BBAW Day 1 - Community

Welcome to Book Blogger Appreciation Week 2011! It's time to take a little break and celebrate the smart, funny, friendly, remarkable community we have built together as book bloggers. Every day this week will see a new topic to discuss - today, we talk about each other!

"While the awards are a fun part of BBAW, they can never accurately represent the depth and breadth of diversity in the book blogging community. Today you are encouraged to highlight a couple of bloggers that have made book blogging a unique experience for you. They can be your mentors, a blogger that encouraged you to try a different kind of book, opened your eyes to a new issue, made you laugh when you needed it, or left the first comment you ever got on your blog. Stay positive and give back to the people who make the community work for you!"

I'm tempted to just post my entire blog roll here, because everyone in it has been an inspiration to me in one way or another. But I'm going to quickly highlight just a few of the bloggers who were influential in making me feel welcome and at home back when I first started blogging.

Andi from Estella's Revenge - Andi was, literally, the first book blogger I ever knew.  I had no idea book blogging was even a THING until I started reading her blog. Her recommendations are nearly always spot on for me, and I always love finding out what she's reading next. Her encouragement when I was just starting out helped me believe I could really do this.

Amy from My Friend Amy - Amy was one of the first blogs I started reading on a regular basis, and was immediately welcoming and kind to this newbie. We bonded over a shared love of Supernatural, and I grew to respect her immensely when I had the chance to work with her on BBAW two years ago. I've never met anyone as kind or gracious.

Heather from Raging Bibliomania - Heather was one of the first people who actually started reading MY blog - reading and commenting, no less! She always makes me feel like she truly values my opinion, and that my reviews are something of substance. She is incredibly encouraging, and I appreciate that she has stuck with me, even though things have been a bit hit-or-miss around here lately!


I could go on and on, but these three ladies are great examples of the kinds of people you can meet in the book blogging community - three of the best! Thanks for making this so much fun for me - if you are reading this, thanks to you, too!

Make sure you stop by the BBAW main page to see more of the bloggers we want to brag about!