YA Blogger Community Thanksgiving

So, a little while ago, Adele from Persnickety Snark deemed it YA Thanksgiving; she wrote about all of the things she appreciates about being a part of the blogosphere, and she invited other bloggers to do the same. I'm a little late to the game, but I didn't want to pass up such a wonderful idea.

So here we go! What I love about blogging and bloggers!

*I have personal blog in which I write about my life. I also used to write about books in that blog. I would rate them and then give them one or two sentence reviews. I usually did about 10 of these in the same entry. And my friends complained. Because, unfortunately, quite a few of my friends aren't readers. They loved my blog, they said, but they didn't want to CONSTANTLY hear about all the books I was reading. So I started Brizmus Blogs Books, and I lengthened my reviews and started saying EVERYTHING I wanted to say, as opposed to editing myself down. And then people started coming and reading what I had to say. And saying super interesting things about it. And NO ONE COMPLAINED. People came because, like me, they ALSO want to talk about books. And that is just amazing!

*Going along with that last thing, it's been so amazing to hear what other people have to say about what I have to say. Or just period. To see when people agree with me and why and when people disagree with me and why. And often times, it gives me a new perspective on things; it opens my mind to think about things and books in new, fresh, different ways. Which is fabulous! Even if it doesn't change my mind about certain books or genres, I LOVE reading why another person perceived a book in a different way. Blogging has really been an eye-opener for me.

*I am sure everyone has said this, but I have come to know some AMAZING people through book blogging. I don't really do twitter (I try, but like I was with MSN, I'm just bad at it - I don't have the patience), so I feel sometimes as if I'm not as much a part of the "community" as other bloggers seem to be, but I feel like I've started to get to know some AMAZING people with some AMAZING blogs, such as Becky from The Bookette, Charlotte from The Book on the Hill, and Simcha from SFF Chat. They are awesome, and I really hope to someday meet them all!

*And then there are the amazing bloggers that I have come to love, despite not really getting to know them at all. Their blogs (like those of the people above) inspire me and give me new ideas and new food for thought. Blogs like BOOKLUST, Good Books and Wine, and The New Dork Review of Books. There are tons more, of course, and I'm sorry to not give a shout out to you all.

*I have discovered SO MANY amazing books through blogging! I have rediscovered a love of YA, but I've also found myself discovering new genres which I previously knew very little about. I love it when bloggers recommend obscure books that end up being amazing.

*Adele said this one, and I have to agree with her: LISTS! I love lists, and I feel like bloggers, as a community, make the BEST lists. Lists of the top 100 ya novels, of the most obscure books, and the best historical fiction, etc. . .

Okay, I am sure that I could really go on forever, but I'll stop here. Suffice it to say, I appreciate blogging and bloggers more than I could have ever imagined I would when I first started blogging (especially since I've never previously been particularly GOOD at being on the internet. I suck at sending e-mails, I can't do twitter, I can't do online chat; I just get so antsy! But I can blog, and I can peruse other blogs! It's amazing!). It and you (bloggers!) have opened my eyes and given me new perspective and new loves!

THANK YOU!