Book Blogger Interview Series
Getting To Know The Book Blogging Community One Guest At A Time
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I hope you're enjoying this series of book blogger interview posts and getting to know some great members of the book blogging community along the way.
In case you miss them, you can check out the other book blogger interviews so far:
Sophie Davies from Sophie's Reading Room
Divya Agrawal from celebrityreadshush
Micheal Everts from Fit 2B Read
Elizabeth from A Suitcase Full of Books
Jane Turner from 33 South Textworks
Are you ready to get to know another member of the book blogging community?
Today the focus is on book blogging.
I'm looking forward to chatting with other Book Bloggers during this series to get some behind the scenes insight into how they are approaching the book blogging community and what they've learnt so far.
You might also like: The Ultimate Guide for Book Bloggers
Today's guest is Book Blogger Carol from I'm a Voracious Reader
Getting to Know Book Blogger Carol from I'm a Voracious Reader
The Interview:
1. When did you start blogging?
Well, for some reason that I can't even remember, I claimed my blog name on Blogger some time around 2006. I think. However, I didn't actually start blogging until October 2011 when I saw a Kensington ad on Facebook for remote reviewers. I had coincidentally just finished a book they had published (I got it from my library), so I wrote up a quick review, submitted it, and became a remote reviewer for them. After an exceptionally long gestation period, a true book review blog was born.
2. What are your favourite genres to read?
I read very nearly everything, but Paranormal is probably my favorite at the moment. Any book that has paranormal elements will most likely catch my eye and take precedence over all other genres. But I go through cycles. Sometimes I get on a Suspense binge or maybe I tee up Cozy Mysteries for awhile. And then there's Monster Porn which I haven't actually read in a while because I think I plowed through all the freebies and ones available on KU for my Monster Porn Monday feature. However! I have one coming up on May 3rd! A joint review with my blogging friend and graphic artist extraordinaire (who does all my blog graphics), Michelle over at https://www.becausereading.com/. We have new matching monster tea mugs and we're going to read and review two books while sipping tea. So, stay tuned!
3. Best book you've read so far this year?
Ok, so here's the thing: I have 5 books so far this year that got a 5 out of me. Two are from the same author, but one of those is actually a re-read, so does that count? I say yes. It's my blog and I make the rules. lol Here are the 5 since there's no way to pick one over the others:
Streets of Payne and Payne Before the Storm by Jeff Brackett ~ Sci-Fi
The Segonian by Dianne Duvall (Oh, how I love this author!!!!!!) ~ Sci-Fi | Paranormal
Delivering Evil for Experts by Annette Marie (loving the connected series of this author) ~ UF
4. What social media sites do you use most to spread the word about your blog posts/to network with the blogging community?
Twitter is probably my main Go To for my blog. I have Instagram but constantly forget to update it which is why, if you check it out, you'll see Friday Featured Spotlights on days that aren't Friday. Oops. I use Facebook, but I don't get much interaction there. I think Facebook is sh*t, to be honest. Goodreads is a cesspool of filth, but I post my reviews there. Plus, I'm in a group of super nice bloggers (we're refugees from BookLikes) and I have my own thread there to post my links. I also post my reviews on LibraryThing, Amazon, BookBub, and StoryGraph. NetGalley too if needed. But I don't really spend a lot of time on those sites. I'm on Twitter a lot. Probably too much. Especially when there are reviews to write. *whistles innocently*
5. What do you wish you'd known about book blogging before you started?
Hmmmm...I guess to use restraint when accepting books for review. When I first started out I had a sh*t-ton of requests and because I had plenty of time I accepted nearly all of them. Then there's NetGalley. I got into trouble there and had to ban myself. I've finally whittled that mountain down, thank the Book Gods. There are so many books out there and only so much time to read. Be choosy and be realistic! Also, I wish I'd known how to code when I first started out. I ended up using some tips and tricks from another blogging friend (Caffeinated Reviewer https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/) and she was a life saver!
6. What is the hardest part of being a book blogger?
Writing the reviews. Seriously. Even books I love are hard to write about. I have a love/hate relationship with sitting down and writing the actual review. I bitch and moan about each and every one, so I don't know why I still do it. LOLOL
7. What are your goals for your book blog? Do you have any plans for your blog in the future?
I have none and nope. For me it's just a hobby. I don't even look at my stats unless I need to reference a post for someone. I honestly don't give a sh*t if people come to my blog or not. As much as it can be annoying (damn those reviews! lol) I do it for me. I just checked my stats since this question came up and if I get 100 views on a post that's a fantastic number. Most are 20s/30s. And usually the only comments I get are on my Sunday Posts. 
8. How often do you post to your blog?
When I started out I tried for every day. That got old fast and burnt me out. So I switched it up or took a blogging break, but now I try to stick with an every other day schedule with a post every Sunday. I loosely stick with a M-W-F then T-TH-S schedule but with blogging tours falling willy nilly and doing the Friday Featured Spotlights with all The Write Reads/BBNYA tours, sometimes the schedule gets a tad whacky.
9. What is your most popular blog post?
Ok, so I had no idea. Like I said above, I rarely check my stats. That whole area of the blog is confusing to me. But I think I have it? I've included a screenshot. I have absolutely no idea why that particular post (The Sunday Post ~ 4th Edition was on Aug 11th, 2013) ran away with the views. Like I said, it's just plain confusing to me. LOL
10. What are you currently reading and why did you choose to read it?
I currently have 4 books going: 2 ebooks, 1 physical book, and an audiobook. 1 ebook was from a BBNYA tour (Fid's Crusade) that I haven't had time to finish, 1 ebook is from KU (Hide & Chic), the physical book is a Witcher book from our own collection (Sword of Destiny) and the audio (The Journals of Octavia Hollows) was from a tour. I have 2 more I'm getting ready to start for The Write Reads tours (Things to Do Before the End of the World and Shards of Earth) and then I'm going to work on my backlog of review requests, of which there are many. M-a-n-y.
I hope you've enjoyed getting to know Carol better and encourage you to visit her blog.
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4 comments
Thank you for having me on your blog, Jo!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure. Any time đŸ˜˜
DeleteHey-ho, fellow paranormal queen! It's my favorite genre too, I'm 100% right there with you.
ReplyDeleteAnother great review, Jo. Thank you for bring them to us.
Hi Sadie. I'm glad you're enjoying the interview series. It's fun getting to know other book bloggers and interesting to see how we all go about blogging.
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