Hey everyone!! I hope you’re all doing well. Today, I am finally doing part 2 of the 400 follower Q&A. I hit 400 followers back in the summer (July/August I think?) and I asked you guys to ask me some questions to celebrate. I got a bunch of questions, so I decided to split them into 2 posts, the first of which I did at the start of September and is all about blogging.
Now, part 2 is finally here and is going to answer the rest of the questions which are an assortment related to food, TV, and books.
The funny thing is, I actually passed 500 followers a few weeks ago so this is already kind of outdated (lol) but I am so happy to have reached yet another milestone this year. Thank y’all so much, especially since I’ve been a pretty terrible blogger since August so I really appreciate you following and sticking around anyway.
I’m going to break this post up into three sections just so it’s organized. Some of these questions are going to have pretty short answers and others are going to be more long winded, so we’ll see how long this ends up being.
I’ve done yet another blog redesign, but this time, I actually think it’ll last? I’ve said that every previous time, but let’s ignore that. I’ve been working on all the graphics, and the color scheme since around June, and I’m now finally publishing this! I’m so excited, and I actually really like the look of it, so I hope you guys do too. Let me know in the comments down below!!
And now to the normal intro of this post:
Good morning my dear friends! I hope you have had a fantastic August. It’s so funny how weeks, months, and years fly by so fast, but then days take forever to end. And this lock-down is not helping things.
Nonetheless, hopefully this day will go pretty great since we’re starting it off with a 400 follower Q&A!! I am so happy to have reached this milestone, and I’m so thankful for every single one of you for following my little corner of ramblings and less than awesome designs.
Last week or so, I posted the 400 follower Q&A form for you guys to fill out, and I really appreciate all of you who did!! I’ve got a lot of questions, so I’ve decided to split this Q&A into two, this being the first part all about blogging, and then the next part will be about books, food, and my likes/dislikes.
This is going to be kind of long, so let’s get started!!
Hey y’all! Hope you’re having a great week so far. Today, I’m going to be doing the Book Blogging Firsts Tag.
I was actually not tagged to do this, and like a responsible person, I should be doing all the tags that I have actually been tagged in, but I can’t resist anymore and I just really want to do this. I saw it on Charlotte @ Bewitching Books, Ravenous Reads‘s blog, and every time I see the questions, I get super excited and motivated to finish this post. I even thought that I’d been tagged in it and that maybe that was the reason why I couldn’t stop thinking about it, but no. I was not tagged in it, and I’m being totally irresponsible.
It’s also been a year and almost two months since I started this blog, so hey, it’s a great time to reflect on everything!
Be sure to check out Charlotte’s lovely blog! Without further ado, let’s get started!
First blog name and design?
My blog name has been the same from the start: Eternity Books. Honestly, I wanted to change it after a while, but then I read that if I did so, I had to change the URL, and people might not know the new URL, nor would they associate the new name with me and yadda yadda yadda, and I just got terrified and stuck with EB.
I don’t even know why I chose Eternity Books. Honestly this blog was just spontaneous and I didn’t think things through at all. Even my ex-pen name was horrible and spontaneous. If I could go back and re-do it, I think I would, so that I could think everything through properly, and choose a blog name that I truly liked and one that represented me and my books.
I sadly don’t have a snapshot of what my old design was, but I was using the Gateway theme. My initial thought was to change the design with the seasons I vaguely remember it had to do with eternal seasons or eternity?, so I started off with a gray icy mountain theme, and then in January I changed it to a pink/hot-dark-pink theme if that’s even a color.
This was my header at least, so it was that kind of peachy pink. It didn’t look good. At all.
And of course, I’ve had several changes over the past year, some big, some small, and I’ve changed things up yet again, and I’d love to hear your thoughts!! Did you like the old background or do you prefer this one?? And the sidebar. What do you think???
First blog post?
A Top Ten Tuesday. I’m kind of surprised that I didn’t start off with a post talking about my blog and why I created it, and I just jumped straight into a Top Ten Tuesday (that I shortened to five). It’s actually not as cringey as I thought it would be, but it’s still bad and I’m really not proud of it.
Also, my design skills? They were pretty much non-existent.
My first book review was of Accused by Lisa Scottoline, and I’m honestly surprised that it was also not as cringey as I thought it would be. I’ve definitely grown, and my writing has improved. But I feel like I still sound the same, and I’m kind of realizing that this is my voice. That it has always been even though I wasn’t sure, and I felt like I didn’t know what it was. It was always there, and it just feels great to realize that it’s always been the same ever since I started.
Lol. My first ever discussion post was a mini rant about Bloglovin’ and how I was upset that they were posting/sharing my posts on their website without my permission. And there was no simple way to say, “Hey Bloglovin’, stop putting my posts on your platform cause I don’t want it there!”. Anyways, it really annoyed me, and I thought it would be a great discussion that would have a lot of views and likes and all that…and it really flopped 😂🤦🏽♀️
I think it did worse than the rest of my posts at the time, and it kind of was the reason why I was hesitant to do another discussion. But anyways, here it is: my first discussion post.
First Book Blog I Followed?
The first blogger that I followed was Breanna @ Paws and Paperbacks. I just love the design of her blog and her posts. I was also really excited to become a part of the community, so yeah, I followed a whole bunch of blogs that day. Anyways, be sure to check out her wonderful blog!
First Follower?
That was the lovely Jenn @ Jenniely. She was my first follower and also the first book blogger to follow me. I can imagine the excitement that I went through when I realized that I’d gotten my first follower. So thank you so much, Jenn for that! Be sure to check out her lovely blog!!
First Book I Read Because of Other Bloggers?
Honestly, I don’t know. There are probably a bunch of books that I’ve read because I saw them on other blogger’s blogs what a mouthful but I don’t remember the first one. The one that I do remember, that was recommended to me by a fellow book blogger, is The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. And I loved it. The wonderful person who recommended this book to me is Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads. You all really need to check her blog out because she’s amazing and I love her and her blog so much, even though we don’t read many similar books. But she still makes me smile, and it’s fun to just read her blog, and y’all need to go check her out. NOW. That’s an order. Go. Then come back.
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I’m going to assume that you followed my wonderful advice. Good job, and thank you. I’m such a drama diva queen.
That’s it! What do you think of the new background? Do you like the new sidebar? What did your first blog design look like? What was your first discussion about? How’s your week going so far? Chat with me in the comments below!!
Hey all!! Welcome back! I have finally finally done this post, 20 days later than I anticipated. But I’m really excited to see all the things I accomplished last year blogging wise, and share with you my goals for this year.
This is probably going to be a long post, so let’s get started!!
Blogging Stats:
Posts and Comments: I wrote a total of 179 posts last year, with 105,632 words. 105,632 words guys. That number just seems so big and absurd. That’s around 590 words per post which isn’t too long, but it’s still a lot of words. I also had a total of 1,996 comments, which I’m guessing includes my replies and pingbacks.
Followers: I gained 224 followers last year. 224!! Two hundred and twenty four. I can’t really believe it, that so many people actually liked my blog enough to follow. It means so much to me, and really, I never expected so many follows. I mean, my goal (that I set at the end of 2018) was to gain 40 more followers. 40. And I gained 224. Thank you so much to every single one of you for reading and following my tiny corner of the internet!! It means so much to know that you enjoy reading what I have to say!
Views and Visitors: In 2019, I had a total of 8,746 views and 3,260 visitors. It was kind of a shock, because most of those views tbh, came towards the end of the year. In Aug 2019, I went from around 700 views to 1,000 in September. And it’s been increasing since then. October and November were around 1,100 views, and then December was around 1,400.
and this January (the one in blue), I’m already almost at 1,000 views, with only 9 posts, and I’ve been on hiatus for a week…👀
May was my lowest month by far, because I took a month long hiatus. It was Ramadan, and I didn’t really feel like blogging and reading while fasting. But after I started Let’s Talk Bookish in August, my views went up by a lot, and Friday has become my most popular day for views. So, yeah. I’m super proud of this as well.
Now for a breakdown of the types of posts that I wrote:
46 Reviews
37 WWW Wednesday Reading Updates
23 Discussions
16 Book Tags
5 Awards
Those amount to 127 posts. So that means I had 52 other posts which were random, announcements, or Monthly wrap-ups. Overall, I think I still did pretty well.
2019 Goals Review:
Write 200 posts ❌
100 should be book reviews ❌
Read 100 books ❌
Get 40 more followers ✔
Focus more on quality, not quantity (lol) ❔
Read more diverse books with either diverse characters, topics, or places ✔
Be more creative with my posts ❌
Lol. Four definite nos, and only two definite checks. I was close for some of them though.
Posts: I wrote 179 posts which is 21 short of 200. I didn’t even get close with the reviews.
Books: I was 2 books short of 100, so I’m still happy about that.
Followers: I got 224 more followers and I’m seriously very very proud of that.
Quality vs Quantity: I really don’t know how to figure out if I did? I think, for the most part, it was more about quantity and keeping up with my posting schedule. But I did have a few quality posts that I loved writing.
Diversity: Yes. For sure, my reading has become a lot more diverse. I read about so many diverse characters last year, and that has led to me learning about so many things that I didn’t even know existed. So yes. This is a very big yes.
Creativity: Haha no. I don’t think I was really creative? Unless we’re talking about graphics/header images, then no, I don’t think I was very creative with my posts.
Honestly, I can think of only three posts that I’m super proud of or that I loved to write: my second ever discussion post, my review of Six of Crows, and my discussion about authors inspired by the uproar with Kathleen Hale.
Take part in two reading challenges (and stick to it!!)
Read at least 40 books with diverse main characters or topics
Try to read more Adult thrillers and mysteries
Get to 400 followers
Get through my 27 backlogged reviews, and review at least 50% of the books I read this year
Monthly views should be more than a thousand
Catch up on my blog hopping and stay on track
Get through my first year of dual enrollment (college + high school classes) successfully
Continue making healthier versions of my favorite desserts
Continue exercising at least 5 times a week
And that’s it!! I had a lot of great stats for 2019, even though I didn’t meet most of my goals. I also stopped the two reading challenges that I started last January, but this year, I will do my best to continue. Overall, I’m really proud of everything that I accomplished last year, and I’m looking forward to making 2020 even better.
What was 2019 like for you? Did you meet your goals for the year? What was your favorite post from last year? What are your goals for 2020? Chat with me in the comments below!
P.S. If you wrote a post on any of this, be sure to link it in the comments below so I can check it out!!
Hey everyone! Welcome back. I hope you’re having a great day. Today I’m going to be doing the Blogger Recognition Award. Many thanks to Emer @ A Little Haze Book Blog for tagging/nominating me!
Rules:
Thank the blogger/s who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
Write a post to show your award.
Give a brief story of how your blog started.
Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
Select up to 15 other bloggers you want to give this award to.
Comment (or pingback) on each blog and let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created.
How Eternity Books Was Created:
Last year December can you believe that it’s been almost a year?!!!, I decided to put my love of books and writing to use and create a blog where I could talk about them to my hearts content. I had just discovered book blogs and GoodReads the month before, and I also wanted to have my own creative space to do whatever I wanted.
To talk books with people who loved books.
To find new books instead of reading the same old Nancy Drew.
To make friends since I didn’t have any IRL.
I was lonely. Bored.
And having a blog seemed like an excellent way to change that. Actually, it was an excellent way to change that. Now, I have a community of readers, blogger and GR friends, a never ending TBR list, and a place that is all mine that makes me feel happy, (sometimes stressed), understood, and also accepted for who I am.
So thank you so much to everybody who has welcomed me into this beautiful community, recommended and talked books as well as discussed topics with me, and also to everyone who has been following this blog. You all made being a blogger such a fun escape, and I am forever grateful to every single one of you 💚
Two Pieces of Advice:
If you’d like to see more than just two pieces of advice, and not just from me but also from other bloggers, check out my LTB post with advice for newbie bloggers!
#1: Blog for the right reasons
More than likely, you started your blog as a way to relax and have fun. So blog to relax and have fun. Don’t make it a chore that becomes super stressful for you, and don’t be too hard on yourself about anything. We’re all human, and trust me, we all understand. Stuff happens, life happens, and at some point, we’ve all probably been in your shoes. So don’t beat yourself up too much, and remember to blog for the right reasons.
#2: Reach out
I promise, we don’t bite. If there is anything you need help with, or a question that you’d like to ask, or maybe you just want to thank someone for something, don’t be afraid to do so. The book blogging community is super welcoming, and we love to chat. As long as you’re nice and polite, you are probably going to get an equally amazing response.
As always, no pressure if you don’t want to do the tag, and if you’d like to do the tag and I haven’t tagged you, go right ahead! Be sure to link back here so I can see your post 🙂
Eternity Books 