Yes! Rinn Reads is one year old today! It feels like a lot of us set our blogs up around this time. I thought I’d write a little about what has happened in the past year, and at the end I have a giveaway to thank my lovely followers.
I started the blog shortly after graduating from university. I’d been reviewing a little bit on Goodreads but I wanted my own platform for it, and after university seemed like a good time to start. My first few reviews were just copied straight from Goodreads: some are very short and basic, others a bit longer but my style has completely changed since then.
When I first started, I hadn’t visited many other book blogs. I started showcasing the books I got each week (my Weekly Roundup feature) but now I know that many other blogs do this, under various names, with Stacking the Shelves the most popular.
It didn’t take me long to discover Netgalley and Edelweiss. And whilst they’re both amazing and so useful, I’m really rubbish at keeping up to date with them. Case in point:
One of my most popular posts, and also one of my favourites, was made early on in my book blogging career. I posted about the amount of books my family owns. Looking back on that post made me wonder how many books I’ve obtained since I started book blogging. This is how many:
That’s a combination of bought, won, gifted and sent by the publisher/author. Then another seventy plus ebooks. And I’ve got the first two Dragon Age books on the way, plus my current read: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill. My poor to-read list, you shall never be conquered…
I learnt about Feature & Follow pretty early on, which helped me find some fellow bloggers and also gain some followers. I think I found all the bloggers I follow most frequently through there, so I have Parajunkee to thank for that!
My first author interview was with Stuart Wilson, and since then I have interviewed Marianne Curley, Rebekah Campbell and most recently, Katherine Roberts.
In October last year I was lucky enough to work at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, and I blogged about that a bit. I saw/met lots of authors and other famous people, and worked with some really great people. It was an experience I certainly won’t forget and I’m sad that I can’t work there this year – but I will definitely be going to some events! I’m hoping to go and see Mary Beard, Patrick Ness, Meg Rosoff and Sarah J. Maas. Last year I met Christopher Eccleston and I actually could not speak. I had NO idea what to say to him so I just sort of stood there like this:
I’ve gone through quite a few designs for this blog in the past. They’ve all been blue. Guess my favourite colour? I was never really happy with any of them until now, so this one will probably be here to stay (at least… for a while…). I’ve had some ‘fun’ with Blogger – formatting is awful on here and sometimes things look fine in the preview or on the edit page, but as soon as they’re published there’s text everywhere and wonky pictures and… aah, it’s a love/hate relationship. I’m thinking about switching to WordPress but I’ll wait until after November for that decision.
Over the past year, the variety of content on my blog has grown. I do discussion posts, post about the sci-fi and fantasy book group I made in June, did a guest post on my favourite books of 2012 for a local Waterstones blog and received some kind words from Penguin Portfolio.
And then, just a matter of weeks ago, I had this little idea. A month dedicated to one of my favourite genres: science fiction. The idea has grown and grown, and I now have over thirty bloggers joining in, as well as a number of authors and publishers. I’ve been thrilled with the responses and I really think the event is going to be big!
I’ve discovered some amazing books and series since I started blogging. The most recent addition to my favourites is Graceling by Kristin Cashore – I don’t think I would have instantly picked it up without the reviews and recommendations of my blogger friends, which just goes to show how wonderful this community is for widening your tastes. But not just that. I’ve met some fantastic people in the blogging community, sites that I visit most days, people who I eagerly get recommendations from (because my to-read list just isn’t long enough). It’s so, so wonderful to have a group of people so utterly passionate about books. I’ve also recently discovered several bibliophiles who are also gamers, which is even more awesome!
Anything I wish I’d changed when I started? I wish I’d come up with a more interesting rating system than stars. And that I maybe spent a little more time thinking up an original blog name, but I just wanted to get started on the website at the time!
So if you are reading this, thank you. If you’re a regular reader, then thank you again! I’m so proud of this little website, and love working on it. Although I’ve had some periods where I haven’t posted much for a few weeks, I’ve never felt more determined about it than I have for the past few months.
And now for the giveaway! I’m going to give away a book of your choice, worth up to £10, and open to any country that the Book Depository ships to!
OMG SUPER MEGA CONGRATULATIONS! My one year is coming soon too and I’m super excited to celebrate it with a giveaway too. Good luck with your blog in the future. I love your blog! Plus, I’m pumped for Sci-Fi month too!Laura @ Music Plus Books
Aw, thanks Laura! I’ll look out for your one year post =DSci-fi Month is going to be brilliant, so excited!
Congrats on the one year blogoversary. I have a similar problem with NetGalley and need to knuckle down and write a few reviews before I request more, but it’s always so tempting! My daughter will be jealous when I tell her you met Christopher Eccleston. She just started watching Doctor Who this year and has spent the summer holidays watching all the new series since it came back with him.Congratulations again and thanks for the giveaway.
That’s a great way for her to spend her summer 😉 I marathoned the show too when I first got into it, haha!Thank you, and thanks also for commenting =)
Well done Rinn on one year of awesomeness! 🙂 Your entries are fun to read and I think Rinn Reads as a name is good! There are plenty of other fancy ones out there but I sometimes think they try too hard to come up with something original, so don’t worry about it! 🙂
Aww, thank you =D
Yaaaay! HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY!! *dances*SUPER EXCITED FOR SCI-FI MONTH! It’s going to be so awesome :DAnd thanks for the giveaway!
Me tooooooo! I wonder how many people will be involved by November? =DThanks!
Happy Blogoversary dearie! That’s so exciting! Here’s to many more wonderful years of book bloggin! 🙂
Thank you! And I hope so too – I know that when I get round to doing my Masters I’ll have to cut back, but I will definitely still keep up with the blogging =)
Congratulations. I’m a new follower of your blog and I love the design you have now. Blue is also my favorite color :)!Mel@thedailyprophecy.
Thank you Mel! You can never go wrong with blue ;D
Happy Blogoversary to you! I’m a new follower of your blog and I love it already! keep up the great work!
Aw, thanks very much Veronika =)
Firsty – major congratulations on your 1st year of book blogging! It is so awesome that we started our blogs around the same time. I can still remember how your site first looked, and yes it was blue! I wish you many, many more blog sistah!
Haha! I should’ve kept screenshots of all the designs to compare them! Thanks Chrys, and congrats to you too =)
Congrats on your Blogoversary! I LOVE the new blog design, and I’m glad you finally found something you love. 🙂 So looking forward to the blogging fun to come – with Sci Fi Month, and also your experiences at the Cheltenham festival! It’s been great getting to know you as a blogger!
Yay, thank you Charlene! I’m excited too – need to stock up on books for signing for the festival…And you too, I really enjoy visiting your blog – there always seems to be something I want to comment on =D
Happy Blogoversary! Sounds like you have an a pretty awesome blogging year.I like the name of your blog, it’s one that I won’t find difficult to remember. Elaborate blog names are fantastic, but there is something to be said for simplicity.
Thanks Alice! =) That is true, I think the alliteration helps, hehe.
congrats
Congrats on your Blogoversary!!
Thanks =)
Please put me into the draw – thank you xx
Happy Blogversary! Sounds like you have accomplished a lot in a year!
Thanks, and I do feel like I have =) Even with some slack periods!
Wooo, congratulations, Rinn! It looks like you’ve had quite an awesome first year of blogging. 😀 I’m so glad I found your blog!
Aw, thank you Kelley! I’ve spotted your emails and will reply today – right now I’m running late for work!
Congrats, Rinn!! 🙂 I love how you went over your year. It’s always wonderful to see how things have changed. I hope that even though you won’t get to work at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, you’ll still have a good time at the events you do attend. And 🙂 I hope that your sci-fi month goes well. I’m looking forward to reading your interviews and seeing what posts you have planned!”The most recent addition to my favourites is Graceling by Kristin Cashore – I don’t think I would have instantly picked it up without the reviews and recommendations of my blogger friends” <– ALSO YES YES YES!!! So glad we've made you into another Cashore lover. Are you going to read her other books soon?
Thank you Christina! And I certainly will be – I already own Bitterblue, and I’m waiting for Fire to arrive at the library =D So excited for that one!
Happy Blogoversary! Thanks for the super amazing giveaway. 🙂
Thanks for commenting and following =D
WooHOO!! You rocked it this year!! Awesome blog and I can’t wait to see what the next year has in store for you! 🙂
Aw, thanks Kelly! And me neither 😉 Hope the move is going okay!
You’ve had one heck of a year! Congrats, girl! Hope to see you in the blogosphere for many more. 🙂
Thank you Christy! I hope so too =)
Happy blogoversary! There are so many great books waiting to be read.Bonnie
Thanks Bonnie! And there certainly is, just need to find the time 😉
Hey hey hey !! Happy anniv. Has it been a year already? I feel like you’ve been around for ages 🙂 (that is a compliment!) Here’s to more more more from Rinn Reads!
It has! It feels quick to me though… I remember just starting out *sheds a tear*
Happy blogoversary! That’s awesome–and it sounds like you’ve had quite the year too 🙂 May you have many more blogoversaries to come :)Btw the Sci-Fi Month sounds awesome! Looking forward to it (I love sci-fi)
Thanks Lianne! =D I can’t wait for Sci-Fi Month either, it’s going to be epic. Are you interested in taking part?
Oooh, hmm, I’ll email you shortly about it 🙂
Happy blogoversary!