It's been a long six months, and I have found myself battling a lot of things - none of which made me want to sit down and blog.
The goalposts of my life seem to have shifted. What was the point, I found myself asking, of writing these things down, when so many people do it much better than I, and with much greater depth? I was, however, loath to give up the thing entirely and close down that section of my life. I like to write about what is interesting, and even though I'm a lone voice, that doesn't mean I should cause it to stop me expressing my thoughts.
With this in mind, I have come to the conclusion that I will be better served if I don't try to compete. I should not restrict myself to books, for I will never manage to be ahead of the game and read the latest releases to inform you all of. I simply cannot afford it! Henceforth, I will attempt to put across my views on theatre, education, books - basically the world I see. Hopefully you'll still want to read (if you do), but even if not I'll have found a voice - which can be no bad thing.
6 comments:
I can very much relate to your post--I have the same feelings when it comes to books and others writing about them in a way that is (at least I think) far better and with more depth than I do. I constantly second guess myself, however, I think there is lots of room in the virtual world to talk about books in a variety of ways. And personally I prefer reading posts by someone who writes enthusiastically about a book they love or enjoyed even if it isn't something new (as a matter of fact I think I prefer hearing about books that everyone else isn't already talking about). The nice thing about a personal space like this is being able to talk about whatever strikes your fancy!
I agree with Danielle. There's no need for competition in the book blogging world, there's enough space for us all (and enough books too!) Plus I think it detracts from what should be fun. So good on you:)
I agree with the other commentators; there is enough space for everyone, and it's perfectly ok to read what you want to read (and not the newest books out there).. I read a wide variety of reading blogs, but the ones I like the most are those where the author of the blog is honest and reads what they are interested in (as opposed to whichever title is being peddled around that week).
Stay true to yourself, and you will be fine. :-)
liz
Welcome back, Becca! Enjoy making your blog whatever you want it to be :) Blogs which try too hard (not that yours has ever felt like that) are never fun to read.
As someone who reads for pleasure, I can only agree with what Danielle and the others have said.
The best book blogs are the ones where personality comes through and it gets very,very boring if they all talk about the same books.
It gets even more boring if they get pretentious and precious about it - unless of course they use 'big' words and get them wrong - then it is highly amusing!
I would far rather read someone's honest opinion about a book, particularly if they really liked it so you write what you want, about what you want and it will be a much more enjoyable read than following the herd!
Do what is rewarding for you. Clearly a lot of it will be rewarding for us too! I'm all for weblogs that don't become exclusively about one thing but do reflect the personality and experiences of their author.
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