How Book Blogging Has Changed My Life

Note: This post will have some expletives.

I haven’t been a book blogger for very long; I started blogging towards the end of the summer of 2015, but nonetheless, I’m so happy/glad/thankful I joined. The book blogging community has been so kind and accepting, and I appreciate each and every one of you.

Since becoming a book blogger, I have met so many new people. I have felt so much kindness and friendliness, and these subsequent positive emotions make my little heart happy. I’ve been able to share my love for books, and it’s made me so thankful to have an internet family, if you will.

I have also become more critical of what I read and what I write, which I think is pretty cool. The book blogging community has made me realize how much so many people have in common, and how wonderful it is to wake up each morning knowing that people understand you and appreciate you for what you do and what you love to do.

But, on the other hand, in light of recent events, it has made me more wary and less trusting of people. Jon @ Bookish Antics posted about how he was catfished here (I’m so sorry this happened to you, Jon!). Long story short, some asshole named Christine Catlin made up a fake name and email and pretended to work for Penguin Random House to trick people into reading her indie novel.

What pisses me off the most is that this book blogging community is built off of trust, respect, and kindness. (Note that this isn’t always the case, due to many bloggers getting plagiarized, scammed, the like. BY THE WAY, these horrendous acts of scamming and plagiarizing and deceiving are incredibly disgusting, and if you’re ever thinking of doing anything like this, just don’t.) It’s common knowledge that you shouldn’t be an asshole and deceive people and take advantage of their time and kindness.

So, yes, book blogging has changed my life, positively, and as unfortunate as it seems, negatively. I like to think of it as a more positive effect rather than negative, but nonetheless, shit happens. But what makes me love the book blogging community so much is that even when shit does happen, people are there to comfort you, to help you to the best of their ability, to fight with you. And I think that’s beautiful.

All in all, if you’re a book blogger, too, know that I appreciate you, and if you’re an indie author, please don’t do what the scammer did. Stay safe, and I love you all.

(I’m currently typing up this post at 11 pm and I’m like kinda studying for my history test tomorrow morning and I might have a cold, and my emotions are i’m so angry/pissed off/fight me Christine Catlin (if that’s even your real name), but also I love you book blogging community/i’m so grateful/thankful/happy to have you in my life, so if anything in this post seems strange or awkward-sounding, please excuse me.)