Book Community | Inside My Minds

discussion

I’ve been going back and forth on whether or not I was going to actually write this post, but I decided that I would just go for it.

A while back I did a post about how much I love the book community, and how it’s a positive place. However, things in the community are not always positive. Recently, there has been some negative things going on, more specifically, all the negative things that I have seen have been on Twitter. There are people who don’t want to share their thoughts and feelings about books for fear of being attacked and bullied, yes, I have seen people being bullied in the community, this is not okay. We will all have a difference of opinion and those differences should be respected. There has been too much fighting, rather than respectful discussion. I have seen people go into attack mode without asking questions first, again not okay. I love a good, respectful discussion, and sometimes it’s best to just discuss things in private. I’m really hoping the negativity subsides and that the community can go back to being a positive place where people aren’t fearful of talking about books.

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I recently hit over 100 followers on this blog, so I figured it would be the perfect time to do these awards. These awards are the second and third blogger awards that I was nominated for, and I decided that I would combine them into one post. I also really appreciate being nominated for these awards, and I’m really grateful for all of my followers.

Liebster Award

I was nominated by Cara over at Periods and Semicolons for this award. If you haven’t checked out her blog, I suggest that you do.

The Rules:

Acknowledge the blog that nominated you and display the award.

Answer the 11 questions that the blog gives you.

Give 11 random facts about yourself

Nominate 5-11 blogs that you think are deserving of the award that have less than 200 followers.

Let the blogs know you have nominated them.

Give them 11 questions to answer.

11 random facts about me:

1.) I’m lactose intolerant, which is completely different than a dairy allergy. I can have some dairy, like Greek yoghurt and some cheeses.

2.) Baseball is my favorite sport to watch, the Red Sox are my favorite team.

3.) I know how to splice rope, I’m not very good at it, but I know how to do it.

4.) I’m 4’11

5.) I did gymnastics for eight years, competed for six and a half.

6.) I’ve never left the United States

7.) I’m a Gryffindor

8.) I still watch Disney

9.) I have another blog

10.) I can’t drink coffee

11.) I still fit into kids clothes, I’m 28

Cara’s Questions:

What is your favorite color?

Yellow or pink

Say one memorable quote from a book that you love:

“Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”

What is your favorite dessert?

Currently it is Ben and Jerry’s dairy free chocolate fudge brownie ice cream

Do you have a favorite children’s book or fairy tale?

I have too many to pick just one.

If an author gave the chance to change the fate of a book character, who would you choose?

Sirius Black

What time do you usually sleep?

I fall asleep anywhere between 9 and 11 and wake up at 7 on weekdays, weekends are different.

What is the best thing that’s ever happened to you?

I’ve had a lot of awesome things happen to me.

When you were a child, how did you answer the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?”

An Olympic gymnast

Name three countries you want to visit:

Greece, England and Portugal

Where do you usually buy books?

Barnes and Noble or Google Play Books

Who is your all-time favorite fictional character?

Harry Potter

My questions for the nominees:

1.) Who is your least favorite Harry Potter character and why?

2.) If you could go to any fictional school, where would you go and why?

3.) What is your favorite non bookish thing to do on vacation?

4.) What time of day is your favorite to read?

5.) Coffee or tea?

6.) If you weren’t a book blogger, what would you be blogging about?

7.) Do you keep a reading journal?

8.) How often do you use Goodreads?

9.) What is the best blogging advice you have ever received?

10.) What is your favorite season?

11.) If you could change the ending of any book, what book would you choose, and how would you change the ending?

I nominate:

Jamie Wu at Watch Game Read

Ara at The Bookish Agenda

Morgan at Happily Ever Bookish

Esther at Chapter Adventure

Bubbly Bookish Girls

Yana at Books for Infinity

Jenn at A Tad Bit Bookish

Blogger Recognition Award

Thank you Louise from Genie Reads for nominating me, I highly suggest checking out her blog.

Rules:

Write a post showing the award

Give a brief story of how your blog started

Give two advice to new bloggers

Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog

Select 15 other blogs you want to give the award too

How this blog started:

I have actually had this blog for a while, since June 20, 2012 (yes, I actually went back to find my first post). I started my blog as a place to post my random thoughts on a variety of things. Since then, my blog has evolved into a more bookish blog, which I’m quite happy with. I feel that I still do post some random content here and there, but not as much as before. I really do enjoy the fact that my blog has more of a focus on content.

Advice to new bloggers:

My first piece of advice, your blog is yours and nobody else’s. You write for yourself and not for others. Not everyone is going to relate to the content that you post, just don’t get discouraged and take some advice from Dory, “just keep swimming, just keep swimming.” You just have to keep going, even if you feel like giving up.

My second piece of advice, you don’t have to follow every blog that follows you. While you might feel inclined to do this, it isn’t always the best idea. It is extremely important to follow blogs where the content is relevant to you or you really enjoy the content. You might feel guilty for not following blogs back, but you shouldn’t.

My third piece of advice, take breaks when you need them but still remain active. While you may not be posting, you can still be active by reading and commenting on blogs that you follow. I took a two week break from both of my blogs, however I was still reading and commenting on the blogs that I follow.

My last piece and most important piece of advice: HAVE FUN!!!!

I nominate:

Lauren at Wonderless Reviews

Aoife at Pretty Purple Polka Dots

Giovanna at Book Coma

Vicki at Books and Strips

Heather Hobbs at Heather Hobbs A Book Blog

Liv at Curly Hair Bibliophile

Daisy at Daisy in the Willows

Angie at Thoughts of A Writer and Avid Reader

Leslie at Leslie’s Library

Shannon at Clockwork Bibliophile