In my five years of blogging, a lot has gone on. I've had a few awesome things happened, and I evolved as a blogger. Here are some of my highlights and milestones.
The very first review I wrote was for The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Compared to what I write now, it's bad. Really bad. At least in my opinion. It's short, and I only cover the basics, without going into much detail about characters or romance or action or... etc. You may think, "Well, why not re-read the book and write a better review?" My answer is, because it was my first review. That's where I started.*1 And I like to remember where I started, see how far I've come.
As I learnt more about blogging, I got better, started writing slightly longer reviews, and became more certain of myself, my opinions, and my blog. In 2012, I discovered Eleusinian Mysteries, Read Me, Bookmark Me, Love Me and Saz101, three Aussie book blogs that I adore to this day, despite two no longer reviewing at all and the other busy raising a small child. All three wrote much longer reviews, and went into so much detail. They're reviews were amazing, became the type of reviews I wanted to read everywhere, and the type of reviews I wanted to write. I didn't copy their style - Brodie, Lisa and Sarah have such distinctive voices and such a way with words, that would be pretty much impossible - but I was inspired by them to say more when I reviewed a book. Say absolutely everything I think/thought, feel/felt, loved, hated, expected, was wrong about, etc etc. The whole nine yards. I know that long reviews aren't everyone's cup of tea, but they are most definitely mine, and so saying everything I had to say became the only way I could write. And it's thanks to those three ladies that I write the way I do, and love it! Thank you, ladies! (Seriously, they may not be blogging any more or as often, but their reviews are still incredible. Go check out their blogs and read their reviews. I can guarantee you'll discover fantastic new books, and want to fangirl right along with them!)
Continue reading Fifth Bloggerversary: Blogging Milestones
Evolution of Review Style
The very first review I wrote was for The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Compared to what I write now, it's bad. Really bad. At least in my opinion. It's short, and I only cover the basics, without going into much detail about characters or romance or action or... etc. You may think, "Well, why not re-read the book and write a better review?" My answer is, because it was my first review. That's where I started.*1 And I like to remember where I started, see how far I've come.
As I learnt more about blogging, I got better, started writing slightly longer reviews, and became more certain of myself, my opinions, and my blog. In 2012, I discovered Eleusinian Mysteries, Read Me, Bookmark Me, Love Me and Saz101, three Aussie book blogs that I adore to this day, despite two no longer reviewing at all and the other busy raising a small child. All three wrote much longer reviews, and went into so much detail. They're reviews were amazing, became the type of reviews I wanted to read everywhere, and the type of reviews I wanted to write. I didn't copy their style - Brodie, Lisa and Sarah have such distinctive voices and such a way with words, that would be pretty much impossible - but I was inspired by them to say more when I reviewed a book. Say absolutely everything I think/thought, feel/felt, loved, hated, expected, was wrong about, etc etc. The whole nine yards. I know that long reviews aren't everyone's cup of tea, but they are most definitely mine, and so saying everything I had to say became the only way I could write. And it's thanks to those three ladies that I write the way I do, and love it! Thank you, ladies! (Seriously, they may not be blogging any more or as often, but their reviews are still incredible. Go check out their blogs and read their reviews. I can guarantee you'll discover fantastic new books, and want to fangirl right along with them!)
