Monday, January 2, 2012

1st Blogoversary! - Giveaway to follow


Well Reflections of a Bookaholic is now ONE years old!!! Um..yes.  Crazy.  I've come a long long way. My first post was title "Welcome" and my mom commented on it and I commented on it twice. lol.  So let's talk about this past year...

Total followers: 1400
Total pageviews: 222,834
Total Book Reviews: 94
Total Posts 266
Unique visitors:  ?
I don't know... when I changed the layout at the end of summer, I forgot to include the Google Analytics code.  Ooopsey!

Most popular reviews:
The Linen Queen by Patricia Falvey (6,355 views, posted Aug. 5, 2011)
The Imperfect Enjoyment by Dewan W. Gibson ( 4,499 views, posted July 10, 2011)
The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen (4,034, posted on May 31, 2011)

Most commented review:
The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

Most popular reflection posts:
Reflection: How do you get out of a reading funk?
Why I Love Wednesdays...Series or Stand-alone novels

It's funny because it has been a year and I'm still struggling to figure out what is going on in the book blogging world.  I still feel lost sometimes.  But there are still times when I feel a bit old.  It doesn't happen often but usually I feel that way when one of my blogger friends stop blogging or decide to scale back.  I'm really really excited about entering year 2, here are a few things I'm thinking about or coming up.

Questions...
I get questions every once in a while about how I go about doing certain things or about blog growth and I don't mind answering them.  If you have any questions, fill free to leave them in the form below (it can be anonymous).  I'll answer them at the end of the week in a post or if I figure it out (and it doesn't look awful), I'll do my very first vlog.

Questions Form



COMMENTS 
If you hadn't noticed, I made it a policy to be a big commenter.  I knew what it felt like when I started and I felt like it was just as easy to click the link on a person's page as it was to read it in my GoogleReader.  So I made it a policy to comment on every post I read...unless I just really couldn't think of ANYTHING.

Well I've decided to scale back on this a bit for a couple of reasons.   First, I got a iPad for Christmas (Whoot Whoot!!) and it is much more convenient for me to visit blogs on it.  That said, I have to jump through more hoops to leave a comment and it is time consuming unless you are a blogger blog or have Disqus.  Second, with all this talk about comments and what types of comments are good enough (this was about a month or two ago), I became increasingly paranoid and I don't enjoy commenting as much as I did.  And finally, I want to focus on commenting back on people who comment on my blog.  I feel so guilty when I don't return comments and lately I've been stumbling upon some AMAZING blogs this way.

REVIEW REQUESTS
OH GOSH!! I'm sooo sorry!! I'm really behind in review requests.  I need to change my review policy to same something along the lines of...I might accept but not review.  It's kind of hard but I want to still have fun reviewing and when I'm not in the mood, I'm not in the mood.  I am also very ashamed to admit that when I got busy, everything went to crap in terms of organization.  I need to parse through and find my review requests and figure out what is going on in my life.  Sooooo Sorry.

I also thought about not taking anymore review requests period.  Anyone have any thoughts or opinions on this?

Why I Love Wednesdays
I still haven't decided whether Why I Love Wednesdays, my first self-created meme will continue.  The problem lies in the area of topics.  When you first start blogging, there are so many things you want to talk about, but as time goes on, you realize it is kind of a cycle and the same discussions are kind of had over and over.  So if you have any ideas or topic ideas (because my creative juice is gone) leave it in the comments.  If there is enough interest, we can get it up and running again.

SELF HOSTING VS. BLOGGER
I'm not going anywhere.  I don't want to pay for my hobby.  I mean...besides the books...and the giveaways.  Though Blogger can be a bugger, I'm strangely attached to the little bugger. I'll reconsider again when I get tired of my layout.  If I move, it will be because of continued problems with comments and not a fear of losing my blog.  Oohh the hard work (I'll cry when it happens but for now...). I did see it happen to someone and  it broke my heart.  Livia from Butterfly-o-Meter Books lost her blog to some hosting madness, that was painful to watch and really sad but she rebounded so well.  Hopefully I can be superwoman like her if it happens or have Livia fix it for me :)  Here that Livia?!


And I just want to thank EVERYONE for there continued support.  I appreciate the comments on my posts and the support for Why I Love Wednesdays.  I appreciate people answering my insanely silly questions and being there through my reading funk.  Most of all, I thank everyone who continues to visit when there are so many awesome blogs out there.  I thank the bloggers who I now consider friends and I'm looking forward to making more friends in the future :)

THANK YOU!


Giveaway to follow :)
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45 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your blogoversary!

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  2. Congratulations on your 1st blogoversary! I'm coming up on mine this month, and your thoughts are so similar to my own.

    It's been great getting to know you this past year. :)

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  3. Thank you! I really really appreciate you and you definitely made me feel better about the whole thing. I'm just going to be myself and hope that's enough for people.

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  4. Dar(Peeking Between the Pages)January 26, 2012 at 9:56 AM

    Congrats on your 1st year blogoversary! That's awesome. I only found your blog awhile ago but it's already a favorite of mine. As for the commenting thing - I missed whatever that was but you should never feel paranoid about comments. I appreciate any and all I get. If a person only has a minute and says great review I'm still grateful they stopped by. Blogging is supposed to be fun and what I value most about it after three years are all the great friends I've made.

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  5. Happy belated blogoversary! You've done such an amazing job, and you're one of the most supportive and generous book bloggers I've met - keep up the great work! :)

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  6. Happy Blogoversary!!! Congrats on a great milestone! :)))

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  7. Thanks Jade! I had a Merry Christmas and a Great New Year! I'm so sorry about your loss but I'm excited you got an iPad :) It is so great! We should facetime and imessage. Let me know if you are interested. I can email you my info.

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  8. Thanks! I just feel so bad. I'm going to try to get better organized so I can handle it better in the New Year.

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  9. Thanks (I like confetti)! Year 2 here I come.

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  10. Haha! Great minds think alike right? It's been great knowing you as well. Connecting to all the bloggers is the best part of it all.

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  11. You are right and I'm just trying to remember that and have fun! I can't believe it has already been a year.

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  12. I know. I thought comments showed that I cared but who knows. The iPad is so awesome! I'm not even a tech person.

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  13. I know I shouldn't care about the commenting thing so I'll try to remember what makes me happy and hope that it is enough for people. I'm so excited about 2012 for so many reasons. Thanks so much!

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  14. Congrats to a year! I'll continue reading and I always look forward to your posts. Keep it going, Alexis!

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  15. Happy blogoversery Alexis! Love the blog and need diong what you're doing! Just don't stress about commentin:)

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  16. Yay!! Happy Blogoversary!! I actually thought you had been doing this for much longer - you are that good.

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  17. Congrats on the blogoversary! I know how you feel about sometimes feeling lost about the whole book blogging world. I feel that way all the time. Its hard to decide sometimes who you want to be when it comes to being a blogger, but ultimately you find your way.

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  18. Congrats for this Bloganiversary
    all the best

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  19. reading rendezvous reviewzJanuary 26, 2012 at 9:59 AM

    Alexis, you must remember there are no written rules for blogging. blogging is personal. Being a part of a blogging community such as book bloggers you kinda respect certain thing s that seem to be universal but never, never fall to how much and when you should blog. Reading is your passion and sharing with others what you have read is all your creativity. NO RULES in that manner. Sometimes I feel very involved and other times I want to just blog and visit others without one post or partaking in anything. Hey, as they say, DO YOU, Blog YOU!! (lol) This definitely will keep you from blog burnout.
    About reviews: As a reviewer, I always try to get a review done in a timely manner, for me that is within two weeks. If anything comes up I email the author and inform them of such and when I will have the review finished.
    I think changing your review policy to reflect your measures is well intended.
    Comments: oh lexi, the best we can do is be tactful about what we say. there was actually a post about 'comments'. must of been the grace of God that I missed it. lol
    Congratulations of your one year. I just thought about that, I think mine has passed. I think. It will be a year also.

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  20. I know that sometimes my comments are surely not enough for some, but I still want to comment on all my blogs and in the end I feel that if people do not like a short comment then I do not have to come around. I appreciate all sorts of comments :)

    Wohoo for the IPAD!

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  21. I think I'll change it to that. Because when I start to feel the pressure, I don't want to read any review request and I shy away. I need to relieve the pressure somehow.

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  22. Livia's first blog was self-hosted.

    Wow! 3 years! I wasn't even sure if I could make one. Lol. I agree with you. I'm trying to avoid the burnout for sure. Ultimately, I'm still learning and I'm really trying to find my balance and I'm not there yet. I still second-guess myself and worry. But I really do love it.

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  23. I'm curious too! I've enjoyed following your blog and look forward to more in the coming year :)

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  24. Congrats! I can't wait for your giveaway!

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  25. Thank you so much!! I've really thought about it and I think Why I Love Wednesdays is here to stay. I would really miss it too much.

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  26. I try to remember, I really do. Maybe that should be my New Year's resolution...to do me? Yes and blog burnout is very very real so I'm going to try to relax and enjoy the experience but that kind of stuff is hard for me. Lol.

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  27. I really hate I missed this when it posted. Congratulations on making a whole year! That's quite a milestone Alexis. I really do enjoy your website so I'm happy you're here to stay. And sometimes I feel old and out of touch too...so you're not alone. Anyway, keep at it, because I do love coming here for the great discussions and honest reviews. Congrats again! I hope you had a Merry Christmas and Great New Year.

    PS, my Mom got me an Ipad too...aren't they great!

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  28. Happy blogiversary! Wishing you many more years of fun on the blogs! Don't worry...I know you're not the only blogger with a review backlog!

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  29. Keep doing* ugh.

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  30. *hugs**

    *throws confetti*

    Congrats on making it through the first year!!! I sure hope to read you loads in 2012

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  31. Alexis, congratulations on your 1-year! You were one of my first followers and I happen to think your blog is awesome. I hope you continue "Why I Love" Wednesdays but if not, perhaps you'll come up with another, better meme to take its place! :)

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  32. The commenting debacle made me a bit paranoid too, but Juju made a good point. I'm not gonna over think my comments, because then it will take the fun out of commenting and I don't want that to happen.

    Congrats on completing your year, and Happy Anniversary! I hope 2012 is just as amazing for you, if not more. :)

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  33. Haha! I get that question a lot. I'll definitely answer that question to the best of my ability at the end of the week. But to be honest, I can only guess. I'm not quite sure where the followers are coming from. I have a couple of theories though.

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  34. My question is this: How did you manage to get 1400 followers? We started our blogs within 1 month of each other and I have 369. Now, I love all of my 369 and feel content over the moon with my blog, but a girl does wonder sometimes!

    On the other hand, you put so much more love and attention into your blog - as is evident - and you deserve everyone of those lovely 1400.

    I'm just curious ya know.

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  35. Juju at Tales of Whimsy.comJanuary 26, 2012 at 2:08 PM

    I'm with you. I'm sticking with blogger.
    Was Livia self hosting or using blogger?

    Regarding commenting, I'm sorry all that talk of comments made you paranoid.
    I look at it like this, those who like my comments will comment back.
    Those who don't won't.
    And I too try to give more love to those who comment on mine.
    So it works itself out.

    As for struggling to keep up with it all, no worries. I have been around since June 2009 (thus this coming June will be 3 years) and I stillll feel that way. Ultimately, I think you come to a peaceful place where you say to yourself, "I can't keep up. I'll just enjoy it." I think those who try too hard ultimately burn out or it becomes more of a job for them.

    Happy Anniversary!

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  36. Congratulations! One year is a great milestone.

    I am drowning in books to read too. I changed my review policy to say that while I accept books for review I will not commit to a timeline to have them read by. When authors contact me, I accept the book and offer an interview or guest post right away since it could be forever until I review it.

    And you are not alone in your love for Blogger. I cannot imagine changing. My husband has a blog through Wordpress, and there is no way I want it. He does so much more technical work on it. I love the simplicity and ease of using Blogger.

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I absolutely LOVE all comments! So please feel free to chime in with your thoughts, questions, opinions, or whatever else you have to say.

Don't forget to check back as I reply to comments. Dialogue is good right?

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