Chronicles of an obsessive bookblogger | The Obsessive Bookseller

chronicles of an obsessive bookblogger

As I have recently cut down the number of blogs I’ve been following by about 75% [detailed at The Obsessive Bookseller Simplifies Life: Blog Love! post], I thought I’d take a moment to write an opinion piece on what types of things factored into hitting that dreaded “unfollow” button. Only after finishing this post did I realize just how strong my opinions are on this issue. I need to clarify now that the following are all personal preferences and I mean no disrespect to anybody who views blogging differently than I do. Variety is the spice of life, and all. Anyway, without further ado:

Top Ten Things I Look For In a Blog!

Content – This is probably the most important factor. The blogs I continued following consistently post about the types of books I enjoy and don’t go off topic too often. I definitely appreciate a little bit of focus on a blog so I know what to expect going forward. Branching out on occasion is no biggie – I love posts that help me get to know the blogger even better, but if it’s a book blog, I probably followed it primarily for book content.

Friendships – a good portion of the blogs I now follow are by people I feel I have a genuine blog buddy relationship with. In most cases, they reached out and commented on my blog first, which I appreciate to no end because I doubt I would have met them otherwise. I am still following all of my blog buddies in one way or another – the simplification process didn’t change that.

Presentation – I discovered during “the purge” that I’m more of a presentation snob than I realized. If I found the blog difficult to navigate, whether from weird formatting, too much clutter, or a general lack of organization, it most likely got deleted (OCD ALERT!). I also have a really difficult time reading blogs with anything other than black on white print. The latter is not a total dealbreaker, but when I had to make snap decisions and my eyes were already straining, many didn’t make the cut.

Semi-frequent Posting – I’m talking more than twice a year, people. There are quite a few bloggers I genuinely liked and wished to continue friendships with, but they hadn’t posted anything new for over two years. I used to make fun of the “I’m on a hiatus, but I’ll be back xx/xx/xx” posts, but now I actually think they’re a good idea if you plan on returning eventually.

Innovative Ideas – I am all about finding new ways to present content. So when a blog seems to have original (or at least new-to-me) bookish ideas, I tend to latch on. I’ll admit whole-heartedly to the occasional bout of blog-envy. You are all just too creative for me to handle! :)

Spoilers – or rather, a lack of. I can’t stand having things spoiled for me, so I generally steer clear of blogs that give away key plot points. Some titles I’ve been waiting to read for years, and I’ve already had a few really good ones ruined by careless spoilers (because the spoilerish content wasn’t clearly marked).

No Gifs & Memes – I know it’s the new thing and many bloggers use them, but I personally find them annoying. I don’t think they add anything to a post that couldn’t be summed up in a couple of words. And I hate the endless scrolling (a lot of times my phone won’t even load them, so I lose interest and stop trying). I also think they can make a blog look tacky and unorganized. What can I say? It’s just not my style…

Positive Outlooks – Hey, I get it, we all have that book that made us so angry that we had to write a 10,000 word rant. I don’t mind negative reviews. What I do mind is an overtone of negative vibes, personal attacks, and all-around book/author bashing on a regular basis. I’m of the philosophy that you can explain exactly why a book didn’t work for you without calling the author an idiot. I read blog posts for positive vibes and thoughtful opinions on titles. Not hateful/hurtful things. There’s enough of that in this world already – don’t sully my book utopia with it, lol.

Respect – I admit, I stopped following a blog with content I really liked because the blogger didn’t respect my right to read and endorse whatever books I choose. There were several occasions where I felt this blogger was looking down on me because they found my book preferences personally distasteful. To clarify – I definitely don’t mind a difference of opinion. What books work for me might not work for you, and I totally get and respect that. What I’m objecting to is the blatant disapproval of what I believe is a personal choice. I’ve never read the Fifty Shades of Grey series, but I would never look down on anybody who read and loved the shit out of them. Whether it’s Fifty Shades of Grey, Twilight, or any other guilty pleasure, read what you want and don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.

Connectability – I like being able to connect with blogs on different platforms (Goodreads being my favorite). Of the blogs I was unsure of keeping a WordPress subscription to, I added either on Goodreads or Bloglovin. The ones who didn’t have either option didn’t give me the freedom to try engaging through other venues. There were a couple that also didn’t have WordPress follow buttons (I’m told it’s a fairly simple widget to add, but can’t preach until I’ve practices lol) , Which means I had to either keep following by email or delete the subscription totally, and with my new simplification motto, I just can’t take wading through 1000 emails every day.

There you have it! These are the elements that played into my evaluation of other blogs. Let me reiterate that I truly believe there is no wrong or right way to run a blog, and I’m still following people who have many of these attributes. They’re just the things I take into consideration. :)

What types of things do you look for?

by Niki Hawkes

chronicles of an obsessive bookblogger Comment Love

Here’s the thing: blogging for me is an incredibly personal endeavor… but I wouldn’t have made my blog accessible to the public if I didn’t want other people reading it. I wanted to highlight my love of books but, more importantly, I wanted to geek out about them with other people – that’s where the comments come into play.

You could say getting thoughtful comments on my posts is the ultimate goal of my book blog. And, if comments are the ultimate form of support – meaning someone took the time out of their busy day to read what I had to say and share their thoughts on it – shouldn’t a response be the highest priority on my to-do list? In my opinion, the answer is yes.

So why, then, is it so hard for me to respond to comments in a timely manner?

In all fairness, when I comment on other blogs, I don’t expect and answer right away. As long as the blogger gets back to me within a week or so (i.e. before I forget what I responded to in the first place) then I’m happy. But for some reason I hold myself to a much higher standard. If I don’t respond to a comment within a couple hours of reading it, I feel incredibly guilty, and it hangs over my head until I’ve answered back. I think it’s mostly because I want everybody who comments to know how much I appreciate their attention.

However, there are a few exceptions.

My heaviest commenting days are Tuesday and Wednesday where I participate in the memes Top Ten Tuesday and Waiting on Wednesday. There are always a handful of people who hit as many blogs as they can on those days, copying and pasting generic comments as they go. In my opinion, they might as well just write “I’m actively soliciting you to come look at my website and don’t really give a shit what’s in your post.” I know I’m not the only one who finds it a bit tacky, and am always less inclined to respond to the comment if I can tell that’s what they’ve done.

The silver lining is that for every ten generic responses, there’s always one or two genuine ones that surface each week, and these thoughtful comments is where I have met several of my best book blogging buddies. In fact, all of my awesome blogging friends have one thing in common: Comment Love. It is virtually impossible to have good blogosphere relationships without great comments that show you’ve taken the time to read and appreciate what the other person has to say.

So thank you to all of you who are still my blogging buddies despite the fact that I almost always suck at getting back to you in a timely manner. Just know it doesn’t lessen my appreciation in the least, I’m just waiting for a times when I’m able to respond just as thoughtfully!

Now I want to know what you think:

Do you have a difficult time keeping on top of comment love? How long do you think the appropriate response time should be?

by Niki Hawkes