Why I started book blogging

I actually started my blog before any other aspect of my bookish life (despite it having the smallest following), I think it was somewhere around 2015? And to be honest my answer to this question is pretty simple:

I didn’t have anyone in real life to talk to about books

Barely any of my friends at the time read, and those who did weren’t as obsessed with books so the conversations were a lot shorter. And whilst my non-reading friends would be lovely and listen to me natter on about books, I could tell they were just being polite and I wanted a two way conversation! So I started the blog. This was somewhere that I could write out everything I was feeling about a book without having to worry that I’m boring someone. You can just stop reading!

I will say that I’m still not quite happy with my blogging. I was in academia for too long so whenever something is in the written form I feel like it has to be in a serious manner, well constructed, and all of that. So I put off writing my reviews because they’re a lot of effort. When in reality I should be able to write something basic and non-academic without feeling “bad”. Why am I feeling bad anyways?

So yeah, I’m not quite there with my blog, I need to relax, I need to let myself just chat rather than trying to write a comprehensive article about something! But that’s why I started blogging. So that I could chat about books with people who read!