How has book blogging changed you?
I used to think of myself as a wide reader. I read several genres and sub-genres, including classics, fantasy, paranormal, suspense, romance, middle-grade, and children's.
Then as I wrote more reviews, and started receiving (and turning down) book requests, I realized that I actually have a limited scope of books I read, and whose reviews I read. And aside from that, the genres I enjoy have become more defined. It's great when looking for a new book, but it can also be boring.
From the blogs I follow, I used to only read posts of books I've read before. This was a way for me to make sure I won't plagiarize anyone if I was planning to review a particular book. But lately, I've noticed also that there are a lot of books I don't read or haven't even heard about. It has been making me doubt my bookworm creds, actually. And don't get me started on the romance books. Or New Adult.
I read YA a lot, but I haven't read any by John Green, Cassandra Clare, Veronica Roth...etc. This isn't me bragging or trying to sound unique. Honestly, I'm feeling like the odd duck around here. But this has also got me wondering:
- Am I the only one not enamored by current plot and tropes that is dominating the best-seller and must-read lists?
- Should I start expanding my bookish interests more. Am I the only one who hasn't read books by these authors?
So as a result of my rumination, I've started to comment on reviews of books I don't plan to read or review, even if they're outside of my usual genre. And reading up on reviews from other genres is also a way of my exploring other books or genres that I'm not usually interested in.
What about you? How have you changed in terms of reading or reviewing, or commenting since you started blogging/reviewing books?
