Beyond the Blurb | How Blogging Has Helped Me as a Reader

Morning, darlings!

I am not ready for Monday. I wish I had a few more days to rest for the upcoming week, which is surreal for me and my family. Mom is taking her last chemo treatment, and I felt as if we’d never make it to this day. So I treasure everything in my life more.

Typically, my discussion posts highlight a negative topic. So for this new post, I want to talk about something positive. Blogging is stressful. Blogging full-time is even harder. When I first started it, I was naive. But with three years under my belt (yay blogging anniversary!), I realized it gives me a support system I needed, a place to know I’m with my own people, and a way to grow. Here are the five ways blogging has helped me as a reader:

 

I’ve Accepted That Peer Pressure Is Real and Okay

I never had peer pressure affect me when I was young. No one could force me to do anything I felt uncomfortable with. But somehow peer pressure has hit me hard, and I didn’t expect that. Even though I feel that stress to read most, if not all, of them is there, I love other readers want to know how I feel about their favourite reads. I love that interaction and look forward to it. My TBR list may want to argue my last statement though.

 

Blogging Has Opened Me Up to Titles I Wouldn’t Have Risked Reading

Many trust bloggers convinced me to move past my comfort zone, take risks with my TBR list, and read books I wouldn’t have picked on my own. I pick up more books with main characters who are POC, who are gay, or who have disabilities. I support authors, novels, and other bloggers who deserve that attention. And I love how my reading experience has expanded and evolved into something I’m proud of. I’ve found stories I adore, respect, and fight for. And I’m not sure if I’d done the same if I weren’t a blogger.

 

I’ll Never Reach the End of the TBR List or Pile

And I’m okay with this fact. I strive to add more books to each one. And I’ve come to terms with it. But I don’t let my own personal pressure make the experience negative. I feel proud that either won’t disappear.

 

Blogging Made Me a Better Informed Reader

I pick up little nuisances that several years ago, I know wouldn’t have affected me. Now, I see why other readers don’t like certain themes, tropes, and stereotypes. I watch out for these problems so I can inform readers who don’t want to be confronted by them. I now understand why sometimes reading is a chore, not a hobby other readers should love it.

 

Blogging Allows Me to Appreciate My Reading Time More than Before

We bloggers spend countless time to perfect each post, edit our work, and blog hop. Blogging eats away our free hours. So I pick the titles I want to read carefully so I can bring them to my readers and so I can appreciate my books. Reading has turned into something more than a pastime. It has morphed into my everyday life.

 

How has blogging changed you as a reader? Has it made reading a better experience? Do you champion more diverse books? Have you changed at all? What do you think?