Happy Friday, folks. We did it! We made it to the weekend! I hope you guys have had a nice week so far, hopefully one that hasn’t been too stressful. I myself am very excited because this week the weather has finally cooled down a bit, making room for fall!
Today I am going to be participating in Let’s Talk Bookish, a weekly meme created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion where we chat about a certain topics in the book world!
This week’s theme is “Pros and Cons of Book Blogging”. Though this site is still less than a month old, I have been a part of the bookish community for a while so hopefully I can add some interesting comments to the discussion!
Friends and Community
Being one of the only people in my friend group that avidly reads, I don’t have many friends IRL to chat with about books. Being able to meet new friends who I relate to so much when it comes to reading is so fun and makes me feel understood and appreciated! The blogging community is such a lovely section within the book world and I could not be prouder to be a part of such a friendly company.
Platform to Gush about Everything Bookish
Like I said before, none of my friends IRL really understand my love for literature so it is so nice to be able to rant and gush about everything bookish here on my blog. I never have to worry about being judged on here because I find that some people share the same thoughts as me! It’s really validating but also just gives you a sense of belonging that is so important to have in life. π
Outlet for Creativity
Not only is this blog a fun way to get my thoughts out there, but it is also a fun way to bring out my creative side! I love creating things and making designs that are true to myself, so being able to put together posts that I am extremely proud of makes me so happy. It’s always nice to go back and see how I have evolved both reading and style wise!
Book Knowledge and Recommendations
Not only does blogging give me new, amazing recommendations each and every day, but it keeps me, for lack of better words, woke in the book community. As a white, female in society I recognize that I hold privilege just from the way I was born. Every day I learn new things in the community when it comes to diversity and using correct language, and I am so thankful for it. (I hope that all makes sense, what I am trying to say is that the book world continuously reminds me to check my privilege and I think that that is very important).
Pressure to Read
Being a book blogger means that you have to read. I know that it’s a pretty obvious thing to say but online I am always seeing people finishing close to ten books a month! As a full-time college student with a pretty intensive workload, that is almost unheard of. Even if I cannot get anywhere close to that many books, I definitely pressure myself into reading as much as I can which tends to get a bit exhausting.
An Expensive Hobby
Always hearing about amazing new releases makes me want to purchase them as soon as they come out. Not only does this create a massive TBR pile, but the expensive hardcover copies take a punch at my bank account. I’ve started hitting up local used bookstores and encouraging myself to finish some backlist titles while I await a paperback copy, but I do succumb to the temptation of a new release every now and then which can get a bit scary.
Do you agree/disagree with any of my comments above? What are some of your pros and cons of book blogging?
Until next time, happy reading! β‘
readwithtay 
This list sums up all of my thoughts on the book blogging community! I feel you about having no friends in real life to talk books about ππ It’s an incredible experience being able to interact with so many other people with a similar passion for books! And as you said, this community also helps me to stay on top of all the newest releases and there are always so many important discussions being held π
And I relate about the pressure to read and the expenses of being a book blogger! I find myself pushing myself to read more books than I can handle just so that the numbers look nice in my monthly wrap-ups, and I feel terrible whenever I do that because reading isn’t supposed to be a job π©
Lovely discussion post, Taylor! Hope you have a beautiful day! β€οΈβ€οΈ
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Thank you, Abby! Have a beautiful day as well β€
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I’ve always wondered how book bloggers afford all those books, and now I know it’s part of what you guys do. It really can be an expensive hobby indeed. I only do paperbacks and I read slowly, and still I spend too much on books. Thank God for pre-loved books, lol. Thanks for sharing!
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Paperbacks are a godsend, I wish new releases could come out in that format as well. It would truly save my wallet!
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This was such a nice post to read and it’s interesting to see other’s pros and cons! For me the biggest pro is definitely finding so many amazing books! Plus because people have a safe place to chat about all things bookish, like you said, it means that book blogging tends to be such a positive place to be and the community is so friendly!
I definitely agree though that it can be an expensive hobby, especially other aspects of bookish social media like bookstagram and booktube which seem to centre around a lot of consumerism and owning all the books and multiple copies. Personally for me though it isn’t too expensive as I exclusively buy ebooks – Kindle deals for the win haha.
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Thank you so much, Emme! I love this community so much, everyone like you said is so so friendly. I neeeed to start looking for more ebook deals because I recently bought a Kindle and I feel like I could be saving lots of $$$!
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Great insight! Iβve seen a lot of bloggers talk about the expense of book blogging between new releases, special editions, book themed goods, and monthly subscriptions… so many bookish ways to spend money (like I love that thereβs now a candle for like every book I love, but at the same time is it really necessary?).
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Ahhhh totally! Sometimes I wonder if books are being capitalized too much but then again we all love the themed goodies so whoβs gonna stop em?
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My friends don’t care so much for books either, so I completely understand your need to share your love of literature somewhere! But I also agree that reading can quickly become expensive if you buy new releases all the time. I mostly buy secondhand books but still, I definitely spend too much!
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At least we’re doing what we love with people who get it! It doesn’t get better than that π
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Oh it is SUCH an expensive hobby, I hadn’t thought about that one! It can also be such a gamble when you take a chance and buy a new book because what if you spend all that money on it and then don’t like it?? The struggle is real. I love having a blog for creativity, I’ve never really considered myself super creative but I’ve realized since starting my blog that I just prefer to express myself in words!! Loved this discussion!! β₯
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Oh my gosh, yes. It’s always the worse when you spend money on this expensive new hardback and it isn’t a good read. Yes, I am definitely someone who likes to express myself with words, it’s basically like that in many of my classes too. I just find that it’s easier for me to ramble on with written words than verbal ones and I love being creative with it! Thank you for the comment, Erin! π
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We have the exact same cons. The pressure is crushing and the financial stress is horrible. I know I could choose not to buy books…but there’s just something special about owning them. Besides I need to be subscribed to at least one book box to make sure I know what’s hot right now. Our pros are pretty similar as well and I feel like the pros really do outweigh the cons. There’s so much joy that I get from book blogging that I can’t (at this point in time) imagine leaving it despite how much it can stress me out.
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There definitely IS something so special about owning books. They become this visual, physical representation of your love for literature and having a collection means all the more!
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