This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
As fun and fulfilling as maintaining a website dedicated to all things literary is (we get to talk about books all day long – what's not to love?), it takes a lot of hard work, organisation and pure, unadulterated passion, too. In honour of our 5th birthday, we decided to gather a few of our favourite book blogging pals for a virtual tea party, to talk about why we do what we do and how much we love it. Do you have a book blog? Be sure to share your link in the comments so we can check you out!
Kathryn and Lydia Laceby from Novel Escapes
We book blog because we're sincerely hoping to promote great books to avid readers looking for something new! Book blogging has become so much part of our lives that we couldn't imagine a day without it – so we keep cramming in into our busy schedules (like most readers, we sneak a few minutes here and there for a good book) and get a big thrill when we know we've connected an author with a new fan. Congratulations on five years Novelicious!
Kevin Loh from I Heart Chick Lit
I like to blog about to books because it's my passion and it's so much fun, sharing good books with other readers. I love how I get to be a part of the blogging community as well as the writer sphere on Twitter and other social media sites. I really love it when I get to brighten an author's day by telling them how much I enjoyed his or her book. I guess blogging about books is my escape? It's my baby, my blog, because I started it from scratch and I poured all my heart and effort into moulding it to what it is today, building a readership and getting my blog out there. What I'm saying is, blogging has become a part of me.
Emma Louise from Emma Lou Book BlogThe reason I started book blogging in June 2013 was because Paige Toon (author of The Longest Holiday) told me that she'd love to see my thoughts online. At the time, I was working my way through all her books and I thought: why not? Since then, I've been very lucky with the blogging industry. I've become friends with authors and people who work in the publishing industry. For me, it's not about receiving books in the post – it's about promoting the authors. It's something I love to do.
Bronagh McAteer from Handwritten Girl
I blog purely to share my love of books. As a book lover, I'm constantly found with my head in a book and when I'm not reading, I'm always recommending books to friends. Fortunately with the website, it makes my suggestions open to a much wider circle of friends 24/7 so I am able to tell people about all the books and authors that I fell in love with, in hope that they do too.
Margaret Madden from Bleach House Library
I love book blogging as it gets the word, out on the street about books that deserve a read, deserve a chance and deserve a place on a bookshelf! Blogging had become a major part of my life and, while not every book is to my taste, I review honestly and with no prior agendas. The people from the book world that I have encountered since I started reviewing are the nicest, most genuine, book-loving gang and I can place a hand on my heart when I tell you that book blogging has improved my life. Here's to many more years of this awesome experience!
Natalie McCormack from The Book Geek Wears Pajamas
I started TheBookGeekWearsPajamas in March 2013 after I sent over a short review and note to Trisha Ashley for her book Wedding Tiers. Trisha encouraged me to carry on and start a blog. I am so glad I did. After becoming disabled and bed bound, I found myself slipping into a deep and dark depression. Books helped me escape from reality and gave me the release I so desperately needed. When I started reviewing I was not just given something to look forward to each day, but a new world of friendship, love and support from all over the world. It inspires me daily to fight and stay strong and allows me to give back to the authors who, for years, have given me such joy and pleasure. I love that it has given me so many fantastic opportunities, too. I'm invited to book launch parties and given the most wonderful books; I'm invited to take part in book tours, and I get to speak to authors and publishers and other book geeks daily. I love that it has given me a life. Without TBGWP I can honestly say I don't know how I would have survived.
Shaz Goodwin from Jera’s Jamboree
I originally started book blogging in 2011 to remember the books I read – once too often I bought a book and then realised it was one I’d read in the past. I found that blogging about it meant I remembered! Then on social media (mostly Twitter), I discovered other people with the same passion and, as my network grew, it became much more than my original concept. I realised that, although I started my blog for ‘self’, it quickly grew to help promote others. The format changed, too. It wasn’t just about writing a review but showcasing authors with book news, interviews and guest posts etc. Today, I’m still loving sharing my thoughts on the books that I read and the interaction with other readers, but I’m also loving the relationships with authors and publishers, too.I’ve had times when I’ve thought about giving up. When the commitment I give has seemed too much and I’ve felt trapped. Ultimately though my passion wins through. The book blogging community is awesome. My life has definitely been enriched.
Emma from Chicklit vs Fantasy
I’ve been book blogging for a little while now and the reason I started was because I thought it might be cool and fun. After a while, you realise it’s also a lot of hard work – scheduling posts, making sure nothing is missed and having enough time to read the books by the agreed date. However, it is still a lot of fun. I love the feeling that it’s mine. I created it all. From the design (which I constantly change) to the words on the page. I love helping newbie authors just as much the well-known ones. I love that feeling when someone says that they have bought a book because of your review or your post. It makes me so happy that I’ve got through to someone. I also love discussing my views on books and my blog gives me the exact forum for that.
Melissa Amster from Chick Lit Central
I have always been a reader and love sharing my thoughts on books with other people, as well as recommending books and giving shout-outs to my favorite authors. Not to mention new authors who are just starting out but have done excellent work so far. I love that books have brought me together with so many amazing people that I never would have met if I hadn't started a book blog.
When I read an amazing book, I can't wait to tell everyone I meet all about it. Turns out my cat wasn't too interested, so I decided to start blogging my reviews instead. I love having the chance to share my feelings about a book, to meet fellow book lovers, bloggers, publishers and authors. The book blogging community is friendly, informative and jam-packed full of lovely writers, readers and reviewers and I love being part of it. Happy 5th Birthday, Novelicious – thanks for being part of my blogging bubble!
Kim Nash from Kim The Bookworm
I read so many awesome books by both published and self-published authors and want people to know about them and feel the same way that those books make me feel! I want to share all these fabulous books with the world. Reading is such a great way to relax (unless it's a tense thriller!) and to learn about and experience different worlds, different emotions and different situations. Reading is fab!
Amanda from One More Page
My blog started out as an online version of a paper book journal that I'd kept for a long time – the subtitle is 'diary of a book lover'. I blog about books because I want to keep a record of the books I read and share my thoughts on them. Since I started blogging four years ago, it has become a bit of an addiction and I'd blog even if nobody else was reading it – I love my little blog, it's my escape from everything else! There are many things that I love about book blogging but the book blogging community, which has grown massively and is so friendly and welcoming, is top of the list. I also love that feeling when a reader leaves a comment or tweets to say they loved a book you recommended.
Stephanie Pegler from Chicklit Club
Back in the mid-noughties, the literary snobs had spoken and the obit had been penned: chick lit was dead, apparently. Those light-hearted stories about women’s lives, their glamorous jobs and shopping habits were as out of vogue as a pair of Bridget Jones’ giant knickers. Except how could it be when I and so many others were drawn irresistibly towards those sparkly pink covers? So with the aim of bringing book news and reviews to chick lit lovers around the world, Chicklit Club was formed. And our mission today is still the same – helping readers find books that allow them to walk in another woman’s shoes. Hearty congratulations to Kirsty and the Novelicious team for five fab years of supporting women’s fiction.
Happy 5th birthday Team Novelicious, you were one the first sites that I used to visit for book news and reviews! I love reading so blogging is a way for me to forget about the stresses of work/home, there's nothing better than opening the pages of a book and getting lost in the moment. But as much as I love reading lots of fantastic books, the best part of book blogging for me is the interactions with authors, publishers and fellow bookworms and bloggers.
Natalie from Flutterby Books
I started my blog purely as I way to remind myself of the books I had read once I started my first reading challenge a couple of years ago. I love the idea that other people might pick up a book I have loved after reading my review, because there's nothing like the magic of finding an amazing book. I also love the interaction my blog has given my with authors and other bookworms – it's like I've entered a whole new world of online bookish wonder!
Suzy Turner from Fiction Dreams
Initially book blogging was an alternative way to help me shout out about my own books, but it has developed into so much more! Lately I've been devouring so many other people's books and loving every second of it. It has introduced me to a wider variety of genres that I'm becoming hooked on – and it's so cool to have such a wonderful community of authors and bloggers to share the love with.
Laura Bambrey from Chick Lit Love
Congratulations to Novelicious – HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I started Chick Lit Love as a way to become a tiny part of the world that I loved so much – a way to reach out to other Chick Lit readers, authors and publishers. It's the same now, and by reviewing I hope I'm giving a little back to the authors who make my reading life such a joy. Oh, and I love that it is the perfect excuse to always have my nose in a book!
Clare from A Book and Tea
Spreading the word about authors and books you love is the best feeling ever and that's why I book blog. Not only that but you get to make amazing friends, read loads and speak to great authors and publishers!
Charlotte Foreman of Best Chick Lit
I blog because I'm compelled to do so. There are too many fantastic books out there that people don't know about and, as a thank you to the authors, I want to help spread the word. I love it because the book community is a fantastic thing to be part of.
It could be all the virtual tea and cake, but we’re feeling so much love right now. Group book blogger hug! Do you book blog? What do you love most about it? And share the link in the comments so we can visit!