Tomorrow is my 13th blogoversary, if you don’t count the weird transitions I went through between 2011 and 2014 due to many circumstances that I won’t go into here. I created my blog on Valentine’s Day in 2008 during a fit of major jet lag after coming home from Palestine, and wrote my first book review the very next day – marking, to me, the true beginning of my blog experience. The people I have met through blogging, both in person and online, have made a huge impact on my life, and blogging itself has been a wonderful experience in multiple ways. I don’t want to write a second post in two days that gets all mushy and nostalgic, though. Instead, I’m going to write up a few lists! Ha!

13 Random Excellent Books I Only Read Through Bloggers’ Influence

1. The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
2. Germinal by Émile Zola
3. Wine Isn’t Rocket Science by Ophelie Neiman
4. All Joy and No Fun by Jennifer Senior
5. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
6. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
7. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
8. Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller
9. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
10. Between Mom and Jo by Julie Ann Peters
11. Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
12. Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia
13. The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis

(header version 2009 – no, I don’t know where this photo came from)

13 Moments That Fellow Bloggers Have Touched My Life

1. Kristen sending me my favorite chocolates as well as Guatemala Worry Dolls when I was very depressed/anxious.
2. Being voted “best writing” waaaaay back when blog awards were a thing
3. Bloggers making and sending (music) mix lists to me
4. Bloggers sending international non-English Harry Potter books when I was collecting
5. Being told that I was a “rock star” in the book blog world (you know, back in 2010 when book blogging was much bigger and when I was a full-on book blog, heh)
6. Blog friends wanting/volunteering to read my manuscripts and offering critique
7. Adam sending cards to my family – names all correct! – at random times, just because he’s kind
8. Bloggers rallying around me in a private FB group during my trauma-year in Boston
9. Bloggers also rallying around me after the Incidents in 2009 and 2010 (y’all know who you are! Love y’all!)
10. Being told that I was the inspiration behind folks starting to run, losing weight, getting fit, hiking, etc
11. Inclusion in book swaps and secret book-Santa swaps
12. Reaching out to connect on other social media platforms, especially those who left blogging so the connection would be lost without this
13. Finding inspiration in the things other bloggers do, whether that is running, writing, traveling, budgeting, crossfit, getting articles published, teaching, etc etc

(header: version 2010)

13 Bloggers I Have Yet To Meet In Person But Hope To Someday

1. Bryan
2. Allie
3. Gricel
4. Adam
5. Lu
6. Shaina
7. Hannah
8. Selena
9. Becca
10. Nancy
11. Stephanie C
12. Jennifer H
13. Nan

(This is by no means comprehensive – just the first 13 who came to mind! Also, some of these folks are technically “former bloggers” but they 100% count!)

(Generic header from WP: era 2014)

13 Reasons I Keep Blogging

1. It provides a creative outlet now that I’m no longer writing fiction.
2. It helps me to sort through my thoughts better than a journal.
3. Connecting with other folks, making friends and deepening friendship
4. I love having a book journal to look back on!
5. Y’all encourage me and push me when I’m feeling down.
6. It gives me something to focus on when I’m anxious.
7. Broadening my book experience to books and genres I wouldn’t have tried without y’all
8. Learning about personal points of view I may not have encountered otherwise
9. I really enjoy telling stories.
10. It’s a good way to keep track of events, body-data, things my kids said/did, photos, travel memories, etc.
11. It’s part of my identity by now!
12. It’s been a (fairly) consistent part of my life for 13 years when many of those years were a bit touch-and-go in other areas.
13. I still enjoy it, especially after giving up the more rigid aspects I once held myself to (pre-2011).

(a failed header attempt from 2017)

So…happy blogoversary to this little project of mine, named after a short story I wrote long ago, and which has endured moves, shutdowns, changes, and all manner of insanity over the last 13 years. Thank you to all the folks who have stuck with me all this time, and those who have begun to read in the time since. Love you all!

(current header: 2017)

PS – I think it might be time to change my header again. That photo is quite some years old now. I’m trying to remember how many headers I’ve been through since 2008. A half-dozen-ish? Either way, I’m thinking it’s time for a revamp. The current photo is a bit outdated.