As I continue to clean up around Book Chase since my return to active blogging, a few things have jumped out at me:
- Like where did so many of my old book-blogging friends run off to? I decided to clean up my "Blogger Reading List" yesterday afternoon by removing those blogs that have been dead for at least one year. Now keep in mind that I haven't edited that list in about three years, so I did expect that several blogs might have disappeared by now. What I didn't expect to find, however, was that 16 of the 38 blogs that I followed three years ago are no longer active. Do the math along with me and you will see that's 42% of the bloggers I was following just three years ago. Gone. I had followed a few of them for close to ten years and lots of them for more than five - and saddest of all, some of them left just after reaching personal five-or-ten-year milestones.
- Like how much easier it is to remember details from the books I've read when I write something about them than it is if I know I won't be doing that. I think it's a combination of me unconsciously paying more attention up front during the reading process, and that writing something halfway intelligible forces me to organize and solidly lock in my impressions and conclusions when I'm done with a book.
- Like how so many of my blogging friends have moved from Blogger to WordPress in recent years. I made that same move a few years ago myself but learned the hard way that the free Blogger platform could do some things for me that the paid WordPress could not do nearly as easily, if at all. So I moved back to Blogger. I realize that was four years ago, and I suspect that both platforms have changed for the better since then, but I will be sticking with Blogger unless some huge WordPress advantage makes itself obvious.
- And finally, like how several of my longtime favorite book blogs are now just over or just under 15 years old and still going as strongly as ever. Honestly, I don't know how they do it, but I love them for doing it so well for so long.
Yes, I've lost count of the number of bookish blogs I've followed over the years who gave up after quite a few years. It can be a strange experience going back to posts from years ago, seeing someone's comment and thinking, 'I wonder where they are and what they're doing?' I've had my Blogspot blog for almost 9 years now... occasionally I wonder why I bother but tend to decide that writing about books is a very good mental exercise for an old codger like me and I wouldn't get it doing anything else.
ReplyDeleteI must admit I my heart sinks when someone says they're moving to Wordpress. I'm one of the Blogspot bloggers that Wordpress hates. My first comments go into their spambox and unless I can get the blog-owner to release the comment (after which it tends to be OK) that person is then lost to me. You would be amazed at how many Wordpress bloggers do not know where their spambox is, never find it, and that tends to be the end of that. Sad but true.
And thank you so much for adding me to your favourite blogs list.
I guess it's human nature that so many blogs disappear right after achieving some kind of major anniversary; it's as if the bloggers are just hanging on long enough to reach a goal, and then they lose the energy to continue. And I think you're right, too, that writing about books we read generally keeps us sharper. I'm amazed at how much more I remember if I write even a short review about a book.
DeleteI just don't see the attraction to WordPress because when I tried it for a few months, it just didn't compare to the look I could get on Blogger. And blogger is better than it was back then, so I'm really glad that I maintained both formats when I thought I was going to make the switch.
Love your blog and seeing what you are reading in my of my favorite parts of the UK. I grew up on British lit just like most people my age, and I love keeping up with the current stuff. We live in a very small world today, don't we?
I am another who "grew up on British lit" and got a degree in it! I am very fond of blogspot. I flirted with leaving when there was some problem a few years ago, but I do love all the choices here. And I, too, thank you for having me on your bloglist. I don't write as often as I think about writing, but that may change when the grandchildren begin school. I have been pretty wrapped up since December 2013!
DeleteI'm happy that you've stuck it out through those busy years, Nan. I think all of us go through that kind of cycle where we go through periods of almost no free time and then the pendulum finally (and thankfully) swings in the other direction. I had those two years where there was so much physical healing going on that I just couldn't focus on the blog anymore - but the pendulum finally moved in the right direction.
DeleteBlogger, I remember, had some stability problems a few years ago when my blog disappeared for two or three weeks at a time and no one could find it for me, and that's when I tried WordPress. Luckily Blogger stabilized before I got in too deep with WP.
I've been blogging about 10 years now and some days I don't want to do anything related to my blog but I can be that true about many things! But I love sharing my love for books with anyone that wants to read my posts so I'll keep doing for now.
ReplyDeleteI've been on WP for almost all of those 10 years and wouldn't go back to blogger now. But I also think it is what you get used to using.
DeleteI think we all come to that burnout stage eventually where blogging seems almost like a job and a responsibility. I guess the trick is to find a way to survive those times and continue onward with what all of us love so much: communication with the real book lovers who are so rare in our real world lives. Maybe the trick is a break - my break was forced on me, but I'm fresh again and raring to go as a result of it.
DeleteAs for Blogger vs. WordPress, you're probably right. It's what, over time, we grow comfortable with that we are most likely to prefer. I used WordPress for a few months but never got to the point that it was second nature to me like Blogger is. I was working way too hard to get things done and switched back for that reason.
Interesting that you and some of your readers prefer blogger. I tried both wordpress and blogger at the beginning and always found wordpress got more views, was easier to use, and of course, was free. And it loads faster. So many blogger bloggers add too much to their side bars that the pages are slow to load, so I stopped following many blogger bloggers.
ReplyDeleteAt one point, blogging seemed to have run its course -- people were going to twitter and Instagram, though it also seems as if blogs are making a comeback. After all, here you are!
And then there are the bloggers like me who started out blogging about books and writing, and have gone on to life issues. https://bertramsblog.com/
Pat, what you say about WP getting more views does make me wonder why that would be, but maybe it's because of that slow-loading problem you mentioned. I hope that my blog isn't loading frustratingly slow for you...let me know, if so. I have limited the number of posts on my front page for precisely that reason, but maybe I need to simplify the sidebar if it's still slow.
ReplyDeleteI do think that blogging is set for a comeback of sorts because most social platforms have become little more than political battlegrounds and that's a turnoff. I look forward to that happening.
Thanks for your blog link - going to put it on my sidebar blog links in a minute. Ha...more clutter to download.
When I started with WordPress, it seemed more of a social networking platform -- every post ended up in a feed filed by category. People clicked on links that interested them. And yes, so many social platforms have become not fun. Your blog loaded just fine, which it should since my computer is new.
DeleteThanks for adding me to your blog. I will do the same.
Mine is new, too, so I wondered how it might be loading on older ones. The one I replaced had really gotten sluggish in its 8 years on the job. I wish WP and Blogger were more social networking platforms than they are sometimes because that would help people with similar interests connect. But that's kind of a fine line to walk and it's easy to take that kind of thing too far.
DeleteIt's sad how many book blogs have fallen by the wayside over the last five years or so. Many of my old favorites are no longer around :( I do think there's been a little bit of a resurgence in the popularity of book blogs as younger bloggers have started them up, but still, I pine a bit for the olden days of book blogging.
ReplyDeleteI'm also a Blogger devotee. WP just doesn't work well for me.
Yours is one of the oldest blogs on my blogroll, Susan. And one of the most consistently tended to, so you are definitely beating the odds. I've noticed a lot of new book blogs being done by younger folk but I haven't been able to warm up to many of them so far because they are into genres I don't read much and vice versa.
Delete