It’s a well known fact that the best part of book blogging is the people. Of course the books are important but holy cats, the people. The people have saved me in more ways than one. Some bloggers send treats/cards/books, Some bloggers talk me down when I’m overwrought and overthinking. Some bloggers have walked me through personal struggles. Some bloggers have stuck by me while I’ve been in a reading/blogging slump for the past number of months. In other words, these bloggers are more than peers, they are friends.
Here are my two favorite ways to stay connected to the community-
I also use a personal Facebook page and Goodreads, of course. My blog’s Facebook page is chock-full of bookish news all day long.
Behind the scenes there is a never ending stream of Slack chats, emails, DMs, PMs, IMs (wait, it’s not 1998, I guess IMs have gone the way of the dinosaurs.) You get the drift.
I can’t post this without mentioning my great connection fail. I’ve been awful about commenting on your blogs. I apologize and hope to do better. Forgive me? I need a better system. I need better time management skills. Despite that…
…I do hope you’ll come hang out with me!
What are your favorite ways of staying connected to the community?
The Relentless Reader 
For years I've been trying to come up with a better system for commenting. Some people say they have different folders in Feedly for different days of the week, but what if you go a week without commenting? Or can only comment once or twice a week? How do you choose who to visit? I end up getting so overwhelmed that I just head over to twitter for real time convo. 🙂 But…book bloggers really are an amazing group of people, aren't they?
LikeLike
I would love to know what you figure out Trish, as I have the same problem! Also doesn't help that blogspot has so many hoops to jump through…
LikeLike
Staying connected is a lot of work – sometimes I'm good at it and other times I'm not.
LikeLike
I have been making a concerted effort to comment more in the last few months, but it does mean less connecting via other channels, so I don't know! I love to have comments on my blog posts, but I also love to get likes and retweets and whatnots everywhere else! Blog comments seem a little more personal, I guess, but they also take the most time because of that…
LikeLike
Why is social media so much easier than commenting? Gah! I feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel you. And, as always, your Gif game? On point.
LikeLike
Yes, whichever way we choose to stay connected, it takes time. I'm a commenter, but I do take breaks from my blog and during those times I don't comment much. We all do what feels right and the main thing is that we have these great relationships, right?
LikeLike
Oh, the commenting. I'm terrible about it. Most days I feel like I'm doing a great job just by getting a post up on my own blog and responding to comments there, or just reading a handful of posts in my Feedly. The weird thing is that commenting is my absolute most favorite part of blogging because like you said–the people!
LikeLike
You're the best!! I'm trying to rejigger my feedly days folders so it's actually doable. But also that's woooork. Right now I am just loving instagram.
LikeLike
I love following you on social media. You're always discussing something interesting. Isn't this community amazing, though? The people are where it is at, you are so right.
LikeLike
It's always tricky to find the time to keep up with commenting! Some weeks I am awesome at it, and some weeks I convince I have to mark all as read. But it's worth it BOTH because I like maintaining the connection with my blogging friends, and because bloggers just write about awesome stuff! And I want them to know I'm reading and appreciating and adding things to my TBR list.
LikeLike
I used to comment a lot on blogs. Everyone loves comments… I slowed down though on blogging last year and so that made my commenting to fall behind. Whenever I post something I try to bounce around the blogs I follow and comment then. I just don't get on everyday though like I used to.
LikeLike
My secret? I have all of my favorite blogs post right to my email. Then, I skim through the posts I know I want to read and therefore comment. I then keep those emails in my inbox until I have time to read them and comment, usually once a week even though I try for once a day. Then, once I've commented, I can delete the email!
LikeLike
I used to be better at commenting. I am trying to get there again 🙂
LikeLike
You win the GIF awards every. dang. time.
LikeLike