Last week I was thinking back to when I first started writing amyjanealice. It was in 2013 and it started out as a beauty blog, with a couple of lifestyle posts thrown in here or there, but it wasn’t long before I dedicated my site to my true love: books. All of this got me thinking back to when I first started out, thinking that I knew quite a bit about the community when really I didn’t. So here’s ten things they don’t tell you about book blogging (but they also work if you just love books in general)!
1. You will suffer from “non review” guilt
Should I really be reading this book if I know I’m not going to review it? Do I have to review EVERY book I read?!
2. Every surface in your house/bedroom/car (what?) will become some kind of book storage
I don’t know if it’s just me but I have my ‘good’ bookcase which is all Insta-worthy and carefully arranged, my ‘other’ bookcase which is haphazardly – but carefully – packed with books which can never be shown online and finally about six other piles of books dotted around.
3. You become the oracle of book recommendations amongst your friends, even for genres you don’t read. The conversation can go a little like this:
“Hey Amy, you read a lot of books right?”
“Yes…”
“And review them?”
“Yeaah…”
“Ok so I’m looking for a book set in space about dogs where somebody gets murdered and it’s like a whodunnit. Read anything like that recently?”
4. You will request way too many books and spend the following months in sheer panic
Ok so those of you with a NetGalley account, you hear me right?
5. It becomes a kind of addiction
I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been sat cross legged in bed late at night with my eyes straining, running on barely any sleep and hammering away at the keyboard on my laptop or flipping through the pages of a good book. I. Just. Can’t. Stop. And then when you try to explain your favourite plot to a friend…
6. You will carry multiple books everywhere, just in case
Every time I visit my boyfriend’s house for the weekend I bring a literal stack of books. Some from publishers to review, some that were gifts, some that I’ve bought… the list goes on
7. You will use more post it notes and tabs than you ever did in school
“Haha that was pretty funny… wait what colour have I been using for funny?!”
8. A review you write just after finishing book can be extremely different to one written a few weeks later
One of the things that I love about the book blogging community is that other reviewers can really open your eyes to things and other perspectives that you might never have realised yourself!
9. You will read truly awful books and devise several creative ways to say you really didn’t like it
“The plot was… well, it was interesting in a way…”
10. You will never be able to read a book again without automatically writing a review in your head as you go along, planning how you’re going to take that Instagram shot
I hope that you enjoyed this slightly different post from me – it was a little tongue in cheek but also pretty accurate in my opinion! What would you add to the list?
![I am totally captivated by this YA novel. I can’t wait to dive back in every time I have to put it down! Obsessed 🙏🏻
📖 fantasy romance
📖 rivals to lovers
📖 warring Gods
📖 WW2 historical fiction vibe
[gifted copy @harpervoyager_uk] @beccajross
#yanovels #yahistoricalfiction #bookblogger #booklover #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #ww2historicalfiction #romanticfantasy #rivalstolovers #bookreview #bookreviewer](https://www.amyjanealice.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
Oh I totally understand the netgalley panic! When I first started I was like ..request request request – this is fun!! Now I’m like, why did I request SO many books! No more requesting for a while! Funny but helpful post Amy ?
I’m scared to look at all the books I’ve accumulated haha! Thanks Sarah, glad you enjoyed it 🙂
#9 made me crack up! I hate writing negative reviews and I always struggle with finding ways to not say “I hated it”. Great post!
Haha! It’s always so difficult. Glad you liked it Lia, thanks for reading!
Oh man, this is totally spot on!
Number nine – haha. “It just wasn’t for me. But that’s *my* fault. It’s great, really. Just not quite my cup of tea.”
Cora ❤ http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
Oh that’s a good one, maybe I’ll borrow it 😉 Thanks for reading Cora!
I only started blogging in August, but there are already so many of these that I relate to! Great post!
I’m glad you can relate! Thanks for reading Victoria 🙂
Super true especialy the “you will write a review in your head”-part and the “dog’s in space”. It’s always funny when people ask me for obscure books. ?
Haha I know right! Thanks for reading 🙂
Love this post! So true. I can definitely relate to the Netgalley panic, mine is… so out of date. ? Book blogging is so wonderful (although I’m currently on hiatus)!
I’m too scared to even look at mine! I love book blogging too, but it’s always healthy to take a break if you need to 🙂
Love this post — it’s so accurate! Totally relate to the netgalley panic. “Oh, there’s no way that all these people will approve me. OH NO I HAVE 48575498723 BOOKS TO READ NO!”
I actually find mediocre books harder to review than negative ones. I struggle really hard to say ANYTHING about them. At least with a negative review, I can try and soften the blow a bit, but when the book is just …. blah? Well, then I usually find myself procrastinating the review.
That’s so true about a mediocre book reviews! It’s hard when you just don’t know what to say either way. Thanks for reading! 🙂
I love this post, I’m not a book blogger but I do get through a tonne of books, so I know the feeling of everyone coming to you for book recommendations! x
Han | lifewithhan.blog
Haha it’s difficult isn’t it, especially when you don’t read the genre the other person likes!
Thanks for reading 🙂 x
Great post!! These are so true ?
Haha thank you, I’m glad you liked it 🙂