Today is a very big day in the history of The Blue Bookcase -- it was one year ago today that our first post went up.
One year ago, I found myself suffering from a hobby of reading constantly as well as being enrolled in several literature classes at once -- the combination of which lead to a habit of forgetting books -- from character names to what I thought of the book to sometimes whether I had read the book at all! Not good.
And so I began The Blue Bookcase, which became a pet project of mine to help me to (1) remember the books I had read and (2) exchange recommendations with some of my bookish college friends.
We have grown so much and come a long way since my first sheepish post a year ago.
~ We started with different writers than we have today -- in fact, I, Connie, am the only surviving original writer (though Liesl will still post occasionally, and we love it when she does). Ingrid joined our ranks early on and has obviously thrived here, and then as you know, several months ago we auditioned and selected some new writers -- Christina, Meagan, and Lucia.
~ A year ago, we averaged a mere 15 hits a day (and let's be honest, most of them were from us). Today, we average from 120-250 hits a day, with readers from 6 continents and 116 countries.
~ I distinctly remember the first time I received an email in our inbox soliciting a book review -- I was so excited; we had earned recognition as a legitimate book review blog. Now, our inbox is flooded with review requests, and we turn down at least 90% of them.
~ We have gained quite a following, with 387 followers through Google Connect, 714 Twitter followers, and 525 who subscribe to our RSS feed.
~ Last March, we reviewed:
- Dead Man Walking by Helen Prejean
- My Enemy's Cradle by Sara Young
- The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
- Dave Barry Slept Here by Dave Barry
- Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser
- Middlemarch by George Eliot
- In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
- I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley
- Paradise by Toni Morrison
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (Ingrid's first post here at tBB)
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
- Paint it Black by Janet Fitch(guest review)
To date, we have reviewed 113 titles of mostly literary fiction, ranging from antiquity to Advanced Review Copies of books yet to be published.
In short, the Blue Bookcase has come a long way since its humble beginnings, and today we celebrate that. We are excited that we have made it this far, and we look forward to all the growth in our future! Happy anniversary!
~~Connie and all of us at the Blue Bookcase
