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Tuesday, January 2, 2018

6 Years Old!


Babbling Books is six years old today. In past years on my blogiversary I have extolled the virtues of the book blogger community. I will again acknowledge my fellow book bloggers.  The community is indeed the best part of book blogging. This community  is what has kept me blogging over the course of years. 

When I started blogging six years ago I wanted my site to be more then just book reviews. I wanted to explore history, social issues, politics, religion as well as a plethora of other topics and ideas.  I wanted to approach these concepts from a bookish point of view. I hope that to some extent I have succeeded. I try to tackle these topics both in my commentary on individual books as well as in standalone posts.  

In a perfect world I would blog more. I would like to put up more posts related to ideas, social issues and perhaps politics. Books and reading relate to all these things. Time constraints unfortunately limit me. With that, though I am not big on New Years Resolutions, I will endeavor to post more in the coming year. Of course, I also want to read more books. That, in the end needs to be my number one priority.

Many of my fellow bloggers have posted lists of their planed reads for the year. I also have a lot of tentative reading plans. There are so many great books waiting in the wings. There are so many fascinating topics to explore. Thus, the coming year promises to be great year for blogging. I hope that will be the case for all my blogger friends as well as for myself. 


Happy reading everybody!

41 comments:

CyberKitten said...

Happy New Year Brian and Happy Birthday to your Blog!

2018 should be a good year - at least as far as books go. I look forward very much to you book and other related posts.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks CyberKitten. I was thinking that it would be a good year for books. We will see if it will be a good year on other fronts.

Stephen said...

Happy blogging birthday! I enjoy your nonfiction reviews especially.

Kathy's Corner said...

Hi Brian, Congratulations on the sixth anniversary of writing an excellent blog. And your site is not only about book reviews although that would be fine in itself but as you set out to do you tackle topics such as religion, politics, gender, class, life in an intelligent and thought provoking way. I hope you never get tired of writing your reviews because we will never get tired of reading them! All the best for the New Year.

Maria Behar said...

HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY, BRIAN!!! CONGRATULATIONS!! WOOT, WOOT!!!! :) :) :)

WOWSERS!! SIX years already? Yup, as they say, "Time flies when you're having fun!!"

I have greatly enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, reading your blog posts! You always have fascinating insights about the books you review, as well as interesting comments on political issues!

Along with this, your friendly attitude sets people at ease. I especially like that, even if someone disagrees with any of your views, you remain courteous and pleasant in your exchanges. You are truly an example to the blogging community! And yes, it's this community that is one of the most rewarding aspects of the blogosphere, ESPECIALLY the book blogosphere!

I hope to continue reading your posts for many more years to come, Brian!! CONGRATS AGAIN!! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!! <3 :)

Maria Behar said...

P.S. Goodness, I forgot to say....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Looking forward to more GREAT posts in 2018!!! <3 :)

Suko said...

Brian Joseph,

Happy blogiversary! Your book blog is always a pleasure to read. I hope you will continue to post here for many more years.

Happy New Year!

Lindsay said...

Congratulations Brian, well done on 6 years of your brilliant, informative and insightful blog! All the best.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Stephen. I hope to read a greater percentage of non - fiction this year.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks so much Kathy. Books really are about all of those things.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks so much Maria. As you know, especially on social media, some folks take disagreement as an affront. Yet no two people will agree on everything. This is especially true when it comes to hot button issues such as religion, politics, race issues, gender issues, etc. There is no way for effective communication to exist without some disagreement.

Happy New Year's!

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks so much Suko. I hope to stay around.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks so much Lindsay. I hope that you are well.

Sharon Wilfong said...

Congratulations, Brian!! It's been a while. I always enjoy reading your posts and you have made me aware of a lot of books that I otherwise would not have read. All the best to you and a great year!

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Sharon. Hopefully we all will have a great year!

Mudpuddle said...

i learn from your blogs. and they're insightful and sometimes provocative: all positive virtues... looking forward to another year of the same... tx...

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Mudpuddle. Let's make 2018 a good year.

James said...

Congratulations on completing another year of blogging. I look forward to more of your insights that I always find interesting. You can both make a book I read before seem new and challenge me with one I have not read before. Either way I delight in your blogging missives.

Whispering Gums said...

Happy blogiversary Brian. Like you I don't actively plan my reading - or set goals, besides wishing to read more each year (I did in 2016 but fell back again in 2017) and reducing the TBR pile (which I never achieve - well I read from it but not enough to counteract the books that are added to it!) This year, though, I do want to recalibrate the fiction-non-fiction balance which is tipping too much towards non-fiction.

Anyhow, I am enjoying getting to know you, and look forward to seeing your posts in 2018.

JoAnn said...

Happy Blogiversary, Brian! Six years is quite an accomplishment.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks so much James.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks WP. I actually want to read a bit more non - fiction this year. I say that I am aiming for a 50/50 mix but I always end up reading more fiction.

There are more books on my TBR then I could ever read in my life.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks JoAnn.

thecuecard said...

Happy 6th year blogiversary! I have enjoyed reading your blog and I'm sure I'll be continuing that in 2018. I wish you a great year ahead with it & your reading! It seems we are on the same side of the political spectrum .... so I ask Brian : does the latest news this week on Trump ... mean he & his admin is going down? I await to see ...

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Susan.

I am indeed adamantly anti - Trump. I think this week's revelations will not bring him down. It is not enough to convince the GOP in Congress or his cabinet to do anything. I think in the coming months it could go either way, he might eventually go down, he might also destroy our democracy. I think that we are in unchartered territory.

Richard said...

I hope this comment gets through, Brian, since yesterday's attempt didn't...

Anyway, congratulations on all your successes over the years and best of luck finding the right reading/writing balance for yourself in 2018--always a tough challenge, no? I personally hope that you'll continue your history-reviewing orientation since those books often don't seem to get an appropriate amount of attention at least in my circles of the blogosphere. Take it easy!

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Richard. Sorry to hear about the comment trouble. Please let me know if you have any trouble in the future please let me know.

I hope to read a higher percentage of history in the upcoming year.

Laurie Welch said...

Happy Belated Birthday, Brian!

Your posts are always so insightful. I wish you many more years of sharing your thoughts.

The Bookworm said...

Happy Six Year Blog Anniversary Brian!! Here's to many more years. Your blog is wonderful. I hope you read many great books in 2018.

I agree, the community here is what keeps me blogging as well. Enjoy your weekend :)

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks so much Laurie!

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Naida. The booK blogging community is super.


Have great Sunday!

So many books, so little time said...

HAppy blogaversary Brian, you blog is very different to many of the others I visit. I don't do much in the way of politics and I always want to learn more about history so I always find I come away from here with either something new to check out or that I have learned. Here is to many more years xxx

Lainy http://www.alwaysreading.net

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Lainy - A try to be bit different.

HKatz said...

Congratulations on another year of blogging, with hopefully many more to come. I always enjoy your reviews, including your thoughts about the issues (especially historical and political issues) explored in the books.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks so much Hila!

JaneGS said...

Congrats on your six year anniversary. Kudos for creating an excellent forum for exploring ideas, sharing thoughts on classics and history and philosophy, and helping to connect interested people around the world.

Blogging is one of the greatest outcomes of the internet, in my opinion.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Jane. It is true, book blogging in particular is really a high point of the online world.

Stefanie said...

I am so late to the party, but do accept my sincere congratulations! You do a bang-up job and I hope you still have lots of book posts ahead!

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks so much Stefanie. Never rush :)

baili said...

Happy birthday to wonderful babbling book dear Brain!

i am sure you are doing GREAT JOB by sharing the huge variety of topics through your selection all the time which strikes me and i feel envy as you read a lot and i just tackle my thirst for books by reading your amazing commentaries

have glorious new year ahead Brain!

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks so much Baili. Have a great New Year's!