Thursday, October 23, 2014

Some Thoughts About Blogging

I've been here for just over 5 years now and although posts about the nature of blogging (as I see it) aren't really my thing every so often it's probably as well to give it some thought, not least because Desperate Reader accounts for quite a lot if my time.

I started blogging towards the end of a particularly trying time. There was a series of woeful work, health, and mortgage insurance issues followed by a year when all I could find was part time work. It left me with virtually no money and lots of time - which in some ways was wonderful, but also horribly uncertain. The wonderful part was that for the first time in years I could read as much as I wanted. The uncertain bits don't really need dwelling upon.

Blogging turned out to be a really positive thing to do in all sorts of unexpected ways, but I also decided right from the beginning that I wouldn't write about things I didn't feel genuine enthusiasm for. I sometimes see discussions about why there are so few negative reviews on blogs but I'd be more surprised if it was the other way round - why promote (even in a small way) something you're ambivalent about? And then I read almost purely for pleasure so if I'm not enjoying a book I'll abandon it; accepting the challenge of wading through 800 odd pages of Trollope endlessly repeating himself only works for me because I love him enough to know the effort will be rewarded.

Having decided that it was basically going to be books I loved it then seemed unnecessary to state where they came from. Initially because they mostly came from charity shops or had been sitting on my shelves for years, and later because the source of the book is irrelevant to what I think about it's contents so unless there's some sort of anecdote attached it feels unnatural to mention it. I do get free books though, some I'm offered, some just appear (as if by magic) and from time to time I'll beg for one.

 Asking a publisher for a book has never stopped feeling like begging, and I've never got past feeling like I've got away with something when they say yes. I have to be fairly certain I'll love something before I ask for it because having asked it seems only fair to read and write about it in a timely fashion, the one time I really didn't much like a book I'd got that way I felt like I'd broken a contract. The publicist on the other hand wasn't at all bothered.

Blogging feeds a book habit my wages most certainly wouldn't cover, but keeping it manageable is sometimes a challenge. In the general scheme of things I don't get sent a lot of books, but I get about as many as I can read so inevitably I end up writing more about titles I've been given then ones I've bought. Luckily (for me) I quite often get offered books I would almost certainly have bought eventually - this makes me ridiculously excited and happy.

Last week there was an article in The Guardian where the author Kathleen Hale wrote about a blogger she had a run in with. A negative review led to a slightly unhealthy obsession on Kathleen's part which in turn led to the discovery that the blogger wasn't who she said she was. It all sounded exhausting. As someone who mostly reads books written by people who died a while ago this is foreign territory to me, there's no downside to a passion for the classics and books which have generally survived the passage of time and fashion.

 Just recently I've read a handful of books by people who are not only alive but also on twitter, it's been very disconcerting realising they've seen what I've written. When I started doing this I assumed my family would read it (because I made them) and bookish friends because they might want to. It remains mildly surprising that other people have found their way here too, nice people, people I've come to like very much - the longer I spend on this  post the luckier I feel. Still, I always write with the idea that my dad reads this, it's a handy reminder to be polite (my father appreciates/demands good manners), not to exaggerate to wildly, and to avoid anecdotes which might lead to awkward conversations with concerned patriarchs.

And that is as close as I'm ever likely to get to a review policy.

13 comments:

  1. Sounds like a good recipe for life, as well as for a book blog!

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    1. I wish it was as easy to ignore the dull stuff in life as it is on a blog!

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  2. You're one of the first bloggers I started reading and I'm always pleased when I see a new post from you. I even read the ones about cooking, and I HATE cooking!

    I have to say, I know what you mean about anxiety around receiving review copies and writing about books whose authors might read your review. Generally, if I don't like a book I won't write about it, for the same reasons as you (and also because writing is such a huge effort, I don't want to waste my time carping), but with a review copy I feel honour bound to do so. I had a bad experience with that on my blog, not because the author was upset with what I eventually wrote, on the contrary he was very nice and professional about it, but because I found having to write negatively about the book was stressful and unpleasant, like slapping someone in the face. Oddly, I don't mind writing for SNB, I suppose because it's a given that we only write about books we'd recommend.

    I like your policy too!

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    1. I like writing for SNB for the same reasons. Review copies are a weird thing. I'm lucky that there are a handful of publishers who rarely produce things I don't love who send me books. This is amazing for me and presumably effective for the publisher (or they wouldn't do it) which is why I've also felt okay about asking for things as time has gone on but essentially I do this for fun so don't want to get to bogged down in commitments. In the end though I just think each blogger gas to be clear about what's right for them and not take it all to seriously.

      I love your blog too, and always look forward to posts from you, you've added so many books to my reading list, and made me determined to read quite a few of the books that have sat neglected on the shelf - Which for me is exactly what blogs should do - share the enthusiasm and broaden horizons.

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  3. For me blogging has given me chance to explore the world more and like you say lots books that you may have missed otherwise

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    1. It's definitely encouraged me to read more widely and especially to explore more in translation which is all to the good. Hope you're doing well Stu.

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  4. I am writing from the Midwest of the USA, so your blogging is finding far flung readers. I have been wanting to say thank you for your book blogs - I enjoy the older writers too and you have challenged me to read some titles. But I also enjoy your cookbook reviews. A few of the cookbooks I have had to wait until they were available over here and I have had to buy my own River Cottage books (love Veg!!) It is always fun to see what cakes you have baked. Congrats on your 5 year anniversary!!

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    1. Thank you, that's a really nice comment. Reading blogs from Americans, Australians, Canadians has been brilliant for opening up whole avenues of reading I'd probably have been oblivious of otherwise - and cake us international. Really pleased you like the river citrate books as I'm a big fan!

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  5. This is my first visit here and I enjoyed your post about your blog choices. I post about what I like and agree, most posts on blogs are upbeat, why would we post negative stuff. I read and review lots of books and post reviews here, there and everywhere. I am also an author. Nice to meet you. Oh, I read Proust because he is well worth reading, as you mentioned about Trollope.

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  6. Hello, very nice to meet you too. I haven't tackled Proust yet, but will one day!

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  7. Thank you (and Helen) for your nice mentions of SNB - most of us only write about books we can personally recommend. Just occasionally though, I do read something really trashy or badly written, and have some honest fun with my reactions to it! Well done on five fab years of blogging and for having such a great review policy!

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