I’m not the trendiest apple in the basket. I don’t easily succumb to trends. No matter how ‘cool’ they are, if I don’t feel them, I don’t follow them. I’m also the type of customer who, even if you give me your most impressive sales talk, will not make me buy the product on the spot if I don’t need it (but I do find TV shopping ads entertaining). I’m quite stubborn that way, if that thing doesn’t float my boat, I won’t!

It’s the same thing with blogging. There are lots of trends I’ve been seeing in the blogging community. There are memes and then blog tours. I tried those two, but it didn’t last. It didn’t represent me. I feel uncomfortable getting prompted (by others) about what I’m going to post on my blog. I feel it’s… intrusive in some way. I feel so personal with my blog, it’s always what I want to post whenever I want. So the idea doesn’t sit well with me, so I stopped.

But there are still book blogging trends that I haven’t done yet. I’m not sure if I’ll go to this anytime soon, but I’m not closing my doors. These are IMHOO (IN MY HUMBLE OPINION ONLY), and you are free to follow these trends if they fit your style.

Blogoversary

I’ve been blogging since 2010, so that’s about 4 years in the gig. And while that’s a big feat in itself and, frankly, deserves celebration, I still haven’t done that to my blog. Why? In my first two and a half years, I didn’t think of it. It never occurred to me that I needed to celebrate it. I kept doing what I was doing and thought I was doing a good job. Only when I saw others celebrating theirs did the idea cross my mind. Would I be now that I know? I’m not sure. Come back to me in October (that’s my blogoversary month).

Giveaways

(So I might’ve done this via blog tours, but those weren’t my giveaways.) I don’t oppose sharing and giving. It was just daunting to me that I was going to hold a contest and no one was going to join (my network isn’t big); that’s what scares me. I also don’t participate in giveaways anymore; it’s a tedious task for me. Hey, don’t stop doing giveaways. People love this stuff and the opportunity it brings. This is all me!

Read-athon/Read-along/Buddy Read

Problem numero uno? I’m a very fast reader. Problem numero dos? I’m an impulsive and moody reader, so there’s no way I’m going to box myself into this thing. But I promise Emily that I’ll do one with her (so maybe I can cross this one off of my list).

Book Challenges

Like the one above, it feels limiting to read books with certain types of themes. I don’t think I can commit to that religiously. The only challenge I always join is Goodreads’; it’s just about the number so I can read whatever the damn I want.

Bookish Community Event

Yeah, I haven’t done those widespread events. Not because I don’t want to, I just… I don’t know. It’s not that I don’t have the slightest desire to join, but I never have that event that…speaks to me? When that time comes, I’ll join; so far, I’m content to be a casual observer of when the fun happens.

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I know, I know, I sound like a snob. But I don’t do this purposely. Or because I don’t want to do it at all. There are trends out there that I follow. I just never have a good opportunity to do these. Plus, I’m pretty content with how I’m doing so far. My goals have always been plain and simple. I think even without it, I’m still happy with what I have. There’s nothing wrong doing these, if it fits your style and you’re happy and comfortable, who’s there to stop you? Just do whatever you like, whatever the trend is. After all, it’s your blog.