I’m going to give up on the fifty word limit right now, I don’t think I’m ever going to express where I think my blog is and where it’s going in that tiny little bit of space. I’ll try not to make it too long though.
I also want to give a huge congratulations to everyone who won a BBAW award or was shortlisted. I’ve been congratulating on twitter, but you all deserve a shout out here as well!
On to today’s topic: I’m not sure what I like about my own blog. I don’t think I do anything better or different than anyone else and I often think of myself as just a little blog in the midst of a whole lot of awesome great ones. I still think this is true (and I don’t mind either; I know I could put more work in but I’ve prioritized other things), but Monday made clear to me that a lot of you do like hanging around here and I’m amazed and pleased and grateful that so many of you mentioned me. Even the breaking of my headphones couldn’t wipe the smile off my face! Anyway, it seems like what I do best is provide info on historical fiction and history, so I’m happy about that. I also think my reviewing has improved since last year; my reviews have gotten longer and I think I’m better able to express how I felt than I used to be. I’ve been proud of a few of my reviews in the past few months and I don’t recall feeling that before.
What needs work? Well, I want to expand what I do. I know I review a lot, but I’ve often thought of coming up with my own weekly feature. Not a meme, because there are so many of those, but something I can just have on my own blog. I was going to do a weekly medieval feature, but then I got sick of my own classes pretty quickly and didn’t want to spend blog time thinking about what I spent all the rest of my time thinking about. I still want to do something that’s historical, so at the moment I’m planning on reading more history and sharing some of what I learn here every week; something like Tuesday Teasers except from history. I also was thinking of requesting guest posts from other bloggers on why they love historical fiction or their first historical fiction novel. I know a few of the other historical sites feature authors, but why not bloggers? My other improvement idea was to host a challenge, and so far that’s definitely a go, and I’d like to thank everyone who commented for their enthusiasm. I’ll be posting a preliminary list of book choices in the next couple of months and the sign-ups will be in December.
So, that was a lot of ideas, albeit not too original ones! If you’d like to be featured here talking about why you love historical fiction or history, shoot me an email at meghankk at gmail dot com. I’m thinking posts somewhat like Keira did last weekend for her birthday. If you have historical periods you’d like me to read about, again, send an email my way. I have two libraries as of Monday and a whole lot of free time until I can apply for a more permanent visa, so I’m sure I can come up with something!
I’m reading my first historical fantasy right now.
I do a lot of the memes but I like the ones that follow the same guidelines, like Teaser Tuesday, so I can post ahead of time. Needed something for Thursday… I’ve been getting a lot of books for review so on Thursdays I have “Introducing…” and post a bio, Q&A or another article the author has written. So far it seems to be doing okay.
Good luck with your challenge, I’ll be back to see what you come up with! Just remember, sometimes two books in a year is too many but six in six months is not. Go figure.
.-= Gina (BookDragon’s Lair)´s last blog ..BBAW Goals =-.
Looks like you have a lot of fun ideas in store for your blog. I can’t wait to see them come to fruition!
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.-= Stephanie´s last blog ..BBAW: Final Day
Hey, I’m starting up The Dante Challenge in a couple weeks. Every Sunday I’ll read and comment on one Canto (starting with Inferno, of course). Would you like to join me?
.-= Cara Powers´s last blog ..Letter to my Fellow Bloggers =-.
Hope you manage to do all that you plan to.
BBAW: Do I drop from the sky or touch it?
.-= gautami tripathy´s last blog ..Friday Finds: Maps for Lost Lovers by Nadeem Aslam =-.
I would love to see something historical — maybe with visuals (so much historical images are in the public domain). You could do a specific topic, a person, a time period, lists of books, cool websites. I don’t know… sounds like something I’d enjoy.
I’ve been struggling with coming up with something similar (not history!) on my own blog. But I can’t quite find the right theme that will provide me with almost endless content….
.-= Beth F´s last blog ..BBAW: Goals, My TBR, and Giveaway =-.
Yes, I definitely plan on including pictures if they’re relevant. There are so many options, choosing just one is hard! I’ll be thinking about it though. Good luck with your feature!
I think historical posts are a great idea!
.-= Kathy´s last blog ..BBAW: Giveaway #5 =-.
What I like the most about your site is that I get the opportunity to see history through your eyes and gain a little by your experience. I think you’ve set some wonderful goals for yourself. Whatever you do, make sure it’s something that brings you joy. Then it is sure to be a success.
.-= Literate Housewife´s last blog ..#200 ~ The Shadow of the Wind =-.
I had a hard time thinking of what I liked about my blog, too.
I think all of the plans you have lined up sound great! I’m looking forward to the history posts; and I would definitely be up for writing a guest post, although it might take a few weeks for me to write up. I’ll e-mail you.
.-= heidenkind´s last blog ..The Once and Future Blog =-.
I love all your ideas, especially the historical teasers! Historical tidbits rock, and they often inspire me to dig deeper into a topic. I’m sure other readers would have the same reaction, and that could make for some interesting conversations in the comments and on twitter.
.-= Memory´s last blog ..BBAW: Setting Goals =-.
A lot of us DO very much enjoy hanging out here
I love your ideas, Meghan!
.-= Nymeth´s last blog ..The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins =-.
You lost me after 50 words. JUST KIDDING! I love your reviews and would read any feature you start but mostly I just like you so I’ll probably be here no matter what.
.-= Amy @ My Friend Amy´s last blog ..It’s a Wrap! =-.
What a great idea! Also, I know what you mean feeling like you’re a little blog among the other “Great” ones – totally feel the same way!
.-= S. Krishna´s last blog ..CHALLENGE: Clear Off Your Shelves 2009 =-.
God! Yours is perfect…Just relax.. i love it here
ok I think your ideas are great
.-= Veens´s last blog ..Tuesday Teasers! =-.
You have such a great blog and I love your idea for having a weekly feature. I’m like you though, it’s hard for me to pinpoint what I like about my blog. It just is. LOL Have a great week!
.-= Literary Feline´s last blog ..Review: A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman & a Giveaway =-.