It's my bloggiversary!

Well, this one's a milestone I would never have expected to happen. I started this blog (after two previous attempts at other hosting sites) on June 6, 2006. Before I began blogging, my friend Andi nudged me for at least a year or two and I resisted because I thought I would be basically writing into the void. Who would want to read my thoughts about books? 

What followed, when I finally settled into a site that functioned, was rather a shock. Not only did people show up to read my reviews, but there was a beautiful community aspect to blogging that I absolutely adored (and still miss). Plus, authors and publicists found my blog and showered me with books. 

Some things I've done over the years: 

1. Started a challenge called the Chunkster Challenge but decided I didn't care for hosting a challenge and passed it off to another blogger. 

2. Accepted loads of books for a while and then became more discriminating, and finally gave up on reviewing for publishers entirely to read primarily from my home library shelves. 

3. Made friends with readers, authors, and publicists. 

4. Met up with other bloggers and a few authors, sometimes traveling specifically to meet them and sometimes getting together when I happened to be nearby. Probably the most notable of these was our trip to Japan to hang out with Nat of In Spring It Is the Dawn (no longer extant) as I would undoubtedly never have gone to Asia otherwise. 

5. Went from writing lengthy, detailed reviews and frequent posts to my current habit of posting shorter, monthly reviews in a single post. 

6. Went through quite a few phases as a mother with children at home, the mother of college age children and then mother of the groom (twice), and now a grandmother to two lovely girls. I've also experienced quite a bit of loss during my blogging years as my mother and 3 of our cats have returned to stardust. 

7. Learned and grown and read a lot of books, many of which I would never have thought to read if I hadn't been offered a copy or read about them on other folks' blogs. I think this is what I appreciate most besides the friendships: the expanding of my horizons in ways that would definitely not have happened without blogging.

So many good things to remember!

Also, I guess this is my Chocolate Bloggiversary because the husband/chef was asked to bake a cake for me to photograph with numbered candles and he chose chocolate. It seems fitting. Chocolate is special and so is a 2-decade milestone. 

To those who have continued to read my blog, leave comments, and maintain friendships away from blogging — THANK YOU! I appreciate you! I don't know how long I'll continue to write monthly blog posts but at this point I'm happy. I especially love it when someone takes the time to comment. On to whatever the future holds!

And, now, a note on the past. 

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the 82nd anniversary of D-Day, which also falls on June 6. I am grateful to all who risked and sacrificed their lives to fight fascism. May we honor their memories by crushing the rising fascism in our own nation. 

Love and Happy Reading to All!

Bookfool

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