Blogger Recognition Award
Good morning bookworms!
Back in August the lovely Sofii @ A Book. A Thought. tagged me in the Blogger Recognition Award, and I feel so honoured. You all tag me in so many things, and I just want to tell you know how much it means to me!! I love you guys!!
Let’s get down to it!
Rules
- Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
- Write a post to show your award.
- Give a brief story of how your blog started.
- Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
- Select 15 other bloggers you want to give this award to.
- Comment (or pingback) on each blog and let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created.
How I started my blog
Oh gosh… Well, I started my blog just over three years ago. It was kind of a random idea, and it was called something else back then. But the origin story is that I went looking online for a particular book (I can’t even remember what it was), and instead of finding the book to purchase, I found reviews. Lots of book reviews. And I thought, “I could do that. I love books.”
And, of course, the more I dug the deeper my resolve was to start. Of course I was also baking a lot more back then, and trialing different types of recipes and writing my own too, so it became a kind of book review and baking blog. And then I kind of used it as an outlet to talk about other things too, such as my health challenges.
Over time the blog became more and more refined. I changed the name, and eventually you got what you see here today!
Advice
This is going to sound cliched, but the best advice I ever got regarding my blog was to write about what makes you happy. If book reviews don’t make you happy, then find another way to scream about all the amazing books that you’ve been reading!! Recommendations, lists, hauls, tags – the options are endless. (Well, they could be endless!) If books aren’t your thing, then talk about ballet or music or farming or whatever your hobby is.
My second piece of advice kind of ties into the first one: Try different formats and design your blog in a way that best reflects who you are as a person, because it will make you want to keep coming back to it. If you love rainbows, then rainbow it up! If you love football, then add a pitch (field?) to the background. Keep testing things until your blog aligns with your values and personality. If you try and make it look like it’s just there to be pretty, then you won’t feel connected to it. Don’t get me wrong, I occasionally look at my own blog and think “hmmm… it’s just my books on my old kitchen table”… but it’s the same aesthetic that I keep going back to on Instagram too. I love it – there’s no regrets!
Basically what I’m saying is, “apply the KonMarie method to your blog: does it bring you joy?” Although, if it doesn’t, I’m not saying to throw it out – but maybe adapt it until it does!
Tagging
Why is this always so hard?!?! I love you all so much!!
Isabelle @ Bookwyrm Bites | Clo @ Cuppa Clo | Sam @ Fictionally Sam
Kal @ Reader Voracious | Sophie @ Beware the Reader
Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane | DB @ DB’s Guide to the Galaxy
Destiny @ Howling Libraries | Meaghan @ Words Gremlin
Taylor @ Nerd Narration | Kathy @ Pages Below the Vaulted Sky
Shanah @ Bionic Book Worm | Rukky @ Eternity Books
Veronika @ Wordy and Whimsical | Evelyn @ Evelyn Reads
27 Comments
Clo @ Cuppa Clo
Ah thanks for the tag love and I totally agree with your advice! I’ve changed my blogs design so many times already and it took renaming the blog and getting the graphics to how they are now for me to love my blog again. You tend to know when it works for you because it clicks and you look forward to popping back to your blog, at least I know I do!
Meeghan reads
Absolutely!! Also, I love your blog!! ?
Veronika @ Wordy and Whimsical
First of all, thank you for tagging me! ❤ I love your origin story, and it’s so different from mine – I just jumped into blogging without knowing much about reviews and book blogs, haha. I agree with your advice – the first one is something I had to realize a couple of years into blogging. I used to force myself to review most books I read, and that was the silliest thing I could have done. I realized it was far better for me to write recommendation posts, lists and other fun things. For example, I love the series I started where I share why I love an author or a series, and those posts have made me the happiest to make. 🙂
Meeghan reads
I mean, honestly I kind of shudder to think what my first book reviews sounded like… one day I might even go back and do a then vs now comparison post!!
Kristina
Aww what I mice story ? I absolutely did mine in the spur of the moment too, ahahah I had (or suppose to have) a week off work and I was like alright!! Let’s do a blog!! ?
I’m also 100% behind thoses advices, all that matters it that YOU like it, and that it makes you happy ??
Meeghan reads
Naww, thanks Kristina!! It’s taken a while, but I really love my blog now!!
Kristina
That’s good!
I was looking through my twitter’s media yesterday.. and omg did my cover pictures changed lots ?
evelynreads1
Loved reading your answers! And thanks for the tag!
(www.evelynreads.com)
Meeghan reads
Thanks Evelyn!! I look forward to seeing yours!!
Greg
Congrats on the award! And I so agree- writing about what you love is the best way to go, and the surest thing to prevent burnout (at least for me anyway haha). Great post!
Meeghan reads
Thanks Greg!! (And ooof, burnout is the worst!!)
Sofii @ A Book. A Thought.
Honey, I’m so glad you made it!! ? I adore your answers, I think it’s very important that the blog reflects who you really are and you feel comfortable when you see it, besides writing something that makes you happy it’s essential and so much fun! ?
I hope you have an amazing December ❤️
Meeghan reads
Thanks Sofii!! You too!!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
Thank you for the tag! <3 Your advice is spot-on. Especially:
“apply the KonMarie method to your blog: does it bring you joy?”
hahaha I love this!! It's so true ♥
Meeghan reads
Hahahaha, I’m so glad you enjoyed this!! ?
Rukky @ Eternity Books
I loved reading your answers, and your advice about tweaking your design until it looks right is perfect. I’m currently feeling like redesigning my blog, even though I’m not sure what I want to change it to (or if it’ll be more of a disaster than this current one). As you saw, I actually wrote my own post of this the day before you posted yours so I’ll probably not do it again but thank you so much darling, for tagging me ??
Meeghan reads
I know!! I think I commented on yours and apologised for double-tagging!! No need to complete again ?
Kal @ Reader Voracious
I love your origin story, how cool that you started with reviews in that way! Thanks so much for the tag and your advice is for sure spot on.
Meeghan reads
Thanks Kal ?
dbsguidetothegalaxy
Thanks for the tag ? totally agree with just tweaking the blog as you go along. I’ve changed my theme a couple of times (either get really bored with it or I can’t get what I’m looking for). I like your origin story (and that its basically called that ?) – like ‘yeah, I could do that’ and then you go do that ?
Meeghan reads
Yep… I’m a simple girl with a simple story!! ??
dbsguidetothegalaxy
You are so totally not simple ? you’re excellent!
Meeghan reads
*blushes* ???
dbsguidetothegalaxy
???
Meaghan @ Hail and Well Read
I cannot BELIEVE WordPress only JUST sent me the pingback notification for this! It’s been FOUR MONTHS. But I love love love your origin story and advice (have you considered doing bookish bakes if you ever get back into baking more?), and I think this will be a fun tag to do some time soon. ?
meeghan
Oh thank you!! Yeah, this has been happening a lot today!! I don’t know why?! ??
And I am now going to very deeply contemplate Bookish baking!! I would definitely start with chocolate chip cookies for Lara Jean, and maybe some brownies for a C. G. Drews book!!
Meaghan @ Hail and Well Read
The inner machinations of WP are a mystery. ?
And yessssss do it!!! I can’t bake to save my life but I love seeing what other people bake!