Jo Linsdell

Book Mail Unboxing #BookBlogger #Booktuber

I got book mail!

Today I'm sharing with you my unboxing of some book mail I received this week.

One is a book, and the other is book related...

Watch the video for the unboxing

A huge thanks to Nikki at Saturday Nite Reader, and to Petrina Banfield and Harper Collins Publishers for these awesome bookish packages.

Blog Audit Challenge: Links #BookBlogging #Blogging

It's Saturday and that means it's time for another installment of our blog audit challenge. How are you doing with the challenge so far? Have you noticed changes in traffic to your own book blog since starting the challenge? Is the challenge helping to motivate you to become a better blogger? I'd love to hear your feedback.

Anyway, without further ado, let's get on to this week's topic. This week we're taking a closer look at links.

This Week's Topic: Links

I'm going to break this post down into two parts; Backlinks, and internal links.

Backlinks

Before we jump into this any further let's take a look at the different types of backlinks.

1) Natural backlinks.

These are SEO gold and what we all hope for. This is when someone from another website finds your content useful and so they link their page to yours.

2) Manual backlinks.

This is when you ask other bloggers to link their website with yours by emailing them or submitting sites to directories.

3) Self created backlinks

These are created by you by blog commenting, forum signatures, etc...

High quality backlinks offer most value for SEO so you should be looking for highly authoritative sites that fall into your niche.

Internal links

Internal linking is when you link one post to another post on site.

Why add internal links?

1) Decreases your bounce rate

2) Increases user interaction time

3) Improves indexing

4) Increases SEO score

By adding internal links you increase Dwell time and CTR (Click Through Rate). Dwell time is the length of time a visitor spends on a page before returning to the SERPs. More time is what you're aiming for. So what you want to do is create content that hooks readers for a longer time.

We touched on longer posts when we discussed keywords and SEO, but internal links play an important role in Dwell time too. In a perfect world a reader would come to your blog, read a post, and then go on to click through to another post on site, and then another, etc...

Blog Audit Challenge: Links. How to build internal links #BookBloggers #Blogging

This Week's Task:

- Work on adding more manual and self created backlinks for your blog on highly authoritative sites in your niche.

- Research to find out about any natural backlinks you might not be aware of.

Missed a post? Here's a round up of what we've covered so far:

- The Blog Audit Challenge: Preparation

- Legal Disclaimers

- The About Page

- Contact Details

- Side Bar and Footer

- Keywords and SEO

- Graphics

A Bookish Summer Blog Hop: Where Do You Buy Your Books?

Today I'm hosting another stop on the A Bookish Summer Blog Hop. This time the question is "Where do you buy your books?"

I get a lot of books for free from publishers and authors. Some approach me directly requesting a review, others I get via Net Galley. I do a lot of reading on my kindle app on my ipad now and get a lot of books from Amazon. Whenever I go back to the UK for a visit I check out the charity and discount shops for bargain books. I have to limit myself though or my hubby moans about my books taking over our home. He prefers it when I get ebooks as our flat isn’t really big enough for a lot of bookshelves. My dream is to one day have a house with a big library like the one Belle had in Beauty and Beast ;)

DropBox GIF from Belle GIFs

What the gang had to say:

Kelli Quintos
www.tangledintext.com

I actually only buy maybe 2% of the books I own. I’m gifted a lot from publishers and indie authors who reach out to be through my blog, but the majority of books I read are through my library. The only flaw to that plan is when all ten of my holds at random times become available at once and I cry a little bit because I can’t possible read all of them in the two weeks they grace my presence. I usually end up buying books when I have already read them and I want to keep a copy to read again or in case any of my friends decide to enjoy reading miraculously, so I can share a copy with them. The library thing usually works out great though with a book or two coming in once a week and helps regulate and provide an incentive to keep up with my reading because of their due dates.

Leslie Conzatti
www.upstreamwriter.blogspot.com

For the longest time, I would depend on the generosity of others to get books. Especially before I had a job, since that meant I also had no money. As I would review more and more books on my blog, I would get review copies from authors who wanted their books featured, or I would follow an author I was interested in until they posted a discount/giveaway, at which point I would swoop in and make off like a bandit! I have downloaded a lot of books from Amazon, and just recently I discovered the joys of buying books online from Barnes & Noble, so I’ve used that to try and round out my personal library. But the only books I actually buy are books I’ve read before, since I know they’re worth the money I’m spending! I don’t buy a lot of books sight-unseen; if a book looks interesting, I’ll check it out from the library first. If I like it, I buy it. If an author whose ebooks I’ve read and loved offers signed copies for a fair price, I’ll take them up on their offer!

Brandy Potter
www.brandypotterbooks.com

I get most of my classics from yard sales and goodwill. The more contemporary stuff I get from Amazon. However I have the propensity to get them at the library or audible before I buy them. I used to just buy every book I wanted to read and I found that was a waste of books and money. However, I did find a great place to take those books. We have a place here called The Book Thing. It’s in the inner city and allows anyone to come in and take books for free. It burned down just before my wedding and I donated every book that I was keeping just because I can’t bear to part with books to them.

Marcia Marques
https://trendysimplelife.blogspot.com/

I get a few free books from publishers and I’m always on the lookout for sales on Amazon to buy Kindle books. This year I went to the BookCon in NYC and got a lot of free books there also!

Where do you buy most of your books? Let us know in the comments below.

Want to join in future blog hops organised by Bookish Blog Hops? Join the group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/127759384464964/

You might also like:

A Bookish Blog Hop: What Are You Currently Reading?

A Bookish Summer Blog Hop: Bookmarks or Dog Ears?

Interview with Clair from Always Need More Books

My Local Library: A Behind The Scenes Tour

Interview with Clair from Always Need More Books #BookBlogger #BookBlogging

For this week's book blogger interview I'm joined by Clair from Always Need More Books. Let's give her a warm welcome

Weee GIF from Bethanymota GIFs

Who are you? Where are you from? and Where do you blog?

My name is Clair and I am a 45-year-old technical librarian from the South Coast of the UK. I’m originally from the Midlands but have been down by the sea for almost 20 years and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. My blog can be found here: (https://alwaysneedmorebooks.wordpress.com/)

Why and how do you blog? What made you start?

I started out on Instagram taking pictures of books (https://www.instagram.com/always_need_more_books/) , but not really posting many reviews. As my account grew, I started getting a little interest from publishers (being sent copies of books and taking part in book tours) and I realised I wanted to take this further. I always post reviews on Goodreads so it was a step up from that really.

How long have you been blogging?

My first post was 1 January 2018 (it was a New Year’s resolution) so just over 6 months

What advice do you wish you'd had when you started?

I certainly had no idea how much time it would take! I really care about each review I write so it’s important for me to write a good review. I also wish I had someone sitting with me as I set up the blog – I think it looks OK but it’s not that intuitive to work out how to create one!

Also, I hadn’t realised how many brilliant blogs there are out there and the time it takes to read posts!

How much time do you devote to blogging each day/week/month?

I reckon I spend a couple of evenings a week writing blog posts, so maybe 4 hrs a week? But on top of this I take almost daily photos for Instagram and have started attending more bookish events.

How often do you post to your blog?

Whenever I finish a book, so usually twice a week

What motivates you to keep blogging about books?

The positive reaction my posts gets from the people who read them. It’s cool to know I’m suggesting books to people and they say they want to read them. I’m all about sharing book love!

Is there something you wish authors knew about your blog or blogging?

How conflicted I feel if I have to be negative about a book. I always try and look for the positives too…but I hate the thought of an author being sad because of a review I’ve given. Thankfully, this doesn’t happen often as I know the sort of books I like, and tend to steer clear of the ones I don’t!

What's your most popular blog post?

The most popular one has been about the Folio society’s summer book launch.

Do you write reviews for every book you read?

Yes!

How many book reviews do you normally do a week?

Usually 1 every 4 days – I wish I could read more but with a full-time job and a family, I think I do quite well!

What genres are your favourites?

I like young adult and historical fiction, but I will read most books. Saying that, I’m not keen on classics and fantasy…

What are you currently reading and why did you choose to read it?

I’m about to start The Weight of aThousand Feathers by Brian Conaghan. I’ve read another of his (We Come Apart) and this one came highly recommended by a friend.

Do you have any plans for your blog in the future?

I hope to be able to blog more about bookish events and maybe merchandise and I’d like to do the occasional wrap up if I can find the time!

You might also like:

Interview with Megan from Ginger Mom and the Kindle Quest

Interview with Stacey from Whispering Stories

30 Book Blogs To Follow

108 Book Blogs To Follow

My Local Library: A Behind The Scenes Tour

Close by our apartment we have a special children's library called Casa Dei Bimbi (the house of children). I love this little library and so do my kids. I thought I'd share it with you and give you a quick tour of a library in Rome.

Welcome to L'isola delle fiabe (which translates as the island of fairy tales).

As soon as you walk in you can tell it's a children's library. Colourful painted walls welcome you where ever you look. The staff are all super nice and helpful too.

This is the main area. As it's a children's library there are plenty of kids sized tables and chairs for the little ones.

They have a huge selection of children's books as you would imagine in a children's library. Obviously the most part are in Italian as we live in Italy, but they do have a section dedicated to other language books too. You can also order in titles you particularly want from the other libraries in Rome.

As well as all the picture story books and books for early readers, they have an extensive section for older kids too. Plus lots of teen and YA books.

Then there's the mutlimedia area. They have a good selection of DVDs and Audio discs you can borrow. There's actually two sections for the DVDs; one for the kids and another separate one for adults.

They have a special area upstairs with books on parenting, and education.