just write. Honestly, just write whatever you feel like writing. It’ll help you grow your confidence about sharing your words with the world and inevitably, you’ll get some followers and some likes, and that’s good because it makes you feel like your views are valued, therefore you’ll keep blogging. Don’t worry about how many followers you have or that another blog’s posts get more likes than yours. If you’re doing what you love, it won’t matter how many people see it. Yes, it’s great to be acknowledged, but at the end of the day, the main person you should be trying to please by doing this is yourself. That’s why you started, right?

Who do you tag?

Oh no, this is always the hardest part! There are so many amazing blogs! I’ve narrowed it down to just a select few, and these people are…

Victoria @ Addlepates and Book Nerds

Alicia @ #LoveBooks

Alyssa @ Reading, Reading, READING

Miguel @ The Quirky Reader

Faith @ Fangirl World

Even if I didn’t explicitly tag you, you’re more than welcome to take part in this! I’d love to know a little bit more about you all, so make sure you drop me a link to your answers if you decide to take part in this tag!