Bookbloggers - In Praise of Bookbloggers
This time last year I wrote a blog to sing the praises of the bookbloggers who were supporting my blog tour for The Perfect Neighbours. I’m delighted to write a similar blog this December to thank all the bookbloggers who are set to take part in The Good Teacher blog tour. For those who don’t know, bookbloggers read, review and promote books for a hobby. They don’t get paid. They do it in their spare time for the love of reading. New authors like me, trying to get a presence in a crowded market, are very grateful for the guest slots offered to us on bookbloggers’ wonderful websites. And as a reader, I now get all my ideas for what to read next from the bookbloggers I follow.
Donna of donnasbookblog is a voracious reader of crime, suspense, mystery, psychological thrillers, romance, chick lit and – her favourites – historical fiction and non-fiction. As well as looking after her young family, Donna finds time to read well over 500 books a year. (And some years it’s over 600.) She started to review books through NetGalley in January 2015 and has completed more than 1400 reviews since then.
Karen from Hair Past A Freckle loves crime, historical, contemporary and women’s fiction, science fiction and fantasy, and has been blogging for five years. She took the intriguing name for her blog from an expression of her father’s. It’s a response to someone asking the time when you’re not wearing a wristwatch and, as Karen says, it’s apt for a blog about reading. Who hasn’t lost track of time with their nose in a book? Karen also reviews young adult and children’s books – with a little help from her youngest daughter.
Tessa Barrie of Lost Blogs describes her blog as ‘nicheless’ and she posts on a variety of topics. Over the years she has contributed to newspapers and magazines on a freelance basis, as well as writing short stories, whilst holding down a proper job. There’s often a chance to catch one of her short stories or a work in progress on the website. Tessa is based in Jersey, Channel Islands. Her blog has been running since February 2014 and now averages 1000 visitors per day from a variety of countries, in particular USA, Canada, UK, France and Germany.
Cathy, who runs Between the Lines Book Blog, likes reading murder/mystery, suspense, paranormal, and psychological thrillers. She’s also been known to try young adult, apocalyptic, sci-fi and contemporary fiction, and is fond of audiobooks. A keen photographer, Cathy also posts stunning examples of her work, often beautiful scenes of the British countryside or coast.
Jera’s Jamboree is another blog with an intriguing name. Owner Shaz explains that Jera is the rune of harvest, reward and the cycle of seasons. This implicit connection to movement, change and natural development is underlined in Shaz’s willingness to welcome a wide variety of titles to her book blog. Even if Shaz and her guest reviewers don’t read a specific genre, they know there are many visitors to the website who will.
As her blog name suggests, Nicola of Short Book and Scribes favours giving shorter reviews. However, they still give a good overview with plenty of insight. She also contributes to the quarterly literary magazine, NB. Nicola likes contemporary, literary and women’s fiction, crime and psychological thrillers, and the occasional spot of time travel or historical fiction. Her favourite settings are Italy and Scottish Islands – and who can argue with that?
Amanda describes herself as a ginger-haired bookworm so it’s hardly surprising she’s chosen The Ginger Book Geek as her website name. Amanda grew up in a book-reading family and will have a go at most genres although her dad’s love for science fiction didn’t rub off on her. Like many bookbloggers I know, she’s a dog lover. She describes her two Labradors as divas.
It’s lovely to be appearing again on Shaz’s Book Blog. Last year Sharon hosted a guest post for The Perfect Neighbours and this year she will review The Good Teacher. Her favourite genres are women’s fiction, crime fiction, psychological thrillers and the occasional historical saga, and she often features giveaways and competitions. Regular guest reviewer Emma reads mainly women’s fiction, historical timeslips & sagas. Both fit in reading and reviewing around busy day jobs.
It’s also a welcome return to Chat About Books. Last year Kerry interviewed me on her blog and this year will host an extract from The Good Teacher. Kerry – another dog-owning, blogging mum – started her blog in 2015 and has been nominated for a Bloggers Bash Award for the last two years.
So there you have the first nine book bloggers who’ve generously given their time to read, review and/or post for The Good Teacher blog tour. I will introduce the bloggers participating in the second half of the blog tour in January.