Banning Books and Why I'm Angry

So, recently I came across a story involving the censorship of books, and the typical stupidity of some people.

Parents in Illinois are pushing to have eight books banned from the school, including:

• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
• The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy 
• Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
• A Separate Peace by John Knowles
• After the First Death by Robert Cormier
• All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
• Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin
• I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou 

I'm sure you, too, have read -or at least recognize- some of these books, and I think it's absolutely ridiculous that parents are pushing to have these banned from that school. 

I'm no stranger to the Anti-Banned Books movement, but this particular story has really sparked my flame of hatred for this type of censorship. 

The first article I read can be viewed by clicking here (Bookstr.com)

The second article I read can be viewed by clicking here (Cook County Chronicle)

In the second article, we get plenty of interviews from parents and teachers involved, and honestly, I don't know what bubble they're all living in. I highly recommend you go read at least the second article, but I'll pull a couple quotes out to show you what I mean. 

“I’ve read some excerpts of [‘I know Why the Caged Bird Sings’] that include an 8-year-old getting raped; it’s very explicit,” said Mary Kay Fessler. “The sexual content is too much for their young minds to process. As an adult, yes, we can process that, but as a 14-, 15-,16-year-old, I don’t’ think they have the neurological [power] to process that.”

First of all. Is that not offensive?  Fun fact- teenagers have the "neurological power" to process the seriousness of rape, thank you very much Mrs. Fessler. And secondly, if you're particular child doesn't have the "neurological power" to "process that", then I think you have some parenting to do.

'“We can’t have 18-year-olds reading about masturbation or sexual issues, regardless of the literature. I don’t care if it’s from Dickens or who else,” Rick Ligthart said, in summary."

Okay, I mean, that makes sense. We can send 18-year-olds off to fight and defend our country, but God forbid they read about "sexual issues". I'm sorry, but you can't shelter students forever, and maybe it's better that they read about things inside of literature, as opposed to online.

"Reigle called “The God of Small Things” “smut” and “porn”."

Right, right. Let's take a work that's been crafted with a plot of complexity and a deeper message hidden within the layers of the story, and plop a label on it. Has this "Reigle" even read more than the controversial bits before stating this offensive overgeneralization?

Okay my point here is that CENSORSHIP ISN'T OKAY. And it's hypocritical to try to censor literature, and then turn around and allow even worse content to be taken in through the internet and TV. Instead of censoring books, parents, why don't we allow students to enjoy reading, and learn about all aspects of life- including the ones you'd rather them not know about. Because the truth of the matter here is that teenagers need to be exposed to things that they will have to deal with later on in life without someone coaching them through it. The opinions you get from other people won't always line up with your own, and if you never have to seen possibly offensive, contradicting opinions, how will you know how to deal with those?

As always, you can protest book banning and censorship by reading a banned or challenged book, and letting people know.

Climbing Out of a Reading Slump (a.k.a climbing Mt. Everest)

So we've established that I took a little abrupt break for a few months, and while there's a large negative side to that, it sort of prompted this post, so yay!

Essentially, for me, my reading life and blogging life are closely knit. When I'm not in the mood to read, I'm not in the mood to blog. And that's sort of what happened. I fell into a slump, and I pulled out of the bookish community, in turn pulling me out of my blog. So today's post is going to be all about beating (and avoiding) that reading slump. 

The first thing to address here is how to avoid getting into that slump in the first place. 

Rule number one, don't push yourself to read more than you can. I know one mistake I made was forcing myself to read wayyyy more on a daily basis than I really wanted to. I was heavily invested in hitting a daily page goal, and would spend a lot of time mathematically figuring out how many pages I'd read, and needed to read, instead of focusing on the book I was actually reading. Everyone wants to read more, but instead of focusing on page count, try and hit a certain amount of time. That's right, set a goal of, say, reading for an hour each day, and every time you pick up that book, hit a stopwatch or something. That way you can focus on how much genuine reading time you get instead of how many pages you read. (OR you can just live in the moment and not track your reading at all!)

Rule number two, don't set unrealistic goals. That time of year is coming up again. You know which one. The Goodreads Reading Challenge time of year. As December winds up, you'll be faced with setting your 2017 read books goal. Please, please, please, make it realistic. Don't push yourself to read 200 books if you know you'll be stressed out reading that 200 books. There's nothing wrong with a little challenge, but forcing yourself to speed read will only throw you into a slump. Instead, try setting a realistic goal that will challenge you, but still be achievable. (Or set an easy goal if you really don't care about how many books you read, so long as you're enjoying it.)

And rule number 3, don't compare yourself to other readers. Yes, sometimes we look at those crazy people who can read billions of books every year, and compare ourselves just a teeny bit. I know it's hard, but just accept that the amount of books you can read is good enough, if you're happy reading! There's no point in striving to be someone you're not. Your schedule only allows for so many books each month, so instead of feeling down about yourself, be happy, because as long as you love to read, you're just as much of a reader as everyone else!

Now that we've established how to avoid said slump, we will go into how to get out of one. 

First thing's first- acknowledge that you are in a slump. Acceptance is the first step to healing. Once we're aware that this is indeed a reading slump, proceed to the following steps.

- Go book shopping! Nothing gets those reading juices flowing like purchasing all those new releases you were excited for. Do you need more books? Probably not. Does that actually matter to you in the slightest? Nope. So go, purchase some new books, spice up your TBR pile, and see if that doesn't kick you back into reading gear!

- Watch some BookTube. I find that watching people hold up pretty, pretty books while they passionately talk about the um, plot and stuff, is quite motivating. Let them remind you of the joy that comes with reading, and perhaps that'll get you back into motion.

- Reread a well-beloved book. I would suggest a Harry Potter reread, to be specific. Other books I've enjoyed rereading are Percy Jackson, the Mortal Instruments, and any Rainbow Rowell book.

- In the words of Eliza, "take a break". Taking a step back from the reading world for a week may be what you need to reset your reading juices. In the meantime, feel free to listen to the Hamilton CR on repeat.

- Re-arrange your bookshelves. I've never actually tried this before, but reorganizing bookshelves is fun. Plus, sprucing things up always makes my room look nicer, and then I spend a lot of time just staring at my shelves. That's pretty motivational, right?

- Buddy read with a friend. Pick a book you and a fellow reader friend have both been wanting to read, and read it! Try and agree on a certain place to be at the end of a certain period of time, and then discuss! Having someone counting on you to read might be what you need to start your routine up again. (And if you don't have a fellow reader friend, hit up any of us blogger people!)

- Change the time of day you read. Have you always been a night time reader, climbing into bed and cracking open that novel before you drift off to sleep? Carve off some time in the morning to read a couple chapters before you start your day! Changing up the time you read might make you more willing to read. (I find once you've found a routine, your brain has a tendency to reject it. ;) )



And that concludes this episode of Julia (tries to) Help 101. Let me know what you do to climb out of a reading slump, and when the last time you had a slump was! 

Weird Things in Fantasy

When you hear the word "fantasy", the first things that come to mind are among the lines of, "magic" or "impossible". And while things like potions, dragons, and spells certainly fall under the list of things I love about fantasy, there are just some oddities that occur in practically every YA fantasy, and I just have difficulty believing them. In today's post I'll be talking all about those peculiarities.

1. Nobody has to use the bathroom. Like... ever. 

This is true for a lot of books, not just fantasy, but it's just so annoying! We read all about the fantastic 14 course feasts the characters enjoy, but where does it all go? I mean, I wouldn't mind living in a world where I never have to use the bathroom, but it just doesn't seem likely that such a world would ever exist. Unless, I suppose, it's also a world where nobody has to eat or drink.

2. Relig-ion? More like Relig-one!

Okay, I apologize for that pitiful attempt at humor. But (shout out to my friend for pointing this out) it seems like most fantasy worlds only have one religion, and all the people in that world practice that one religion. I mean seriously, if you can think of a book series that includes multiple religions, please let me know!

3. Prununcyatshun (Pronounced: 'pronunciation') 

What is everything so dang hard to pronounce in fantasy? I don't mind tweaking spellings or creating new words, so long as I can still read it, but must it be hard to sound it out? Not to point fingers, Leigh Bardugo, but we can't read your mind!

4. I don't 'technology' 



 It would appear that as smart as people can be in fantasy worlds, technology and computers are not a thing.  Why? Does it suddenly become Science Fiction if rooms have light bulbs instead of candlelight?

5. Love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love

So I don't know if anyone else picked up on this, but I feel like the lines between different sexualities are pretty blurred in fantasy. Meaning that society tends to be more accepting, or not even acknowledge a difference between sexualities. (Which is awesome!)


Okay so these are my five fantasy oddities. Thanks for reading!

All About EBOOKS

I'm sure you've all seen countless "Ebook vs. Physical Book" posts and videos, so this post is going to skip over that and move straight on to talking all about the different ereaders. And for those of you blessed souls who haven't dealt with at least one said "ebook vs. physical book" post, ebooks are more convenient but physical books are still preferable.

So now for my ereader life story.

A few years ago, I bought something very similar to this nook. (Note: this is an newer, nicer, updated version of my nook.) At first, I loved it, and most of what I read I downloaded from OverDrive courtesy of my public library. If you haven't checked OverDrive out, you should. If you belong to a library or are a K12/College student, you most likely have access to OverDrive through that. But anyway, I was checking out all my desired titles from OverDrive, downloading the ePub file to my nook, and enjoying my endless supply of books. And if OverDrive didn't have my desired title, I could simply request the book with a push of a button, and typically within the month it'd be added to the collection. Then after a year or so of this, my Nook started acting crazy.

Now, what you must understand is that my nook had never been the easiest piece of technology to use. I spent many a night looking up articles and forums to figure out what was going on with my nook. However, this time my nook was simply not working, and it's been stowed away in my junk drawer ever since.

Have I completely given up on ebooks? No, dear friend, I have not. While I certainly prefer reading physical copies of books, being a book blogger, I often get digital copies of books for review. And quite honestly, it's easier to take ebooks for review, because I don't have to worry about it coming through the mail.

So how have I been reading ebooks? Well, my phone.

While I was using my iPad mini to read ebooks for a while, I've since made the switch to reading ebooks on my phone, because I always have my phone with me! I have the Kindle app, and all my ARCs are just downloaded to the app. It's a piece of cake.

So now you know my history with ereaders. Why don't we get into the fun part?

"Nooks are junky and unreliable, and probably won't be around in the near future." 

Who remembers Borders? The bookseller? It used to be up there with BooksAMillion and Barnes &Noble? If you aren't familiar with Borders, they're a bookseller that went out of business. So Nooks are a tablet manufactured and sold by B&N, which means that if B&N were to ever go out of business (following the trend of Borders) Nooks wouldn't be around either. Of course, the day B&N closes up will be a day of mourning for me, but it's not unlikely.

Plus Nooks just aren't that great! Mine was always having software issues. Really annoying ones that were hard to figure out. There were times when it would completely reset, and I would have to set it up like a brand new user. And it would erase all the ePup books I'd checked out! I didn't have the best nook on the market, but I think that still says something.

Plus owning a nook is expensive. I only actually bought one book on my nook, everything else I borrowed from OverDrive/My Library. However, if you are the type of person to buy the ebooks you read, you're buying them from Barnes & Noble. And I'm not going to be shy about this when I say that Barnes & Noble ebooks are expensive. So not only are you paying for the tablet, but you're paying for the $10 ebooks too.

So if you're going to buy an ereader, don't go the nook route.

"Kindles are Amazon, and Amazon is a good thing."

The other major ereader you hear about is the Amazon Kindle. As you know, Kindle is manufactured and sold by Amazon, along with all the ebooks you'd buy for it. Not only are Amazon's ebook prices better, but they frequently run awesome $1-$2 deals on all types of books- even YA bestsellers and things you wouldn't expect they'd run a discounted price for. And you can still download OverDrive books to your Kindle for free, it's just a whole lot easier than when you try to do it on a Nook.

Plus Kindle is Amazon, and Amazon isn't going to run out of business like B&N has the potential to in the future. So you're Kindle will be around for a long time.

Even better, Kindle digital format is so much easier to use than the Nook's. And there's an awesome app that'll convert any document into Kindle format for you to read on your Kindle. (Which is helpful when I'm getting a review copy of an unfinished book.)

As far as the quality of the actual device, I can't say much as I've never owned one. However, they seem to hold up well according to people I know.

"There's an app for that; because don't you already have a tablet?" 

Chances are, you already own an iPad, Samsung, or some other type of tablet. So why not just download the FREE Kindle App, like myself, and enjoy not having to pay for another device.

Besides, there's nothing a Kindle can do that an iPad can't.

So in the end, don't buy an ereader, just use your phone, tablet, or even your computer to read via the Kindle app. 

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What are YOUR thoughts on ereaders? 

Conversations: Reading Series

Hello! I hope you're enjoying this fine Saturday. As usual, this fortnight brings us another Conversation, where we discuss a new topic. You can find out more about this feature here.

   Today's discussion is all about "reading book series- (yay or nay)?".     

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Maybe you've done this before, maybe you haven't, but I know that once I've invested myself in reading one or two books of a smaller series, I feel inclined to finish off the series, even if I'm not really enjoying it. And if you think about it, that last book you forced yourself to read could've been another book that you actually enjoyed. (A stand alone, perhaps.) I feel as though book series are traps in some ways, but in other ways, I don't know where we'd be without book series.

On the one hand, I love reading a good book series! 

When I'm genuinely enjoying the books, having a series is a great thing. It allows for reading the books to become an experience. There's something to be said about waiting each year for the next book to come out in a series. It becomes a memory, a companion. And when the series is complete, you've grown as a person, and it's hard to believe that this series-friend has come to an end. It makes reading those books more personal and emotional, because they've lasted much longer than just reading one book. I know plenty of book series that I've cried while finishing, more because it was over than because the events taking place were sad. 

Plus, book series allow for more thorough story planning and more realistic development. Especially in fantasy and science fiction books, it's hard to complete the whole plot in just one book- no matter how long. It would be completely unrealistic to try and squish everything into one book- not to mention excruciatingly lengthy! I prefer for the character development and story arc to be realistic, and making your story into multiple books allows for that. 

Okay, don't roll your eyes, but series look great on bookshelves! Nothing's more satisfying than owning a whole series, especially when they're all in the same format, the same edition, and the same height! I love getting to gaze at how perfect my book series look all lined up and orderly.

So yes, when done right, book series can be a great thing.

On the other hand, authors need to stop trying to make so much money and just WRITE. 

I'm going to shamelessly mention James Patterson when I talk about the fact that a lot of authors stretch their stories out, taking meaningless, stupid turns that end up having no impact on the story just to release another book and make more money. A prime example of this is the horror that is the Maximum Ride series. That story could've been over in three books, but of course us gullible consumers will just keep buying his books. I just can't stand when something that could've been accomplished in one or two books is stretched out pointlessly just to make money. There are plenty of trilogies that could've been duologies, where the middle book was dull and accomplished little other than act as a bridge that could've been condensed and added to the end and beginning of the other two novels. Literally, nothing more annoying.

And there's the fact that sometimes I'm just not in the mood to commit myself to a whole series. Especially when there's, like, 8 books and they've all been released already, it's hard to want to jump into that type of thing. I mean, if all the books are released, I don't have any excuse not to read the rest of the series. I like having a break sometimes.

Plus series are just more to buy, more to read, and more to try to squeeze into your bookshelf. Sometimes I like just getting to read a stand alone, accept that this time it's all been told in one, nicely sized volume, and move on to the next thing.

So in conclusion? (Most) TV shows need more than just one season to accomplish their plot, just as (most) stories need more than just one book. However, I think we all know of a few TV shows that should've ended after just the first season. 

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think of reading book series!

Discussion: Mental Illness in YA

Hello my lovelies- today I want to talk about something that's a little different from the typical post around here.

So today we're going to talk about mental illness in the media. Recently, one of my peers committed suicide. I've known him since I was in second grade. And sure, I don't see much of him anymore, considering my life has taken me elsewhere, but the fact still remains that he was someone who's always been there. When the news reached me that he'd killed himself, I was shocked. And it really, truly upset me. There was no way for me to fix this problem. And the truth was that this had really happened- to someone I knew- and it's happening everyday, all over the world.  That thought overwhelmed me. 

So that's what sparked this discussion post. I want to discuss the underrepresentation of mental illnesses in the media, and why it's not acceptable. 

Most people simply don't understand what mental illnesses are. A mental illness isn't just being "really sad", "really anxious", "down in the dumps" "insecure", "unhappy with yourself" or any of those ridiculous things. A mental illness is the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain. Exercising, spending time with friends, or buying new clothes won't just heal someone. It takes more than that. But, truthfully, the people who believe these things aren't at fault. They simply just don't know. Let me repeat that- they simply just don't know. So one of the easiest ways for us to raise awareness for mental illnesses is through educating people about them. Accurately educating people about them. And that's where books and the media kick in.

When we read about a main character with, say, cancer, we get begin to truly understand what it's like to deal with cancer, because we're inside the main character's head. Before The Fault in Our Stars swept through, I think a lot of people who'd never been exposed to the true horrors of cancer only ever heard about the survival stories, the donations, or the fundraisers. After the Fault in Our Stars, a lot of young adults suddenly understood that not all cancer stories have a happy ending. It can be similar with mental illnesses. If we expose young readers to main characters with mental illnesses, they will finish the book understanding mental illnesses so much more. Because, when you read a novel, you get inside the main character's head. You feel what they feel, you hurt when they hurt. So if we want to spread awareness for what it's really like to have social anxiety, writing characters with anxiety is a great way to do it.

But what's the big deal- why do we care? Well, 1 in 5 teenagers ages 13-18 suffer from a mental illness. Wherever you are in the world, there is somebody you know suffering from some type of mental illness. Just because no one's informed you of it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. However, most teenagers turn to their peers when experiencing suicidal thoughts, and we should be concerned about the peers of these young people suffering from mental illness. By teaching them what it means to have a mental illness, we are preparing them for what could come down the road later. Plus, identifying signs of depression can make a huge difference- in their life or somebody else's. Nothing could be worse than a suicidal teenager confessing to a peer what was happening, and that peer not knowing what to do about it. We just need to educate them.

But the sad thing is that we aren't taking advantage of the media to educate teenagers on mental illness. Did anyone see the video recently uploaded on Jesse's channel? If not, a topic was shouted out, and the first player to find a book that fit the topic won that round. The first topic was dead parents, and all four players immediately grabbed books. The second topic was mental illness, and all four players stood in front of Christine's shelves, staring until one of them picked up Allegiant. Why is it so difficult to find books that include mental illness? Why is it so underrepresented in Young Adult Literature? Whatever the answers to those questions are, the truth remains that we need more representation of mental illness in YA, and it's not happening.

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Thanks for reading through my whole post (rant?) here! I feel like I maybe didn't get my point across as clearly as I wanted to, but hopefully you get where I'm coming from. What are your thoughts on this subject? Comment below!

Conversations: Why We Blog

Hey all! I'm jumping in on this new, fortnightly feature called "Conversations" hosted by Joan @Fiddler Blue and Geraldine @Corralling Books. The aim of this feature is to inspire discussion and interaction between bloggers. You can find out more here. 

This fortnight's topic is "what pushed you to start blogging and why do you continue to blog?". So, now that our introduction is done, why don't we jump into this topic? 

Why Did I Start Blogging? 

I started blogging in mid October of last year. It wasn't a spontaneous decision, I actually thought about it for probably a month or so before I actually created my blog. But anyway, I was about a month into my (new) school, and I found the workload to be manageable. I began to review books on Goodreads, and discovered that I really enjoyed it. However, it's rather difficult to get recognition on Goodreads for your reviews, and I didn't really like the overall atmosphere in the reviewing section on Goodreads. So, I picked myself up, plopped down on Blogger, and spent an afternoon coming up with a good blog name, theme, and layout. Then I just began to write. My blog has undergone quite an amount of changes since then. I completely redid my theme, for starters, and the quality of my posts, I feel, have gone up. (Or, at least, I'm trying.) My reading base has slowly grown, and I've met so many amazing people! 

Why Do I Continue?

I continue blogging because there's no reason for me to want to stop. Through blogging, I've been able to self teach myself HTML and coding. Obviously, I'm no expert, but I certainly know and understand more about it than the average person my age- or any age really. 

Not only is that awesome, but my writing has improved greatly. Whether it's sentence structure, word choice, or just general flow, my writing has gotten so much better. Plus it's good way to be actively practicing my writing. 

Oh and the people! You hear this a lot, but it's so true. I've met so many amazing people through blogging, and I'm so thankful for that. Half of you live half a world away, but it's so great that I get to talk to you. 

I just love immersing myself in this world of people who love to read and aren't afraid to go all out when expressing their love for reading. It's been six months since I started, and the time has flown by. I wouldn't trade this awesome opportunity the internet has given us all for the world, and a huge thank you to everyone who's already been a part of it for me! *blows kiss* 

Why do you blog, and what keeps you going? And if any of you took part in this fortnight's Conversation, let me know in the comments, and I'll definitely check it out! 

Discussion: What Makes a Good Villain?

I'm sure we've all seen that picture of Dolores Umbridge with the huge, block text that reads, "ADMIT IT. YOU WANTED HER DEAD MORE THAN VOLDEMORT." Not ringing a bell?

Okay, so now we're all up to speed. The thing about this is that it's true! I hate Umbridge so much more than I do Voldemort. And I'm willing to bet that's the same for you. (And if that's not the case, than you're just a tad crazy.) Anyway, sure, it's been years since I first saw this, but I've recently been really thinking about it. What makes those truly nasty, horrible, despicable characters such good villains? 

Picking on the main character's weaknesses

Some villains are just out there, doing what they're doing for "the greater good". The greater good doesn't necessarily involve the main character all that much as an individual, but when the villain is always there, attacking the main character's insecurities and weaknesses, you have to loathe them automatically. 

Another thing is simply when the villain has all the power, and they can easily get away with everything they're doing. Take Umbridge for example. Every last cruel act and horrible rule she got away with because she controlled the law. With the law on her side, there was literally no way for her to get in trouble for what she was doing at Hogwarts. That feeling of powerlessness and despair, when it seems like there's no way out, makes it very easy to hate the villain. 

Being tangible

Another concept I find makes a stronger villain is simply when they're tangible. A luminous villain who lurks around in the back burner of the plot as more of a "concept" than a real being is difficult to actually loathe. Sure, they provide a conflict, but I don't hate them. Which, in some stories, that's perfectly fine, but for many others it's not. 

No redemption 

Some villains in some stories turn good in the end. They see the truth behind their ways, and decide to change. Sometimes, villains have redeeming qualities. Whether they had a messed up childhood, a lost loved one, or some other traumatic experience, there are some cases where you can somewhat sympathize for the antagonist. However, when the villain is purely evil- they simply glow in the fire from the pain of others, it's so much easier to hate them. When a villain's views are purely evil, when they have no moral ethics, and when they just don't seem to care about other people's happiness, boy do I love to loathe them. (At the same time, a complex villain does seem to make for a better character, I just find it easier to sympathize for them.) 

Able to relate to the main character

This is directed more towards the realistic fiction genre, although there are certainly some exceptions, but when an antagonist treats the protagonist in a way you can relate to, I feel like I can dislike the antagonist more. I'm talking about simply being mean, bratty, jealous, or unlike a true friend. When you see a rendition of someone you knew (and weren't particularly fond of) come to life in a book, it's easier to dislike them. 

Love to hate

So what am I saying makes a good villain in my opinion? Someone who isn't just a generic bad guy doing this for the "greater good". When a villain is targeting the protagonist, attacking their weaknesses and insecurities, and taking everything the hero loves most about their world away from them, they end up as a villain we all love to hate. When the villain is a tangible person, someone who could really exist in this world, and someone we actually see occasionally, you get to know them on a level fit for strong dislike. And when the villain has no hope for redemption- everything they do is out of spite, hate for humanity, or personal gain, there just isn't any sympathizing. 

So what do you think makes for a good villain? 

Bookstagramming- A Discussion

As some of you may or may not be aware, I decided to start a Bookstagram account a little while ago.  If you don't know, bookstagram is essentially Instagram's bookish community.  Bookstagrammers take pictures of... wait for it... books!  So, after a month or so of posting to this community, I thought I'd discuss my overall impression of Bookstagram.  Stick around and tell me what you think at the end!

 I'm primarily a book blogger.  The whole reason I started a Bookstagram account was to gain another branch of social media associated with my blog.  But, that aside,  anyone who follows my personal Instagram knows I love photography.  Photography and books seemed like the perfect pair, right? Well, it's a little more complicated than that.

Being a book blogger, I like to put time and effort into all my posts.  I try to alternate between reviews and other posts, and I'm always thinking up new ideas.  Blogging takes up a lot of time.  With Bookstagram, each picture usually took me an hour.  First you have to figure out what you're going to photograph, then you have to position it, set the lighting, and take pictures from a billion different angles.  After that, the picture must be edited, and a caption must be written.  So, in the end, I can spend up to an hour completing the entire process.  That's a whole hour I could've spent reading or blogging.  Or maybe an hour I could've spent studying for a test or doing some homework. I quickly realized that it would be difficult to be both a serious blogger and a serious Bookstagrammer.

But the time commitment isn't the only thing I dislike about curating a Bookstagram.  Instagram is an app for pictures, so of course the whole purpose of Bookstagram would be to post pictures of books.  It's not a community you go on to read something. So, on Bookstagram, you go on to look at the physical books.  This makes the Bookstagram community very materialistic.  With a Bookstagram, you become concerned with the actual, physical book, where as on a book blog, all that matters is what the book was about and what you thought of it.  I think I prefer to read and write about the inside of a book, not its exterior.  I'm definitely not saying that Bookstagrammers only care about the cover of books.  I love looking at the pictures people come up with, and I think what they're doing is great!  What I'm saying is that I personally prefer to put my time into blogging about the book rather than photographing the physical book.

The last thing I dislike about Bookstagramming was how many people were practically begging for followers.  It's a very competitive community, because everyone can see the exact amount of followers each person has, and people tend to judge each other based on how high their follower count is.  I've already gotten so many "f4f?"s on my pictures, and it's driving me crazy!  If you post quality pictures, you'll eventually be rewarded with more followers.  Begging for one extra follower is not the way to gain a good reputation.  I guess I just wish that people weren't so obsessed with how many followers they have.

This all being said, I do love Bookstagram.  I love looking at other people's pictures and accounts, and I enjoy seeing what people come up with.  My overall impression of the community and my experience contributing to it is simply that I would need to chose between primarily book blogging and primarily Bookstagramming.  I prefer to book blog.  It's a simple as that.  If you're a Bookstagrammer, I'm certainly not saying that what you do is below blogging.  Keep doing what you do!  I know first hand it's hard and time consuming to come up with quality content.  If you're a book blogger who also Bookstagrams, I wish I had whatever super power it is you have that allows you to juggle the two so effectively.

In the end, I'll certainly keep my Bookstagram, and I'll continue to post on it.  However, I won't be posting nearly as frequently as I have been. Every one-two days is just too much of my life put towards something I'm not truly passionate about!

So if you're a Bookstagrammer, what's your opinion on the community?  And if you blog and Bookstagram, how do you balance the two, and which do you consider your primary?