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I started this blog four and a half years ago, and it has always been a book related blog. I wrote my early posts during my first year of being a fully qualified teacher, and it was a way for me to switch off from the chaos of having my first class, and devote time to my favourite hobby of reading. I was delighted to discover that book blogging was a thing, and to slowly build up a community of readers to share thoughts and recommendations with. For a little while I did get distracted by stats and review copies, but this blog has always been foremost about having a community of blogging friends, quality interactions rather than numbers.
For a few years, I just posted reviews. It was rare for me to take part in memes or post hauls, and I kept my personal life strictly off the blog. My motto in this regard has always been to never post anything that I wouldn't want the parents of the children I teach to see, if they happened to stumble across my blog. I am a bit jealous of bloggers who have more posting freedom, but at the same time I wouldn't want to be someone who put everything on the internet for anyone to see.
As the years went by, the more I realised that what I enjoyed about blogging wasn't necessarily writing reviews, but interacting with other bloggers, that I had come to regard as my friends. I opened up a bit and started posting weekly personal updates, as well as experimenting with Twitter and Instagram. Again, I still have to be very careful about what I post, but I love that I'm now actually getting to know other bloggers, rather than just talking about books. Talking about books is great, but getting to know other bookish people is so much better.
Ever since having my baby boy five months ago, I've been struggling with my blog and where to take it. Part of that is due to time restrictions - I simply do not have the same amount of time to read and review any more. When I return to work, I suspect I will have even less time, just snatches of time in the evenings when Giles has gone to bed and my planning/marking is completed. I'm also finding that reading is taking up less of my mental space; I'm still a big bookworm and suspect I always will be, but I haven't got the mental energy to keep book blogging at the pace I was.
But I do still want to blog. I love having something that is just for me, and the creative outlet of writing posts is good for me. So I've decided to open up my blog even more. I will still be posting about my reading (although maybe not one dedicated review per book), and reading related topics, but I'll also be writing about whatever takes my fancy too. There might be baby posts, cookery posts, posts about my cat, or photos from trips we have taken together, or just random ponderings. The only thing I won't ever post about is teaching. I hope that this way I can carry on blogging and keep in touch with everyone that I've met through my blog.
Have you ever considered changing the way you blog?
