Those of you who are regular visitors to the blog may or may not notice a few small changes that are coming or have already began but in case you are like me and never notice anything changing on other blogs (!) I'll fill you in on the changes and why I'm making them. I'm also making changes to how I'm commenting on your blogs too.
1) It's the end of Chuckles Cover Love!
As much as I enjoy sharing beautiful covers with you, I've found that I'm struggling to think up new topics or books to feature. It is also too time consuming to keep looking up different themes like colours or wolves etc and I'm trying to save time so I can have time offline each day for other things!
2) New Feature-Chuckles Sunday Reading Catchup!
To replace Cover Love, each week I'll do a post to share what books I've read or DNFed each week. I can fill this in as I go through the week so it won't take up the same amount of time as Cover Love.
3) No replies to blog comments on posts over a month old
Through the entire month, I look back through all the posts for that month to check I haven't missed comments left on posts over a week old. However, some bloggers are making one blog visit here sporadically to mass comment on posts that are up to 3-8 weeks old and I'm afraid it is just too time consuming for me to keep going back that far to check posts for new comments to answer. I will no longer be publishing or answering comments left on posts over/close to a month old. I'm sorry if this proves unpopular but I really don't have the time to do it any more and have to focus resources to more recent posts and comments.
4) Changes to my comments on your posts
It's not really a change to the comments I leave, more explaining what I'm doing and why I comment on some posts and not others. There are posts I usually enjoy commenting on like memes, discussion posts, weekly and monthly roundups, book reviews, book tags, blog awards, surveys, challenge posts, TV and film reviews, and other things.
There are things I rarely comment on so I thought I'd use this chance to explain why I hardly ever comment on these things.
1) Beauty & Fashion
I've never been that interested in clothes, make up, jewellery, beauty, hair, shoes and all that kind of thing so I really have nothing to share on the subject unless the clothes are related to TV shows or books I like!
2) Food and Drink
I don't drink tea and coffee, I don't really cook or bake, or share recipies. I will sometimes comment if a meal looks tasty though, it just depends! Other than that, I have little to productively share on the subject!
3) Celebrities & Reality TV
I literally have zero interest in the lives of celebrities and reality tv shows for wannabes! If a post is talking about things like The Kardashions, Big Brother, Love Island and that kind of thing, I give it a huge body swerve. The reality shows I do watch are a) tough job shows ie Gold Rush, Deadliest Catch, Wicked Tuna, Bering Sea Gold b) game shows ie American Ninja Warrior, Spartan, Ultimate Beastmaster, c) cookery contests ie Masterchef, Top Chef, Bake Off
4) Role Play & Online Gaming
I'm afraid I'm cluesless on this kind of thing so I'd have nothing to share!
5) Art and Creative Stuff
The only piece of artwork I ever liked was The Scream, which I have on my wall! But art, especially the modern stuff doesn't interest me. I don't do things like cross stitch, knitting and so on but I might sometimes comment on pretty finished projects.
6) Manga, Anime and Graphic Novels
I never read Manga and Anime. I've read the occasional graphic novel and may comment on them if it is connected to TV shows I enjoyed ie Buffy, Game of Thrones. I don't have the time or money for graphic novels so I haven't heard of most of them. I don't want to keep saying that so I tend not to comment.
7) Blog Tours
Every day on my Bloglovin feed, there are lots of these promo posts and it would be far too time consuming to plough through and comment on all of them. I comment on the odd one if I'm considering reading the book or it is a genre or cover I like, but mostly I skip them!
8) Posts on Romance, Contemporary, YA, Kids, Cozies, Erotica
I'm not a fan of these genres so I rarely have something productive to share on posts and reviews for these genres. If I've read the book, heard of it, like the cover or want to read it, I'll comment but otherwise I tend to avoid, rather than put negative comments about it!
Basically I'm trying to only leave productive comments from now on so I might not be commenting on everything I used to. Please be assured it doesn't mean I've lost interest in your blog or anything like that. It's purely about adding comments that either add to the discussion or are to basically say hi, and not commenting if I feel I have nothing to say. I'm still checking out all your posts each day as normal!
I do understand if anyone makes the decision to unfollow me based on me leaving fewer comments on their blog or not answering the older comments being left. I don't take things like that personally and you don't need to contact me and explain! Anyone who chooses to unfollow, I wish you well in the future!
Interesting to read your thoughts here especially around commenting which I got kinda overwhelmed with a few weeks ago (why I've been a bit awol). Like your idea of leaving the older post comments. At the moment I'm trialling responding to a set number each day, starting with the most recent. It's a tricky thing to judge, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI tend to post the blog post and chat about it to those who reply which is fun. It's difficult to try to do that 6 or 8 weeks later when you've moved on to other topics! I will of course be answering comments left say two weeks after a post to allow for people being on holiday, sick, or busy. It isn't easy to find a balance for comments and visits and things, I agree!
DeleteI agree with only commenting, when you have something to say. If I commented on every post on my feed, I would have to quit my job or not sleep.
ReplyDeleteExactly! It would also be pretty bad if I kept visiting your blog and continually saying 'I don't read this genre, I don't like this kind of book' etc. It feels sort of disrespectful to you, if you get what I mean! I certainly want to write stuff more interesting than that!
DeleteI hear you about Blog Tours. Thankfully, only a handful of the people I follow ever participate in them so I can easily skip them.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for letting us know. I'm like you when it comes to noticing changes on other peoples' blogs, ie, I don't :-)
Bookstooge.wordpress.com
I never notice changes in the look of a blog-I'm hopeless that way! I used to do a ton of blog tours and things which was time consuming and nobody ever commented on them so I stopped them. I only comment on the odd one if the book sounds interesting!
DeleteGood for you! I definitely understand about not commenting on things that don't interest you. I sometimes find that happens to me, someone will comment on my TTT post, but not do a post themselves. So I look through their blog and try to find something of interest that we have in common, but they read a genre that I have no comprehension of. Being a blogger is hard sometimes!
ReplyDeleteThere are so many posts to read each day and it is more fun to comment on stuff where I have something to say rather than struggle for ages to comment! I do find it hard if most of the content is about romance and contemporary! You're right, blogging can be harder than it looks at times!
DeleteI'll miss your Cover Love, but I totally get how those posts could be really time consuming. And I'm looking forward to your Sunday Reading Catchup. Cheers! :D
ReplyDeleteI might still do the odd Cover Love post if I stumble across great covers and think up the odd topic. I am flirting with the idea of that Friday meme that Barb and Mogsy do...
DeleteGreat post and explanations and I would never unfollow you ;) Cass would bite me anyway if I ever tried!
ReplyDeleteThat's my boy Cass! I like that he is looking after my interests!
DeleteSounds very sensible! Good luck! I hope it takes some of the work out of this -- it's meant to be fun, after all.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it such hard work sometimes! I find that some weeks it all just seems like too much yet other weeks I breeze through stuff!
DeleteTime is hard to come by and I get why you make changes. And I'm struggling on commenting on posts too. We share a passion for the same kinds of books and I want to visit every day, but sometimes I can't. Totally understand where you are coming from:)
ReplyDeleteI figure if I cut out trying to comment on a few of these topics I can maybe comment on more reviews and discussion type posts and memes. That's the plan anyway. It might take a week or so to get into a new rhythm!
DeleteI don't blame you on the comments! I spend a silly amount of time worrying about not having a consistent comment rhythm, not commenting on people's blogs often enough, missing comments on my blog... And so on and so on.
ReplyDeleteBut you know what?
Lately, I've been returning comments on recent posts only (I never used to go too far back but now I stick to the past few weeks max) and I return comments/make visits when I have time. I'm trying my best not to stress anymore. It doesn't help. Plus, no one - that I've noticed! - has stopped visiting. Other bloggers get it and if they don't then... Bye, I guess.
You can only do what you can do.
Oh! And I don't comment on every post in my feed either. Some posts I read fully or skim but just have nothing to add after reading... I wish blog posts had the equivalent of a like button just so I could let people know I WAS there and their content was read even if I had nothing to say.
I'm scurrying through the backlog here as I've been forgetting to stay caught up! A few weeks max is a good compromise I think. It allows for others being sick or on holiday. I probably would notice if someone vanished but I refuse to stress about it! Hmm your idea about the like button is a good one...
DeleteI've stopped replying on comments just because I got overwhelmed and something had to give. I do try and answer questions but even that's not always a given. I agree on only commenting productively. I don't mind a blog tour review but am not a fan of the blog tour spotlights or anything that's copy and paste.
ReplyDeleteI can fully understand having to choose between commenting on blogs and answering comments on your own blog. Time is such an issue for blogging.
DeleteSounds like all great changes!! I've stopped forcing myself to comment on blog posts that I just don't care about as well, especially the make up ones. I have my standards, and I don't go much outside of that realm, so I don't need to spend time reading about makeup :)
ReplyDeleteI've never been into all that fashion and makeup stuff. I was a right tomboy as a kid and preferred buying books to dolls!
Delete