Friday, February 2, 2018

Book Blogger Hop No. 121: Eclectic vs. One-Genre Book Blogging



Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,
hosted by Billy @


For more information, and 
to find out the topic of next week's question, click HERE.


This Week's Question

Do you prefer to blog about (a)
specific book genre(s), or
do you have an eclectic blog?

(Submitted  by Maria @ 



My Answer

This blog has actually gone through a few stages during its development. I'm sure many book bloggers can relate to this, too.

When I first started out, in 2010, I knew I wanted to feature YA Fiction. I was also very much into The Twilight Saga (and still am!), so, having written some Twilight fan fiction, I also included these stories on the blog. In fact, I wanted to feature Stephenie Meyer's paranormal world all the time, along with other YA novels. Back then, the blog's title was Twilight and Other Dreams. Well, I did get past that stage.....lol. I realized that people would think my blog was "just another Twilight fan blog", so I changed the blog's title to the present one, but continued to focus on the YA genre. I also stopped including Twilight fan fiction -- or any other type of fan fiction, for that matter -- on this blog.

I have always been an eclectic reader, however, so I gradually began to include books from other genres. These were mostly adult books. I love paranormal romance, for example, so I decided to include both YA and adult books within the PNR genre on the blog. Historical romances -- especially those dealing with the Regency period in British history -- are another weakness of mine. Most of these are adult books, and I began to include them, as well.

Then one day I suddenly decided that I wanted to go back to focusing exclusively on the YA genre, which, of course, encompasses some of the same genres adult books are categorized in: fantasy, paranormal romance, contemporary romance, mystery, urban fantasy, and science fiction. This does allow for some variety, while still featuring only YA. I figured that I might get more readers, as well as more comments, if I only featured YA. 

Well, that didn't last very long.....lol.

After trying valiantly to stick to this decision, I gradually began to waver. I just couldn't make myself focus on YA books exclusively. There were just too many other fascinating and entertaining books in adult genres that I was interested in reading and reviewing. So I slowly began to make this blog an eclectic one again. I'm still featuring YA Fiction, but not exclusively.

I've been a happily eclectic book blogger for some time now, and really haven't looked back since I finally decided to keep it that way. My love for YA won't let me abandon it altogether, though, so I will go on including it in my posts. But you can expect to see plenty of other types of books here as well! Except for nonfiction, though.

Blogging about books should be an enjoyable experience which allows us bloggers to share our views with the world regarding our favorite topic -- BOOKS. So I now feel that I should blog about pretty much any book that interests me. However, there are some limitations. Since I do feature so much YA Fiction here, I can't suddenly post a review of a book on philosophy, for example, or one on a history of the Kabbalah. No one will come by this blog to read such reviews. And if they should happen to do so, they surely won't comment on them. Therefore, I write about these types of books on my other blog, MindSpirit Book Journeys. (Which I have sadly neglected, by the way, because of time constraints.)

The purpose of my other blog is to deal with books of a more serious nature, such as classics, literary fiction, and nonfiction. In the past, I used to post at least some nonfiction reviews on A Night's Dream of Books, but have long since stopped doing so. On this blog, I will only review nonfiction if it has something to do with the YA Fiction genre.

It would be very interesting, I think, to find out just how many book bloggers stick to one genre, or perhaps two or three, and how many are totally eclectic in their reading and reviewing. I know I've seen quite a few blogs dedicated only to YA Fiction. Others stick to adult mysteries and thrillers. (Not my cup of tea, except for anything related to Sherlock Holmes!) Still others focus on literary fiction and classics. There's some variety in the blogosphere. From what I've seen, though, it looks like a lot of people prefer to blog about one or two genres. But I've also visited a few eclectic blogs.

In the end, there are obviously no hard-and-fast rules about which genre(s) to blog about. There's room for all genres on the blogosphere. (I personally avoid blogs dealing with erotica or the horror genre.) It's very interesting to see what genres interest and do not interest other book bloggers. And for me, there have been some surprises throughout the years. On more than one occasion, I've actually started reading a book recommended by a blogger whose reading tastes are completely different from mine, and yet, I've enjoyed the book!

It doesn't look like I'll ever go back to blogging about just one genre. It's too much fun to be eclectic!
  




What are your thoughts on
this topic?
If you're participating in this hop,
I'll go comment on your 
own BBH post.
If not, I will then comment on one 
of your blog posts!
Thanks for visiting!!!  
 







16 comments:

  1. This is s very interesting subject and great Maria. I would guess that people who blog about just one genre probably mostly read that genre. If there was such a thing as book blogs when I was a lot younger and I had a blog then I would have blogged almost exclusively about science fiction. I agree that folks should blog about what they want to and what they are interested in.

    By the way, you have mentioned what I consider to be a big fringe benefit to blogging, that is we get to read about books on other people's blogs that we might not have been otherwise interested in. We might even read some of these books.

    Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Brian!

      I do tend to read a lot of YA (the word "lot" is relative, though, as I'm a slow reader, lol), so of course, I have featured this genre quite a bit here. The really neat thing, though, is that YA encompasses other genres I also love, such as fantasy, SF, paranormal romance, and urban fantasy. There aren't many YA historical romances, so I read the adult ones. Occasionally, I will also read contemporary romance novels, but this is not my favorite genre. I much prefer to have a fantasy element in romance novels. The historical ones do take me out of our common, everyday reality, so that works for me, too.

      I really like this "fringe benefit" of book blogging, as you put it. Yes, indeed, I have discovered books on other people's blogs that I might NEVER have heard of, or been interested in. This is definitely one of the nicest rewards of being a book blogger!

      Thanks for the great comment!! Hope you're enjoying your Sudany! <3 :)

      Delete
  2. Exactly about no hard and fast rules about what we blog about. We blog about what we like, and that is perfect.

    I am an old stick-to-what-you-have-been-reading girl. LOL!! I most likely will never change. :)

    As I have mentioned before, my house has had no changes since we moved in 20 years ago. That goes for everything I do. I am an old soul. :)

    Thanks for your MARVELOUS answer. You always write the BEST and most thorough answers. LOVE IT.

    So...off topic. Are you basking in the sun while we are bundled up watching the snowflakes swirl? Brrrr. And...the ground hog said SIX more weeks of winter. Boo Hoo, but we knew that would be the case.

    Have a great weekend, Maria.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Elizabeth!

      Oh, ABSOLUTELY there are NO rules that MUST be followed in the book blogosphere, at least not in the area of which genres to blog about. We all blog about the genres we love! And it's also perfectly all right if a blogger doesn't want to go out of their comfort zone. In my case, for instance, I am not at all interested in two genres in particular: erotica and horror. (There's actually one exception with the horror genre. I do want to read "Dread Nation", which is coming out in April. That's because the female protagonist is black, and kick-butt, AND the story takes place in an ALTERNATIVE history setting -- a VERY different Civil War. I find all of this FASCINATING!! Not too happy about the zombies, though.....)

      Another genre I'm not into is thrillers. I might pick one up, but VERY occasionally. And I really don't go much for family saga-style novels, either. (Another exception: "Kiss Carlo", by Adriana Trigiani, which I have already recommended to you.)

      I'm not that much into change, either, to be honest. Well, at least not in regards to my blog. I have found a blog design I'm VERY happy with, so I see no reason to change it just for the heck of it. Other kinds of changes do depend on how much money I have available, lol. We now live in a condo, and I made SURE, before we moved in, that the walls were painted in a nice tone of medium, warm, reddish-brown. I HATE white walls!! LOL. And we have a large Picasso reproduction above the living room sofa, plus a GORGEOUS Tiffany lamp, right above my reading/computer nook. So I'm eclectic there, too! :)

      Awwww......you're so NICE to always compliment my BBH answers! The thing is, I LOVE to write, so I tend to write rather long answers! Lol. THANKS FOR THE COMPLIMENT!! <3 <3

      Now, am I basking in the sun? HECK, NO!! LOL. I've NEVER been "a sun worshiper". I stay indoors with our nice A/C going! Lol. Right now, I have a cold, but I STILL wuoldn't go out in the sun. (It's currently 78F here now, according to Accuweather. But my Weatherbug app says it's 76F, and Google agrees with that.) As you know, I actually wish I could look out the window and see snow. LOL. (The grass is greener....etc.)

      Thanks for the SUPER NICE comment!! Hope you're enjoying your Sunday!! HUGS!!! <3 <3 <3 :) :) :)

      Delete
  3. I think that's awesome that you were able to experiment and see what works best for you! I think having a variety of topics of genres is a great thing! I loved reading your blogging history :) have a great weekend and thanks for the fun question this week!

    My Book Blogger Hop!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Heather!

      Oh, thanks for the compliment!! :) :)

      Yeah, I did do some experimenting when I first started out. I was definitely sold on the YA genre, and still am! But there are other -- adult -- books I'm interested in, as well. So I finally decided to stay eclectic! It's just so much more fun to read several genres! I'm even making an exception to my avoidance of the horror genre: I will be reading "Dread Nation" in April. In fact, I'm buddy-reading it with Barb @ Booker T's Farm!

      Thanks for the nice comment!! You're very welcome for the question! Glad you liked it!!

      Hope you're having a GREAT Sunday!! <3 <3 :) :)

      Delete
  4. Oh man... I miss the days of Twilight. I mean, wasn't it just the best with the books and all the movies coming out. I was such a fan and still am! So are you team Edward or team Jacob? :D

    In the years since I started blogging I had phases of book genres I read. First it was YA, then I got really into paranormal romance and urban fantasy, then historical and so on but in the last two years I've been getting more eclectic in my reading. I still read historical fiction the most and love blogging about it but I pretty much read anything these days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Stephanie!

      YEAAAAAH.....I miss those days, too..... :( I was TOTALLY OBSESSED with the series!! (Heck, I STILL am!!) I even belonged to two fan sites, where I put up my favorite Twilight pics....And, as I mentioned in this post, I even wrote some Twilight fan fiction. I even have a wish list on Amazon titled "Twilight Forever!" Lol. I'm thinking of watching the films again soon!!! Oh, man, I wish we lived near each other, so we could binge watch them together..... :(

      I've read all four Twilight books three times each, and the first book four times -- once in Spanish! Lol.

      Now, as for what team I am, it's DEFINITELY Team Edward!! Although I must confess to feeling sorry for Jacob at times, and even kinda wishing that Bella had picked him instead..... But this mood doesn't usually last long, lol. I DEFINITELY ship Jacob and Renesmee!!!

      As you will see if you take a look at my "Book Reviews" page, I, too, have leaned heavily toward PNR and UF. I've read both YA and adult books in these genres. And I also LOVE fantasy! But I love science fiction, too, and want to read more of that this year.

      I don't read much historical fiction. I DO read historical romance, especially around Christmas, when I stop reading anything BUT Christmas romance novels, ESPECIALLY those that take place in the Regency period!

      I might broaden my horizons even more this year. But I will NEVER get into two genres: erotica and horror. (Exception: "Dread Nation", which I do want to read in April. It sounds SO fascinating, and the female protagonist is black, AND kick-butt! YAAAAASSSS!!!!)

      Thanks for the SUPER NICE comment!! Hope you're enjoying your Sunday!! HUGS!!! <3 <3 <3 :) :) :)

      Delete
  5. I like following eclectic blogs, I find so many good reads that way! Stuff I wouldn't have otherwise considered, so yeah. And I've noticed my blog sorta goes in stages too- I'll read YA for a while, then thrillers, or fantasy, or whatever ha ha. It changes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Greg!

      Oh, I'm SO glad you do!! I like that, too, although I have also followed YA-only blogs in the past. They haven't reciprocated, though.....:( I guess that's because they would prefer to follow YA-only blogs. Oh, well....

      I agree that one of the perks of following eclectic blogs is that you find out about books you probably never would have known about otherwise. And sometimes you might end up reading them! So yeah, eclecticism is GREAT!!

      The books I read have a lot to do with my mood of the moment. Sometimes I'm in "a YA mood", while at others, I'm in "a historical romance" mood. Lol. (Now I want to get into "an SF mood".) So yeah, it changes with me, too! And that's one of the nicest parts of being an eclectic book blogger! As they say, "Variety is the spice of Life!":) :)

      Thanks for commenting!! Hope you're enjoying your Sunday!! <3 :)

      Delete
  6. I'm very much in the camp of write what you read. If that's a little bit of everything then that's what'll appear. I think the one thread that weaves through almost everything I read is romance... That said, I do read non-fiction (History. Always history) but I don't blog about it. It doesn't even occur to me to do so which, now I'm thinking about it, seems a bit weird lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Nicola!

      Oh, I'm a HUGE fan of romance myself!! Mostly, that takes the form of paranormal and fantasy romance, with some SF romance, too. But I also LOVE historical romance! If you take a look at the books I've reviewed so far, you'll find quite a few romance novels on the list.

      I would like to read more history myself, but if I decided to do so, I would review such books on my other, more serious blog -- MINDSPIRIT BOOK JOURNEYS. I do nonfiction there, too. I used to include nonfiction on A NIGHT'S DREAM OF BOOKS, but not anymore.

      Heck, yeah, you should definitely include history books on your blog, if you read them that often! If you're totally eclectic, I don't see why you wouldn't. So go for it, girl!! :) :)

      Thanks for commenting!! Hope you're enjoying your Sunday!! <3 :)

      Delete
  7. Hi Maria, Our tastes are so similar, it will be fun to follow your blog. Thanks for stopping by mine; great to get to know you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Cathy,

      Well, actually, I have reviewed quite a few paranormal romance and urban fantasy books in the past, but I have read Christian romance from time to time, and want to include more of it! As for Christian nonfiction, I reserve that for my other blog, MINDSPIRIT BOOK JOURNEYS. I used to review nonfiction on A NIGHT'S DREAM OF BOOKS, but not anymore.

      Thanks for commenting back!! And you're very welcome for my visit! It's great to get to know you, too! Thanks for the follow, as well!! I'm going to follow you back!! Hope you're enjoying your Sunday!! <3 <3 :) :)

      Delete
  8. YAY for another eclectic blog! I love eclectic blogs. I've found a lot of reads that I normally wouldn't have picked from eclectic blogs. I like genre-specific blogs, too, but I chose to have an eclectic blog because my reading tastes vary. I like a lot of genres.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hahahaha I LOVED your question and had such fun answering it on my own blog. I loved how you ran through your own history in the course of this post... Isn't it funny how we change and adjust from when we first start? And I just think being eclectic suits us better as human beings who love a bunch of stuff <3

    ReplyDelete

THIS IS NOW AN AWARD-FREE, AND TAG-FREE BLOG. Thanks for the compliment, though! : )

As of today, 9/23/18, I have permanently enabled comment moderation, due to a sudden rash of SPAM comments. I appreciate your patience!

Thanks for your thoughts on my posts! I always reply here, as well as comment back on your blog. Have a WONDERFUL day!! :)