Blog Birthday Number Two: A reflection

So it’s two years since I started the blog. Two whole years of reading, reviewing and just generally immersing myself in the written word.

But it’s been so much more than that. It’s been two years that have changed the shape of my life. For one, I read a lot more now. And I read differently. I read books I would never have read before. I read a lot more new releases and I will never get over the thrill of being able to read books before they are published.

But there is a flip side to that. At times reading can feel overwhelming. I feel, sometimes, that if I don’t read books immediately I won’t be able to keep pace. I have been known to feel guilty for longing to read something that’s waiting patiently in my TBR pile, feeling that the newer stuff is more important. And that is just plain ridiculous!

I love being a blogger. But in the last few months I have settled into the fact that there are lots of us and we all have our own ways of going about this. I am a Mum, a wife, a daughter, a friend. I have a full time and demanding job. And while blogging is a part of my life, a part I am so very proud of, it isn’t all my life. It can’t be.

I have come to accept that I can’t keep pace with the Tweets, the Instagram pictures, all the new ‘must have’ releases. It is impossible. I love it all, but it can’t all be for me.

But I do love books. I love writing about them, sharing their stories, chatting to authors, publishers, publicists, booksellers and other bloggers! That will never change and I am happy to be where I am, playing my small part in this glorious world.

Blogging has also given me back my writer’s voice. It has made me realise I still have things to say and it doesn’t really matter who listens to them. So alongside blogging I am pushing at the boundaries of my creativity and trying to write more. I am starting to submit small pieces of fiction, tipping my toe into another, slightly scarier, but exhilarating pond. And if, for the time being that means one blog post a week, instead of two then so be it.

I have made some amazing friends on this blogging journey. Proper real life, always there for you friends. Friends who this year have been beyond amazing. They know who they are. So thank you.

My blogging journey isn’t over. Not by the longest shot. But it is always slightly shifting, throwing up new horizons and places to rest. And those, in my humble opinion are the best kind of journeys!

Thank you for all your support and any word you might have read!

Rachel x