Second blog anniversary giveaway and thoughts

It's the second anniversary, or blogoversary, of my book blog today! 

Do help yourself to a little birthday bun!

Thank you for visiting, reading, commenting, tweeting, supporting the blog in any way that you might have. I appreciate it very much indeed. It's amazing to think the blog has now been going for two years; two years of putting together posts, mostly reviews, and usually three or four of these per week at least. I have discovered many other wonderful blogs and bloggers during this time, some also quite new, and many which have been established for longer. I'm so glad of the kindness and support that so many within the book blogging community and the wider book/writing community have shown to me. Thank you to all my lovely guest reviewers and to the authors who have been kind enough to be a guest on my blog too.

***Thanks to everyone who has helped me pass the 100,000 page views mark just last week! This has far exceeded my expectations and it is your support that keeps me going!***

I have been thinking a lot about blogging recently. How much I enjoy aspects of it, and how some aspects of it have caused me to worry and almost taken over my life at times, to the detriment of other things. There's been a lot of time spent thinking I must read a certain book by a certain date. I always try and honour my commitments and I feel bad when I miss something. I put a lot into every review I write, in terms of time and thought on the wording, and notes whilst reading the book.


I do love the blog and definitely want to keep blogging and reviewing. I am so grateful for the many books I have had the opportunity to read and/or hear about, that I might not have otherwise. The delight of receiving an envelope addressed to The Little Reader Library, so special. I want to support authors as much as possible. 


Reading is a joy that has helped me at very difficult times. The more books and blogs I've read, the more books and authors I've discovered too. I love reading crime novels, but also literary fiction, and historical novels, and translated fiction, and... sometimes I think if my tastes were narrower it would be easier! I read blogs which are focused on just one genre or area and wonder if I ought to have done that sometimes, but I like to reflect on the blog the fact that I enjoy reading a variety of books.


I also find myself looking at the many books I would dearly love to read for pleasure and not because they have been sent to me as a review request and are coming out on a certain date and I feel I have to. Reading was a relaxation, a pleasure, a support and an escape, and I feel I need to get that feeling back more. I have learned that for my own health I need to say no more, something that when you first start and are excited and if you are prone to wanting to please, isn't always easy to do.


This is something else that I feel I have finally learned, partly through the wise words of fellow bloggers who are stronger and/or more experienced than me. There shouldn't be a feeling that it is like a demand to blog and review in order to please others. Blogging for most of us starts off as an enjoyable hobby and it is a shame when/if it becomes more like a demand and becomes onerous, indeed when reading itself becomes onerous, after all we are not being paid.  


So I hope, and intend, to read more books that I have long been wanting to read and enjoy, as well as reading newer releases, but I would like to be kinder myself and not feel the stress and worry of trying to please others, because I am learning that this isn't fulfilling in any case. I hope this doesn't sound like a big moan, it wasn't my intention at all.  


I would also like to put more time into giving my own writing a try. Lack of confidence stops me; there have been so many occasions when I have aimed to sit down and write and I don't get there because I know how quick I will be to judge myself - this is something I need to conquer. 


Deep breathe, and enough of my thoughts just now. On to the fun part. 

To celebrate the second anniversary of the blog, I am also having a giveaway!

The giveaway prize for the winner is one book of your choice from the following eight reads which I recommend, all of which have been reviewed here on my blog - titles are linked to my reviews:

Defending Jacob by William Landay

Last Will by Liza Marklund

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth

The Library of Unrequited Love by Sophie Divry

Human Remains by Elizabeth Haynes

The Uninvited Guests - Sadie Jones

The Street Sweeper - Elliot Perlman

After the Fall - Charity Norman

How to enter:

Please enter using the Rafflecopter form below.

The giveaway is open worldwide to places the Book Depository delivers free to - see the list here.

I will contact the winner by email as soon as the giveaway is closed, and the winner will need to reply to me within 48 hours. If I don't hear from them I will have to draw another winner, and the initial winner will forfeit their prize.

The giveaway ends on April 1st 2013. The winner will be selected at random.

Thank you again and good luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway