Conversations is a bimonthly discussion meme hosted by Corralling Books and Fiddler Blue. Find more information and future discussion topics here.
I have been silent on this blog for way too long. After quite the eye-opening half-week at BEA and BookCon, I’ve regained some semblance of motivation where blogging is concerned. Of course, it’s still taking a bit for me to jump into this thing full throttle again, so I was way too pleased when I remembered that Corralling Books hosts a bimonthly discussion meme. This week’s topic question is: “What are the essential things the blogs you follow have to have?” This question actually came up quite a lot during the Blogger Conference last week, so I was more than prepared for this one.
So, if you’ve been curious as to why this mini snark-filled blogger is following you, here are the top three reasons:
ONE. Personality, Personality, Personality!
You can blog until you’re blue in the face (please don’t do that. it doesn’t sound healthy), but you’re not going to move me to press that follow button (or actually type your URL into my WordPress following system) if I can’t feel some aspect of your personality seeping through your posts. I don’t want to read emotionless, dispassionate pieces of writing. I do that enough at my job. What I really want is to know that the blogger behind the screen is just as much of a nutcase about books as I am. Bonus points are awarded to those who are absolutely hilarious (and it’s difficult for me, a natural comedian, to find a similar kind of humor). If our personalities mesh, you better believe I will be on your blog every day chanting “notice me, soulmate” in my mind every single time we talk.
TWO. Similar taste in books or, conversely, a book taste I want to have
I’m way behind the times in the book world. I say this all the time, but I was in the longest ever reading slump beginning when I first went off to university like six years ago (did I just out myself as being old af?). I only just started getting back into the swing of things last year, so I’ve missed out A LOT on all of the hyped up things (thank, God). If I notice we have a similar genre tastes, I’m following… because I know you’re going to talk about the books I missed, as well as the books coming out, that I need to add to my TBR pile. On the other side of this, I have been wanting to REALLY get back to horror and fantasy, so I follow a lot of those blogs even though that’s not what I blog about (yet) just to see what I’ve been missing on that front. Ya dig?
THREE. Reviews
This is why I’m here. This blog stemmed from my need to talk/gush/scream about books with other people who talk/gush/scream about books, and this is usually my way in. I love commenting on the book reviews for things I, too, fell in love with. It’s part of what makes this book blogging thing great.
* I know people are all “MOAR DISCUSSIONS! [/insert deranged bunny face here],” but I really couldn’t care less about it (and, no, it’s not just because I’m too boring to actually be able to write one). I just believe everyone here should do what they love. And if the so-called “discussion posts” don’t move you, don’t do them. Be uniquely you, and I’m here for life!
So, lovelies, what things are essential for you to follow? Feel free to comment your answer. We can totally…. start a conversation
Backlist Babe 
Great post and I agree about the reviews and having similar taste in books. What’s the point of following a blog that read and review books I have no interest in. I believe a book blog should be balanced. You can talk about books but you can also talk about tv shows and music. But that’s just my opinion.
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Great post. I agree about reviews. I like reading reviews more on blogs while I discussions on Instagram. Maybe because in Insta it is on the phone and I find it easier to chat there. I did notice that reviews are in less demand than discussions. And also, so true about conversations. You can understand if a aperson read your post or not by the conversation
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I’m not a big fan of reading or writing reviews, but to each their own, right? Actually, I’m still hung up on the throwaway comment that you are old af because you started uni six years ago. My 25th reunion is starting this week…so I’m definitely OLDER than old af. ;) And yes, voice is the #1 reason why I follow a blog.
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I definitely like following people with similar tastes in books as well! It definitely helps me decide what to move to the top of my TBR pile. Also, I know I’d feel discouraged if a blogger I followed constantly disliked my favorite books (something I haven’t really had to deal with yet, thankfully). I still do think it’s good to read about differing opinions, though! I really enjoy reading blogs with personality as well, and I hope my personality can be seen in my blog. :)
-Jordan @ The Heart of a Book Blogger
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I actually really like reading reviews, too. I know discussion posts often get more views and comments (probably because they’re easier to respond to, whereas someone might now know what to comment on a review of a book they haven’t read), but I also started book blogging to talk about books and read reviews, and I love seeing a variety of them on blogs. I’ve seen a couples bloggers say they stopped reviewing entirely, and that baffles me a little bit.
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I completely agree! I love when bloggers have really distinct and memorable personalities – it makes it seem like you’re talking to a friend, not someone over the internet. And similar book tastes and well-written reviews are also a huge factor in whether or not I follow a blogger. Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous post! <3
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I also look for personality. It’s important for me for the individual to shine through their posts. When a blog is just a really long list of reviews that are all written in the same monotone robotic sounding voice, I cannot deal with that.
Show me your PASSION!! haha :) I also get A LITTLE bored when the blogs are just a constant update every week of the same tags and not much else. TOP 5 this and top ten that every week, i tend to tune it out after a while. Once in a while it’s cool, all the time, not so much.
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Definitely. Since I’m mostly here for the reviews (you know, because my TBR piles aren’t ALREADY grossly out of control), I can’t stand it when they all end up sounding like a forced English assignment. I do believe there is a way bloggers can still come off as professional (if that’s what they’re worried about) without sounding like they’re uninterested in what they’re typing. Seriously, if you have no passion for it, why expend so much time and energy writing about it? Time is precious, people.
Also… 1000000% yes. I do love following someone’s answer for memes to an extend; but if all you have on your blog is tags, I just can’t be a part of the madness. While I do believe the bajillion memes/tags/awards/whathaveyou are something of a gateway to getting to know the blogger behind the screen, I think some people just do them to do them/because everyone else is doing them (AND WE, AS READERS, CAN TELL).
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I agree with you post! For me to follow any blog personality is key! But I also like them to have a wide variety of book reviews from different genres and if they do discussion & lifestyle posts about different topics within/outside of the book world, that’s great too!
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I am SUCH a sucker for lifestyle posts. I, honestly, don’t understand why we as book bloggers don’t do them more often. I get that some people are probably here for the anonymity of the internet, and that’s fine. I, however, always find myself looking for more behind the blogger than an obsession with books. I want to know what you’re watching that has you equally excited or what song you recently heard that you have been playing on repeat for days now. It just helps to view the blogger behind the screen as a more relatable person to me that I can eventually be friends with if I can fangirl with them about things other than books (because, let’s face it… I’m not reading 24/7, and I know no one else is either).
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I agree with you! Plus I think it adds variety to a person’s blog. Like you said, people can fangirl/connect with each other by talking about books, but I like to read about places people go, restaurants they like, etc. It’s gives a blogger’s readers a personality behind the screen. And you’re right, no can read 24/7 as much as we’d like to.
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I, too, find that I’m most interested in people’s reviews. I currently kind of suck at writing them, but when I look back at my posts I like the most…it’s the reviews. For me, I think it’s just getting past my personal brain block about them. We’ll see what happens.
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I know that feel. My favorite posts of mine right now are definitely reviews (even though I don’t write them as often as I should because my brain often forgets how to function). For me, at least, reviews have turned into a way for me to discuss a book and word vomit about my thoughts and concerns without having to sort of censor myself so that I don’t look like a crazy person the way I do when I’m discusing books with my coworkers/friends. I hope you continue to work past your block. Only great things can come of it!
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I agree with your post! I like to see people’s personalities behind their writing, even if they read genres I’m not a fan off. A lot of my fave blogs also show originality and creativity and that definitely sets them apart from others. And some blogs offer such unique and pertinent content that I have to follow them.
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This post is great–thank you for sharing!
I also look for personality above all other things. If all of your posts sound exactly the same–no excitement, no passion, no YOU–I’m much less likely to read them. I also look for creativity–I don’t mind the weekly memes and whatnot, but I want to see different things too. I feel this helps round bloggers out and make them much more real to me, you know?
<3
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No problem!
That is 100% true. You can usually tell when someone just isn’t into what they’re writing. The voice just feels off. Not saying it’s damning to have a bad day here or there (because we all have them), but I’m definitely not sticking around if I can tell you don’t care about the books/ideas you’re trying to sell me on. I definitely know what you mean about the creativity bit. While memes are cool and all sometimes they can get to be repetitive when you follow blogs dealing in the same genre. That’s why I’m always looking for that one sporadic post that’s a bit out of the norm. For example, I’m pretty much a sucker for anyone who discusses what they’re currently watching and things like that because it gives bloggers an “I’m more than just these books, though” feel which is something I relate to a lot.
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<3 Yes, exactly! All of that!
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