Wednesday, September 9

Blog thoughts...

I've been back for a couple of weeks and have a few thoughts...

The Great Western Drive--is a great idea, it brings attention to books that are languishing on keeper shelves everywhere and by talking about them new readers/bloggers can find some great reads.  There needs to be a "break through" book that catches the attention of readers and publishers, maybe then westerns will take the place of paranormals or regencies or at least be equal to them in popularity.

Rosario still writes the best reviews--that says it all.  I've been blog hopping, visiting "new to me" bloggers and Rosario still rocks, and that's not because we have the same reading tastes.

Paranormals--Dear Author's Pioneers of Paranormals post yesterday reminded me that Paranormals have been around for quite a while and weren't invented with the abundance of vampire, werewolf and demon books that we encounter now.  You can find some great books listed over there all of which were written before this century :)

Gothics--there was a post about gothics at RtB the other day.  I love a good gothic and like westerns they need a "break through" book to catch readers attention.

Review Blogs--Holy Cow!!  I can't believe how many new bloggers writing reviews are out there.  I can't keep up, and to be honest I'm rather overwhelmed by them all.  I go to Kristie's to run her side bar and I'm having a hard time differentiating them.  I'm sure everyone has a different style and voice, but I'm not familiar enough with them yet.

A good smack in the head--besides writing great reviews and Wendy is quite good at passing out reality checks, but then she's always been good at that.

What is going on with all the category reviews?--I can not believe how many people are reviewing category romance these days.  Not a bad thing, but I don't remember them getting so much attention in the past.  Is Harlequin/Silhouette sending out more ARCs or did some of the bigger review sites realize they may have been poking fun at books that turned out to be good reads?  Wendy and Sybil... This is not directed at you ladies--you've been reviewing category romance forever :)

That's it for today, happy reading to all.

10 comments:

Wendy said...

Maybe more Harlequin reviews because of their digital presence? I know I read 98% of all my Harlequins digitally now, and I think their ready availability in e-format may have something to do with more blogs reviewing them now. Just a guess anyway.

And yeah - Rosario does rock. She is full of awesome.

Bob & Muffintop said...

I've really enjoyed reading your thoughts about how the romance blogosphere has evolved since you were last actively blogging. I love Rosario's blog- I've gotten a lot good reccs digging through her archives.

Tara Marie said...

Wendy--There you go, I didn't think of the digital thing.

Amanda--I'm sure if I went back and looked at what Rosario read over the last year I'd find a ton of stuff to add to my TBR pile.

Rosario said...

I think Wendy's right, it's probably about Harlequin's online presence. They seem to be way ahead of most of the other publishers in their ebook strategy. They make it EASY, imagine that! Not to mention, you actually get bonus stuff for ordering ebooks, like being able to get your ebooks a month before print readers get theirs. I really like having more reviews out there, I've got some really good recs (Sarah Mayberry, recommended by Jane, comes to mind).

And hey, you guys are making me blush :-D

Tara Marie said...

Rosario,

1. You shouldn't blush, yours is one of the few and I mean few blogs completely dedicated to reviews--I love that.

2. Good for Harlequin if they can make their digital presence strong and bring in readers that is great.

I don't have enough interest in digital yet, I guess I have to work on that. I hate my little bookman and need a real reader.

Rosie said...

Wendy and Rosario both come up in any conversation about blogger reviews. In fact we were telling some of the newer bloggers at RWA about Rosario and her killer spread sheet, weren't we SL?

It's hard to believe the genesis of the online community. I've been browsing since 2003 and actively blogging since 2005 and it's incredible the people out here now.

Tara Marie said...

Rosie--that's very true, Wendy and Rosario are both great reviewers. Rosario is ALL about the reviews, Wendy has a different blogging style, which is great.

sybil said...

I so need to blog hop more but when I first started to come back (I have been gone for a bit really, health stuff, moved home and net issues) I had a hard time getting my feet back under me.

TGTBTU never missed me, of course, because of the amazing reviewers and well... the phone *g*.

I adore more people are covering Harlequins! And would love for everyone to try them before 'hating them' just cuz. I think it has to do with their fab marketing people, their web presents and well the community does make it easier for people to say I read Harlequin.

Very glad Ro is back to reviewing, totally missed her while she was off getting a life and job.

Tara Marie said...

Sybil, I'm so sorry you've had health issues--hope you're doing better. And I'm sure TGTBTU missed you. It explains why I never see reviews by you in particular--I still the of the TGTBTU as Sybil instead of a bunch of reviewers.

sybil said...

LOL it is still 'sybil' prolly cuz I am a control freak. I had issues with seizures with lead to fun with meds! So I got to the point where I was much more mellow about things at the pond... now that I am feeling some what better and the net seems to be working... I hope to be back.

We will see. It is a comedy of errors, as soon as I fix one thing another screws up.