Update Alert! I posted about My Bookswap Club and other book swaps recently (here). At the last minute, I purchased My Bookswap Club’s 2018 Christmas box and was pleasantly surprised when I opened it. Along with a book and bookmark, I received a scented candle, bath soap, fuzzy socks, a book nerd pin, and Godiva candy. Quite a haul!
Need a gift? Keep this in mind for next Christmas or any other year-end holiday celebration. These boxes make a great gift for a book-loving wife, girlfriend, mother or daughter. I jumped at the chance to buy myself a present at the last minute this year and was glad I did.
For anyone new to blogging and who wants to blog about and review books, The Book Blogger Platform, by Barb Drozdowich, gives a solid overview of the main blogging platforms. The book is aimed at those who are not totally tech savvy. Ms. Drozdowich discusses WordPress and Blogger, the two most popular blogging platforms. She discusses the posts, plugins, gadgets, widgets and sidebars that are part of every blog. Also discussed are backing up your blog and monetizing it.
Since this book focuses on book blogging, Ms. Drozdowich discusses where and how to get books about which to blog. Netgalley and Edelweiss are mentioned as prime sources from which to request advanced reader copies (ARCs) and as places to post reviews.
Book bloggers can also guest post on blogs of other book reviewers/bloggers. Other sites to post book reviews are GoodReads, LibraryThing, and Booklike. Ms. Drozdowich is also a proponent of posting to the major social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube and Instagram.
Overall, this book is a good overview of how blogging software works, where book bloggers can find ARCs and suggestions for other places to review books and get your name out there.
A few months ago, I found a new social media app focusing on books. It’s a great app for readers, writers and book bloggers. Readers interact about what they’re reading and find new writers they like. New writers can interact with avid readers and build up a readership.
While mainly a mobile app for smartphones and tablets, there is a website that gives a short overview: http://www.litsy.com.