Blogoversary: 10 years

Wow, I can't believe I've been blogging for ten years at YA Book Nerd. Where does the time go? I wanted to thank everyone who's been with me on this journey. From fellow booknerds to librarian colleagues - thank you! To authors, publishers, and publicists - thank you! I've loved being a part of the book conversation.

The pups enjoying some dog ice cream in celebration! 

And things have certainly changed on the blog over the past ten years. My reviews have gotten longer. And while they're more personal than my reviews for professional journals (Voya and SLJ), I think they work at showcasing why I enjoyed reading the book.

Recently, I went back and looked at the past ten years. My blog posts varied from book reviews (first mostly YA books, then cozies, then middle grade, then romance, and picture books). At first I was afraid to branch out because I called my blog YA Book Nerd for a reason. But now I'm comfortable sharing my views/opinions on the books I read.

I've also hosted blog tours, author interviews, book spotlights, author news. I've talked about my work in the library with display videos, program ideas, book trailers. I've talked about movies I've enjoyed and movies I want to see. I've shared reviews from other sites: Voya, SLJ, Teens Read Too, Fresh Fiction, and the YALSA blog. I've shared my love for pop culture. I've written personal posts on politics, my life, and share pictures of my pups.

I used to share things on the blog that I now share on Twitter instead. It took a while for me to find my blogging feet. I used to play around with the template a bunch - and it took me ages to find a blog counter that worked. Finally I asked Icey Designs to create me a blog template. I loved it. And I've been using it ever since. Sure, lots of the pictures no longer work. Some of the posts are cringeworthy - but it's me.

Here's a look back:

First Post: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Last Post: Christmas by Accident

Most Popular Post: Summer Reading Ideas: Life Size Games

My Biggest Blogging Year: 2013 with 450 posts (I try to post at least 5 times a week and sometimes on the weekend.)

Search Term People Use Most to Find My Blog: Christmas

A few blog posts that represent the blog pretty well:

2008: Forever Princess (My love for Meg Cabot is strong!)

2009: Facebook Flair (remember that?), Meeting Rick Riordan, The Season book review, Fake Book Cover (my second biggest post)

2010: A Meg Cabot Moment

2011: Book Ideas for Christmas (I do this now every year, it's one of my favorite posts but it also takes a LOT of time)

2012: Eating Disorder Awareness Display and Special Thank You

2013: Dear Mr. Potter, If You Like Pins (some of these more popular pins made it to Buzzfeed!)

2014: 10 Years and Book Covers and Prom Dresses 

2015: Fall TV

2016: National Princess Week

2017: Nasty Women's Books and New Addition

2018: National Library Week

I hope you enjoyed this look back over the years. And thank you again for being part of the journey!