For you bloggers out there, has blogging ever changed your reading experience? I know it has for me. It more ways than one, both positively and negatively.
Positively
Blogging has introduced me to sooooo many books that I would never have known of and read if I didn’t know about the blogosphere. I would never have heard of some of my recent favorite books if I haven’t started blogging. It has allowed me to explore other genres that I would never have touched before. It also introduced me to people who shared my love of reading and who I could depend on to give me good book recommendations. Besides getting great recommendations, blogging has also given me more of an insight of what goes on behind the scenes of book publishing. It has taught me to appreciate authors and publishers a lot more. And honestly, blogging has saved me from a long lasting reading slump. It got me back doing what I love doing – reading.
Negatively
As much as blogging has a positive impact on my reading experience, it also has many negative ones. Like I said before, blogging has given me more of an insight of what happens behind the scenes. Before, I only cared about the finished product and not how it came to be. But now, now I know some dirty secrets that I sometimes wish I never knew. I guess you could say I was a bit ignorant and oblivious and blogging has enlightened me. For example, I used to be obsessed with The Moral Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. But now I have more knowledge of the controversial way it came to be. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, look it up). Sure, I still like series, but nowhere as much as I did before. I also used to idolize James Patterson. He wrote the Maximum Ride series that I love… sort of, but when I heard about some rumors about how he treats his co-authors… yeah, let’s just say I don’t make it my duty to read every book he publishes anymore. People say ignorance is bliss and they are somewhat right. No matter how dangerous it can, ignorance is blissful while it lasts.
Overall, I think the positives outweigh the negatives. As nice as it was to be more oblivious to how a book came to be, it is for the best – it let’s you to properly credit someone with what they deserve. Sure, if I haven’t started blogging, I could still be enjoying the same books, but I would have missed out on so much more.
What do you think?
How has blogging changed your reading experience?
Great topic!! I definitely can see how blogging can open your eyes to things you didn’t know before, or never would have even had access to learning about before. But the positive outweighs that for sure. We meet so many awesome people (authors, other bloggers) and really get to feel like part of the “in” crowd. We get exposure to so many books (ok, so that might be a negative with my 7000+ books on my Goodreads to-read shelf). Most of all I feel it has gotten me to really connect (or really dislike) the books that I read, and I really get more out of them (or get turned off more than I would be) from certain books.
Very good post ! Blogging has changed my view to reading, yes, in the way that before, I read only for pleasure but now, I also read for reviewing and it’s sometimes stressfull lol So many books, so little time, I’ll never read as much as I’d love to, but like you said, I know now of authors and series I’d never heard of before but that I really love 🙂
Agree, great post. Having been a book blogger now for only 3 months, one of the main things which is changed for me (apart from being introduced to more genres/ authors) is that I read with more purpose. I mean, I read a book and think about the characters … how to describe them, are there plot-holes etc.
Whilst blogging has introduced me to books I wouldn’t have read otherwise, it has also lead to me being a lot more judgemental of books. Whilst at the beginning I used to really like almost every book I read, now I tend to read reviews about it first. The thoughts and opinions of other bloggers are always on my mind when reading and I am always trying to either prove them right or wrong in my head. And that does take some of the books initial allure. I also find that I am a lot more judgemental when it comes to things like how believable a dystopian world is, whereas before I didn’t really care. Dystopia was dystopia. I wasn’t supposed to relate. But my biggest problem with blogging are the frequent spoilers. Some bloggers don’t realize they are posting them, or that what they are saying could be considered one, so they don’t warn you. And then you read it. And then you are disappointed. And then you go cry in a corner because you can’t enjoy the book anymore and/or because your heart is crushed.