Top Ten Tuesday

Posted July 8, 2014 by Nicky in General / 20 Comments

I was bad at participating in this one last week — I did my own post, but I don’t think I commented on any others. I meant to, but stuff kept happening. I feel like a bad book blogger! And on that note, this week’s Top Ten Tuesday is “top ten blogging confessions”.

  1. I’m starting to have trouble getting round to reading longer books/series because I feel like I should be reviewing more often. This was totally encouraged by GR’s reading challenge and stuff like that. I’m trying to be more sensible about it, but it’s strange; I used to rip right through even really long books, but now that I worry about not being able to do so, somehow I have a problem.
  2. Sometimes I equivocate far too much writing a review because people whose opinions I respect liked the book, and I just didn’t. Or an editor/publisher I normally think is great, or want to support, put out the book. Or I know the author a bit on twitter and I’m afraid they’ll find it. (N.B. In that case, I usually go with rating it with my gut feeling, but the review will probably talk about why it wasn’t my thing instead of me saying anything bad about the book itself.)
  3. I find it hard to be social with other book bloggers. I have a pretty broad range of interests, so that makes some meme posts and so on really weird — I might know some of the books they’re reading, but often they won’t know any of mine, or they don’t even venture into whatever genre I’m currently most into. Then I feel awkward and not sure if I’m really having fun interacting, or just doing it to get page views. (Given the number of books I’m finding through blogs, though, I’m pretty sure it’s the former.)
  4. My mother reads my blog. You see “alc3261” commenting? Yeah. Hi, Mum.
  5. I am way, way behind on reading/blogging about ARCs. I really need to have a ban on asking for any more, but as soon as I make that resolution, something awesome shows up.
  6. I don’t like anyone else trying to dictate the content of my blog. So if someone’s publicist sets up an interview with them or something on my blog, I get pretty twitchy when they start saying that I have to link to certain things, say certain things, not say others. Sometimes I’ll work around that (it’s natural to remind me to link to a pre-order page or something!); other times, it might end up making me not want to work with the company again.
  7. I keep starting new books before I’ve finished the old ones. And buying new books, too. Ahem. I’ve been trying to work on this, but honestly having the full list of books I technically have in progress might be putting me off. Time to weed it out?
  8. I have no idea what people will find interesting, most of the time. Like, memes, well, people are doing those, so maybe they’ll provide some relevant content. But when I write about the stuff that really matters to me (mental health, access to reading after sight loss, or my interview with Carrie Patel, just for example), I get fretful about whether it gets hits/comments, etc.
  9. I rarely have more than one post scheduled. I could get really organised and sort out some of my meme posts weeks in advance, but I’ve always been more one to play it by ear. Although I’m doing better at remembering to do this stuff than I ever did at remembering my homework.
  10. I go through phases. I tend to have a fairly cyclical approach to my hobbies. The main five, I guess, are reading, writing, gaming, running, and crochet. I’ve been on more of a reading phase for quite a while now, but writing and gaming are in the ascendent right now. This may mean fewer posts… It probably won’t, though, because reading is always my dominant hobby.

Don’t forget to link me to your TTT posts, people — or anything you’ve written in the last week that you think is interesting and would like some eyes/comments on!

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20 responses to “Top Ten Tuesday

  1. “N.B. In that case, I usually go with rating it with my gut feeling, but the review will probably talk about why it wasn’t my thing instead of me saying anything bad about the book itself.” <— THIS. As an author I can tell you that this works totally. I'm an odd author because I read any reviews I can find, and never expect them to all be raves. I would be horrified and actually feel humiliated if I thought somebody's positive statements were made just because they didn't want to hurt my feelings. Follow your instincts. They're sound.

    Also, totally defend your turf and don't agree to anything that goes against the grain. You are doing the author a favor if you give them publicity. They are not doing you a favor.

    Sorry. This is probably the totally wrong way to make a first post on a new blog, but I hope they relieve you of some of the pressure. I could never be a book blogger or reviewer, because I'm just not that analytical or structured. That makes me appreciate those of you who do it so much more!

    http://planetpooks.com/bookish-confessions/

  2. Cait

    My mum reads my blog too. 😉 And my 2 sisters and my dad…sometimes. lol I think they forget sometimes, but I find it really encouraging that they care about what I bog! I quit signing up for tours and things because I felt they were boring and everything was all so impersonal. I’d rather just blather away with a random post about why I like to read books on a bed, not a chair, instead of an impersonal post. *shrugs*
    Thanks for stopping by @ Notebook Sisters!

    • I’m only doing tours when I get to do interviews I’m actually interested in, now, I think. That way it can be a bit more personal — e.g. my interview with Carrie Patel, since I’ve been part of the publishing process since the acquisition meeting. <3

  3. hahahahaha it’s so cute that your mom reads your blog! (I saw the “hi” up there). I’ve signed up for one tour so far, but it’s only for a review. I just wanted to try it out, but I’m not sure whether I’ll like it or not.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog 😀

    • Yeah, she gets every post in her email, so I can never escape… I mean, uh, nice to have you here Mum! I like having authors on my blog when it’s something I care about, but I’m not gonna just sign up to promote anyone now, I think.

      Thanks for commenting back!

  4. Ah, another cyclical hobbyist. Glad to know I’m not the only one. I totally get into a groove and move from one to another. Now…what I want to know is how do you keep full time blogging on books alone when you have the other hobbies pulling at your time?

  5. My aunt reads my blog! I find that my family has been a great support system for my blogging, and they think it’s really fascinating since they have no idea how blogging (or social networking, for the most part) works, so it’s kind of flattering and endearing haha.

  6. Goodness, I am so glad my family don’t read my blog. I even wrote in a post once that I didnt like my family reading my stuff. Now that I think of it. I should probably hide my blog better from the real word….

  7. When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added
    I get three e-mails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service?

    Cheers!

    • In the very unlikely event this is not just weird spam, no, I can’t remove anyone from that service as far as I know. That’s something you can do for yourself. I think every email contains an unsubscribe link.

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