BBAW Day Three--Book Blogging Love

I am really late with this and I do apologize, but better late than never I guess.  I'm not going to rehash what I say every year because I think everyone that knows me knows that I love the sense of community that we have among book bloggers.  This year I want to take it a step further and show some love for some of the things that bring us together as a community.  That would be read-a-thons, blog events, and reading challenges.  Three years ago, when I first started this blog, the only read-a-thons I remember being around were Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon (which I credit with starting it all with the read-a-thon phenomenon...thank you, Dewey!) and the Thankfully Reading Weekend.  Nowadays, it seems there is a read-a-thon almost every week, and mine are some of them.  Not that I'm complaining! Every day is a read-a-thon for me. ;O)  And then we have reading challenges.  Oh my goodness! Every year around this time, the reading challenges for the next year start rolling out.  I can never resist signing up for them.  They're so clever and, well...challenging.  Mixed in throughout the year we have the other fun challenges.  Carl's Once Upon a Time and Readers.Imbibing.Peril, Fall into Reading and Spring Reading Thing (which somehow I missed this year) at Callapidder Days, Bloggiesta, and so many others.  And reading/book-related events like all the fun Halloween events and Christmas events like Book Blogger's Holiday Swap.  And, of course, BBAW and Armchair BEA.  I know I've missed some, I'm sure, but you get my point.  We are a community of joiners, but not in a bad way.  We're joining like-minded individuals and doing something we love almost more than anything (not more than our kids, spouses, pets, I would think...I hope...LOL!).

I alone host many events each year.  I host four seasonal read-a-thons a year.  I finally had to create a dedicated blog, Seasons of Reading.  I host three perpetual and one long-term reading challenge.  Plus, a Christmas Reading Challenge every year and a Halloween event on my horror blog, Castle Macabre and a Christmas event (and Christmas in July) at my Christmas blog.  And I hosted a write-a-thon in August.  The rest of the year alone, I'm hosting my FrightFall Read-a-Thon, the event, Season of the Witch and Witchy mini-reading challenge (at Castle Macabre), another write-a-thon in November (and I'm proposing a review book read-a-thon as well), and my Christmas Reading Challenge and Sharing the Joy event at my Christmas blog, The Christmas Spirit.  People are always asking me how I do it (I'm a mom, I work from home, I'm working on a novel) and some probably wonder why too.  I'll tell you why.  It's not to gain followers or even for any sense of recognition.  I just love the sense of community that's involved with book-related events and I have met some of the most wonderful people.  That's what makes it worthwhile for me.  That's what book blogging means to me.