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Friday, January 2, 2015

3 Years Old!


Today, Babbling Books turns three years old. What a three years it has been!

Though I have written about the following on previous anniversaries, the points are so important that they bear repeating. There is no better time than now for a recap on my thoughts about blogging.

I want to begin by mentioning the wonderful book blogging community. I cannot overemphasize the value that I place both in the friendships that I have established as well as the warm and intellectually enlightening interactions that I have engaged in with my fellow bloggers. In our exchange of comments, joint read-along and other events, as well as discussions that have at times spilled over into email, interacting with my blogging friends has been both fun and beneficial. So, once again, a huge THANK YOU to my friends!

Another theme of previous years has been my now fulfilled desire for self-expression. One of my primary motivations for starting the blog was a yearning to share my ideas with others. I wanted to express myself in a coherent, organized and permanent way. I wanted to create a record of my thoughts that anyone who was interested could access. As I envisioned my blog, I foresaw it centering on books, but also touching upon social, political and scientific issues. I have done what I set out to do. Even if what I have to say is not exactly profound, I am so grateful to have the opportunity to say it in this medium.


I have also previously written about the double-edged sword of blogging; ironically, it is time consuming and actually cuts into my reading time. Sometimes this has presented real difficulties. At one point, I seriously considered giving the blog up due to this challenge.  However, as I also mentioned before, though I read a little less as a result of blogging, the quality of the reading experience is enhanced.

I have reached a point where I cannot imagine NOT blogging about books. An essential component of reading for me now seems to be sharing and organizing my thoughts, as well as interacting with others about these books. Without these accompanying activities, reading now seems dull and incomplete.

Thus, this anniversary sees me once again championing the benefits of book blogging, and feeling appreciation to all of my online friends.


Thanks to everyone who reads and comments here. 

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48 comments:

  1. LoryJanuary 2, 2015 at 5:08 AM

    Congratulations on your anniversary, Brian! I have just been blogging for one year, but you exactly capture my own experience. It's so wonderful to have discovered a way to make reading even better!

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  2. LMRJanuary 2, 2015 at 9:09 AM

    Brian, congratulations! May you continue blogging for a long, long time!

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  3. SukoJanuary 2, 2015 at 11:54 AM

    Congratulations on your 3-year blogiversary, Brian Joseph! I always enjoy visiting your blog. I agree that blogging about books enhances the experience of reading, in many ways.

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  4. JacquiWineJanuary 2, 2015 at 12:54 PM

    Congratulations, Brian! I like what you say about the enhanced reading experience. I too find the process of blogging/reviewing makes me think more about what I’m reading, and also helps me remember the books themselves.

    I'm glad to have discovered your blog this year - wishing you more happy years of blogging.

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  5. AnonymousJanuary 2, 2015 at 4:46 PM

    Hi Brian

    Happy anniversary!

    I totally agree with you. Although writing billets about books takes on one's reading time, it also enhances the experience. It forces us to think about what we've just read before moving on to another one.

    Keep up with the great posts!

    thanks for sharing your thoughts. (that's the key word about book blogging: to share)

    Emma

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  6. So many books, so little timeJanuary 2, 2015 at 5:28 PM

    Happy anniversary, I totally agree. I have met so many nice people through blogging and all that comes with it. My tbr groans though as I add so many due to the great reviews I read on blogs such as yours.

    Here is to many more!

    Lainy http://www.alwaysreading.net

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  7. Brian JosephJanuary 2, 2015 at 5:54 PM

    Hi Lory - Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting.

    I am glad to hear that you have found blogging a positive experience also!

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  8. Brian JosephJanuary 2, 2015 at 5:57 PM

    Thanks Miguel!

    If I recall you and I have been blogging for about the same amount of time.

    May you also continue for many more years!

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  9. Brian JosephJanuary 2, 2015 at 5:58 PM

    Thanks Suko.

    Your blog is super too! I look forward to reading your thoughts in the coming year!

    Thanks so much for commenting!

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  10. Brian JosephJanuary 2, 2015 at 6:00 PM

    Thanks Jacqui!


    I am also very happy that I found your blog this year.


    Hopefully we will both be around the blogosphere for a long time.

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  11. Brian JosephJanuary 2, 2015 at 6:04 PM

    Hi Emma - Thanks so much.

    i was just looking at my first post. I think that you were my first commenter!

    http://briansbabblingbooks.blogspot.com/2012/01/first-post.html

    Thanks for your support over the years!

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  12. Brian JosephJanuary 2, 2015 at 6:06 PM

    Hi Lainy - Thanks so much!


    You bring up another good point: all the additional great books that we find out about through each others blogs!

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  13. Heidi’sbooksJanuary 2, 2015 at 6:46 PM

    I like the book blogging community too. It's very difficult to find like-minded readers in my own corner of the world. I read too much weird stuff--like The Epic of Gilgamesh and Elizabeth Gaskell novels. But, you can find all kinds of readers in the book blogging community. Congratulations on your anniversary.

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  14. Brian JosephJanuary 2, 2015 at 7:04 PM

    Thanks Heidi!

    It is great that we like the same weird stuff! As it is I bore my family and friends with bookish talk. Blogging really gives me an outlet!

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  15. Guy SavageJanuary 2, 2015 at 7:51 PM

    Happy Anniversary, Brian. I've also made friends and discovered writers and books through blogging. It's a hobby, and a good one, I think.

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  16. Brian JosephJanuary 2, 2015 at 8:33 PM

    Thanks Guy. It is indeed a great hobby!

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  17. VioletJanuary 3, 2015 at 12:24 AM

    It has been interesting reading your invariably thoughtful and insightful posts for the past few years, so thanks for sharing your cogitations via your blog. :) I know what you mean about blogging cutting into reading time. I've been thinking, yet again, about quitting the blog to spend more time reading. It's a dilemma! But, blogging can be a hard habit to break. :)

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  18. Brian JosephJanuary 3, 2015 at 4:54 AM

    Thanks Violet.

    I have read your own musings on the subject. I would hate to see your blog go away permanently. But it is such a dilemma.

    I think that the answer for me is retirement! It is only about 20 or so years away :)

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  19. JamesJanuary 3, 2015 at 9:21 AM

    Congratulations on reaching this milestone. Your comments struck a chord with me as some of your experience mirrors my own. Namely, my reading experience has been enriched as I focus primarily on the books I have read. But I also share comments on personal interests in music, drama and the arts.
    I look forward to the new year with the expectation of more inspiration from you and your blog.

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  20. Felicity Grace TerryJanuary 3, 2015 at 9:53 AM

    Well done on three years of blogging Brian. Whilst in many ways very different readers I value your opinion as a fellow reader passionate about the written word. Here's to another three years and more.

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  21. Brian JosephJanuary 3, 2015 at 1:58 PM

    Thanks James.

    It is amazing how writing about out thoughts leads us to organize and sharpen them.

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  22. Brian JosephJanuary 3, 2015 at 2:00 PM

    Thanks Tracy.

    I think that one of the fun and enlightening thing about reading each others blogs is the exposure to books and thoughts that are are a little different.

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  23. Sharon WilfongJanuary 3, 2015 at 2:43 PM

    Happy anniversary, Brian! I know what you mean about blogs being time consuming. Yet at the same time, I don't feel as though I've "completed reading" a novel unless I post a review about it. Here's to many more years of blogging. Cheers!

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  24. Brian JosephJanuary 3, 2015 at 2:52 PM

    Thanks Sharon!

    Indeed I do not put a book on my finished list until it is completed!

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  25. JaneGSJanuary 3, 2015 at 3:21 PM

    Happy 3rd anniversary of blogging. Enjoy the cake--looks scrumptious.

    I really resonate with everything you said about the book blogging community, why you blog, and the need for self-expression. This really is a great forum for connecting with other readers and broadening our horizons through discussion, camaraderie, and shared thoughts.

    Best wishes as you enter your fourth year--and read and write on!

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  26. Brian JosephJanuary 3, 2015 at 3:27 PM

    Thanks Jane.

    Camaraderie among book bloggers is a great way word to use.


    That cake is my wife's creation. Chocolate inside. A while chocolate cream layer in the middle, and vanilla frosting. It is perhaps my favorite dessert in the world!

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  27. RichardJanuary 3, 2015 at 6:00 PM

    Congratulations, Brian, and thanks for all the work you put into keeping up with Babbling Books. The "double-edged sword of blogging" that you mention is something that I wrestle with from time to time, so I'm glad to hear that you have vanquished that beast as far as your own blogging commitment goes. Happy New Year to you as well!

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  28. Brian JosephJanuary 3, 2015 at 8:15 PM

    Thanks Richard!


    I did get a little concerned when I realized how little that I actually read last year. Hopefully the beast has not returned.

    Happy New Years!

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  29. Delia (Postcards from Asia)January 3, 2015 at 9:26 PM

    Happy blog anniversary, Brian.
    I'm glad you're still with us. :) Over the years I've come to see blogging as a relationship - you have to invest time and feelings in it for the whole thing to work. And sure, sometimes you wonder about all the other things you could do with your time (like reading more) but in the end, if you stick with it you find it pays off.

    That cake looks amazing. Somehow I get a feeling of deja-vu by looking at it.

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  30. Brian JosephJanuary 3, 2015 at 10:41 PM

    Thanks Delia.

    It really does pay off.

    You made me realize that I used the same picture last year! I cannot believe that I did that. I have since changed it. It is a good thing that my wife photographs most of what she bakes.

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  31. Delia (Postcards from Asia)January 4, 2015 at 10:48 AM

    So it was on your blog I saw it! :) It feels like yesterday, where did the time go?
    Now this one looks even better, look at all that chocolate!

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  32. Brian JosephJanuary 4, 2015 at 11:13 AM

    Hi Delia!

    It does feel like yesterday.


    My wife makes great cakes! I actually like the first one a little better. It is chocolate on the inside!

    It can still be seen here.

    https://twitter.com/i/notifications

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  33. LindsayJanuary 4, 2015 at 2:02 PM

    Congratulations Brian on three years of your brilliant blog!

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  34. Brian JosephJanuary 4, 2015 at 3:43 PM

    Thank you for you kind words Lindsay!

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  35. seraillonJanuary 5, 2015 at 1:50 PM

    Brian - Congratulations, and here's a coupe of champagne to the next three years and beyond! The "double-edged sword" is well familiar, but I'm glad to hear that you're past the point of no return. Cheers for a great 2015!

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  36. Brian JosephJanuary 5, 2015 at 2:45 PM

    Thanks Scott!

    Perhaps some of that champagne will enhance my reading experience :)

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  37. Séamus DugganJanuary 7, 2015 at 7:58 PM

    Congrats Brian - you capture the pleasure and pain of blogging perfectly. Now, I feel like I haven't really finished a book until I've posted on it.
    I also like the fact that I pay a bit more attention to books, but still, I forget some and am regularly surprised by stuff I read on my own blog.. Sometimes I even agree with myself.

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  38. Brian JosephJanuary 7, 2015 at 8:01 PM

    Thanks Seamus!

    I read some stuff that I wrote a year or so after the fact and was also surprised by some of it!

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  39. CarolineJanuary 8, 2015 at 3:19 AM

    I'm awfully late in congratulating you.
    But here goes Happy Anniversary and many happy returns. Your blog is so vital and different. It's always wonderful to visit.

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  40. Brian JosephJanuary 8, 2015 at 5:18 AM

    Not late at all Caroline.

    Thanks so much for your kind words.

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  41. @parridhlanternJanuary 8, 2015 at 11:34 AM

    Congrats & a glass raised to many more

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  42. Brian JosephJanuary 8, 2015 at 12:06 PM

    Thanks so much Gary!

    I could definitely use a glass of something right now!

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  43. Maria BeharJanuary 12, 2015 at 2:00 AM

    Hey, Brian!!

    HUGE CONGRATS to you on your third blogoversary!!! How very WONDERFUL!!

    From the first moment I read one of your blog posts, I realized that I had found a blogger who offered books of stimulating intellectual content,as well as books of serious historical importance. In addition to that, I discovered a very nice person who enjoys having great conversations on books. Well, I became a fan, and later on, a friend, something I am truly honored to be.

    I've also been a co-host with you, on the "Jane Eyre" Read-Along, something I enjoyed immensely! I'm looking forward to hosting more classics read-alongs with you in the future!

    So CONGRATS again, and thanks for bringing us, your readers, three years of interesting, thought-provoking posts!! Now I'd like to add, "Four more years!!" Naw, I hope you and your blog will be around for many more!!

    HAPPY THIRD BLOGOVERSARY TO "BABBLING BOOKS", and THANKS to you for creating it!! : )

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  44. Maria BeharJanuary 12, 2015 at 2:11 AM

    P.S. I should have mentioned that I can definitely relate to "the blogger's dilemma" that you mention, and have myself thought of throwing in the towel at times....but somehow I keep right on keeping on!

    And now I'm wondering if your wife would mind sending me the recipe for that luscious-looking cake.....lol.

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  45. Maria BeharJanuary 12, 2015 at 2:12 AM

    P.P.S. HAPPY NEW YEAR, TOO!!! :)

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  46. Brian JosephJanuary 12, 2015 at 3:28 AM

    i Maria - Thank you for your kind words too.

    I am also honored to be your friend and also to have discovered your fantastic blog.


    that read along was super and I think that we are both into doing another one sometimes over the next year.

    I hope and believe that we will both be around for a lot more then four more years!'

    Happy New Years to you and your family!

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  47. HarveeJanuary 25, 2015 at 10:58 AM

    I missed your blogging anniversary. Congratulations and wishing you many more years of reading/blogging!

    Harvee
    Book Dilettante

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  48. Brian JosephJanuary 25, 2015 at 12:04 PM

    Thanks Harvee!

    May we all have many more years of blogging and reading!

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