Last month I posted a discussion about blogger guilt and there were still several things I wanted to talk about, so here’s part two! 

Based on comments left on the first post and conversations I’ve had with several of you, here’s some more reasons we feel guilty. 

We don’t always have the time to read every single post our bloggers friends publish. 

I’m sure most of you are like me and follow many other book bloggers, it’s part of the fun! You guys are my go to people for recommendations and I value your opinions so very much. If Annie at The Misstery raves about a book, I know it’s worth checking out. Or if Renee at It’s Book Talk says she read a book she thinks I would like, I listen. Then there’s Chelsea at The Suspense is Thrilling Me who is basically my reading soul mate, if she offers to mail or swap books with me, I’m in. I could go on, there are so many of you guys that I trust implicitly, but my point is that there are SO many of us and commenting on every single post that everyone you follow shares is totally unrealistic. I sometimes post three times in one day and that’s just ME. I would rather have you take the time to comment on a review of mine that you really wanted to rather than just comment because you feel obligated. 

We feel like we have to post something every single day. 

I’m guilty of posting daily, but not because I feel like I have to. I read so much that I need to share a review almost daily in order to keep up with myself. I don’t like being behind on my reviews because I’m afraid I’ll forget what I wanted to say about the book and how it made me feel so I write a review within hours of finishing the book. But no one should feel like they have to have some sort of content daily, that’s crazy. I would much rather follow someone who posts something of value once a week or month than someone who posts half assed garbage five times per day. It’s YOUR blog, post as much or as little as you want. 

Social Media 

A few people said they felt guilty for not having social media accounts for their blog and while I do and feel that it’s a great tool for me, it’s not a requirement, in fact nothing is. While I love me some Twitter it is a huge time suck and I can totally understand why some people don’t want to go down the rabbit hole. I’ve seen several other bloggers take social media free days or weeks and while it’s tempting to me, I know it only works when I’m on vacation. I’m addicted, first step is admitting, right?! My point is, if you have SM for your blog, great, if you don’t, that’s fine too. I love Instagram and am in awe of so many beautiful accounts (do y’all follow Crime by the Book? #goals 😍) but I know my pictures are so amateur and I’m lucky more than five people follow me, but I actually have fun taking the few pics a week I share there, it should all be for fun! 

Personal TBR 

I hate this as well, we all have stacks of books to review, but what about all of those awesome books that we bought on Amazon or the cute, local bookstore? They’re patiently waiting and we have to keep ignoring them to keep up with review copies. I’ve been thinking about taking a month off of review copies/blog tours in July solely so I can focus on my personal TBR only. Wouldn’t it be nice to casually grab a book to read? Or read something that you’re totally in the mood for? Some of you may already do this and I bow down to you, I however have dug myself a hole so deep I may never get out. If anyone is interested in the month off thing let me know, maybe we could make some sort of challenge?

Reading Slumps

Ahh the dreaded slump! I haven’t hit one yet since I started my blog, but I know plenty of people who have and I’m always scared it’s coming on for me. What do we do when we can’t find a book to draw us in? What if you committed to a tour and you just can’t get into the book? Well, here’s what I would do. If it’s for a tour I would immediately contact whoever is organizing it and let them know the book just isn’t working for you at this time. Most likely they will arrange for you to participate in another way, maybe an excerpt, a q & a or a guest post. If it’s early days they can probably find someone else to fill your spot. But I know they aren’t looking for a negative review and no one should expect you to force yourself to read something you don’t like. As for getting over the actual slump? Do something else. Binge watch movies or TV, take a walk, exercise and come back to a different book another day. But above all else, don’t feel badly about it! 

Personal obligations 

I’m super guilty of this, I always feel bad about the time I spend doing something blog related and how it may be taking away valuable time with my family. I have three kids and a husband and one of my kids is special needs. I don’t get out much and I don’t do a whole lot just for me and reading/blogging is truly my escape from reality. I swear some days it’s saves me from going insane, I know that sounds over dramatic but it’s true. I try and do most of my blog stuff when my family is otherwise occupied but there are times when they’re not. I really try not to beat myself up too much about this because I need something that is all my own, for my kids sake and my own. 

Again, I could keep blabbing but I don’t want to put you all completely to sleep! 

Can you relate to any of these? Do you have other reasons you feel guilty? How do YOU overcome those guilty feelings?