Starting this time last year I decided to publish all my indie book reviews on this blog – I had reviewed so many that they were scheduled out to 7 months later. I had officially become a book blogger and it’s something I was interested in trying. As someone who was never a big reader (This might come as a surprise to some, but from my teen years through most of my young adult years I only read a couple of books per year give or take) this was an interesting change for me.

What Brought On My Reading Craze

I’d say it was becoming an indie author that increased my interest in reading. After a few years of being a self-published author, I wanted to support others and embrace reading more books. As a writer, I wanted to read more in hopes of improving my own skill. Reading and writing certainly go hand in hand. I admit that reading became almost an obsession in 2020 and I realized I had to cut back on all the books I was buying (Most of them were e-books under $5, but that can add up if you’re not careful). You definitely get a nice dose of serotonin when you’re helping out an author who isn’t well known.

Why I Became A Book Blogger

When I got back into blogging last spring, I noticed I had reviewed a lot of indie books (in addition to some traditionally published books). I decided it would be a good idea to post all of these reviews for my followers to recommend some great reads while helping the authors get more reach.

How Book Blogging Has Changed How I Read

Fast forward to 2022 and I’ve definitely adjusted my reading habits since 2020. For one thing, I want to be careful with my budgeting, but more importantly I want to give myself more time to read a book comfortably. I don’t set my yearly reading goal to 60 books anymore. I also am a little more picky with what I’ve been buying. I tend to like books that have a coming of age or self-discovery flair – though thrillers, mysteries, and dystopian also strike my interest as does the odd comedy. Now that I’ve been blogging more regularly, I often start thinking about how I’m going to word/structure the review as I’m reading a story. Of course I don’t let that get in the way of my enjoyment of the book, but I do want to make more of an effort to write a good review that will entice people to check it out. In the past I’d sometimes only write 3 sentences for a review. Now I’m a lot more thoughtful and intentional when I read so I can end up writing a great review later.