THE 3 R’s BLOG turned ten years old on March 16th!

I missed posting that day, but I couldn’t let that milestone go by with no comment whatsoever.

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When I started this thing, all I intended to do was set up a place to record my thoughts about the books I read. By early 2007, more and more websites were incorporating, or morphing into, blogs. It looked easy enough to start one, and a reading journal seemed like a good excuse to do it.

As I started learning more about blogging and the concept of “niche,” I decided to look around for others who might also be writing about their reading.

I had no idea what an adventure it would be. I certainly had no inkling I’d still be on this path ten years later. And while I’m spending less time walking it lately, I have no intention of leaving it entirely.

If I hadn’t become a blogger, I might not be the person I am right now.

5 Ways That 10 Years of Blogging Has Changed My Life

• While I may not read as many books as I once did or finish them as quickly, I am a more discerning and intentional reader.
• I’ve become more effective at expressing myself in writing–and sometimes, that helps me be a better speaker, too.
• Being a more confident writer has made me a more outgoing person online…and that’s slowly infiltrating my offline life, too.
• I’ve been self-publishing in my own space for a decade, and that’s led to opportunities to publish in other spaces (sometimes even for real money!)
• My world is bigger. I’ve learned new things and new perspectives, and I’ve traveled to new places. And the best part is that there are people I count as friends across the country and around the world.

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I’ve seen many bloggers come and go over the past decade. There are some I still miss, and others I’m keeping up with elsewhere. (My decade of blogging has been marked by the number of times one social-media outlet or another almost killed the whole thing, but for now, it seems we’ve learned to coexist.)

That said, I’m happiest when I look around and see how many of my blogging friends are still here. I’m not the only one who shows up less often, but eight and nine and ten and eleven (or even more!) years on, we keep coming around.

Thank you for being on this adventure with me! I’d probably still be doing this even if you weren’t, but I wouldn’t love it as much–it’s so much better because you are.

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Currently: March 2017

• Reading: Mostly work-related emails, documents, and spreadsheets
• ‘Riting: Mostly work-related emails, documents, and spreadsheets
• Exaggerating: Some, but not as much as you might think

I’ve been in my new job for one month as of today, It’s kicking my butt slightly less some days, but the overwhelm is still running high. I spend less time at my desk than I did in my old job. There’s more interacting with people and less with a monitor, and the impact of that on my blogging is obvious. I’m also putting in more work hours generally, which leaves less time–and brainpower–for non-work-related reading and writing.

That said, I’ve finished two audiobooks in the past month:

• The Girls by Emma Cline, read by Cady McClain, and
• The Guineveres by Sarah Domet, read by Erin Bennett

I volunteered to be an Armchair Audies judge for the Autobiography/Memoir category, so I know where my next few audiobooks are coming from!

In addition, this has been a decent year so far for “books I’m paid to read,” so watch Shelf Awareness for Readers for those!

I’ll wrap this post up with a Gratuitous Dog Photo. Winchester also thanks you for being part of 10 Years of The 3 R’s Blog!

 

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