Photo by Sandra

Sunday was the 6th month anniversary of Book Club Classics and then, happily, Darren from ProBlogger declared Monday as “Blogger Appreciation Day.”  The timing couldn’t have been better since my blog would not have been possible without much, much help from many other bloggers.  So, I would like to thank a handful of my blogging angels today and then share my favorite posts from the past 6 months.

First, my friend and teacher, Joe, taught me what a blog is and spent many Sundays helping me get started — he is a kind and patient soul and without him this website and the joy it has brought me would not have been possible — or so much fun!

Next, my friend Anna taught me about Google reader and led me to many wonderful lit blogs.  She may not have her own site yet, but she is a blogger at heart.  She has also been extremely supportive and helpful at every stage.

I have to start my blogging thank yous with Skelliewag, ProBlogger, Copyblogger, and Seth Grodin.  Daily I learn ways to improve my blog and wish I had more time to devote to following their advice.  When I started, I couldn’t believe the sheer volume of extremely valuble, free advice available and “thank you” really doesn’t cut it…

On to my specific niche…  sort of…  Initially, I was lost in the “big dogs” — Papercuts, The Elegant Variation, Critical Mass, The Millions – and while I loved keeping abreast of what was going on in the publishing world, I didn’t realize until recently just how much of a community blogging can be when you truly find your specific niche. 

Thankfully, Mrs. S from 50 Book Challenge left a comment on one of my posts, which led me to her site, which led me to others, including The Sunday Salon and Booking Through Thursday – which have introduced me to countless great litblogs.  A handful that I particularly enjoy:  Bloody Hell, It’s a Book Barrage, Books on the Brain, The Hidden Side of a Leaf (who just celebrated her 1 year anniversary!), and Hey Lady, Whatcha Reading?

And a special thank you to Book Club Girl and Book Club Buzz for allowing me to guest post on their sites.

Now, on to my anniversary!  As an serendipitious gift, I received a review of my blog from Copywriting Maven (another thank you!!), which I had requested, filled with many great insights and ideas for how to improve my blog.  I look forward to spending a lot of time implementing these tips this week while in Phoenix (in between reading the four books I’ve packed, of course). 

One persistent piece of advice I have received from many sources is that the classic kits are really better suited for the classroom, which makes sense since that was my domain for fifteen years.  So, I look forward to starting a second blog this summer and moving those kits to their new home.  I still think the classics are great choices for book clubs, but they seem to take a back seat to the fresh, new voices of fiction and deserve their own forum. 

Another persistent piece of advice is to work on the clutter factor with regard to the kit pages.  Last, I think I might be posting too often… 

So, in the spirit of New (half) Year Resolutions, I will be consolidating my current posting schedule into the following:

Monday — Best Book Club Books for Discussion (same as before — it’s one of my most popular posts of the week)

Tuesday and Wednesday — No post (if I can keep myself from my computer…)

Thursday — Booking Through Thursday (so fun… and hopefully thought-provoking…)

Friday — 50 States, 50 Books (formerly on Thursdays)

Saturday — Literary Roundup

Sunday — Sunday Salon / What I’m Reading (formerly on Wednesdays)

Now, I’ve tried cutting back before to no avail.  So, we’ll see if this is possible… 

But, since I have been a posting fool for 6 months, here’s what I consider to be my favorite post from each month:

• October — What Constitutes a Classic?
• November — A Little Bit Better
• December — 5 Ways to Bring Out the Best in Your Book Club
• January — Boulders into Pebbles
• February — Stop Teaching the Classics!
• March — 50 States 50 Books list (maybe not a great “post” but I just love this series…)

So, what are my goals for the next 6 months, other than starting the classic kits site?  Well, I would like to de-clutter this site further, participate even more with the new community of readers I’ve discovered, become even more “insanely useful” (in the words of Leo, the great blogger from Zen Habits) to book clubs, participate in a carnival, and simply try to do what I’m already doing, a little bit better. 

Thank you for reading!!

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