I am terrible about being consistent in my connections to other bloggers. I get overwhelmed with the amount of amazing stuff out there and feel lost. I am once again going to resolve to leave thoughtful comments on others’ blogs. I always wish I received more comments on my posts so I need to “be the change”, right?
One place I do better is Twitter. I reply and retweet with regularity and find interesting links there. Much of my Twitter realm is devoted to writing, writers and books — not just book reviewers. As another BBAW-er posted this morning, having Twitter lists is key. It’s a great platform but it can get noisy. I’ve been bad about that but it’s a good idea.
I think some of my most exciting connections have been on Twitter, actually. I’ve chatted with favorite authors and met people who I became friends with in real life. And Twitter is how I learned about this sort of blogging in the first place. (You mean they send you books in the mail!? To your house?! For free!?!)
I do use Goodreads, sparingly. It mostly helps me keep track of books I am interested in or have read. I’m in a couple of groups there, but that platform has grown like kudzu lately. It just doesn’t seem like it lends itself to connecting with readers. And I DESPERATELY miss their bookswap program.
I highly recommend Armchair BEA to connect with and trade stories. There are tons of interesting people with a wide variety of tastes. And the organizers always have cool prizes to giveaway every day.
I think as bookish people, we tend to be introverts anyway. But one thing I have noticed over the years is once you get us talking, we will engage in literary conversations all day!
Soooo many people have recommended Armchair BEA this week. I’ve never played along with that before, but I’m thinking this year I should. Prior to this, it’s been a while since I did any blogging events, and I’m regretting it now! Gotta do more of those!
If only we could get them to return our books, and in good condition… 😛
I know! I suppose I would write in journals for someone to find dusty and forgotten several years later.
Yeah, my Twitter is kinda a mess. I really should work on it.
🙂
Yeah, I understand them not wanting to become “another Facebook” but it should be easier to share books and “send” them to other’s profiles.
I agree with your ‘once you get us talking’. Isn’t it nice to be able to share with people who don’t look like they’d like to run away from us? Because of our book talk. LOL
I get easily overwhelmed as well, especially when it comes to posting and commenting (so, you know…just the most important things!). Twitter has really helped me to stay connected, too. I also wish Goodreads was somehow more social and had a better UI.
I love your last paragraph. What would this bookish introvert do if the internet didn’t exist? 🙂
“I am terrible about being consistent in my connections to other bloggers. I get overwhelmed with the amount of amazing stuff out there and feel lost. I am once again going to resolve to leave thoughtful comments on others’ blogs. I always wish I received more comments on my posts so I need to “be the change”, right?” It’s like you crawled inside my head and pulled out the thoughts.
What you say about introverts is so true! I’m very introverted but love connecting with others in this space to discuss books. Funny how we never tire of discussing books! I’ve never looked into lists on twitter–I should probably set something like that up.