blogiversary – Book Snacks

Failed moment of the day: I literally spelled my blog title “Book Snakes” in an email and did not realize it for the longest time ever. Oops. (But it kind of sounds good? Is that just me…)

Hello everyone!! Ignore the above. 🙂 I meant to post this yesterday, but I got kind of caught up with things and didn’t get the chance, unfortunately. By things, I mean I turned 19 yesterday??? And it’s my 2 year-blogiversary?? It honestly doesn’t feel any different but somehow I’m older? But like I’m still not down with this whole adulting thing… #helpwhereismychildhood

This isn’t going to be a me-focused post, but a mini timeline:

I started my blog on March 20-something (let’s go with 24th because it’s around the time I started posting more often + saves me from mixing up dates), 2015. I have since then:

Survived high school (?!)
Started university (SO MUCH WORK but I suppose it’s an accomplishment haha)
Continued part-time work (aka I have even less time)
Bought too many books
Went to Disney World + Universal Studios (HARRY POTTER omg I CAN’TTTTT) and literally had the best time ever
Seriously though you can’t imagine how amazing it was.
I’m actually in love with Butterbeer and I even got a stuffed Hedwig I love herrrrr
I know I never even mentioned this until now?? lol. But I went during the week of Christmas (SO BUSY my god) and it was basically my dream come true in HP World. I adore roller coasters so much and it was heaven.
Written 435 posts (including this one)
Procrastinated on too many things

Can you believe it’s also been 2 YEARS since I started this blog??? My. mind. can’t. process. this. HOW has it been so long??? (Well, long for me, anyway, seeing how I never thought this would last this much time.) Granted, I didn’t blog for 7 months during this time, which is probably why it doesn’t really feel like 2 years, but nonetheless, it’s been 2 years since I started the blog! I wanted to take a moment to thank you guys, first of all, for sticking through my rambling inconsistent nonsense (who would have thought???), and secondly, for making this whole blogging thing SO WORTHWHILE. ❤ ❤

BUT. Blogging is HARD. I don’t think I’ve ever talked about particularly the things that are difficult, so here we go!

What I struggled with

Finding the time to blog

This is actually something I still struggle with, honestly. What is time and how do we have enough of it to do the 19876 things in our lives??? Someone please offer the answer, because I have no clue. When I first started, I tried to post everyday, and for a few months at a time, it worked. But my quality of posts were not as good, and I ended up giving up on the daily posts thing because life just gets SO BUSY. I occasionally prepare my posts in advance now, but other times, even that proves to be challenging. The posts alone can take so much of my time, it takes at least an hour for most posts, depending on the type… but then you add in making graphics, commenting, and all other blogging things… LIKE I SAID. No time. *cry face*

Writing blog posts

Finding the inspiration and idea to write a blog post–a creative, and interesting one–was actually much harder than I’d expected?? Am I the only one who thinks this?? I love writing discussions, for one, but coming up with a topic?? Can be so hard. Sometimes I’m totally struck by inspiration and it can be easy, but other times I try (and fail) to writing something semi-coherent and enjoyable to read haha. I’ve had to resign myself to this fact: there are very few ‘original’ topics. Most things (such as this pros and cons of blogging, if you will) have already been written about. But, as I learned, it’s your own take on it that makes it an interesting post! But that is hard when the topic just isn’t coming to you… *glares at past blogging slumps* Very familiar with that, unfortunately.

Blog hopping & commenting

I adore blog hopping and commenting on other blogs!! It’s so much fun and I always love hearing from other bloggers–that interaction is what makes blogging so special, right? What I struggle with is again, time. Time, to not only reply to comments on my own blog, but also leave a comment on the commenter’s blog, and then go blog-hop on and comments on other blogs. I try my best, but sometimes I get behind on my commenting game, and reply to comments a bit late–and then also spend double the amount of time binge-blog hopping and catching up on posts I’ve missed. It’s just so time-consuming though, and I feel so bad that I can’t make it to every blog ahah. If I haven’t stopped by your blog in a while, I promise, I’m trying! 🙂

Getting caught up in the stats

I didn’t expect much when I first started blogging in terms of stats (i.e. followers, likes, comments, etc.) but I think after two years there are things I’ve come to expect from my blog, and I won’t lie, stats kind of really impacted my blogging experience in a negative way sometimes. As a human being, as a perfectionist-in-certain-areas person in particular, being ‘successful’ (in quotations because everyone has different definitions) is kind of a goal. And blogging takes so much work, and effort, that getting, say, lots of views, or lots of comments on your posts feels good, and when you don’t, it can lead, inevitably, to disappointment, which can lead later to a lack of motivation to blog. The easiest thing, I’ve learned, is to not care about the stats as much, but that’s easier said than done. It’s perfectly fine to care about the stats, just need to find that balance so that it doesn’t start to bring you down.

Comparing myself to other bloggers

Is it just me who has looked at other bloggers before “Their blog is so [successful/popular/creative/eye-catching/insert attribute here]” and subconsciously compared it to my own? There are SO MANY absolutely amazing blogs out there that 100% deserve all the praises, and I would be the first one to gush over the many fabulous qualities. I think it’s great to show that support, those bloggers deserve it so much! But then, comes in the creeping thought of “Is mine not good enough?” or “Why isn’t mine as successful?” and that’s when it gets difficult. I’ve been through it. Let me say this: YOUR BLOG IS GREAT, PEOPLE. I truly mean it. Stats, everything, doesn’t matter if you’re happy with your blog. It’s perfectly fine to love other blogs (you totally should!!) but take a moment to just appreciate your blog as well instead of comparing it because that will make you so much happier. ❤ #lessonlearned xD

What makes it all so worth it:

The blogging community

#1 reason, hands down!! My praises for the blogging community are literally endless. The limitless amount of kind, caring and such amazing people that I’ve met during my blogging years make me ask why aren’t people around the world more like them?? Legit, if the world was as lovely as the blogging community, we’d have world peace and so much more love!! ❤ ❤ Even better is the fact that through the blogging community, I’ve gotten the chance to meet and learn, about so many people, so many things, and of course, new books. It feels so great to know that whenever I have a book I adore (or a book I despise), there will ALWAYS be someone there to either fangirl or rant with me. That sense of belonging, got lost to me a few times over my blogging journey (7 months disappearing kind of does that…) but blogging again re-introduced me to the magic that I fell in love with; There is no better feeling than fangirling with another fellow human, a friend who understands you. And I know I’m verging on cheesiness-overload (if I’m not already swimming in it), but I really mean that! The amount of friends I’ve made through blogging has made all of it SO WORTH IT. All of the struggles I mentioned above? Mean nothing, at the end of the day when I think about how great all of you are. THANK YOU for being such lovely human beings. ❤ ❤

Gosh, now I’m all emotional. This is terrible for my rep, guys. Ugh. ❤

There are so many other good sides to blogging, trust me, but I’m really short on time right now and I hope this is enough aha. ❤ ❤ The blogging community is absolutely the best part though?!?

I still can’t believe it’s been 2 years.

Okay, okay, I’ll get used to it! But thank you once again, and tell me: have you gone through any of these struggles?? How long have you been blogging, and what do you love about it? (Me, obviously, but that’s a given. :P) I love talking to each and every one of you, thank you SO MUCH for just being so supportive. ❤ ❤ A million hugs to all of you!!

Hiiii! Not so long ago (or was it long ago?? I don’t remember. Roughly 2 weeks ago?? Maybe? Whatever. You know what I mean) I reached my 1-year blogiversary, and mentioned a giveaway on the way, am I right? Well, I’m here to keep good on that promise! I cannot stress enough how grateful I am for all your support; you guys have all become my friends, and I only want to give you guys something back for all the things you have given me! Okay, yes yes I know I’m sounding extra cheesy today—but hey, don’t judge. I’ll be back to the fangirling-yet-unemotional chocolate bar you all know soon enough.

Point is: I’m celebrating with a giveaway! And it happens to be my birthday near the end of this month, so I guess I’m celebrating that too, lol. So. My birthday isn’t till the 24th of this month, but whatever, right?? My blogiversary was a couple of weeks ago anyway. I know you’re all eager for the giveaway, but there are a few things I must mention first…

Blog Survey

This is totally optional, but I’d love to get some feedback on my blog! I created a survey, and I’d appreciate it so much if you guys took the time to answer. You can also get a few extra entries for the giveaway by doing so! Only some of the questions are mandatory, but, of course, I’d love it so much the more if you completed the whole thing! Here it is:

(If that doesn’t seem to work for you, you can get the link to it here.)

Thank you SO MUCH in advance!! ❤

Scavenger Hunt

A scavenger hunt?? You ask. Why yes. Basically you just have to copy and answer the 5 questions in a comment below. To find the to the questions, you’ll have to scavenge around my blog! You don’t have to do it, of course, but you get the chance for more giveaway entries if you play the game.

Though, just a little disclaimer: this game can’t be credited as my idea. I actually scavenged it off from other blogs who’ve done something like this before, like Cait @ Paper Fury and a few other bloggers. (Haha, get it? Scavenged? Scavenger hunt? Okay, okay, I’ll stop.)

Some of these questions may have more than 1 right answer, by the way. You all know how bad I am with questions requesting only one answer! Are you ready for this? Okay, here they are:

A book I read in 2016 that I rated 5 stars?
A book that released 3 days ago (March 8th) that I can’t wait to read?
One of my favourite genres?
One (or more) of my 2016 bookish/bloggish resolutions?
A book I often fangirl about?
*Bonus: Something I’m scared of (it’s an animal, by the way.)

If you’re able to answer these questions without scavenging too much, good for you! Though I think they’re pretty easy to answer? Kind of? Either way, good luck! May the force of books and chocolate be with you. (I haven’t ever watched Star Wars, btw *cue gasps of horror*—yes, I know—so I hope that reference makes sense?)

*This actually will only be having one answer? I mentioned this A LONG time ago, in a post–so maybe if you’ve been here for awhile you might know it? Otherwise, you can always scavenge for the answer! 😛

Aaaaaand, the giveaway!

So, what you’ve all been waiting for! But before you guys go clickety-click and start entering entries, here are a few rules and things to remember:

One winner gets to choose a book from The Book Depository up to a value of $25 (in Canadian dollars).
Open internationally as long as Book Depository ships to your country. (Details here.)
Giveaway begins today (March 11th, 2016) and ends in around 3 weeks on April 1st, 2016 (Don’t worry, if you’re the winner, this won’t all be an April Fool’s joke. XD)
After the contest time I will be randomly choosing the winner through Rafflecopter. (On April 2nd, 2016)
Winner has 48 hours to respond before I choose another winner.
You must be 18 years of age to enter or have parental consent to provide me your mailing address.
Winner’s personal information will be kept private and will not be publicized or used in any way other than to ship the book.
Entries will be checked and deleted if they’re don’t qualify—so no cheating please!

Now, time for the giveaway! Here it is. Gobble it up, guys. You’re welcome. 😀 Now talk to me in the comments: what book would you like to receive, from TBD? Oh, and here’s some chocolate if you participate in the scavenger hunt or do the survey. ❤ Hope you guys are all enjoying your Friday!