Today, the 14th of February 2010, marks exactly five years I have been blogging! I did not start out as a book blogger – instead my early posts were all about my life and the people and animals who shared it…and my very first post was a photo of me, Kip, Argus and Caribou. Here is a look back at my blog over the years:
- My very first book review was on May 7, 2005 when I reviewed Dreamer by Sand Pilarski. But it wasn’t until the end of 2006 that I converted my blog to what it now is…a book blog.
- The 2006 Winter Classics Challenge was my first venture into the wonderful world of reading challenges (I completed the challenge on February 11, 2007); followed very quickly by the 2007 TBR Challenge.
- Here is my best books of 2006 list … I only reviewed one of them!
- My first review of 2007 was Half Of A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- My first hosted reading challenge was the 2007 New York Times (NYT) Most Notable Challenge…which continues today in an expanded form: The Notable Books Challenge.
- I started participating in The Sunday Salon (the first real weekly “meme” or event that has become a habit on my blog) in early December 2007.
- In March of 2008, I moved my blog to the current site – it was a big step for me and allowed me to grow my blog the way I wanted it to grow.
- I participated in my first 24 Hour Read-A-Thon in June of 2008…an amazing experience that I returned to again in October 2008 and 2009.
- I was thrilled to win Best Literary Fiction blog during the first Book Blogger Appreciation Week in 2008 thanks to my loyal readers (YOU!).
- I went to my first book expo in San Jose in October 2008…and finally put some warm bodies and smiling faces to the names I had found online (Trish and Jill!)
- By the numbers: 222,954 visitors (since February 2007 when I first started tracking visitors to my blog), 10,261 comments, 1,098 posts, 47 pages, 38 categories and 51 tags.
I have enjoyed the journey:
- Along the way, you have celebrated with me when my family expanded to include two cats (Gizmo and Maia)…and of course, Raven. And you grieved with me when I had to say good-bye to Caribou and Argus.
- I’ve met hundreds of like-minded people from all walks of life and from all over the world. I’ve discovered the world is not as big as one might think – and I have grieved at the loss of other bloggers…first Nattie, then Dewey.
- I have lost track of how many books I’ve given away…and how many I’ve won over the years. My stacks have grown larger; the books I read have become more numerous. I have met some wonderful publishers, publicists and authors … and discovered so many new books and authors by reading other blogs (now over 300 on my Google Reader).
The world of book blogging has changed in five years…Twitter did not exist in 2005 and ARCs were not coming to bloggers in the volume we see them today. This spring, the first Book Blogger Convention will occur in the same venue (and affiliated with) the largest book publishing event in North America – the BEA. And many book bloggers will finally meet face to face.
I am grateful that I found my way to book blogging five years ago. I am grateful to have connected with so many readers. My life is richer, more interesting, and much busier thanks to my blog.
THANK YOU to all of you who have taken this journey with me. And to make that thank you just a bit more tangible, I’m giving away a couple of books (because, really, what would an anniversary be without presents?!?!?).
Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor – soft cover, brand new (read my review)
The Glimmer Palace by Beatrice Colin – Advance Readers Edition, never been read
This giveaway is open to EVERYONE (no geographic restrictions). I will choose TWO winners (one for each book).
To Enter:
Simply leave me a comment by February 21st, 2010 by midnight PST. I’ll announce the winners on February 22nd.
Good Luck!!!
= Excellent
= Good/Very Good
= Okay read
= Not recommended
= Ugh! Don't waste your time.
Wow! 5 years of blogging is like 50 years of anything else! Happy blogiversary!
Kathy is right, but I would add that even though sometimes frought with challenge and a little heartache…50 very good years!
Happy Anniversary!
Congratulations on a wonderful 5 years, Wendy, and how glad I am to have Caribousmom to turn to still!
(I think I have corrected the email address in this comment – thanks for letting me know that the last one I entered was incorrect.)
Congratulations! That is a massive acheivement! It is interesting to see how much things have changed in 5 years. There are so many memes + challenges now that it is hard to imagine life without them.
I look forward to sharing many more blogging years with you!
PS. Don’t enter me for your giveaway – I have already read both books. I loved Glimmer Palace – if you have a chance to read it, please do!
Jeez, I didn’t even know what a blog was 5 years ago! LOL! Congratulations to you, Wendy – you’ve been such a huge inspiration to me – and others – in this book blogging community. It has been quite a journey – and such wonderful accomplishments by you too!
So, here’s to you, a toast and a wish for many more years of pleasure.
Oh, and toss my name in the hat please!
xoxoxo
Congratulations on five years! Here’s to many more of them.
Please enter me in the giveaway.
That is so impressive, 5 years, congratulations on all your hard work and also for doing so much for the book blogging community. I would love to be entered in your book giveaway, thank you.
Congratulations on five years of blogging. Not only am I glad to keep up with your life through your blog, but also you’ve become my SOURCE for reading material! Thanks for the nod to “Dreamer,” by the way.
Cheers!
Happy anniversary! 5 years is such a long time. Here’s to at least 5 more!
Five years is amazing! I don’t think I had even heard the term “blogging” five years ago! I loved your summary post and the highlights you provided.
Wishing you the best for future years in the bloggosphere.
Happy bloggiversary – wishing you many more
Oh – and I don’t want to go in the draw – just wanted to wish you well at this auspicious time
Happy Anniversary. I enjoy your book reviews and seeing all the fur babies.
Congratulations on such a huge milestone. May 2010 be even a better year for you with new and exciting challenges. Give those furbies an extra hug for us.
Congratulations on a fabulous five years, Wendy! You must have been one of the first… I don’t think I even knew what a blog was 5 years ago. Best wishes for many more!
Happy Anniversary and Congratulations on your success!!! Give my hugs to your fur babies…..love ya !
Wendy! Have a wonderful blogversary! Your blog is one of my favorites – and always will be. Here’s to five, 10, 15 more years!
=) Jill
Happy 5th anniversary! Wow, that’s a long time. Here’s to 5 more!
Five years is amazing! A very heartfelt congratulations. Here’s to another five years!!
I’m one year behind you! I just now posted about my four-year-blogiversary! I love the way you summarized the past five years. I don’t remember when I first started following your blog, but it’s in my #1 favorites folder, which includes 6 blogs that I check in on every day. I do remember when I first discovered your blog and saw that you lived near Red Bluff. As the months passed and I read more and more reviews, I knew we were kindred spirits. We’ve had our share of losses and worries and I know if the need arose, I could call on you, as you would me. I hope we get a chance to meet sometime in the coming years. Until then, thanks for all you do in this crazy world of book blogging. You’re a dear friend.
And, by the way, no need to enter me in the drawing. My stacks are taking over and it’s all I can do to keep the floors from collapsing!
Cheers, Wendy!
Love, Les
Wow, I didn’t even know blogs existed five years ago! Congratulations! I hope I last that long.
Congratulations on 5 years of blogging, Wendy! You were already well established in the book-blogging community when I started, and have long been one of the bloggers I’ve looked to as an inspiration. Thank you, and here’s to the next five years!
Happy Blogiversary Wendy! You are a class act always always always and I simply don’t know what we’d do without you.
Happy anniversary to you and your blog! Glad to have you around the blogosphere =O)
5 years..That is truly awesome. I enjoyed reading your post…may there be many more to come!
Congrats! 5 years is amazing (and ancient!) in blogging I think! Congrats to you for creating such a wonderful place and for sticking with it over the years. Here’s to many more years.
Wow, congrats on 5 years! That’s a huge achievement.
Happy blogiversary! Five years ago I was just learning what blogging was, and hadn’t even thought of starting my own yet. I’m so glad I discovered all the wonderful book blogs.
Just wanted to stop in and say congrats on five years of excellence in blogging. Hope to be reading your blog for many more years to come. Hope we can get together in person again sometime soon too!
(and don’t enter me the giveaway)
Five years is fantastic! It’s wonderful that you have an outlet for writing and sharing your reads. I can’t wait to see what’s ahead for you!
Congratulations on your five year anniversary! I hope your next five are filled with memorable books and discussions! (and I’m also not interested in the giveaway, but appreciate your running them)
Wendy, yours was one of the first blogs I followed when I began 3 years ago. You were already so “accomplished.” And you led me down the slippery slope of challenges with the first challenge that you hosted. I met so many other bloggers and book lovers through you and your blog, and I’m very happy to count you as a dear friend!
Congratulations on 5 wonderful years!
Congratualtions on such a great achievement. Five years is quite a feat!
5 years! Wow – congratulations! What a fun recap of the years! Great giveaway – the books look really good!
Congratulaions on five years of hosting such a popular, and interesting blog. I’ve only owned a computer for three years, so didn’t even know what a blog was when you got started. Now I’m addicted to blogs as well as to books. I’m excited about the possibility of winning Bleeding Heart Square. I love the title, and the cover. It’s been on the wish list for some time now. Thanks for the giveaway.
No need to enter me, darling. I’m dropping in to offer my own congratulations on the five-year mark. There ought to be some sort of bigger, wider recognition for five years as a successful blogger.
I’ve got this posted at Win a Book. Hopefully you’ll get some wider recognition THAT way.
Congratulations on five years of blogging, Wendy! I’m glad to have met you online and look forward to possibly meeting you in person in New York this May!
Kathy: LOL – at times, yes, it feels like 50 years!!!
J.C.: I agree – 50 good years
And since I’m turning 50 this year, it seems appropriate!
Ariel: Thank you! You were one of the first book bloggers I think I really connected with when I first started focusing on books since we seem to enjoy the same types of books!
Jackie: Thank you! It *is* amazing how much has changed – especially over the last year or two. I’m glad we found each other out there in the blog-o-sphere…you are one of my “go to” blogs whenever I am up in the air re: choosing a book to read
Terri: *laughing* I know what you mean – I barely knew what a blog was 5 years ago, but once I figured it out I was hooked. Glad that we have been able to connect, not just through our blog but through LT too!
Sandy Jay: Thank you!!! I hope I have at least another 5 years ahead of me too
Leah: Thanks for dropping in and your kind words as well!
Sand: I had forgotten that Dreamer was my very first book review until I started gathering information for this post. It seems right somehow that it was a Piker book that was what started me doing book reviews!
Vasilly: *raises glass to five more years* Thank you!!!
Molly: I love that blogging was so “new” five years ago and to see how far it has come (and the impact bloggers have now). Thanks for being a loyal reader! And also for YOUR terrific blog!
Sally: Thank you, dear!!!
Melanie: Thanks! I’m glad you like seeing the furchildren…they still seem to take center stage all these years later!
Diane: The furbabies liked their hug from you
I am so excited about 2010 and what is ahead in book blogging…glad I have such good blogging buddies to share it with!
JoAnn: I don’t feel like one of the first (especially because I was only really blogging books for 3 of the five years)…but then sometimes I feel like I’ve been doing this forever! Thanks for stopping by!
Paula: *BIG hugs* Thank you, sweetie
Jill: Thank you for stopping by! You know I love you too!!
Kay: Thanks! Here’s to five (at least) more!!!
Michelle: Thank you so much!
Les: Happy Blogiversary to you too!!! You are one of those bloggers I feel like I’ve known forever – if (when!) we meet in person, I just know we will just slip right into conversation as though we’ve been friends our whole lives. *hugs* I wish you were going to the BEA this year…but SOME DAY, we will figure out how to get together.
El Fay: Something tells me you will be around for at least 5 years!
Florinda: Thank you for your kind (and generous) comment. You seem to be so established in the blogging community, I always think of you as being around BEFORE me! *laughs*
Amy: Awwww, thank you!
Michelle (The True Book Addict): Thank you!!! So glad you dropped by!
Staci: Those five years sort of just crept up on me! Thank you for your kind comment!
Jenners: Thank you! It *does* feel a bit ancient at times!
Word Lily: Thank you!!!!
Jeane: I still remember how excited I was when I discovered book blogging – it is a crazy, but wonderful world, isn’t it?
Suzi: Thank you! I imagine we will get together again – you are not really all that far from me geographically (and I LOVE Oregon!!!)
Kristen M.: Thank you! Blogging actually did start out for me as a way to express myself through my writing – and then just naturally evolved into a book review site.
Mome Rath: Thank you so much for stopping by!!!
Laura: I definitely remember me luring you into the NYT Most Notable challenge *laughs* I knew immediately we were destined to become bookie soulmates after reading just a few of your reviews…and then to meet through the RR on LT…well, it just got better from there! So glad we’ve been able to nurture a friendship as well as share the books we love. *hugs*
Stephanie: Thanks so much!
Sheila: Thank you for stopping by! The time has flown by!
Lindymc: It doesn’t take long to get addicted to the blogs, does it? Thank you for your kind words…and I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you win Bleeding Heart Square!
Susan: *laughs* Thank you, girlfriend!!
Avis: DEFINITELY lets meet up in NYC!!! I cannot wait for May to arrive…so exciting! Thanks for the congrats
Congratulations on five years! I think that’s longer than just about anybody! May you enjoy many, many more!!!
Congratulations on such a great accomplishment. I haven’t even been doing this for a year, but already I’ve had more fun than I ever expected to.
I look forward to seeing your blog pop up in my blog feeder for many more years.
What a huge accomplishment! In years and quality. Congratulations!
Congrats! Thanks for the giveaway. Both of these books look interesting.
Happy Blogiversary!!!!
and to think I just discovered book blogs in 2010!!! Congratualtions and thanks for inspiring the novices. The give away books look great.
Please enter me.
Congratulations and count me in on this giveaway.
Happy blogiversary, that’s such a huge accomplishment! I can only hope I’ll still be blogging long enough to make it to five years!
I have only just found your blog but 5 years is forever in the blog world.
You must be good to have survived !
Congratulations.