It is pretty well established that I hoard tags like a greedy dragon, saving them for the perfect moment. When Daniel nominated me for the Supporter Award back in July I was incredibly honored, and I decided that it would be a great post to celebrate my first six months of blogging here on WordPress! 🎈🎉
Many thanks to Daniel @ Page to Page for the nomination, and everyone should definitely check out his blog – he is great and his reviews are wonderful!
Rules:
1. Thank the blogger(s) that nominated you and link back to their post.
2. Answer the 4 “First” questions.
3. Come up with 4 new “First” questions or just use the same ones from your nomination.
4. Nominate your first follower who is still active and interacting with you.
5. Nominate up to 4 other bloggers.
6. Make sure to link back to the original post by The book prescription so he can see all your answers!
7. Feel free to add the badge to your blog.
The 4 “First” Questions:
🌌 First memory of a story: Looking back I have fond memories of my maternal grandmother reading The Giving Tree and If You Give A Mouse A Cookie to me.
🌌 First book you bought with your own money: It had to of been one of the Goosebumps titles because those were my jam until I started borrowing Dean Koontz and Stephen King from my paternal grandmother way earlier than I probably should have.
🌌 First book that made you cry: Honestly the only book I can think of is when I ugly cried in the Mexico City Airport during my layover flying back home from Colombia and decided it was a good idea to finish The Fault in Our Stars in public. (spoiler: it wasn’t and I was thirty years old.)
🌌 First book that you didn’t finish: Grapes of Wrath. I am sorry Mrs. Robinson but that book is trash and I used Cliffsnotes for the first and only time to write my essay. I love the classics but I do not have time for reading several pages about dust moving. No. Just, no.
My First Followers:
Apparently, I was my first follower (and I am my own biggest fan!), which I found incredibly funny! The first two followers of my blog I haven’t ever interacted with but I am so thankful to them for finding my blog somehow and subscribing to my corner of the internet!
I wanted to include Melanie in my first supporters because she was the first blogger in the community to interact with my posts so I consider her my first follower! Over the course of the last six months, I’ve had the pleasure and honor of becoming friends with her and I am so, so grateful. Thanks for rolling out the welcome mat for me & being my friend!
🌌 My other nominees:
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
Maddie @ Munch Reviews
Carolina @ Fictionologyst
Tammy @ Books, Bones, Buffy
6 Month Blogging Introspective (not tag-related)
Thank you so much to everyone that has subscribed to my blog, liked and commented on my posts, and interacted with me on Twitter over the last six months! This has been an incredibly rewarding experience and I am stoked to see what the next six months have in store for Reader Voracious Blog!
I have learned a lot in the past six months, and every day I learn something new from members of the bookish community. There is a part of me that regrets waiting so long to dive into book blogging, but I am just thankful that my path has led me here.
🌌 Six things that I learned about book blogging in my first six months:
- Your first couple of weeks/months will be a period where you try to find your voice. That’s okay! Try out new things and see what works for you.
- There is no wrong way to be a book blogger. As long as you are enjoying yourself that is all that matters.
- Blog hopping is so, so important! While the WP Reader does give you a bit of organic exposure, the best way to gain followers (and not talk into a void) is to visit other blogs, follow the ones you are genuinely interested in following, liking and commenting on their posts. Growth may be slow, but the interactions you have while hopping is also really rewarding.
- It’s easy to get really excited and try to do all the things: all the new features and post seven times a week, among other things. I’ve seen many a new blogger burn out within their first month, which is always so sad! My biggest advice is to ease in slowly, and it is absolutely okay to take breaks!
- Every new blogger does it: you start using NetGalley and suddenly find yourself under a mountain of ARCs that you requested that have been approved (often all at once) and you never get to mood read again. I finally got it under control and am now limiting myself to four releases per month – which helps me request only the titles that I am really excited about and allows me time for mood reading. More about this process is coming in a future post!
- The book blogging community is incredibly supportive, but it can also be incredibly competitive. Friends will be accepted for ARCs that you were denied and it is easy to fall into envy. Your self worth or value as a book blogger is not defined by the “quality” of the ARCs you receive. I know it can be difficult sometimes, but keep doing you – these other bloggers didn’t start out receiving the unicorn ARCs either, so don’t despair. And please don’t make others feel bad, that’s never a good look.
Statistics
As a way of record-keeping so that I can look back on where I had come from, here are my blog stats for the first six months – and I am really excited to look back on them in March!
I have had a lot of fun exploring all different kinds of content for my blog and it has been really exciting to have this creative outlet! I wanted to share my 10 most popular posts by views – it is crazy that it’s been less than 12 hours since Flapping Pages has been posted and it is already 4th!
✨Free Bookish Blogger Templates
✨Edelweiss 101: Tips & Tricks
✨Flapping Pages: ARC International Program
✨How to set up RSS Readers
✨Out of this World Blogger Award
✨July in Review
✨Mirage by Somaiya Daud (review)
And what would a Kaleena Introspective be without a chart or two included?! I have been tracking my follower growth (at the start of each month) just because I enjoy tracking statistics and I have no idea where it came from.
Thanks again to everyone who follows or even just reads my posts, it means the world to me! And if you made it all the way through this post you deserve a cookie!
Let’s go on another adventure together!
Congratulations on your 6-month milestone! As a new blogger I found your advice helpful. Thanks for what you contribute to the blogosphere.
Thank you so much, and I am glad you found my advice helpful! thanks for stopping by!
you have contributed to the blogging world in 6 months more than many did in 6 years!
I am really glad that we are friends and here to many more interactions 😀
(it is funny that you were your first follower xD)
Awww Hamad, thank you so much – I am truly humbled! I am also glad that blogging brought us together and that we are friends. 😀
Also RIGHT!? I don’t remember doing that but I don’t want to unfollow myself now. LOL
No don’t unfollow yourself, If I were you, I would follow myself too 😀
Awww you are too sweet, Hamad! You should follow yourself because you are pretty awesome too!
hahaha Thanks <3
Fun reflection. And good tips!
Thank you, Paul!
I love The Grapes of Wrath! It’s one of my favorites.
Awww I am glad you enjoyed it! I was so turned off from Steinbeck because of it that I almost didn’t pick up Of Mice and Men… which would have been a shame because I love that book!
Congrats on the 6 months as a blogger! I can definitely relate to learning to not request so many books on NetGalley. I accidentally overlooked the release date for a lot of books, so now I have way too many to read in September. 😩
Thank you so much, and yea it is so easy to do! I feel like July was all ARCs because I did the same thing. Happy reading!
Okay, first off… I didn’t ask for these tears! But I’m so thankful for you, your voice, your friendships, and your support. And I’ll boost you forever and always, my love! You are such a bright light in this community and in my life (and in ToS, muhahaha)!
Also, I love your 6 month check in statistics! Girl, you are doing SO amazing. I am in awe! And I’m (forever and always) so proud of you!
I love you! And happy reading! 💛xx
I DIDN’T ASK FOR THESE TEARS EITHER! Melanie, you are such a kind and wonderful person, and I am so honored every day that you had the time to talk to me. I adore you and am so thankful for your friendship. (also we need to play ToS soon, are you free tonight at our regular time? or shall we go next week?)
Thank you so much, and I love you too! xoxo
Congrats on your 6 month milestone! I loved your blogging advice- genuine and warm, like you convey in every post!
Aww thank you so much, Jennifer!
<3
Thank you for the tag lovely! And congrats on 6 months of sharing your awesomeness with everyone! Wonderful advice! It’s so hard not to have ARC envy!
You are so welcome, it is totally deserved! ARC envy is so hard, but I just have to tell myself that I can buy the books when they are released and help the author!
I love everything that you had to share!! Such great lessons to learn about blogging! Congratulations on 6 months!! <3
Thank you so much for stopping by and for the congrats!
You’re doing so great Kaleena!! And you’re a precious gem in this blogging community, you always come up with the greatest blog project!!! YOU’RE AWESOME AND I LOVE YOU!!!
Hey our blog have the same age, I think this is my 6th months too, and Melanie is my first follower too, she’s been super sweet to all of us!!!
Congratulations on your 6 months of blogging, Kaleena! I am so thankful to have connected with you on here and think it’s amazing how you have grown as a blogger! Love ya, girl! ❤️
I’M NOT CRYING! Thank you so much, Kelly! I am truly thankful for our friendship and I love you too! xoxo
<3 <3 <3
Congratulations on your 6th month blogiversarry! I am so happy that you’ve decided to come onto this platform. Even if you feel like you should’ve started sooner I think this time is absolutely perfect for you 😊
Oh my goodness, thank you so much! And I think you are right — it was definitely the right time for me to come here!
Congrats on 6 months!! That is awesome!! And I love both The Giving Tree and If You Give A Mouse A Cookie!! I have early memories of them as well <3
Thank you so much, and we must be around the same age then! Most people don’t know about If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, haha!
Congrats on six months! I love visiting your blog and reading all your unique features. And as someone who’s been blogging for a long time (seven years!) don’t worry if you get into a slump. It will pass😁 Just my little piece of blogging advice😊
Awww thank you SO MUCH Tammy, I really appreciate your kind words! I love your blog very much and thank you for sharing your blogging advice… too true!
CONGRATULATIONS! 6 months is an amazing milestone. <3 And great answers, especially the blog hopping one! You're right, it is super important. I wish so much that I had blog hopped more in my first year because I think it would have improved my overall experience, big time (and my stats would be higher now, let's be real, haha!).
Aww thank you so much, Destiny!
I am so thankful that blogging brought us together!
Congratulation on 6 months of blogging!! I’m so happy that you’re around, I actually discovered your blog when I first started to look into the book blogging world and after following your posts for a while I was convinced that I want to blog too 😊 Also, your list of things that happen in the first 6 months probably couldn’t be any more accurate. I’m already stuck underneath a pile of books I just had to request from Netgalley haha. Continue on being your awesome self, I love your posts!!
Pauliina, I was not expecting these tears!!! 😭😭😭 Thank you so much, and OH MY GOSH I had no idea! Your blog is absolutely wonderful and I am glad that you decided to join the community! Best of luck with the ARC mountain and thank you again for your kind words!
Oh no, I’m one of those people who tear up as soon as someone else tears up 😭😭😭 Your post has become a happy crying party haha 😭
I’m so glad I got to tell you that and be part of the same bookish community as y’all! The ARC mountain will probably murder me but I’m so happy for each and every single ARC that I don’t even mind 😂
CRYING GROUP HUG!
I love my arc mountain and will happily die from it; I feel so privileged to have the opportunities I do and a platform that people resonate with. This has been wonderful.
Wow, this is awesome! I really agree about Netgalley! 4 books a month is SUCH a good idea, too bad I already know I would never stick to it. But that would be SO much more reasonable. HAHA
I have actually been REALLY SUCCESSFUL with it, which surprises me! I think it helps that I follow what is coming out every month and can easily prioritize my requests, and I have been much happier reading since I haven’t been too bogged down with ‘required reading.’
I know what you mean. It’s different when you let yourself read more of what you want.
It’s been life changing, honestly! It works really well for me and I have stopped being request crazy, which is nice.