Book Blogger Hop No. 51: Original Memes That Have Lasted

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,

hosted by Billy @

Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!

For more information, click HERE.

What to Do

1.) Post on your blog answering this week's

question:

Have you ever started a meme

that became popular and

is still in existence?

(submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews)

2.)  Enter the link to your post in the

Linky list on Billy's blog.

3.)  Visit other blogs on the list and

comment on their posts. 

4.)  Be sure to find out next week's

question when you visit

Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!

My Answer

This is a very interesting question! Also, it's one that I don't think has ever been asked before, either on the Book Blogger Hop, or on any other blog, to my knowledge. Kudos to Elizabeth!

I used to have a meme, and in fact, still do, but it's not what I would call popular. Nor was it originally mine, either.

Here's the story.....

There used to be a wonderful blog, named Five Alarm Book Reviews, which was created and run by a great blogger named Stephanie.  I loved visiting and commenting on this blog, and especially, participating in a blog hop/book meme titled "Shelf Candy Saturday", which was dedicated to showcasing beautiful book covers.  

One of the things I enjoyed the most about this meme was reading information about the very talented artists who had created the gorgeous covers Steph presented every week.  I also enjoyed visiting the participating blogs to admire the covers those bloggers had posted, and reading the information they had discovered about the cover artists.  Including such information in an SCS post was optional, however.  Some participants didn't include it, but simply wrote about why they loved the cover they had selected.

Unfortunately, this wonderful state of affairs was not to last... Steph decided to stop blogging.  Sadly, she not only did that, but also deleted her entire blog, and it's no longer to be found on the Internet, as far as I know.  She emailed me to let me know about her decision. She also asked me if I would be interested in taking over her meme.  Of course, I  immediately agreed, since I loved it so much!

This was the original meme logo.

When I took over the meme, I decided to continue with the idea of providing information about the artists who created the amazing covers I selected.  I invited hop participants to do the same, although I emphasized that it was purely optional.

At first, participation was not too bad.  Steph usually got seven, and sometimes nine or ten, blogs participating.  However, as time went on, the bloggers who had originally joined her blog hop and continued to participate when I took over, just disappeared.  I did get a couple of new ones, but in time, they, too, disappeared.  I bravely continued, however, because I love this meme.

This is my own logo, which I created myself.

Unfortunately, I didn't always publish my own "Shelf Candy Saturday" post by midnight every single Saturday.  If you happen to be a blog hop/meme host, this might not bode well for your blog hop/meme. After all,  participants need to link up to the hosting post through a Linky widget that's included in the post.  If the host's post is not up at the same scheduled time each week, the participants obviously won't be motivated to put up their own posts. 

Perhaps it was due to my irregular posting that I saw participants to this meme gradually dwindle, and then disappear altogether.   However, even when I did have my own post up by midnight, I didn't see anyone linking up.  I then visited a few of the blogs that were participating when Steph was the host, and commented on their posts, inviting them to come over and comment on my meme, as well as participate. Sadly, they neither linked up to my post, nor did they comment back.

So I came to a decision about this meme.  I continued to post it, because I simply couldn't give it up!  However, it was no longer a blog hop, since no one seemed to be interested in participating.  This, of course, was very disappointing to me. 

So I'm still posting this meme as my own book cover feature, with no Linky widget attached. I would certainly love it if I could get it going again, but I suppose Saturday is just not a very good day for these types of posts. Besides, there are many blogs with book cover memes.

Another reason people are probably not interested in participating is that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". A cover that I find stunning might not be liked by other people, and vice versa. This means that people might feel uncomfortable if they feel 'pressured' to like other people's covers, when they really don't. Of course, I can understand this.

I will continue to publish these posts on my own, though. To me, it's very important to do so, as I consider book covers to be THE most important initial factor drawing readers to books they've never heard of before. After the book cover, the synopsis is the factor that clinches the sale. But that first impact? It's the book cover. These artists should really get more recognition in the book world.

I sure would appreciate visits and comments to "Shelf Candy Saturday"! I greatly enjoy sharing my love of beautiful book covers with any and all who feel as I do! Just swing by every Saturday to check out my choice for the day, and let me know what you think!

Sample "Shelf Candy Saturday" Posts

Shelf Candy Saturday No. 170:

Jackaby, by William Ritter

Shelf Candy Saturday No. 159:

Never Fade, by Alexandra Bracken  

 

     Here's a sample from when Steph was

    hosting this meme.

Shelf Candy Saturday No. 27:

A Wrinkle In Time, by Madeleine L'Engle

 

  

What are your thoughts?

Please leave a comment,

and I'll go check out your post!