Forever and Not Long at All: 365 Days in Book Blogging

Mobilos, “Fractal Clock”, 2013, via Wikimedia.

A year ago today I published my first post on this little blog – it is about as terrible as you might expect a first post to be – and I can hardly believe that I’ve been blogging for 365 days.

Since that initial post, I’ve published 328 other articles here, including an interview with editorial director Alison Hennessey, a look at the rejection letters received by now-famous authors, and a defense of young adult literature.

I also wrote and published my first novel, which happened on an extraordinarily accelerated timeline.

Then as the result of my work on this blog, I began writing for the book editorial website Book Riot where I published articles on what books to read when life is rough, the creative ways libraries are trying to fund themselves, the trouble with writing in library books, and more.

Needless to say, it has been a busy year. But the most rewarding part of book blogging hasn’t been the number of posts I wrote or the number of views my articles received. The best part has been the chance to interact with so many brilliant, thoughtful people who have strong opinions about words and the way we write.

Science fiction author and writing instructor Sarah J. Higbee has been an inspirational blogging model. (And she was gracious enough to share some writing tips!) Along with having fantastic taste in lipstick, book reviewer Melanie Noell Bernard has been boundlessly enthusiastic about the world of fiction and writing. Stephanie Plotkin from TeacherofYA and Jennie Fitzkee from A Teacher’s Reflections have offered insight into the role of reading in the classroom. And I have spent countless hours reading reviews written by the folks at Thrice Read and the Library Ladies.

Of course there are many, many other engaging bloggers who have influenced my blogging life. I can’t thank you enough for how welcoming you all have been and for how much wisdom you’ve shared.

So here is to another great year! Who knows what the next 365 days will bring?