Browsing Tag

blogs

Summer Reading: Blogs

Posted on 30 July, 2014

Summer is here which means I, and many of you, get to catch up on lots of reading. Rather than writing out a list of ten billion books I think you should all read, I thought I’d do something a bit different and talk about some of the blogs you absolutely must check out over the summer.

1. Gingerly Pale

I’ve only recently found Gingerly Pale but Jess’ blog has quickly risen right to the top of my list of favourite blogs. I check Gingerly Pale several times a day to check for new posts and I really do think I’m a little bit obsessed. As it’s only a recent find, I’ve really loved reading through all of her older posts and I don’t think Jess has ever written a post not worth reading!

Jess is so inspirational and as we’re both teenagers I find that I can relate to her so much more. There are gorgeous pictures, beautiful and emotional text, and regular posts too – a bonus!

You can find Jess on Twitter here | Follow via Bloglovin’

2. Books of Amber

I kind of hate Amber’s blog and that’s for one reason: I can’t stop by without wanting to buy every single book she mentions. Amber must have magical powers, because whenever I talk to her or read her blog I seem to lose all reason and MUST. BUY. ALL. THE. BOOKS.

Amber’s blog also has a really awesome design and is super easy to navigate. Well worth a read!

Amber on Twitter | Follow via Bloglovin’

3. Through a Cat’s Eyes

Over the last month or two, I’ve become totally obsessed with Cat’s blog. With a mixture of posts about her life, books and other awesome things, I’ve kind of turned into Cat’s little stalker. Cat is way, way awesome and is a blogger I would like to shout to everyone about. You need to go and discover the awesomeness of Cat’s blog right after reading this post, please! That’s an order.

Cat on Twitter | Follow via Bloglovin’

4. Hardcore Heroines

Tilly, who runs Hardcore Heroines, is seriously one of the best people ever and is so lovely and cool and awesome and ALL THE POSITIVE WORDS! I would really love to be Tilly’s bestest friend and I was in the same building as her the other week and I had no idea which makes me incredibly sad. I could read every single one of Tilly’s posts over and over again. Seriously.

Follow Tilly on Twitter | Follow via Bloglovin’

5. The Bibliomaniac

Not only is Georgia one of the kindest and most loveliest people you will ever meet, she puts so much work into her blog and it really pays off. Recently, one of the things that has made me frequently visit her blog is to take a look at her wonderful book photography. She also does brilliant graphic reviews of books, which makes a nice change from your typical review.

I really trust Georgia’s opinion, and I’m more likely to buy something if I know she’s read, reviewed and loved it.

Georgia on Twitter | Follow via Bloglovin’

What blogs will you be reading non-stop this summer?

On blogging and booktubing + an announcement!

Posted on 28 May, 2014

Hi! I’m Lucy and I’m both a blogger and a booktuber. I’ve wanted to write this post for a while now and, okay, there will be people who disagree but please hear me out!

There have been tensions between the blogging and booktube community for a while now. I’ve noticed the strain between the two, and I know I’m not the only one.

Booktubing is a relatively new phenomenon, only cropping up in the last few years, whereas blogs have been going for a lot longer. Both attract different audiences, booktubers usually with the larger audience, with some booktubers having over 50,000 + subscribers. That doesn’t mean, though, that one is superior.

WE ARE BOTH TRYING TO DO THE SAME THING. We both love books, we both talk about books, and, other than the medium, we really do do it in the same way.

When bloggers and booktubers fall out, the faithful readers and watchers are the ones that suffer. Nobody wants drama, y’all. Unity in the community! WE ARE EQUALS, NOT ENEMIES.

The bridge needs to be gapped between the two, and I have an idea!

What I’m proposing is a regular chat – on both YouTube, Twitter and blogs so that everyone can join in – readathons that include both booktubers and bloggers, and projects that mean both groups work together to spread the word about awesome books. Projects will be announced soon, but here is the first announcement for now:

I’ll be putting together a panel of people to do a book lover liveshow in June, and if you’re a blogger or booktuber, I’d love to welcome you to the panel! There will be an equal amount of bloggers and booktubers on the panel and the conversation will also be happening on Twitter and will be transcribed to a blog for bloggers to join in with. There will be something for everyone – we’ll be discussing things both mediums have in common so nobody will be left out, and it will be an awful lot of fun. We’ll be playing games about BOOKS, discussing organisation and tips for new bloggers and booktubers.

Nurture the newbies who will one day have to welcome new people to the community. Set a good example rather than just falling out and being all drama-ish.

With bloggers and booktubers joined together, we’ll be able to reach so many more people than if we work separately. More book lovers = more people to be friends with!

UNITY IN THE COMMUNITY, YO.

More details to be revealed soon!

(If you’d like to be a part of the liveshow panel (bloggers and booktubers, no matter who you are!), you can email me at contemporaryqueen@outlook.com with your details and why you’d like to be on the panel.)

And now, on a lighter note, you can see me make a fool of myself right here:

Where to Start

On Supporting Your Favourite Blogs

Posted on 16 February, 2014

You may have seen me talking on Twitter about the importance of supporting your favourite blogs, and I wanted to expand on that here.

With the rise of popular platforms such as YouTube, blogging is being overshadowed. With YouTubers who talk about books, or ‘booktubers,’ gaining tens of thousands of subscribers, it can sometimes feel disheartening when most blogs only have a few hundred or less.

So why should you support your favourite blogs?

For a start, you supporting your favourite blogs will most likely encourage more content. That’s a bonus for you, right? Readers also encourage better content and inspire the bloggers themselves. I know I wouldn’t be here writing this post if it wasn’t for all of you. That doesn’t mean I take you all for granted, but I know the interactions between us spurs me on and I’ve met some of my best friends through blogging. I’m a much happier person because of it. Whether you’re a regular reader of a blog, or have just stumbled across it by chance, you’re helping out.

Without readers, blogs are empty shells. Us bloggers need readers to help coax the chicks out of the shells and this is what produces the content you see on the blog. That’s not to say blogs without tons of followers are bad, because most of the time the opposite is true: there are many blogs that deserve a lot more recognition.

Why do I blog? I love blogging. Even though I leave sometimes, I’ve always come back. I’m tied to blogging now. It’s become such a big part of me because I’ve met so many people and because I love talking about books. It makes my day when people say they’ve chosen to read a book because of me, or want recommendations. Even a simple comment or tweet can turn a bad day into a really good one. You have the ability to do that, every single one of you.

So what can you do to help support your favourite blogs?

You can follow your favourite blogs, and there are so many different ways to do this. There will be the right one for you so you don’t miss out on the blog’s posts. You can also leave a comment. Did you know that you only have to leave an email address and a name to comment on this blog? It’s not very hard! Even simple comments, with just a few words, are greatly appreciated because they show that you’ve read the post and have reacted to it in some way. And even just viewing posts, typing the blog URL into your browser or clicking on a link, really helps. Even if you don’t want to leave a comment, you can still tweet the blogger and tell them you loved their post.

Some blogs I think you should check out are: I Have to Read That, The Red Bookmark, Snuggling on the Sofa, and The Reflections of a Bookworm.

You can follow Queen of Contemporary HERE: