Monday, October 1, 2012

Bloggiesta Wrap-Up... The Road of Discovery

 



As most of you know, I am the kid sister of Suey over at It's All About Books, who was one of the amazing co-hosts of this Bloggiesta. She was very excited about this weekend and dragged... I mean got me hyped up on it too... And though it was an exhausting weekend for me, and I didn't get as many "things" done as most people in Bloggiesta did, it was quite the illuminating weekend for me. Intentional or not, I made some self discoveries because of Bloggiesta, and so I declare it a success!


So let's numerate the things I did, shall we.
1.) I "participated" in two of the Bloggiesta chats. I say "participated" because I logged on, would mostly read whatever everyone else was saying, because with my limited experience I had little to add, unless it was an attempt to be funny here or there. But because of that I did have the chance to meet a lot of new bloggers out there and visit their blogs and do some networking. I have added 31 new blogs to my google reader, so if I haven't visited or commented on your blog yet, don't you worry... it's coming! (So that is goal 2 and 4 down! woot, woot!) (Well and that was kind of a mini challenge too so I am going to cross #8 off too.)

2.) I did get better acquainted with Twitter, though not nearly as much as I need to be, so that is still a work in progress.

3.) Got on Goodreads and organized and friended people there. Score!

4.) I didn't get a header photo because I am apparently too picky in that department. BUT I did get a picture for my profile, so when I leave a comment it's not just an orange blob. Yay!

But here is what I discovered during Bloggiesta, which I feel is more important... well most of them.
1.) Wooden chairs are NOT my friends after an hour and a half sit! Friday night my butt and back were very angry with me! So that is a very important discovery for next time! Noted!

2.) The book blogging community is a very friendly and loving one. I thank all of you who have reached out, given me a read, or encouraged me this weekend. I needed it, Thanks!

3.) I discovered I love the story. Not necessarily books. I love the story a book tells. The story I envision during a song. The story a good, well done movie captures. The story behind the person. The story that is in my head. The untold story. It's not just books for me, it's everything...

4.) On Saturday, during my reading of about my 57th book review of the day, I discovered this is not me. "This" meaning a book blogger. I was amazed at the passion that so many put into their reviews, or how many books some are able to read. I was so impressed and ... so overwhelmed! There is no way I could do keep up. All of my insecurities of being a "slow reader" from school came flooding back. I love to read, but not compared to the likes of these people. I am no where near Suey in her ability to consume books, digest, and review them. So essentially, I discovered I had to be me. And though I know who I am, I don't necessarily know how that is going to translate on my blog. So I am still discovering that. I know I need to get organized and be more active here, but that will come with time. I also discovered some do not like personal posts, well I am sorry, but I have a feeling that you will see them here more often than not. I have gained a fear this summer of not being remembered when I die since I have no husband or kids to "think of me fondly", so I feel the need to put myself out there somewhere... And I think that somewhere is here. I have random thoughts that I feel the need to express on random subjects... So I guess what I am trying to say is... WELCOME to my WORK in PROGRESS. I hope I don't scare you away.

7 comments:

Blogger10 said...

I am not scared away at all! It sounds like Bloggiesta was very helpful for you. Good luck as you continue to find your blog's vision. :)

Jenni Elyse said...

You know what. You do have to be you and whoever you are is something I know I'm going to like. You post whatever you want and I'll read it. :) I love personal posts because it helps me get to know the person behind the blog.

And, you can still be a book blogger even if you're a slow reader. I am. I've only read 17 books this year. I'm on my 18th. I'm definitely not as fast of a reader as most of the community, so I know how you feel. You just have to find you as a blogger and be that person, whether it involves book reviews or not. :)

Kami said...

The book blogging world is definitely a friendly one, and I'm glad that encourages you. As for your blog, go ahead and make it yours. It is ok that you can't digest books like others. We all read differently and have different tastes and that is part of the fun! I'm excited you are going to blog, and I will definitely follow and comment often!!

Megs said...

Thanks ladies! You are all so encouraging!!!

Suey said...

I will be sending you links to those blogs I find that aren't all books. Well, actually, a lot of them aren't, but there are some that are more aren't than are. Hmmm.... yes?

It was a fun weekend. I had a blast. I was tired, but that's normal. I'm glad you've made a thing to keep blogging! :)

Jenny said...

Looks like you learned some important things. Especially the chair thing. I'm a little shocked you even tried a hard chair. I lay on my couch to blog!

Anonymous said...

You got more done during Bloggiesta than I did, for sure. (And I'm glad because now we're friends all about the internets.)

And I look forward to seeing what exactly this blog of yours becomes. :)