1 Year Blog Anniversary Q&A | Blogging Lessons, Personal Life and Books

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I can’t believe it’s been a full year since I started this blog! Welcome to my 1 year blog anniversary Q&A! 🥳

It’s been a weird and wonderful year for sure. Over the past 12 months, I’ve met some of my favourite people, discovered incredible bookish creators and had a great time building a community here. Thank you so much for deciding to give me some of your time and attention, it means a lot.

I thought I would follow in the footsteps of what seems to be somewhat of a tradition in blogging spaces and do a blog Q&A so you can ask me all your burning questions. I’ve collected them and sorted them into three categories: Blogging, Books and Personal and you can easily navigate the sections using the table of contents below.

Now let’s get to the questions…

Questions about Blogging

Kat from Life and Other Disasters asked…

What made you start the blog?

There’s multiple parts to this answer so I’ll try to make it short! Firstly, I simply missed blogging. I used to have a blog for all my creative writing back when I was a teenager and honestly, it was one of the most fulfilling and creative times in my life! Of course, my blog now isn’t focused on my own writing, but I’ve found the same joy and creativity in it nonetheless.

Secondly, I got back into reading over the past few years and started to join online bookish spaces! Around April last year, I decided to finally start a booktube channel (currently on hiatus) and also having a blog just felt like a natural addition. I wanted to be a part of this wonderful bookish community so here I am!

Finally, I had university deadlines to procrastinate. Now, why would someone start a rather big project with other looming deadlines on the horizon? Because they’re a little bit stupid, that’s why. I have a terrible habit of starting new projects or getting into TV shows in stressful times of my life because apparently, I’m not stressed enough? But the projects I choose myself are at least the good kind of stress…most of the time.

Can you see yourself doing this still in 10 years?

Totally! Hopefully, it’s going to look different as I and my reading tastes change, but I’d love to keep this going. I still have so many books on my TBR (and it will only keep growing) and there’s so much I have yet to learn about blogging and writing! So yes, I really hope that in 10 years bookshelfsoliloquies still exists and I have just as much fun as I do now.

Do you have blogging goals you’d like to achieve?

Not really, no. Maybe I should make some? Of course, there are always specific numbers I could reach for, but I’m not really a numbers person (they just don’t mean anything to my brain). I think my biggest goals are to keep this blog going consistently and try to always improve my work! I want to build a community and get special books into the hands of readers who need them and of course, share my love for all things death and forensic science. I’m not sure how to turn any of those very nebulous goals into something more tangible, so for now my blogging goals are just vibes, I guess! It’s certainly a work in progress.

Rachel from Let Me In the Library asked…

Who are your inspirations?

I don’t know if this was meant to be blogging specific or a general question, but I’m deciding to answer it about blogging so I can shout out some of my favourite bloggers!

• Sumedha from The Wordy Habitat – Sumedha consistently blows me away with her content, I absolutely love her blog’s design and vibe and I hope to one day be as knowledgeable as she is! She also might have slowly converted me to reading romance books…
• The Quiet Pond – this is one of my favourite blogs of all time, it’s so comfortable and full of magic and I am obsessed with the design and the world CW, Skye and Joce created. Their reviews are top-notch and always provide nuance and perspectives I wouldn’t necessarily have seen myself.
• Bianca from Your Words My Ink – Bianca is such a lovely human and her aesthetic is on point! Whenever I see one of her reviews pop up in my feed, I know I’m in for a good post.
• Lili from Utopia State of Mind – Lili is without a doubt one of the most prolific bloggers out there. I got so many great book recommendations from her and she was one of the first people I connected with on bookstagram! If you’re looking for someone who reads and reviews a lot, takes super creative and fun photos and does book inspired make-up looks, Lili is the person to follow!
• Kal from Reader Voracious – to me, Kal is a bit like the wise witch in the woods who always has an answer you seek. Her blog is so well structured (honestly goals) and her knowledge about all things blogging seems to be neverending. If there is a question you have, chances are Kal has a post answering it. I aspire to that level of valuable content and overall goodness.

Have you discovered anything surprising during this past year of blogging?

Honestly, I mostly surprised myself! I didn’t think I could blog consistently for over a year, but here we are! I wasn’t sure I’d find a place in this community (and tbh I am still searching a little) but everyone welcomed me with open arms.

Sumedha from The Wordy Habitat asked…

What’s your favourite post that you’ve written so far?

Unfortunately, I am absolutely terrible at choosing favourites of any kind so I’m choosing multiple (this is my blog Q&A, I make the rules).

• 5 Books to Read If You’re Into Forensic Science – this is the post that gets the most views consistently because apparently, it ranks decently in search results! I love death books and really want to write more posts about them this year. This is one of my favourites because it’s about one of my favourite topics and apparently, it’s a good post!
• How Audiobooks Saved My Year – this was the first more personal discussion post I wrote and I enjoyed it so much! I want to write more posts like it because personally, I love reading them on other blogs.
• Books My D&D Character Would Love – this is my most recent favourite purely because I wrote it for myself. I wasn’t sure if anyone else would care, but I was wrong! It’s one of the most creatively fulfilling posts I’ve written so far and brought me a lot of joy.

What part of blogging (the creation process) do you like the best?

It’s a tie between brainstorming and writing/editing for me! I love the creative rush of collecting ideas and figuring out how to make them real. But there’s something surprisingly special about turning that idea, a few notes or just a long rambly wall of text into a finished post! The act of cutting away and bringing out what I want a post to be has been one of my favourite parts of blogging.

Did you have expectations of blogging before starting and were you right/wrong?

I didn’t have any concrete expectations, none that I can remember at least. But I was definitely right to assume that growth would be slow, blogging is a marathon after all. I also know that that’s partly because I’m not doing the most in terms of SEO and marketing myself, but I just don’t care enough to find the energy to be honest!

I was also so so wrong about the community. Initially, I assumed blogging to be kind of lonely, I’m just screaming into the void here. And there are definitely moments when it does feel lonely, don’t get me wrong! But overall, this community has proven to be a beautiful space and I’ve made so many connections I value deeply. So I was definitely wrong about that one!

Related: Reflecting on One Year as a Book Blogger

Questions about Books

Which book do you identify with the most (and why?) – Cardi’s Corner

This is a book I haven’t talked much about on here. I wanted to write a review (or make it into an artsy video for my Booktube channel) but couldn’t find the words. The book is The Truth About Keeping Secrets by Savannah Brown. It’s a bit of a weird one, pitched as a YA thriller that, in my humble opinion, is much more of a poetic exploration of death, grief and obsession. It’s sapphic and dark and lonely and beautiful in all the right ways. And while I don’t share a lot of the protagonist’s experiences (like losing a parent), I did relate to her a lot.

The Truth About Keeping Secrets is a book that felt like it was written for me, Savannah Brown managed to put beautiful words to feelings I could never describe. I’ve only read it once and heavily annotated my copy, but I can’t wait to return to this special book one day.

Mori @MementoMorivv asked…

What was the first death book that got you into reading them more frequently?

It was Caitlin Doughty’s Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, which is still one of my favourites! It’s a memoir of her time working at a crematorium and how she came to start her own funeral home. It’s funny and sad and filled with what’s best described as “death trivia”. I read it after discovering her fabulous YouTube channel and was immediately hooked! And so, combined with my already existing interest in forensics, an obsession was born…

Seriously though, it’s a great book for anyone interested in death, the funeral industry or just memoirs by unusual people. It’s definitely one of my favourite memoirs by death professionals!

Favourite colour and some books that have that colour?

Purple! Let’s break up this rambly post with some nice book covers, shall we?

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Preferred genres, povs, writing style?

I love Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Mysteries but there are also quite a few Contemporary books I’ve really enjoyed! And of course, the death books, which isn’t really a genre but it is in my head! As for POVs and writing style, I’m not sure I have a preference? I do enjoy a book with multiple POVs, but that’s as specific as I get in my taste. Overall, I just assume that the author chose what fits their story best and while I might disagree, I can’t remember a book where it totally ruined my experience.

Random and Personal Questions!

What’s your favorite pizza topping? – Rachel

I’m a margherita kind of kid. Boring, I know. Basically, I just like simplicity and I like knowing what I’m gonna get and I have yet to find a pizza place that doesn’t do a decent pizza margherita, so I can’t go wrong with that choice!

Favorite dessert? – Kat

Anything that involves chocolate or cinnamon! I would probably die for Swedish cinnamon buns or some good mousse au chocolat.

What are your hobbies outside of bookish fun? – Rachel

I almost said writing, but I guess that’s still a bookish hobby! Other than that I enjoy all kinds of arts and crafts. I’ve been into bookbinding (whoops, bookish hobby again!), drawing, collaging, making friendship bracelets and other miscellaneous craft projects.

Additionally, I love dancing! I started doing ballet a few years ago and it’s one of my favourite things! Unfortunately, I haven’t been to class in over a year and it’s going to be a while before I can go back.

I’m also really into tarot cards and have started a small collection of decks despite only using one. Oh, and I love making videos, specifically editing! Because both my YouTube channels are currently on hiatus, I haven’t had much opportunity to flex my editing muscles outside of the occasional uni project, but I’m really excited to get back to it!

Thank you so much to the question-askers! And a big thank you to all of you for sticking with me for an entire year! I’m so happy to have reached this milestone, may there be many years to come!

Do you have any more questions for me? What has been the most surprising lesson in your blogging journey? How do you celebrate milestones?

I hope you have a lovely day,