Hello and welcome to the first installment of my new feature, Fresh Perspectives! My goals are to introduce a new blogger, create a safe place to ask questions, and encourage honest dialogue about book blogging.
Today, Kate from Mom’s Radius is here to tell us about herself and ask a few questions!
Welcome, Kate! When did you start book blogging and why?
I started blogging in May 2015. I was reading a lot of blogs, and I thought it might be time to start my own. I was looking to feel connected to other readers. The people in my everyday life weren’t necessarily interested in hearing my bookish thoughts, so I thought I’d put them out into the world and find other people who might want to engage in some discussion with me about this thing I love so much: reading.
I also wanted a forum to chronicle the happenings of our family. I didn’t want to restrict myself to writing about just books, and I was doing a horrible job of keeping up with the journal I had been keeping for my son since I found out I was pregnant. I thought I could write about our family as well as books.
Here’s a more complete description from my blog
What is the focus of your blog?
My blog name is meant to be descriptive of the content on my blog. I write about everything within my domain as a mother: books, recipes, family, etc. But I do mostly write about books because that’s where I’ve made the most connection, and I enjoy reviewing and rating the books I’ve read.
I read mostly YA fiction and adult fiction. I read a lot of YA contemporaries and some lighter fantasy and sci fi. In adult fiction I tend to stick to contemporary and women’s lit type reads. I also review one children’s book per week, on Saturdays. And I’ve been participating in Top Ten Tuesday every Tuesday so far in 2016.
Here’s more information on my blog name and what I enjoy writing about
What is the best book you’ve read recently and why should we read it?
My favorite book right now is still Big, Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. I read this book in the spring of 2015. It’s about three women who meet through their childrens’ kindergarten class. I love stories about instant friendship, and as my son just started kindergarten in the fall of 2015, the timing was perfect. Liane Moriarty is a phenomenal writer. She does character development and plot twists so well. I loved the mystery involved in this story and the crazy school drama. I listened to the audiobook, and I found it so entertaining and so enjoyable. I couldn’t wait to be driving, so I could hear more of the story. And it takes places in Australia, so the narrator’s accent made it extra fun.
What has been the best and worst thing about your blogging journey, so far?
The best thing has been talking with other bloggers about books. I loved reading everyone’s thoughts because I started blogging, but now I feel like I’m really part of the conversation. So many bloggers have been so welcoming of my blog and my thoughts. I’m really enjoying the experience.
The worst thing…hmm. Honestly, I can’t think of anything other than maybe the pressure I sometimes put on myself to finish books quickly, so I can review them for the blog. Thinking of ideas and getting posts scheduled for every day of the week is challenging. I know it’s not something I need to do, but I like having a post go up every day. Reading hasn’t felt like a chore yet, but I do think my family would appreciate it if I read just a little less than I do.
What questions do you have for the blogging community?
I have so many questions! Here are a few of them…
I see a lot of people using tiny URLs for linking to posts from Twitter, etc. What’s the benefit of doing that? Should I be doing that?
What are your thoughts on Amazon affiliates? Do you use it? I’ve heard there are restrictions regarding emailing the links or having them pull into RSS feeds. How do you deal with those?
Do you have ads on your site? How did you decide to use or not use them?
Just this week I noticed several unrelated URLs in my referrer list. I searched their site code and couldn’t find a link to my site. How do I block that traffic? Can I?
Do you have any answers, feedback, or questions of your own? Let’s hear it!
Kate Unger lives in suburban Milwaukee and blogs at Mom’s Radius. Check her out!
Thanks, Kate! The post turned out great. I’m hoping some other bloggers (or you) can answer my questions. 🙂
I love Liane Moriarty. The first book I read of hers was Three Wishes. I will definitely add Big Little Lies to my list of audiobooks. Best of luck Kate on your new blogging adventure!
Thanks. I’ve read all of her books. Three Wishes was good, but I enjoyed Big Little Lies, What Alice Forgot, and The Husband’s Secret more.
Thanks so much for being the very first, Kate! I found this article abount the Amazon issue, and I thought it might be helpful http://amylynnandrews.com/do-not-put-amazon-associates-links-in-emails/
Thanks! I’ll check it out.
Hey Kate! The tiny URLs are great for social media – gives you more room to share your thoughts, especially when tweeting! Both Google (goo.gl) and Hootsuite (hootsuite.com) will also track your links, who clicks on them, & so on. It’s pretty fun to see how each link performs.
Great new feature! 🙂
Thank you, Ellen!
Thanks for the info!
Hello, the Kates!
Welcome to the blogosphere, Radius Mom Kate, and happy almost-anniversary. Meeting other bloggers and finding new reads through them is my favorite part about blogging, too–and I LOVED Liane Moriarty’s BIG LITTLE LIES! All of her books are great, but that particular one was a page-turner. I’m kinda excited about it being adapted for TV, since it’s women behind the scenes, it has potential to do justice to the story.
Ellen’s note about being able to track how the link performs is partially why I use bit.ly for tweets, but I think it’s also useful because:
1. You can fit more into your tweet, which for someone like me who’s wordy, is very helpful. Also allows room for people to add something if they RT and aren’t using the quote button.
2. It’s easier for people to copy and paste if they wish.
3. It just looks tidier than a long URL string.
I don’t use ads on my blog, although I see nothing wrong with the choice to do so. At this point, it’s not worth the hassle to me to investigate/track/deal with it, but certainly, our time is valuable. So if people can find a non-obtrusive/on-message way to support their endeavors, I think that’s a good thing. It’s interesting that there’s kind of a stigma about people doing so in certain circles, though.
And my friend Ex-Libris Kate–I’m so sorry it’s been so long since I dropped by! Last year was nuts, and 2016 has gotten off to a rocky start as well, so I haven’t been around nearly as much as I used to be. I miss you though, and I’m tickled by your lovely new blog design. Congrats!
Thank you for stopping by, Wendy!! My doors are always open to you, no matter how long you’ve been away. XOXOXO
I hope 2016 gets better FAST
Thanks for the info, Wendy. I haven’t added ads basically because I don’t have the time to research it. And I’d need to change my blog layout I think. Maybe someday.
I didn’t know Big Little Lies was being adapted for TV. So exciting!