Book Blogger Positivity Network #1: Keep it Positive

Okay guys. The truth is out…

I love the blogging community.

You may ask, “Halee, was that really a secret? The blogging community is awesome.” And it is. But I just feel like I don’t say it enough.

I love the blogging community. I’ve been a part of it for the better part of 4 years, and I’m absolutely in love with it. Not only have I been able to communicate with so many amazing authors throughout the yearS, I’ve also met so many people that I now consider friends.

This community has been there for me during some of my roughest times. It’s gotten my mind off of my crippling depression in the past and will continue to do so. This community embraced me with open arms when my grandma passed away in February. It’s been with me through the hardest but most rewarding years of my life, and I love it.

However, recently, I’ve seen a lot of negativity bubbling in the community, whether it was about people, authors, books, whatever. It made me really sad because the majority of this community is so great.

So, I decided to start a project, and possibly common feature, on my blog to promote positivity and celebrate this (excuse my language) fucking great community.

This project, called the Book Blogger Positivity Network, will allow all of us to get to know more bloggers and discuss bookish things. What’s not to love?

For my very first BBPN, I’ve asked Reg from She Latitude to let us get to know her and why she thinks positivity is essential to the book blogging community.

Let’s start simple: What’s your name and blog?

Hello! My name is Reg and I blog at http://www.shelatitude.com.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’ve always been a reader but until late last year, I was in a three-year reading slump in which I probably read about 10-15 books maximum, haha. I suspect this was because I was reading so much and just got burned out — I finished 2011 having read 152 books, which probably isn’t that big of a number for many bloggers, but HUGE for me. I am much more careful with not forcing myself and primarily read for pleasure now!

Where are you from?

I was born in Indonesia but now I live in Australia.

How long have you been blogging?

It’ll be 1 year this September!

What made you want to start blogging?

I think most people started their blog because they wanted to show their love for books, but I actually started simply because I love being a busy bee and needed a project to work on in my spare time. In other words, I started blogging because I wanted to avoid boredom. 😛

What is your all time favorite book and author?

I don’t generally have a favourite anything, but some of my must-read authors include Haruki Murakami, Sarah Dessen, and V. E. Schwab. As for books… my two latest five-star reads are And I Darken by Kiersten White and Vicious by V. E. Schwab.

If you had to recommend only one book, what would it be?

Ooh, this is hard! It really depends on the genre and the person asking for recommendation, but my go-to book when it comes to YA is probably Sarah Dessen’s Just Listen. It has amazing characters and it’s just so nostalgic to me.

What do you like to do in your free time (besides read, of course)?

I game! I play a bit of Pokemon (GO and the older console games), The Sims (my favourite is the second one), and Harvest Moon (the GBA games). With full-time work and this blog, I actually don’t have a lot of free time left, but other than game, I also bake and cook and watch TV — oh, and I browse Reddit a lot more than I care to say.

What is your dream job?

I don’t really have a specific job in mind, but I’m keen to continue working on my current career, which in communications! As long as a job pays well and keeps me learning, I’m good.

Tell us a weird/interesting fact about yourself.

Hmmm… maybe the fact that I used to write fanfiction? Six years of my life were pretty much spent on Fanfiction.net. 🙂

Question: How does positivity affect the community? Why do you love being a part of the book blogger community?

Reg: I’ll be honest – I’m not on social media that much and because of that, I tend to miss all the drama happening! I usually find out after the fact, when people are discussing it on Twitter or recapping the situation on their blog.

Halee: Then you’re lucky! While I hate the negativity, I’m kind of drawn to it. Like I want to know everything, but then when I have, I feel kind of bleh. Like I just want to be happy and talk about books all the time haha. What do you think causes the drama?

Reg: From what I’ve seen, drama happens when people’s opinions differ, or when people say something that others don’t take to well to. In cases like this, I think it’s important to give voice to diverse viewpoints but also learn how to argue peacefully or express your feelings appropriately. After all, we don’t have to agree on EVERYTHING, and a world where everyone is the same is a boring world, in my opinion.

Halee: I agree 100%. Diversity, especially in terms of opinions, is a good thing as long as your not disparaging a group or an author. So, despite argument, would you agree that diversity is one of the most important parts of this community?

Reg: I’m saying this perhaps because one of my favourite parts about our community is actually exactly that: how different all of us can be. I’ve been really lucky because all the people I’ve interacted with on the blogosphere have been incredibly pleasant, so my experience has been largely positive, but I just love how diverse our tastes, opinions, values, likes and dislikes are, and how each and every one of us, for the most part, can disagree on certain issues and still remain respectful and friendly and supportive of one another.

Reg is soo right on all of this. Diversity is what makes this community fun. We come from so many different backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, etc., and it allows us to see different perspectives. While books themselves give us a look into different situations, worlds, and histories, the people we discuss them with, provide us with differing viewpoints that open our worldview and make us better people.

Why do you think positivity and diversity is important to the book community?