Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. I thought this would be a fun way to share a condensed version of potential rambles and thoughts that I have.

This week’s theme:
Top Ten Reasons Why
Blogging/Reading is Cool Beans

Initial Thoughts:

We all have different reasons for doing what we do. For one, I’m eating kettle cooked chips that I nuked in the microwave for several seconds while writing this. Don’t chirp it until you’ve tried it. Anyways, the theme for this week considers why readers read and why bloggers blog from a personal standpoint.

Here are some of my long winded reasons:

1. Value Creation from Idea Engagement

Standard, but the thing I find most important. Regardless of the traffic you get, there’s something unfathomably enriching when content can further a dialogue or provoke a thought that may or may not have been considered. It’s in expanding one’s thought capacity that I feel matters most. Perspectives and angles can change; are limitless, and in reasoning the “why” rather than the “how” can deeper meanings be discovered.

2. Sharing is Caring…Seriously.

Albeit just a public opinion, regardless of the degree of positivity (or negativity) in shared content, it’s the effort in spreading ideas that keeps growth in motion. So this is more about giving back to the community (authors, readers, etc.) who have put the time and energy toward an art form that enjoys less exposure. This isn’t to say that literacy is declining or anything but just to highlight the idea that with the amount of distractions in the world, it’s understandable why some individuals may not find the time to read and/or discover certain reads. By keeping books in the spotlight regardless of one’s love/hate relationship with it, the importance lies in keeping literature in the present – and all parties alike only have you to thank for it.

So to you reading this… thanks for your continual effort!

3. The Craft of Writing

Disregarding the learning curve required in literacy, I found that my enjoyment for writing came before reading. Even now as I consider this prompt, I’m reminded of the ancient days when I submitted stories on fanfiction.net. Holy shit the nostalgia. It’s these stories that I can look back on (except I didn’t look back on them because it’s too funny to read my then-writing projects) in seeing the subtle transformation and nuances of my writing and thoughts from then to now and extending forward into the future.

4. Networking in a Positive Community

This is sort of an extension with the first and second point where it’s great to see individuals come together and share opinions on things in an open and positive forum. It’s kind of infectious how much positivity there is specifically in the literary blogosphere. Sure, I’m still new at this and this is probably wishful thinking but when you compare book blogging to other blog themes, there’s less negativity between bloggers compared to other types of blogs/vlogs. Of course, I’m discounting the ship wars and hateful flames and trolls due to book endings but even then that’s positive toxicity in its own right. Either way, props where props deserved: the community.

5. ABCs and 123s

For the most part, there’s something to be gained from these activities; whether it’s a new word, a new experience, or even an acquaintance from blogging. It’s a leisurely learning module that’s nicely packaged in the journey itself that might become overlooked.

6. Effort to Achievement to Happy Place?

Just like that.

7. But most importantly: that feeling you get when you watch a movie adaptation…

And you’re either like:
– “Nawwww, this shit doesn’t do the book justice” or;
– “ENGAGE MAXIMUM FANBOY/FANGIRL MODE” or;
– Somewhere in between.
… just because you’ve read the book. So much win.

Afterthoughts:

There are probably more, but that’s all that I find relevant.

So what drives you?

Cheers,
Joey