5 Years of Blogging

On the 5th July 2009, with very little idea about what I was doing or what I was letting myself in for, I wrote my first review on Brona's Books.

The book was Gone by Michael Grant and reflected that this blog started life as a review vehicle for teachers and parents about children's books.

For two years, I reviewed children's books, in fits and starts.
However I had very little interaction with the blogging community. I felt like I was writing into a great big unknown void.

It was during my summer holidays in January 2012 that I had a revelation.
I had read several fantastic adult books over the break and I was brimming with things to say about them...and I suddenly realised... I could blog about adult books too!

I also began to google and read stuff on how to be more interactive in the blogging world & how to get more comments and interested followers.

The brave new world of memes, blog hops and readalongs suddenly opened up before me!
I discovered The Classics Club and numerous Australian bloggers. I joined events, participated in memes & left hundreds of thoughtful comments in the blogosphere.

In fact, I found myself blogging about so many new and wonderful things, that I felt the need to start a second blog to cater for my photographic & travel writing urges!
In July 2012 Four Seasons was born.

Since then, I have learnt basic html, joined twitter and instagram and started a Brona's Books facebook page.

In the last 12 months I hosted my first events - AusReading Month in November and The Wharton Review in May.

To prove to the ever patient, always supportive Mr Books just how book nerdy & blog obsessive I really was, I spent a night tallying my reviews!

I have reviewed:

202 books by women authors
128 by men

138 of my 330 reviews were Australian titles

119 were adult books
80 teen/YA books
69 books for younger readers
57 were picture books

75 books were historical fiction
51 were contemporary stories
50 books were part of a series
39 were classics
28 were non-fiction books
27 books were fantasy
25 were dystopian/post apocalyptic books
23 were crime fiction
15 books were memoirs, biographies or autobiographies
12 featured a time-slip or time travel story line
7 books were short story collections
6 books were written in verse or poetry
6 were romance
5 were classified as humorous
1 was a play
1 graphic novel (& a partridge in a pear tree!)

I've loved every single minute of this five year journey (even the torturous first year of doubt and insecurity).

But the very best part of blogging has been all of you.

Yes, you - my readers, my followers & my regular commenters.
All of you who have shared readalongs, readathons, photos, spins & other book events with me, I thank you. I feel blessed to have met you all.
You have enriched my reading life no end.