Summer Says: The Types of (Book) Bloggers

So I am completely aware that this type of discussion post has been done so many times, yet I still wanted to release my own version of it. I was first inspired by Aentee’s post on the same topic in July 2015, which you can check out here. Instead of only generalizing types of bloggers, which Aentee has already done wonderfully, I wanted to also share a part of my brain and how I categorize fellow bloggers I’ve gotten to get to know this past year. Now this portion of the idea is piggybacking off of Joey’s usual blogger shout-out type of posts that he occasionally releases on his blog.

The only flaw to these is that unfortunately I can’t include everyone I’ve interacted with. So I’m terribly sorry if you were left out this time. If you want to know where you belong in my brain (that sounded ultra weird) please just let me know in the comments and I’ll sort you out. 😉

So with no further ado, let’s do this!

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The Squad

These are the ones that started their blogs relatively around the same time you did and have stuck with you since. They were the first users that you interacted with via your blog, you guys learned the ropes to blogging together, and it’s likely you’ll be celebrating blogiversaries back to back if not the around same time. You can think of them as a steady support group and the “first friends.”

• Erika at Erika in Bookventureland
• Poulami at Daydreaming Books
• Trisha at The Bookgasm

The Eloquent, Introspective Critics

These are the people that make you wonder if you rated a book correctly/incorrectly (yes, I know, there is no right or wrong opinion) because their reviews often make you see a book in a different light than your own. Often times their reviews are long, thorough and thought provoking. Some may see these people as their “go to” reviewers because of their consistent balance between objectivity and subjectivity.

• Chooi at Read, Think, Ponder
• Eliana (and Lydia) at The Written Opinion

The Creative Networkers

These are the bloggers that aren’t afraid to go out of their comfort zones to create blog features, host blogging events and twitter chats. They’re extremely interactive with the rest of the blogosphere and book community, and sometimes you may see them as the discussion post kings and queens.

• Aentee at Read at Midnight
• Josie at Josie’s Book Corner

The Ranters

(I totally mean this in a good way.) These are the bloggers that excel at making negative reviews so enjoyable and pure entertainment for others. (Personally, I’m so not that type of reviewer; I’m the one that tiptoes around the word “hate” and, like, never uses profanity. So I really admire these bloggers for their honesty and directness.)

• Aimee at Deadly Darlings
• Joey at Thoughts and Afterthoughts
• Khanh at hergoodreadspagebecauseidkwhereelsetolinkherto

The Minimalists

These bloggers usually keep things short and sweet. They are able to express their thoughts in very few words with efficiency and effectiveness. (I’m also so not this type of blogger, heh.)

• Alex at Alextheshadowgirl’s Blog
• Becca at Becca and Books

The Dual Readers/Writers

Not only are these bloggers avid readers but they’re aspiring writers as well! They release snippets from their writings and writing advice. Often times their posting schedule wanes around NaNoWriMo. Some of them are what I call “volunteer publicists” (aka people that have close relationships with certain authors and may promote the books they love to the rest of us). Twitter may be an important platform to them.

• Alyssa at The Devil Orders Takeout
• Cait at Paper Fury (I’ve actually never talked to Cait before… But I’ve heard lots about her!)
• Wesaun at Books and Oreos

The Photographers

Basically the people you search when you want some #bookporn. Often times these are the folks that are behind why you buy so many impulse purchases or #bookcoverbuys. Instagram may be an important platform for them.

• Beatrice at Beatrice Learns to Read (IG: @beatricereads)
• Cherry at Read Forevermore (IG: @_forevermint)
• Jeanette at Myriad Inklings (IG: @myriadinklings)
• Kath at The Last Reader (IG: @kath_reads)
• Nicay The Nerdy Side of a Queen (IG: @thenerdysideofaqueen)

The Gif Users

These people will likely use their media up faster than you do because of the myriad of graphics-but it’s all worth it. They provide moving images (gifs) as humorous entertainment. Often times this will prompt tangents and fandom fangirl/fanboy sessions in the comments.

• Cristina at My Tiny Obsessions
• Raven at Dreamy Addictions

The Unique Formatters

I, honestly, don’t know how to explain this category other than say these reviewers are just different by the way they format their reviews. They have a distinct layout-that’s really eye catching and unique-that they follow, which I’ll leave in parentheses.

• Kelly at Dancing Through the Pages (white text for spoilers)
• Lauren at SERIESous Book Reviews (series reviews)
• Marie at Drizzle and Hurricane Books (lots of bold text interspersed throughout)

The Fast Readers

These are the readers that read extremely quick-several books in a week sometimes-and often find themselves reading faster than they can write reviews. (I know that they dislike hearing, “How do you read that fast?!” I’m often guilty of asking them this all the time.) It’s puzzling but  amazing that they can manage real life all the while seemingly to “read all the time.”

• Analee at Book Snacks
• Jenna at Reading with Jenna

The Fellow Fangirls/Fanboys

These are the users where you have several threads of conversations going because you both either have so much in common (being in the same fandoms, have the same opinions, etc) or just really click with just about anything (food, other entertainment aside from books, spending habits, etc).

• Carolyn at A Hundred Thousand Stories
• Thuong at I Read Therefore I Am

The Relatable

These are the people that are often your age and are just going through the same things in life as you are. (For me, these would be college students.) They usually have the same blogging cycles as you do. (For me, that’d be having hiatuses around exam times and sometimes releasing posts that discuss confusion/doubts about graduate school and our futures, etc.)

• Aimal at Bookshelves and Paperbacks
• Sydney at Books and Stuff

The Positive Ones

These bloggers are just super friendly and it always appears as if they have something positive to say. They occasionally blog hop and they may check in on you every so often. They also make it a point to stay updated on their friends’ blogs all the while juggling with other obligations (real life). And many times you can see evidence of their kind comments throughout the blogosphere. Usually they’re veteran bloggers (meaning they’ve blogged for a while and/or longer than you have).

• Becky at Blogs of a Bookaholic
• Jeann at Happy Indulgence
• Zoe at Stories on Stage

The Versatile Readers

These readers are very rare and are the ones that are pretty much game for any genre. Their blogs are probably the best place to get recommendations because they read and review a wide range of books, from graphic novels to all types of lit for many different targeted age groups. Many times these are booksellers and/or librarians-but, of course, they don’t have to be.

• Ashley at Dreamingthroughliterature
• Honya at Honyasbookshelf
• Kimberly at Come Hither Books

The Guys

And second to last but certainly not the least are the small percent of guys that book blog. (I think Joey makes it a point to point out that there are very few male voices in the bookish blogosphere. He’s right. I literally know only seven or so. And I’ve sort of unconsciously categorized all them together in my mind (but funnily enough I think all of the ones I mention are actually friends), heh. I always look forward to reading their opinions because they always have a fresh perspective on certain books (books with a female MC, romances, chick lit, etc). I could care less what the author identifies as… but for some reason I find all the guy bloggers’ perspectives fascinating?)

(Joey and Thomas should be here too, of course.)

• Jesse at Books at Dawn
• Liam at Liam’s Library
• Miguel at The Quirky Reader
• Shelumiel at Bookish and Awesome
• Trey at Trey Schnarr Books

The Senpais/Sunbaes/Model Bloggers

These are the bloggers that make you think, “Whoa, I’d like to be like them someday.” Often times they’re the inspirations behind why you began to blog. Perhaps, these are the bloggers you followed even before you started blogging yourself. It’s not about aspiring to become like them really but rather the idea that they inspire you.

• Alice at A Virtual Voyage (Asian Dramas-okay, so not really book related…)
• Michelle at The Innocent Lam (K-pop/Politics/Literature)
• Thomas at The Quiet Voice (Books/Life)

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Discussion Time!

• Can you identify yourself (or your blogger friends) with any of these categories? If so, what category/categories do you think you fall under?
• Have you noticed your blogging style has changed over time? How so?

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Alright, thanks for tuning in for this Summer Says post, everyone! Obviously, some of the bloggers overlap in categories but I tried organizing them only in one. Some of the categories even overlap. But I guess it can’t be completely perfect. And I know I somewhat created labels for book bloggers but I didn’t mean this to be offensive or presumptuous in any way. I only thought it’d be fun to share all these silly self-made cliques I’ve created in my mind… 🙂