Books, Life, and Blogging

I’ve gone back and forth about starting a book blog. I am not the most dedicated reader. Some weeks I can read about 2-5 books, other times I go weeks and months without reading. I also question myself as a reader in this vast and crazy book world. Am I a big enough fangirl? Do I fangirl too much? What if I don’t like a book everyone else likes (GASP)!  Or what if, what if, I dislike a popular author!?!?!?

Where do I fit into all of this? 

I’ve tried my hand at writing and have failed miserably. I’ve tried being the fan that wants all her favorite authors to love her. Yeah, that didn’t happen either.

I’ve learned so much from readers, authors and bloggers alike.

Yes, it is possible to be a creeper. Authors don’t like it when you creep. Don’t do it.

Sometimes you have to be the vocal, die hard, I’ll do anything for you fan, just to get noticed.

Or maybe you have to be brutally honest and funny to be the “it girl”.

But wait! Don’t be too honest because then someone will be offended and run your name through the mud.

After having been in the “book scene” for a while, I have truly seen it all. I have witnessed selfless acts of kindness right down to mean and nasty fights.

I have met some of the kindest and most wonderful authors you can ever imagine. I’ve also met the complete opposite.

I didn’t start this blog to be popular. I started this blog for the rest of us.  For the fans and the readers who just love to read and are trying to find their place in this world.

Maybe you are lonely. Maybe you have a crazy life. Who knows, you could be the Queen of England and looking for a good book to read. Or you could be none of those things.  This blog is going to be a safe haven for everyone who is looking for something and hasn’t found it yet. We’ll talk books and beyond.

I’m a pretty blunt and vocal person. So you may not even like what I have to say. And that’s ok.

Our common bond will be a love for books and everything book related.

Books bring people together.

Reading is my escape. My calm from the storm. My solitude.

I can’t speak for other people, but reading helped me find my home. I have made close friends and have found unlikely friendships through reading. When you find “your people” you just know.

And then this sense of comradery and inclusiveness fills this sort of void you have been looking to fill. This may sound crazy and downright loony to those who aren’t involved in the world of romance, contemporary and new-adult. But, I haven’t seen such a tight knit group of people who have never met,  in all my life. And yes these people are friends!

But, Alessia how can people you’ve never met before be your friends? Isn’t online friendship for weird losers who have no life?

Nope. And screw you for thinking that.

Yes, I have actual in the flesh friends I have had for a majority of my life. No, I don’t spend my days trolling the internet causing fights on Reddit. I work, I go out, I have a normal life. But, books make up a part of my life. I have reinstated friendships because of reading. I have made new friends because of reading. My life actually became more rounded out because I started reading again.

Book signings have become a regular part of my life as well. I don’t think twice about driving to another state or even flying halfway across the country for a signing.

Why, you ask?

Well, at this point it goes so much more beyond the actual books. I went to my last huge signing and didn’t get one book signed for myself. I went because I wanted to see my people. Yes, meeting the authors was a plus, but this signing was so big I didn’t even get to see anyone I really wanted to see. I went with a close friend and we had a blast. And we made memories. And that’s what it’s about. Making memories with people you care about. 

While this blog will be about books, it will also be about life. Maybe I can introduce you to your next great read. Or maybe I can help you find your next favorite author.

I could write something you connect with. Or you could disagree with what I said and you want to tell me to fuck off (yes, I tend to swear like a sailor). I am ok with all of that. I started this blog because I am still searching for something. And I invite you to come on this journey with me.  

Perhaps we can find what we’re looking for together.

Alessia