Let’s Talk Bookish: The Pros & Cons of Book Blogging

Hello everyone, and happy Friday! It’s time for another Let’s Talk Bookish post! Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that is hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion, where we discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts. Today’s topic is the pros and cons of book blogging, suggested by Rukky!

I love so many things about being a book blogger!!! I love gushing and raving and occasionally ranting about books, and spreading my love for reading to all of my readers! Most of the people around me in real life think I’m weird and/or quirky for being so passionate about books, but not on my blog. My blog is my private space to ramble all I want without anyone judging me — at least not where I can see them judging me.

There’s very little about being a book blogger that I “hate,” and the things I do “hate” are mostly due to my personality rather than the community itself. I intensely dislike the feeling of constantly comparing my blog to others and worrying over whether it’s good enough in comparison. Going hand in hand with that, I also don’t like it when I find myself shifting my focus to stats rather than my content. 

But as you’ve all probably heard or felt at one point or another, the blogging experience isn’t complete without the community. Thanks to becoming a book blogger, I’ve discovered that there are plenty of other weird and/or quirky people who are as passionate about books as I am! The book blogging community is so sweet and supportive, and I love discovering other bloggers and reading their posts. I love understanding other people’s book love and being understood in return. Plus, there are always so many book recommendations out there to add to your ever-growing TBR!

There are some things that might be turn-offs for new bloggers. Blogging can get a bit overwhelming. There seems like there’s an endless amount of stuff you “need” to do to be “accepted” into the community, especially if you’re just starting off as a blogger, like memes, readathons, discussion posts, recommendation lists, social media, Bookstagram, reading all the hyped books, and so. many. things. It’s very time-consuming, and most bloggers aren’t monetarily compensated for their hard work.

On that note, time to ask the question that’s been making its way across the blogging community over the past few months: Are we given enough credit for the work we do?

Me personally? I don’t go out of my way to work with publishers to review ARCs. I don’t participate in blog tours. I’m not on book Twitter. I’m not on Bookstagram. I’m not on Booktube. I don’t blog-hop all that diligently. My graphics are nothing spectacular. I honestly feel a bit guilty about being included under the umbrella of “underappreciated book bloggers” when it feels like I don’t contribute all that much to the community.

But that’s my imposter syndrome speaking for me. Book bloggers do deserve more appreciation. The book blogging community puts in just as much work as any other member of any other bookish platform in promoting books and authors, old and new. It’s completely unfair that book blogs are being looked down on compared to other platforms. We put in so much passion and hard work into our content. Blogging is time-consuming, no matter how laid-back your blogging schedule is, and an incredible amount of determination and enthusiasm is required for keeping your blog running for any length of time. It’s just terrible that people don’t appreciate that.

🌟 For more insight into book blogger appreciation, check out Marie’s fantastic discussion posts about whether the work of book bloggers is really valued, how book blogging has changed in the past five years, and all the things that book bloggers do for more insight into book blogger appreciation, as well as Caitlin’s guide to stanning book blogs!

That’s it for today, everyone! How about you? What’s your favorite thing about book blogging? Your least favorite thing? Do you think book bloggers are appreciated? Chat with me in the comments below!

Have a beautiful weekend, everyone!