How reviewing has made me grow as a reader!

So to those of you who have been reading my blog this last week, you know I am fairly new at this whole book blogging thing. I saw so many amazing blogs around me, discussing books, giving them away, sharing the love, and I decided that I wanted to be a part of that too! I couldn’t believe how many new books I discovered just from following these blogs. (See my journey into YA here if you want to know how that happened.)

My two loves, books…and yarn.

Right before that, I had set a goal for myself for 2010. My goal was to read and review 20 books for the year. Why only 20 you ask? Well, last year I didn’t do very much reading at all. Books and I fell into a breakup period because I was so involved in so many other things and I didn’t know how to balance them! So, December came around and I promised myself I would figure things out. I set myself some goals, and off I went!

Oh did it work, now I read up a storm. In fact, I’ve been reading faster than ever. But I ramble.

Anyway the point of this post is how reviewing has made me grow as a reader. I realized that now I am reading not just to enjoy the story, but I notice things like character growth and climaxes. I find myself enjoying stories more in fact because I can break them down and appreciate every little part.

That…and I used to be a 5 star giver. Yup, one of those notorious people who rated everything fabulous? Reviewing has taught me to look at the story as a whole, and think deeply about it before I give it a rating. It’s also taught me how to decide who to recommend it to. In whole, it’s taught me a lot!

So to those great book blogs who I strive to emulate…thanks. I appreciate it, and I hope my readers here know that I do my best to be honest and keep you entertained. You are appreciated too!