A-Z Reflections


I had a surprising amount of fun with my first A-Z Challenge! It made me remember why I started a book blog in the first place: so I could give my opinion on bookish subjects, to people whether they wanted my opinion or not! My blog had grown a bit stagnant lately, I was growing bored with memes and there was a lot of time lapse between reviews. I felt unsure of myself. The A-Z Challenge made me realize that I don't need to wait for a book to review or meme to schedule; if I have something on my mind, post it and someone will read it.

It also got me a little more exposure as my follower count has doubled, and I'm hoping they will continue to follow (and interact with me) now that the challenge is over. I've also found some great blogs that I otherwise never would have seen, and added to the list of blogs I want to read more from.

With that let me take a moment to share the love and list my newest reading material:


I also want to give a special shout-out to the following blog: Tiny House Homestead, who I am also newly following. Although not a participant of a A-Z Challenge, the author kindly let me use a photo from her blog as a reference in one of my posts.

I do admit one aspect of this challenge was disappointing: not everybody I visited and commented on, felt obligated to visit and comment back. I was also surprised that people who did take the time to comment didn't necessarily leave clear link backs to their own blogs; turning the blog hop into a scavenger hunt. But given the increase in comments and followers alike, I've chalked it up to people being too busy or uninterested in my subject matter... It happens, it's not the end of the world.

If anything, the non-commenters made me very grateful to those who were consistently interacting; by Z = Zombie, I was very proud to find not a single letter was missed and my following was still expanding.

 Which brings me to say:
Thank you for stopping by; thank you for your comments, words of encouragement, and book reccs! And really, really thank you so much for deciding to stick around!
I also want to acknowledge the sheer size of the experience because it gave me something incredibly beautiful to observe: Smart, creative minds at their finest and kindest, on an international level. I was seeing blogs from places like Switzerland, Australia, and India from people who were devout Catholics, Mormon, and Muslim about farm living, city living, and just living (among other things,lol)... And all these people were managing to do the same exact thing for 26 days without conflict.

If I was on Twitter I would pair AZ Challenge with #faithinhumanityrestored... But since I'm not on Twitter, maybe one of you fine people can help me out.

 Peace, Love, and Books!

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 4, 2015 at 4:12 PM

    I am one of your new followers and appreciate this reflection you have shared. If you have time to read mine, you will see that we shared some of the same thoughts. Part of the fun of the challenge is opening up a new link to find a blog with promise and deciding to follow along. Looking forward to being your blogging friend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Idea-ist @ GetLostinLitMay 4, 2015 at 11:18 PM

      It was almost always a surprise too, when the link opened, and you learned what the blog was about. So many different subjects, with so many people passionate about them...

      And thank you for following my blog!

      Delete
  2. Susan Gourley/KelleyMay 5, 2015 at 11:10 PM

    I'm so glad you had a great experience. I had some days when none of the new blogs I commented on visited me back and I tried to hit between thirty to sixty each day. Hope you'll join again next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Idea-ist @ GetLostinLitMay 6, 2015 at 12:19 AM

      Where did you find time to read 30 new blogs a day, never mind 60? I thought I was doing good hitting 5-10 a day... But that's a bit disheartening, that in 60 blogs no one could comment.
      I will definitely be joining again next year!

      Delete
  3. UnknownMay 6, 2015 at 12:45 PM

    Hello! Just discovered your blog a little late in the game, but congrats on finishing your first challenge! It was my first one as well =) Looking forward to reading more of your posts in the future.

    ReplyDelete
  4. B~NatrelleMay 8, 2015 at 1:02 PM

    Hello there.
    Congratulations on completing the challenge!
    Commenting or lack thereof was one of the gripes in my reflections post too. I fully understand life gets in the way and stuff happens to grind us to a halt, but I also believe that if you've made a commitment to something, then let your yes mean yes and your no, no. Some of the bloggers I've already visited along the way actually wrote that they had no intention of visiting/commenting, which defeats the whole purpose of the challenge and in my humble opinion just comes off as being somewhat selfish! I've managed to visit 450+ blogs so far and I will continue to make my way around the original list until I reach the end...that's just me.
    I'm glad you had fun. Thanks for sharing.

    Entrepreneurial Goddess

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Idea-ist @ GetLostinLitMay 9, 2015 at 4:01 PM

      In some cases it was almost like some people decided the blog hop was strictly for their own exposure and marketing strategy, and everyone else was just there to applaud. It is supposed to be a social event; if someone comments on your blog, at the very least thank them for stopping by. If they leave a clearly visible link to their own blog, visit it and say something...

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  5. Mary BMay 10, 2015 at 11:23 PM

    Congrats on completing the A to Z Challenge! Looking forward to next year! See you on the Road Trip!

    Mary @ Jingle Jangle Jungle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Idea-ist @ GetLostinLitMay 13, 2015 at 12:39 PM

      Thank you!

      And I love the name of your blog, it's fun to say!

      Delete

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