What are the things you give up so you can read and blog?

I wanted to highlight the brief Twitter conversation that I had with Angie above because it emphasizes the point that bloggers sacrifice time in order to read and blog. I’ve said it before and will most probably repeat it again in the future, both reading and blogging take up time and effort. It might be easier to squeeze in reading during the day because that can be done while traveling, waiting in line for something or basically whenever you have a few minutes to spare. As for blogging, it takes more time to organize thoughts and come up with a coherent post. Sometimes, I just need to sit down and think about what I want to talk about. I envy people who constantly get creative ideas for their blogs and find it easy to just whip up a post.

My point in this is that because book blogging takes time, there is usually something that a blogger has to give up to make way for it. More often than not, it’s sleep that gets sacrificed. I am not a morning person so I have a hard time getting out of bed every day – I end up hitting the snooze button several times and I always sleep in on weekends unless I have to get up to do something. So I keep telling myself that I should try to sleep earlier because getting more sleep would probably mean that I won’t have such a hard time waking up the next morning. But no, I rarely get to sleep early. When I’m reading a good book, I want to get to as many chapters as I can or even finish the whole thing in one go. Sometimes even when I’m reading a book that I’m not into, I just want to get it over with. When I want to put up a blog post, I open my laptop and I get distracted by so many things online – Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and also other blogs. Then I create a draft and edit and work on it until I feel like it’s good enough for me to hit “publish.”

So sleeping is the first thing that gets sacrificed. Next is probably chores. Laundry takes up a chunk of time even if I can read or blog while waiting for the cycle to finish. Dryers aren’t common here in Singapore so I have to hang clothes up after they’ve been washed. Then the next day, I have to take them down, fold and put them away. I try to do laundry every week but sometimes I let it pile up because I’d rather read or blog. Same with vacuuming, although I hope you guys won’t think that my room is a pigsty. I’m also not a fan of ironing so I try to avoid that as often as I can, which is why I don’t get to wear some of my clothes as often as I’d like.

As for everyone else, I’d like to know what you give up so you can have time to read or blog? Do you get fewer hours of sleep because of reading or blogging? Or do you give up other things in your life? Are you lucky enough that you can sneakily write blog posts during office hours when nothing much is going on?

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

Every person has his or her own reason to look forward to the day ahead, a reason to get out of bed in the morning. I’m not much of a morning person and it’s always a struggle for me to get up in the mornings because I love sleeping in. I could sleep the whole day if I didn’t have to go to work, that’s how lazy I can be. I would only get up to eat something and then I’ll go back to lying down. That’s how I spend some of my weekends.

My motivation to get out of bed varies from day-to-day – it’s usually easier when I’m excited about something that will happen during the day. What I want to talk about is how reading a good book sometimes makes it a lot less difficult for me to start my day. When I’m in the middle of a book that I’m enjoying, I don’t mind waking up to go to work because at least I can read a few chapters while on the train. I guess it’s kind of like how coffee or eating a delicious breakfast can jumpstart your day, it gives you the boost that you need. (Okay, so this post is just making it more and more obvious that my top three favorite things to do are sleeping, eating and reading.) I’ve also noticed that I’m in a better mood when I’m reading an amazing novel – you know, the type of books that you can’t stop thinking about even while you’re busy during the work day. So it’s always a good thing whenever I’m reading something that I’m really into. I wonder if the same thing goes for the rest of you? Does reading a good book help you get out of bed in the morning? Also, feel free to share any tips that you have on making it easier get out of bed!

Library Time Pressure

Remember how I kept going on and on about how we don’t have good public libraries in the Philippines? Most followers of the blog know this about me. One of the things that I was looking forward to in moving to Singapore is having access to good public libraries. I tried to resist as long as I could because I told myself that I should finish reading the books that I brought with me first. Well, that didn’t last long. I signed up and have already borrowed several books from the library near our flat. I haven’t even gone to other branches because I always max out the borrowing limit (8 books). I hear the other branches are even a lot bigger. My friend Brandy of Random Musings of a Bibliophile tells me that the library that I go to has a better selection of YA titles than the library near her home in the US. I would have to agree because I keep wanting to borrow more books whenever I drop by to visit.

Library books waiting to be read

So now I have this little problem of finishing the books that I excitedly grab off the library’s shelves. I’ve been a pretty slow reader the past couple of months because there’s always something that gets in the way of reading – chores, keeping in touch with friends and family (I spend HOURS on communication apps), sleep. As of now, I’ve only finished one book that I borrowed from the library and I’ve renewed the rest. I want to finish them in the next couple of weeks because we’re only allowed to renew books once, which I think is fair. No danger of readers hogging certain titles. The intention to read all of these books is there, I just can’t find the time to squeeze all of them within the three-week period. Which is why I’m curious, to those of you who have access to libraries, do you ever feel pressured to read faster because of the due date? Do you have more control that I do and you don’t feel the need to grab as many books as you can? Do you prioritize borrowed books over books that you own? Maybe it’s something that will come with time, I’m still a newbie borrower after all. Just thought I’d bring this up so I can get advice from all you expert library users.

Where do you find the time?

Like I mentioned in a previous post, I do a lot of my reading on trains while traveling from the flat to work and vice versa. I’ve been having a hard time finding time to squeeze in blogging though. Moving from one country to another and starting a new job is a huge thing for me, especially since this is the first time that I’ve done something like this. Most of my weekends are spent catching up with old friends currently based in Singapore or going around to explore the city a little more. Week nights are filled up by errands and chores. Doing laundry, ironing clothes (which I hate), doing dishes and vacuuming are things that I never had to worry about when I was living in Manila. Oh and I also spend a lot of time online, talking to friends and family through communication apps. All of those take up time that I could use to read or blog but they are tasks that I need to do.

So I guess I just wanted to ask the rest of you, where do you find the time to blog when life seems so busy? The obvious answer would be to get less sleep and I’ve tried to do that as well. I usually get only six hours or so of sleep on week nights but I feel like that’s not enough, I tend to get sleepy during the latter hours of the work day. I find it a bit surprising that blogging involves so much time because I never had to seriously think about it before, it came more naturally to me back home probably because I was so used to everything else. Blogging’s not just about organizing your thoughts to write a review, it’s also about formatting everything into a cohesive manner and it’s also about responding to comments. I’ve always replied to the comments people leave on my blog because I feel like that encourages everyone to come back to continue the discussion. I’m also a serial commenter when it comes to the blogs I follow and that’s something that I haven’t been able to do much lately because I’ve been focusing on putting up posts. I’m positive that it will get easier in time but for now, I want to hear your thoughts. When do you usually blog – when you wake up in the mornings before heading off to work or right before you sleep at night? Are you a pro at multi-tasking, writing blog posts while doing something else?

What Book Blogging Means To Me

The past few weeks have been really difficult for me in terms of keeping up with reading and blogging. I recently moved from Manila to Singapore for a new job and I believe this has been the toughest time that I’ve had, blog-wise. I’ve been in slumps before but I’ve never thought about quitting altogether, until now. But I didn’t and I don’t think I ever will because blogging means a lot to me. Even though I’m still struggling to find the time to squeeze in blog posts, I think it’s worth the trouble (who needs sleep, right?)

I’ve said this before and I will keep saying it – my blog is my happy place. It’s where I get to rant or gush about the books that I read and that’s something that I can’t do with my friends and family. They do understand that I’m passionate about reading but they don’t really get it like bloggers do. Through my blog, I’ve been able to connect with readers all over the world! I feel like I’ve made some real friends even though I’ve never met some of them in person. Also, it’s so good to find readers who share my tastes in books because that makes it a lot easier for me to decide what to add to the ever-increasing TBR pile. Most of the books that I read are recommendations from fellow bloggers. And can I just say how amazing it is that I’ve been able to reach out to authors through my blog? That’s something that still surprises me – I’m thrilled whenever an author replies to a tweet, leaves a comment on a blog post or says yes to doing a guest pot.

“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.” ― James Baldwin

I love this quote because it talks about reading opening up your eyes and making you realize that you’re not alone – the same can be said for blogging. It was blogging that taught me that the things that I loved the most were the very things that connected me with readers all over the world. I feel like my blog keeps me grounded because I get to focus on something that I love. It helps me unwind at the end of the day. I have a feeling that I’ll be a lot more homesick and more than a little lonely if I didn’t have my blog.

What does book blogging mean to you? Feel free to answer even if you’re not participating in BBAW this week.

I Need Some Wow Books

I need some amazing books in my life. I want to read books that blow me away, the type of titles that will end up in my list of favorites. Sometimes it’s frustrating when you feel like the books that you’ve been reading are just so-so. Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed reading some of the titles that I’ve reviewed (life’s too short to read books that suck). I just want more novels that I can enthusiastically recommend – those that will make me excited to blog about them, titles that will induce a book hangover or novels that will make me fall in love with its characters. I need more of those right now because I don’t want to experience a reading or blogging slump. Life has been really busy lately and that will continue in the coming weeks so I’m trying to be a little choosy about the titles I pick up.

So I’m here to ask for recommendations. Please let me know about the books that you’ve read and loved recently. Based on the books that I’ve reviewed in my blog, what do you think will work for me? Also, what novels have ended up in your favorites shelf this year? I’m always interested in hearing about other readers’ favorite titles and it’s been fun going through all the best of 2012 lists for the first half of the year. I have a list of books I plan to read in 2012 as well as a TBR pile in Goodreads if you’d like to go through that to let me know what I should prioritize.

I Will Follow You

Sorry if the blog has been a little quiet lately. I feel like a slump is about to occur and real life has also been pretty busy. I’ve been thinking of a discussion post since I haven’t done that in a while and I realized it would be a good idea to talk about reasons why we follow certain book blogs. There are so many book blogs out there and if you’re new to the scene, it can be a bit overwhelming choosing which blogs to follow. I guess it starts with knowing that the blogger reads the same kinds of books that you do. I get most of the recommendations for the books that I read from fellow bloggers and I’ve discovered books that I wouldn’t have read if not for them. I also like blogs that have regular discussion posts and fun features. Also, it’s nice to see bloggers review older titles instead of just new releases because that’s something that I enjoy doing. Another factor that may seem superficial but is really important is having a layout that’s easy to read – I’m not a fan of white text on a black background because that kind of thing hurts my eyes. I’m biased when it comes to WordPress blogs because I think they look simple, clean and clutter-free. Also, it’s nice that WordPress doesn’t have CAPTCHA so commenting doesn’t require much of an effort.

What I really love is knowing that I’ve made a connection with the blogger. I like to leave comments whenever I feel like I have something to say and it’s nice when I go back to check a post and see that the blogger has replied to my comment. (More praise for WordPress: I think it’s nice that I get notifications in my dashboard when WordPress bloggers reply to my comments on their blogs.) I also enjoy chatting with bloggers on Twitter about the most random things – books (of course), postcards, food, nail polish and clothes. It makes me happy when I feel like I’ve gotten to know the person behind the blog and I can tell that we’ve become friends even though we’ve never met each other in person and we only get to chat online. This is also why I like bloggers who have personality, someone who has his or her own voice because it’s a lot of fun getting to know that person through blog posts.

On the other side of things, we also have our reasons for removing blogs from the lists we follow. Lately, I feel like I can’t keep up with all the posts in my Google Reader so there are times when I’m tempted to just click the “mark all as read” button. So it’s a good idea to go through the list and make sure that I’m following blogs that I really want to follow. I usually remove a blog from my list when it becomes inactive or when I notice that I keep skipping on the posts and I can’t comment on any of them because I don’t have anything to say. I feel bad when I unfollow blogs but it really is hard to keep up with everything that’s going on in the blogosphere.

What about you, what makes you follow or unfollow certain blogs?

Why do we keep buying books?

Image from Tumblr.

I created a shelf on Goodreads for books that I’ve bought in 2012 to help me keep track of my purchases. I have so many books waiting to be read and I want to get to them instead of adding more to the list. It’s just that I can’t seem to help myself – there are times when I feel book-hungry (the opposite of which is book-full) and I want to buy a book. I try to tell myself to only get books that I can read right away but that doesn’t always happen. I keep wondering why I feel the urge to accumulate books when I don’t have enough time to go through them. My old reasoning was that I’m worried that the next time I go in a bookstore, the book that I’m interested in will be out of stock. But now that it’s much easier to order books abroad, that shouldn’t be a problem anymore. I was browsing through my Tumblr dashboard one time when this lovely quote popped up:

“Of course anyone who truly loves books buys more of them than he or she can hope to read in one fleeting lifetime. A good book, resting unopened in its slot on a shelf, full of majestic potentiality, is the most comforting sort of intellectual wallpaper.” – David Quammen

Full of majestic potentiality! I love how he phrased that. I completely agree. He said it much better than I ever could. You know how it feels when you read a promising book only to be disappointed? You think that you liked the book much better before you read it because at least the anticipation was there, the book had the potential to be one of your favorites. And that feeling is gone when you read the book and it doesn’t live up to your expectations. It’s funny but there are times when I can’t wait to read certain books but there are also instances when I’d rather wait, probably because I also choose what I read next base on my mood.

Also, it IS comforting to have copies of books that you want to read on your shelf. At least you don’t have to worry about getting a copy anymore – it’s right there, waiting patiently to be read when the mood strikes. Maybe I wouldn’t feel that way if we had ready access to good public libraries but I doubt it. There’s a reason why I don’t let my friends borrow my favorite books unless I have duplicates – and that’s because I don’t like the feeling of NOT having books that I love with me.

What about you, do you like collecting books so you can keep them all over the house as “intellectual wallpaper”? Do you agree that books waiting to be read are filled with “majestic potentiality”?

Comments are like candy (or chocolate)

Image from Tumblr

WordPress recently wrote a blog post about how to get more comments and it has some pretty interesting and useful tips. I have to admit that I love receiving blog comments (I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who feels this way). I’ve talked about comments before and I thought it would be a good idea to revisit the topic. Some of the tips from WordPress and what I think, based on my experiences with my own blog:

Reply to every comment you receive. I reply to all the comments in my blog because I want to show my appreciation when people read my posts and take the time to leave a comment. Also, I think replying to comments encourages more discussion. What I want to add to this is I love bloggers who also reply to comments on their blog. I try to drop by again and check if they replied and if there’s anything else that I can add to the conversation. I love that WordPress now sends notifications when a fellow WordPress blogger replies to one of my comments.

Ask your friends. I don’t ask real life friends to leave comments on my blog but there are times when I’ll send them some links if I feel like I talked about something that they’ll be interested in. It always surprises me when I find out that my friends read my blog. Like when I see them reading something that I’ve reviewed and I ask them where they found out about it, they’d casually say that they saw me recommending it on the blog.

Start conversations. Whenever I put up a non-review post – be it a discussion post or one of the features and memes I participate in – I throw out a question at the end. I’ve noticed that the posts tend to get more comments if I try to engage other people. It’s also a great idea to publish discussion posts about book-related topics from time to time because there’s so much that we can all talk about.

Write a response to another blogger’s post on your blog. Hey, I’m doing it right now with this post. This is an excellent way of starting a discussion post – you can link or quote another blogger (or author) and then proceed by letting everyone else know what you think.

Run a contest. Oh yes, giveaways are really popular in the book blogosphere. I’m not sure if it’s really effective in terms of encouraging other readers to follow the blog? My stats do soar whenever I’m holding a giveaway and that post gets a lot of comments but I’m not sure if those who join end up following my blog (I’ve never made it a requirement). I’m sorry if I haven’t had a contest in a while, I pay for the books that I give away and I’m trying not to spend too much on books so I’m not sure when the next giveaway will be.

Make a post out of the best comments from your readers. I haven’t done this yet but it seems like a great idea. I do get several intelligent comments and some of the lengthy ones can stand on their own as blog posts.

Those are my thoughts regarding some of the tips that WordPress provided and here are some of my own suggestions:

Turn off CAPTCHA. Okay, so CAPTCHA won’t really prevent me from commenting but it’s such a nuisance. I’m not a fan of it. Some of the words that turn up are so difficult to decipher, I feel like I’m trying to understand a foreign language. It’s a good idea to make things easier for whoever wants to comment on your blog. My settings only require a person to type in a name and email address, although I’ve heard from some people that WordPress has been having issues about requiring commenters to login (I have no idea how to fix that).

Link to reviews from other bloggers. It’s helpful to followers who want to find out what others think about a certain book. And it’s also helpful to fellow bloggers because their blog gets more exposure that way. When I get a notification that someone has linked to my review, I drop by to check out the post and comment. Make sure you’ve read the reviews before linking to them though.

Link your blog to other social networking sites: Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads. Sometimes, it’s more convenient for other people to comment on those venues. Like I said, anything that makes it easier for followers to comment is a good thing.

I feel like this is something that all bloggers can relate to so please share your ideas. Do you agree or disagree with the things that I’ve said? Do you have any tips on how to get more comments?

New Releases and Older Titles

Image from Tumblr.

Elizabeth Fama’s guest post for Marchetta Madness made me think about new releases, older titles and my reading preferences. Here’s an excerpt from that post:

Debut authors are all the rage right now: publishers and marketers are enamored of them; readers build Goodreads lists around them. And while many authors have stunning debuts (I understand LOOKING FOR ALIBRANDI is pretty great), there’s a disturbing trend toward “hype” that’s unproductive for the craft. Learning to write is a lifelong process, and you need breathing room to cultivate it, not pressure to produce Part Two in less than a year because your first book sold at auction and you’ve contracted for a series. Seasoned authors like Marchetta (and Megan Whalen Turner, and Tobin Anderson, and Philip Pullman, and…) have blessedly had that breathing room.

When I replied to Elizabeth after receiving her post, I told her that I never really thought much about the popularity of debut authors nowadays. There have been some debut novels that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading – like Saving June by Hannah Harrington and Something Like Normal by Trish Doller – but in general, I don’t think my blog focuses on them. Or on new releases either. Why? Probably because I buy most of the books that I read and I tend to rely on recommendations and reviews to help me decide what to get. So I wait for feedback from authors or fellow bloggers before I purchase a book. There are exceptions to this, of course. There are times when I get lucky enough to read a galley weeks or months before a book’s release date. I also have several authors on my auto-buy list and I grab their books as soon as I can get my hands on them.

Looking back on my reviews, it does seem like I read more older titles than new releases. Honestly, I haven’t really noticed it before. It’s not like I make a point of choosing novels that haven’t been released recently. It’s just that love hearing about other readers’ old favorites, especially when I feel like we share similar tastes in books. I also love pimping my own favorites, which is why I enjoy participating in the Retro Friday meme hosted by Angie. I get to promote older titles that way.

As for hype surrounding books, even though I’m not an author, I do agree with what Elizabeth said about writing being a lifelong learning process. I really hope hype doesn’t contribute to the pressure that authors feel to produce a new book as fast as they can. And I think most of us are wary of hype anyway, which is why we wait for reviews from bloggers we trust before we dive into a hyped-up book (or at least that’s what I do).

What about you, have you noticed the trend for debut authors? Do read a lot of debut novels or would you rather read older titles? And what do you think of the hype surrounding books?