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 I love these types of Top Tens because it gives me a chance to share a little more of my personality beyond my taste in books. This one took me a lot longer than usual to compose, so please forgive the late posting. In no particular order, here’s the:

Top Ten Reasons I Love Being a Bookblogger!

 1. Level-up Bookseller

I knew a lot about books before, but my knowledge of what’s hot and what’s not has expanded considerably since I joined the book blogging community. I’m also better able to speak to the titles I’ve read because by the time I talk to a customer I’ve already thoroughly evaluated my opinions on each title. At the very least, it keeps me from getting tongue-tied when someone wants to know about a book. :-)

2. Now, It’s Personal

  Before I discovered book blogging, I spent several years logging all of my book thoughts by hand – even going so far as to print out little photos of the covers to tape inside my journal. Holy cow have I come a long way! This blog is something I’m really passionate about and I love how truly personal I’ve been able to make it. I would probably be utilizing it to track my reading even if there wasn’t a follower option (although I do love that I get to share my thoughts with other readers).

 3. Author Love

If you had told me a year ago that I have so many interactions with my favorite authors through this blog, I probably would’ve laughed and said “I wish.” After all, there are thousands and thousands of book bloggers, and even with the steady growth I’ve maintained over the last year, I’m nowhere near as accomplished as most of the ones I follow. Nonetheless, I’ve had some pretty amazing author moments – including a tweet of one of my reviews from my all-time favorite author!

 4. Righting my Writing

 I’m happy to practice my craft, no matter the format. Composing reviews and even responding to comments keeps me sharp. I’ve noticed a measurable improvement in my writing since I’ve made blogging a daily activity, particularly with grammar and sentence structures.

5. The Shrunken TBR

After reading a few lists today, I realized that most people have the opposite problem. Since my awareness of what is out on the market (due to book blogging and bookselling) is a bit more extensive than most, I already have a pretty good idea of what I want to read. Book blogging actually helps me eliminate titles off the list because I feel I can rely on other bloggers’ opinions a lot more than random customers (of course, my bookselling buddies help me with this too). They also help me prioritize my TBR.

 6. “You’re the Only One Who Understand Me” ::sobs::

I’ve never before felt so a part of such a cool community – all of you book bloggers are friggen awesome! You guys just get all of my bookish problems and woes, and that is a nice feeling. I’ve made a lot of friends and participated in some really cool events (all things books, of course) and have truly had a ball!

 7. Rainy Day ARCs

 As a book blogger, I of course have experienced the joys of Netgalley and Edelweiss. Not only have I discovered some of my favorite new authors, but have also gotten my hands on works from my favorite authors months before they hit the stands! This is a very dangerous thing for me, as I don’t like to put obligations on my reading. But I can never seem to stop hitting “request title” no matter how hard I try.

  8. Book Love

Specifically when I recommend a book to someone and they love it! It makes my day, and I thoroughly enjoy being the one to hand someone their next awesome read. I think this is my ultimate mission as a book blogger.

 9. Now We’re in Business!

 You know you’re really committed to something when you are willing to pay fifty dollars for a few hundred business cards. Even though I changed the name of the blog about a month after I got them, I still am positively thrilled any time I get to hand one out.

10. Niki Unleashed!

Sounds scary, doesn’t it? This blog has been an incredible creative outlet for me, and I have spent hours and hours figuring out how to display everything in a way that I find visually appeasing. I’m still not totally there, but if you’ve been around since the beginning, you’ll definitely be able to tell how far I’ve come. Every single post is an opportunity for me to get creative and present things my own unique way.

by Niki Hawkes