Five Friday Faves: Favourite Things About Being A Blogger/Reader

Five Friday Favourites is a weekly meme hosted by Amanda over at Book Badger. Every Friday she chooses a new topic – full list of topics can be found here.

This week’s topic is “Favourite Things About Being A Blogger/Reader.” I feel like I’ve done a similar post for 10 on Tuesday before, but let’s recap the highlights!

Fave Things About Being A Blogger:

1. The sense of community. I love comments, I love commenting, I love reading discussion posts and other bloggers’ reviews of books I’m reading or considering reading. I have friends who read, but few who are quite as obsessed with books as I am. Y’all are my people.

2. Sharing my thoughts. I like to share (as long as we’re not talking dessert, in which case HANDS OFF IT’S MINE). I enjoy how blogging about books has actually changed how I read them – I take notes, I notice what I like or don’t like specifically rather than just forming a vague impression. I get to debate different points I’ve made in the comments and hear differing perspectives that make me re-assess my own. All of this makes reading a much richer, more fulfilling experience for me.

3. Motivation to read. I have reading slumps, just like anyone else. But having a blog that’s specifically devoted to books motivates me to push through and keep trying new books until I find one that breaks the slump. Which is handy when I’m in danger of just sitting on the couch watching reality TV because I’ve watched all the good shows already. So thanks for saving me from myself and making me feel like this again:

4. Finding out about books I never would have other wise. Case in point? Grasshopper Jungle. I never in a million years would have gone near this terrifyingly green book had Gillian Berry’s review not piqued my interest. I ended up really enjoying it, and it’s a reading experience I will never forget.

5. Keeping track of what I read and what I thought of what I read. By writing about a book once I’ve finished it, I make a record of my experience with a book. As I’ve gotten older I’ve started to forget some of the books I read as a child and teenager. I mean, I remember that I read them. I remember sort of kind of what they were about. I remember if I liked them or not. But I don’t remember character names, specific plot points or what the writing style was like. Writing reviews not only helps me form and cement an opinion that will stay with me for longer, but it can remind me what I thought of a book. This is particularly useful when recommending books to people!

Fave Things About Being A Reader:

1. The language. I love the rhythm of words that have been carefully put together just so. I love finding phrases that are just so perfect, just so evocative, that they speak to a feeling I’ve never been able to put into words.

2. Exploring new places and experiences. I only have one life. And I’m not rich, so I have to spend most of it working. Books are a way for me to visit places in my imagination that I’ll probably never get to see, and times long gone by. I know of no other medium that so thoroughly draws me into a place, time and life other than my own.

3. Learning. I like facts. I like knowing how things work and how to do things. Nearly every book teaches me something about the world and/or about the people in it. I read an article recently that said that reading makes people more empathetic, which I wholeheartedly agree with.

4. The feel and smell of books. I have trouble with old books because of all the dust, but for me, there’s nothing to beat the smell and feel of a brand new book in my hands. I love opening one to the first page, carefully turning each one so that I don’t dogear them and then placing the book back on the shelf with that feeling of satisfaction once it’s been read. Nothing beats that.

5. Books are my friends. Which might make you feel a bit sad for me, but it shouldn’t. Books aren’t my only friends. I have friends. I have people I interact with on a daily basis, a lot of whom are pretty awesome. But there’s always going to be a special place in my heart and life for the companions I find between the pages of a favourite book. Those friends who never age, never move away, and always have time for you. Books mean that even when I’m alone, I never have to be lonely.

Did I forget any? Share your fave things about reading and blogging in the comments!

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