This Top Ten Tuesday is a bit different to the others! Instead of a list of ten books, it's a list of ten reasons that I love them (or blogging about them). I've been a bit more organised and have already planned this post, so I've managed ten this time (five for each) instead of the pitiful seven that I came up with last time! Without further ado, my top ten:
Why I Love Blogging
1. Writing is and always has been something that I enjoy. Ever since I was young, I used to love completing the little writing tasks that school would set us, and I would make up stories a lot in my head, grabbing the nearest piece of paper to write them down on. Looking back on them now, they wouldn't make a lot of sense but it is a skill that I have developed and enjoyed over the years. Blogging allows me to do it every day and get lots of practice in!
2. Blogging makes me feel productive. I am definitely a procrastinator at heart. I have always required a lot of self-motivation to perform even the simplest of tasks and it's a trait about myself that often depresses me. But since I started this blog up nearly a month ago, I have felt much better about myself as a person and I've had much clearer focus. I've been able to say 'If I can make time to write at least one post a day, perhaps I can finish this essay along with it'. These last three weeks have probably been the most productive of my life and I plan for it to continue.
3. I love taking part in challenges. It was one of the reasons I set up this blog, the challenges always look so fun! I started on some as soon as I felt comfortable and haven't looked back. I'll probably enter many, many more as the year goes on. It's that focus thing again, it keeps me being productive and enjoying the prospect of writing blog posts (like this one) for each challenge!
4. Blogging cheers me up. Even when I have had a truly awful day, I find that blogging about it and venting my frustrations helps me put things in perspective. I often remember that good things have happened as well as the bad, something that can often be forgotten when you feel like the world is set against you. Blogging provides my 'silver lining' if you will and helps me let go of all those horrible, negative feelings by typing them away. Strange but true!
5. Following other blogs. Now this isn't technically a 'what I enjoy about blogging' but it is what I enjoy about the blog community. The prospect of reading words from like-minded people who enjoy the same things that I do. And boy does it feel good when someone follows me! It's nice to give that feeling back to someone by giving them a follow, so that they know you care about what they painstakingly write!
Why I Love Reading
1. Being engrossed in a good book. Writing isn't my only passion. Reading is something that I have loved for years and years, and until recently, I almost gave it up completely because I felt I had no time. But since this blog I have rediscovered that feeling, how much I enjoy just taking an afternoon to sit with a good book and get lost in it.
2. Shopping for books. I think that this is one of my most favourite activities. Shopping generally bores me, unless it's for books. The quietness of bookshops makes me happy, and I love the smell of them. Scanning the shelves for a cover or title that catches your attention. Just the feeling of knowing that all of these books could be yours, that you are one step away from owning any of them that you choose is thrilling to me. I love it.
3. Relating/Escaping. I always find that the best books are either those that allow you to escape from your own world into a completely different person's, or those that allow you to relate to a character's situation and remember that you aren't alone. That any author has the power at their fingertips to give you that feeling, to touch you emotionally, is an extraordinary thing and one that I find quite freeing.
4. Learning. I don't just enjoy reading Fiction. I have found that I enjoy learning about topics that interest me via books, rather than just looking them up on the internet. Non-fiction books fascinate me in so many ways, the amount of research and dedication that has gone into them is amazing.
5. Being inspired. Books with great story-lines, captivating characters and penned in a wonderful style are often very inspiring to me. If I ever face writer's block, sometimes just reading a good story is enough to dig me back out of it again!
There we have it. My top ten reasons for enjoying blogging and reading. Next week's topic is an interesting one, 'Top Ten Rewind'. I can go back and pick from any previous Top Ten subjects that I didn't get to do (there is a list). I cannot wait. I have so many ideas for this next post that here's hoping a week goes quickly!
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