Thursday, August 23, 2018

The Book Blogging Firsts Tag




This tag was created by Kristen@ Metaphors And Moonlight. Since Read All The Things! turned 5 in mid-August, I thought this tag was a perfect way to celebrate. It’s time to cast my mind back to 2013 and reminisce about how this bloggy mess got rolling. It’s been a long, peculiar journey. I’ve honestly enjoyed (nearly) every minute of it.

If you haven’t heard, I’m hosting a giveaway to celebrate my blogiversary. Click here and enter to win a book of your choice.




The Blogging Firsts Tag








First blog name and design?




Even though I started Read All The Things! in 2013, it didn’t have a name until late 2014 or early 2015. I don’t remember exactly. The first design was blue and white. Then it changed to red and cream. Then it changed to gray. Now it's still gray. For a long time, the blog’s header was just a blank red rectangle. I discovered the book blogging community on Goodreads in late 2014 and decided to change my blog from a personal blog to a book blog. That’s when I finally gave it a name. After approximately 3.16 seconds of thought, I slapped Read All The Things! in the header. A book blog was born.














First blog post?



I don’t actually want to look back at my first post because it won’t be good for my self-esteem. I guarantee that it was terrible. I’m pretty sure it was a recap of a writing conference I attended. I was working as an associate editor for an anthology series and had to sit in a room and listen to nervous authors pitch their story ideas for the anthology. The badge I wore at the conference said Editor, and all the authors were terrified to talk to me. It was weird. Usually I’m the one who’s scared of other humans.


Blurry cell phone photo of the room where I traumatized authors. Also, the first and only time I've had my name on a door.












First book review?



I deleted it from the blog and Goodreads shortly after I wrote it, but it was a long, scathing review of Twilight. I think everything that needs to be said about that book has already been said. I decided that the review was mean and unnecessary. Let’s just say that I have issues with everything in that series.














First meme participated in?



It was a Valentine’s Day Top Ten Tuesday. I didn’t post it on a Tuesday because somehow the Tuesday part of the title didn’t sink into my thick skull. I posted it on Valentine’s Day.














First discussion post?



I was writing discussion posts long before I knew what they were called. For the first two years of the blog, it was just a place where I sporadically posted my thoughts about random stuff. Those random stuff posts were discussions, even though I didn’t know it. A lot of my posts weren’t bookish. I deleted those when I decided to make this a book blog.

I think my first bookish discussion-type post was about a conversation I overheard in a bookstore. A mother wouldn’t let her son read Eragon because the author is an atheist, and therefore the book must be dangerous atheist propaganda. That was news to me. I didn’t think the author was talented enough to write propaganda. He could barely manage a derivative dragon story. (Sorry, Paolini lovers. I don't understand the appeal.)














First book blog I followed?



This is tricky because I was reading book blogs long before I started using social media consistently. I found them through Goodreads and linkups. I just clicked, read, and occasionally commented. I think Cornerfolds and Rebel Mommy Book Blog were two of the first I followed. Does anyone remember the meme Feature & Follow Friday? (Is that still around?) That’s what forced me to use social media. I followed most of the bloggers who participated in that.


Remember this?












First follower?



It was probably someone who linked up for Feature & Follow Friday. The only way I could get followers in the beginning was by spending my Fridays begging Internet strangers to read my blog.

Actually, there might have been someone before that. I think her screen name started with a C, and she lived in Scandinavia. We bonded by talking about fictional car accidents. Her blog was pink and yellow and had a long title. She quit blogging because she got married and started traveling and moving around a lot.


A graphic I made for Feature & Follow Friday












First book I read because of other bloggers?



Most of the books I read in 2015 were because of bloggers. That’s the year I started reading blogs every morning instead of watching the news. That’s the year my TBR list exploded. It has never been the same again. (RIP realistic and sensible TBR list.) I think the first book I read because of blogger hype was Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. It didn’t sound like my kind of book at all. I read it only because of the hype. I really liked it. The hype was real.











Do you want to do this tag? Consider yourself tagged.








47 comments:

  1. I have sometimes wondered if I was the only one who couldn't get into Eragon. Now I know I am not alone. Thank you!

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    1. I know! Everybody seems to love that book. I’ve tried to read it many times, and I just can’t get through it.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  2. You edited an anthology? What other accomplishments have you been hiding from us?

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  3. This is really cool, I'll have to do this next year when I've been blogging for a full year! The only thing that made me read the Twilight series was the vampires and werewolves (it was a phase), I can't stand the protagonist and then all the things that she does or causes (the pointless triangle) were just frustrating!

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    1. I read it for the vampires and werewolves, too! That’s not what I expected from vampires and werewolves . . .

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  4. Ah this is a fun tag!! Although I don't know if I want to revisit my first posts. They were painful. I remember Feature and Follow Friday!

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    1. I didn’t want to revisit my first posts. They would be too embarrassing. I just looked at the post titles in my archives and tried to remember.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  5. Love this tag. I've been blogging for about 9 years now so I think it'll be fun to look back on all the firsts. :D I don't blame you about having problems with the Twilight series. I'm pretty sure a lot of my first blog posts were ranting about them too.

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  6. This tag is so cute! Reminiscing on the past to see how far you've come as a blogger/reviewer/person sounds both scary and fun at the same time! :)

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  7. Oh blog designs.., there have been many on my blog. I fiddle with it every time I'm in a blogging slump, or during every holiday season lol

    My first posts weren't tooooo bad but I had a lot of silly ones like one sentence long letting people know a book was on sale lol Which I guess back then (2011) was informative?? I don't know :-))

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. I had posts like that, too! I think I eventually deleted them all.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  8. Nice post! Congrats on five years! That's funny about your Top Ten Tuesday post being on some day other than Tuesday.

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  9. Ohhh this is such a fun tag, I love it so, very much, the idea is so great. I'm scared of revisiting my old blog posts haha, I'm sure I would feel bad at their layout and overall quality, but... we all start somewhere and it's always fun to see how we grow from there, too :D

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    1. I was too scared to click on my old posts. I just glanced at the titles and tried to remember.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  10. Hahaha! I legitimately deleted my original ratings and reviews for the Twilight series a few years ago. I'm embarrassed just thinking about it. And hurray I see me! You were one of the first I followed too. I'm definitely stealing this, although I'm afraid of going back to the dark days. XD

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    1. Going back to the dark days was scary. If you do this tag, I very much want to read it.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  11. I kinda wish I could read this scathing review of Twilight now!

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    1. Haha, I’m sure the snarky reviews on Goodreads say all the same things I did.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  12. I am having trouble believing you actually read Twilight.

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  13. This is a neat historical bit about your blog. I'm on the other side. Loved Twilight. It pulled me into YA reading.

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    1. A lot of people have said that about Twilight. I seem to be in the minority for not liking it.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  14. I thought I'd be the only one responding I enjoyed Twilight but I see there's one other. LOL! I wouldn't call it serious literature but it was a fun read. I also enjoyed the naughty books it inspired. ;) I think enough in my day job. I don't like to think too much when I'm reading for fun.

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    1. I think I’m in the minority with not liking Twilight. Goodreads rates it 3.58/5 and it’s one of the 100 books on The Great American Read list. That must mean that lots of people like it.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  15. Congrats on 5 years of blogging! Top Ten Tuesday was the first meme I ever participated in as a blogger, too. I also did Feature & Follow Friday for quite a while. I still remember my first blog post, although I've tried to forget it because it was a pretty lame, lol.

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    1. TTT and FFF were the only memes I did in the beginning. I’m glad I branched out a little.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  16. Book blog names are so fascinating- how we come up with them and all that. Everyone's story is so different. And lol about Paolini- I shouldn't laugh but I couldn't help it, and you're not the first person I've heard that from!

    Oh my gosh I remember feature and Follow Friday. Wow those days. :) I'm all nostalgic now...

    How cool that you co- edited an anthology!

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  17. Oh yay, someone actually did my tag! Haha. This was fun seeing your answers :-) I love that you posted your TTT not on Tuesday lol. And like Greg, I also love hearing about how people came up with their blog names!

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  18. I think all of us are ashamed of our first blog posts-mine were appalling to look at and the content isn't much better! There's no way I could remember who my first follower, first meme, first discussion post and first blog I followed was. It was years ago!

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    1. It was very hard to remember all that. I think my blog currently has around 5000 followers, so it’s difficult to remember who came first.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  19. I refuse to look at my first blog entries, they're just too embarrassing! Never mind photos lol And picking a name for a blog? Jesus, that was hard! I currently have two different names: domain name versus blog name and I can't even remember why!

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    1. If I knew I was still going to be blogging 5 years after I started, I would have put more thought into EVERYTHING. Name, platform, design, content, everything. I did no research before I started.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  20. I love the graphics you do for your blog, by the way. ✏

    How did it escape me that you are an editor? I apologize for my blog content, ha ha, I'm always pantsing it. 😝

    I do remember Friday Feature and Follow. That's when my original blogging buddy got all weird and started telling me that my blog was never going to go anywhere because I talked about indies and self-pubs on my blog and didn't do memes like FF&F. She is no longer blogging and I still.here plugging away. 😁,

    Simon Vs was the same for me. That's one good thing about blogging; other bloggers get to know your likes and dislikes pretty well, and although it wasn't something I would pick up on my own, I really liked it. I didn't like her next book all that much, though. Heh heh. 😇

    I am glad you are still blogging. I love your content! 📚

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    1. Same with both my son and I on the Paolini. Not a fan. 🐲

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    2. Thank you! It’s good to know that I’m not alone with Eragon. Sorry that FF&F turned negative for you. If you’re still blogging and your friend isn’t, that must mean you’re doing something right.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  21. hahah I love that you hate Twilight. I have a love/hate relationship with that series. I looooved it and then I haaaaated it. LOL fun tag! I enjoyed knowing more about your blog :)

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    1. I’ve heard lots of people say that. They enjoyed the plot, but they know that the writing is terrible and the characters are problematic.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  22. This is such a fun tag! Too bad you deleted your scathing Twilight series review. I think I would have loved reading that, haha.

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    1. I’m sure you could look up the one-star reviews on Goodreads and find something close enough to what I wrote.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  23. "I didn’t think the author was talented enough to write propaganda." 😂😂😂 I am CACKLING. That is kind of perfect. I haven't read the series (nor have I any plans to) but seriously what even is WRONG with people? And see- I think it is good for Current Shannon's self esteem to see what a disaster of a person Past Shannon was? Maybe just me though hah. The thing that actually started me with book blogging was a scathing review of Fifty Shades series, which is also mean, but which I wholeheartedly stand by. I understand not wanting to be mean though! But Fifty Shades just deserves it.

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  24. Your memory powers amaze me! I can barely remember anything from when I started my blog... but then, I wasn't in the greatest of places at the time mentally. And I looooove Eragon! One of my early book-boyfriends, right there. ;)

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