Blogiversary: The People Who Made the Difference

BlogiversaryI can’t quite believe that it’s a year since What Cathy Read Next was launched into the blogosphere but it is and today is my first blogiversary!

I could talk about how many followers my blog has gained or how many views it’s received. But, if I’ve learned anything over the past twelve months, it’s that it’s the people who make the book blogging community what it is. So, this is my tribute to just some of the people who’ve made the past year such a positive experience.


Authors: Thank you for your creativity and for crafting the books that make us go “Aah”, “Eek”, “Ouch”, “Eh?” or – my favourite – “I wasn’t expecting that!”. Thank you to the authors who’ve entrusted me with their books and waited patiently for my reviews – and for those still waiting! Thank you to the authors who’ve shared my reviews or commented on them with generosity and appreciation.

Publishers: Thank you to the many publishers who’ve supported my blog by generously providing me with review copies or inviting me to participate in blog tours – especially those who took a chance on me when my blog was just a toddler such as Bonnier Zaffre, Head of Zeus and Impress Books.

Book bloggers: Thank you to the book bloggers who’ve provided me with inspiration, acted as role models for the book blogging community and who continue to overwhelm me with their energy, inventiveness, camaraderie and passion for books. You can find some of my favourites in the blog roll on my blog.

Followers: Thank you to each and every one of the people who have followed What Cathy Read Next by email, on WordPress, Bloglovin, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I value your support.

Commenters: Thanks to all those who’ve taken the time to comment on my blog posts. I’ve really enjoyed our conversations and it’s been fantastic to receive feedback on my reviews, learn about other great books to add to my wishlist and chat about those great book blogging preoccupations: TBR piles, NetGalley feedback ratios and reading/blogging slumps! A special shout out to my top commenters: Nicki at The Secret Library Blog, Eva at Novel Delights, Cleo at Cleopatra Loves Books and Lynne at Fictionophile.

Sharers: A big thank you to everyone who’s shared my blog posts on Twitter or Facebook or retweeted my tweets. Oh, and everyone who’s ‘liked’ them as well!

Tour organisers: Participating in blog tours has introduced me to some fantastic books, some of which I would probably never have read or even known about otherwise. I’m always blown away by the organisational skill and professionalism of blog tour organisers.   So thank you to the following for letting me be part of your tour host teams: Amy at Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Jenny at Neverland Blog Tours, Giselle at Xpresso Tours, Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources, Sage at Sage’s Blog Tours, Laura at iRead Book Tours and Anne at Random Things Through My Letter Box.

And since I’m in a good mood, I’ll even thank WordPress for randomly inserting extra line breaks at random in my posts (including this one)!

 

 


Here’s to many more years of happy book blogging for us all!

What Cathy Read Next

Blog Talk: What Does Your Book Blog Say About You?

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If it’s possible to judge a book by its cover, why not a blogger by their blog?

Look at the statements below and choose the FOUR that you think most closely describe your blog.   Each statement is numbered. Match the numbers to the words in the table at the bottom of this post to find out what your blog says about you….


  1. Your blog includes a blog roll or list of other book blogs you admire
  2. You frequently take part in tags, blog hops or feature ‘who’s that blogger’ type posts
  3. Your blog has been going for more than a year
  4. You display your stats – views, followers, etc – prominently on your blog
  5. Your most frequent posts are discussion pieces
  6. Your blog features lots of custom-made graphics
  7. Your blog has an archive, lists of reviews by category/genre/author, reading list pages or challenge pages
  8. On your blog you feature books from a number of different genres
  9. Your blog focuses on one main book genre
  10. Your blog is linked to at least four of the following social media channels: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest
  11. You frequently feature books with some of the following characteristics: LGBT; gender diversity; people with disabilities; characters from ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities; banned books; literature in translation
  12. Your blog has used several different design themes
  13. You post at least five times per week
  14. You post less than five times per week
  15. Book reviews on your blog are most likely to be for ARCs or recently published books
  16. You often feature author interviews/Q&As

 

BlogTalk

Why not share in four words what your blog says about you in a comment below.