It's my blogiversary!

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I would like to start by saying a huge thankyou to everyone who has been part of my first year as a contributor to the book reviewing community.  From the initial kick up the backside which I needed to take the first step and set up this page (my eternal thanks go to Abby from Anne Bonny Book Reviews)  to the ongoing support I have had from blog tour hosts, fellow bloggers and every single one of you who have taken the time to read my posts and given your feedback - and indeed shared my reviews on various social media platforms - I couldn't be more grateful.


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The last twelve months have been a very steep learning curve for me in many ways, none more so than the realisation of how much of a technophobe I actually am.  Computers were really just getting started as a'thing' when I did IT studies back in the late 1980's so T'internet hadn't happened yet.  The thought that anything like having a space where you could air your views about anything (within reason) and those views being seen by folks across the globe was inconceivable back then. It still does kind of blow my mind if I think too long about it - that's where being a Piscean helps; my mind soon wanders off onto another subject of equally dubious content...

Anyway, where was I...?

Another humongous thing I have learned in the last year is what an amazing community fellow bloggers have going on.  Everyone (well, almost everyone, there's always the odd exception to a rule) is so supportive to one another.  Any questions I have had and aired to the community have been met with the most fabulous support and advice has always been freely given (note the use of the word freely; we don't like the thought of money changing hands inappropriately - but that's another issue).  Bloggers, publishers, authors and tour organisers are all included in this. My apologies if I have left anyone out in that statement, it would not be my intent to gloss over any section of the book world.  Everyone has an equal role to play in promoting, sharing and encouraging readers of any age.  I was very lucky to find a lifelong hobby in reading from an early age, my mum having signed me up at the local library before I can even remember.  With not a lot of spare cash in the family pot to spend on hobbies the library became the one place I could indulge which wouldn't cost me anything more than my time. My biggest regret career-wise is that I didn't use my interest in books to find a job.  With all the amazing positions available within the publishing/bookselling world I am disappointed that my careers teacher didn't advise me more. Because I didn't have a vocation to be a teacher/nurse/accountant or any of the usual occupations I was handed a directory of jobs and told to browse through, it might give me some ideas. Maybe that was the clue and I missed it!

So that was pretty much why I ended up starting this page.  I wanted to share my thoughts on the books I was reading, everyone at work was bored of hearing me going on about which books I recommended so I needed an outlet.  The wonderful world of social media opened up a whole new bunch of people I could chat to who love books as much as I do - I'd finally found my tribe! I started sharing my reviews on goodreads/Amazon and it crossed my mind that I could, if I were brave enough, start my own page.  During a chat with the lovely Abby (as mentioned earlier) - who happens to be a total machine when it comes to reading by the way - I was given the inspiration to step out of my comfort zone.  Only later did I find out that Abby was in her first year blogging too!

I have had a few wobbles on the way, and I have to thank Anne Cater in particular for putting blogging into perspective for me as I was getting overwhelmed at one point.  Her words of wisdom really helped me to learn that it's okay to say no sometimes when the review requests are coming in thick and fast.  The world won't end if I don't post my review on publication day - in fact a timely post can help raise the profile of a book after its initial burst onto the scene. My little blog is just that: little.  I don't have the time to dedicate to it any more than as a hobby. I will do my utmost to shout loudly about the books I love and will continue to do so, but I do realise that my voice is but a whisper on the world wide web in comparison to some who perhaps do this as a fulltime job (if only I could!) or as part of a team. I'm okay with that, and if all us little bloggers work together we can make a huge difference and make one big voice.  Because at the end of the day that's what it's all about: spreading the book love and raising the profile of perhaps some of the smaller authors who need a voice to help boost their work and find their audience.  Without them we wouldn't have the books to enjoy.

Thank you again everyone for your support, I apologise if I have been wittering on a bit. I'll go and get my head back in the books!