Tomorrow, it will be exactly one year since I started this blog. (But I will be away from my broadband connection so I thought it best to celebrate it today.)
Over the course of a year, I wrote more than 140 posts, which makes an average of 2-3 per week, something that remains reasonable and compatible with the rest of my life. The good news is, I never even considered stopping (except for holidays interruptions) – or does that mean that I’m totally addicted? Blogging was never a bore, and I never ran out of things to say. This place has become a repository of emotions and recollections about all these books I’ve read. Now that I have accumulated a fair number of reviews, I find it all the more useful, as I can browse back between present and past reads, making correlations or comparisons.
I think blogging about books made me a more attentive reader than before, and I hope a better writer too. They are still many books I devour like I would gulp down a hamburger (and I don’t apologize for this), but at least my taste buds are now trained to discern the pickle from the cheddar. Reading literary blogs gave me the chance to open books I had always postponed “for later”, because they seemed too difficult or out of my scope.
Even more important and satisfying, I got to know other readers and writers through this blog. Virtual friends I care about, even though I’ve never met any of them in person. People who are kind enough to visit once in a while, write comments and offer pieces of advice or encouragements. Isn’t it strange, when you realize that some people across the globe have become familiar to you, up to the point that you can pick up a book and say “this is the kind of novel X would love” (pick anyone on my blogroll)? And that when they don’t post, you miss them? I remember heated “conversations” on whether the blog personality reflects your real one, or whether your voice is different when you blog. I can’t really stand back to tell what my blog is, compared to my “real me”, and I don’t think it would interest readers either.
I chose the name Smithereens because this place allows me to share snippets of literature, but also because I can show just some fragmentary aspects of my taste and my life while keeping the rest in the dark. And I intend to keep on with it.
Smithereens 
Happy Blogoversary!
Congrats! It’s so nice to have so many of us make it past that trecherous six month mark (apparently the point in time many folks stop blogging) – I agree with you – blogging has only whetted my appetite for further books, further recipes, further ideas to be explored. I think the key is to keep a sane blogging schedule, and not worry about the every day.
Congratulations! I’m glad you’re blogging! You write about such interesting books. It’s interesting that Courtney should mention the sane blogging schedule — I’ve found that what works best for me is the insane one — posting nearly every day. But I guess the thing is, people need to find what works for them. And I’m glad you plan on continuing!
Adding my congrats. You are a wonderful addition to my blogosphere.
I’m glad you are planning to keep on blogging. Congratulations on your first anniversary. Your posts introduce me to new books and it’s a treat coming here.
Congrats on your first year. It’s amazing how quickly the time goes! It’s also interesting to go back over your posts and see what you’ve planned and what you’ve accomplished (and all the books you meant to read…oh, that’s me! 🙂 )
yes — a wonderful year indeed! I’m impressed by your quiet productivity–always interesting, always making me think. XO, BL
Thank you all for your nice compliments and wishes!
I probably should have thrown a virtual party, inviting you all to eat virtual cake and sip virtual champaign… (probably a little frustrating, I much rather have the real stuff)
Well, I’ll think about it for the second anniversary!