Top Ten Tuesday: Reasons I Love Being A Blogger/Reader

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday on The Broke and the Bookish is “Top Ten Reasons I Love Being A Blogger/Reader.” Here goes!

Reasons I Love Being A Blogger:

• First and foremost, obviously, is you guys. If you’re reading this, then I’m talking to you. Since finishing university and starting a job at a small organization, I’ve become a bit socially isolated. It doesn’t help that a lot of my friends tend to gallavant off into the wilds of the world at the drop of a hat. Meeting new people is difficult, and sometimes I need to share my thoughts. Blogging has given me a place to do that. It has also introduced me to a ton of great blogs where I get to share in your thoughts and observations – I try to visit the blog of anyone who comments and I’ve discovered some great ones.

• The sense of community. This applies more to Twitter, but I follow the bloggers I enjoy reading there, and it’s a great way to engage immediately and have a conversation. You guys are all so nice, smart and full of bookish enthusiasm that it makes my world a better place every single day.
• I’m a talker. Seriously. Blogging reduces the quantity of words my poor husband has to deal with on a daily basis. I mean, not by a lot, because I’ve always got something to say, but it’s better than nothing.

• I love talking about books, but not everyone around me feels the same way. I get going and suddenly I notice the glazed, zoned out eyes of the person I’m talking to and realize that they really just want me to shut up about books already. So I bring all that enthusiasm here and I put it somewhere only people who search it out will find it. So I don’t have to feel guilty or try to painfully switch the topic to sports. Which I know very little about. 

Reasons I Love Being A Reader:

• It’s something I can do quietly, by myself, pretty much anywhere.
• I love the feeling of being totally immersed in and swept away by a story. The really good ones make reality dissipate and anything that’s bothering me is temporarily forgotten. 

• It inspires me.
• It makes me a better person. Seriously. I am reminded of the reasons to keep going when times get tough and to choose kindness over insensitivity.
• I get to be hundreds of different people. I don’t know of any better way (except possibly acting) to step into someone else’s shoes and experience how they see the world. It can be exhausting, scary, intense and grim, but it also gives me the opportunity to learn from experiences I will never have first-hand. 

• It makes me smarter. Not only do I pick up lots of random trivia and useful tidbits of information, but I also learn new words and new ways of stringing together thoughts. 
• It’s FUN!

I’m sure there are HUNDREDS more things I love – for both of these categories – but that’s probably enough to be going on with. Did I miss any really important ones? Share in the comments! 🙂

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