As I celebrate my fourth year of blogging I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. When I look back at previous posts I am amazed at the books I have read, astounded by all the support I’ve received, and, to be honest, a little embarrassed when I read older posts. But we were young, inexperienced, we thought we sounded cool and grown up at the time but now a few of those earlier posts could do with some more editing and sophistication and less…stream of conscious and randomness.
But of course the other side of that is I have loved seeing how I’ve grown over the years. My reviewing has become refined and more structured, I’ve worked out my style and my voice, and while I am still really settling into a good rhythm, I am getting closer every day. I saw a wonderful tweet from Jean at Happy Indulgence Books that expressed this beautifully.
Blogging Year 1: THIS IS NEW & EXCITING! 🎉
Year 2: getting the hang of it 😀
Year 3: so… much… stress.. 😢
Year 4: I’ll do it my way 💃— Jeann (@happyindulgence) January 9, 2017
I think that as I enter my fifth year of blogging I am getting to the stage where I am doing it my way. Last year was my stressfully year, probably the year before in part, but I’m finally at a point where I can see what I am doing and be content. Having said that, I know full well there will be times this year when I am stressed, the beginning of the year always brings such hope and promise. But one of my goals for the year was not to worry so much about blogging. I started this to enjoy it, to love sharing my thoughts on books and I am determined to keep doing that.
Part of enjoying the experience is getting to share great books with you guys! It is customary to celebrate this milestone with a giveaway to all my fantastic followers and readers who have stuck by me for the years of random posts and weeks and months of absence for some reason or another. This year I have selected a handful of my favourite books from the previous year. A few have missed out because The Book Depository doesn’t have them so a few proper favourites missed out which is a shame. Either way, the eight I have chosen were some of my favourites and cover a range of genres so there should be something for everyone.
I am giving ONE lucky person the chance to win and I am opening it up internationally. If you want to check out the books in more detail I’ve included some links below. I wish I had been able to review more because I want to tell you how amazing these books are, but it hasn’t happened yet unfortunately.
Thank you again for supporting me for all these years and I look forward to doing this for many more years. Good luck to all entrants and happy reading!
The Selection
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertelli
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
Yellow by Megan Johnson – Review
The Midnight Watch by David Dyer
The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis – Review
Time and Time Again by Ben Elton
To enter: For a chance to win one of the pictured books simply enter here and complete the Rafflecopter form.
Please note: This giveaway is international on the basis the Book Depository ships to your country. To see if you are eligible you can check their website.
Where does the time go? Today marks my third anniversary of this blog. It has been an absolute joy, every year has been so different and I am still learning and working out the kinks, and in between that I get to read fantastic books from fantastic authors and share them with the world, literally the world. That’s pretty awesome if you think about it.
