I’m back with another grumble post! Another collection of mostly personal and technological criticisms that will hopefully help me get a grip and right the ship. I am quite a critical person most of the time so these posts are good for me to let off some steam. I really connected with other bloggers in my Vol 1 post and I think it was rather beneficial to collectively moan for a bit. Here is yet another list of my grumblings, pet peeves and self observations. Please enjoy the post and if you feel the same way about any of these then I would love to know!
WordPress Keeps Changing!
WordPress is a great site but it is constantly changing for the worse in my opinion. Like taking a literal age to save a post when you are in a rush or being unable to save at all. How it occasionally (and most helpfully) wipes a post if you happen to have it open on multiple devices. Or when they move a particular setting so I can’t find the one thing I need to change. I still technically have the Google+ button because I can’t find the section that allows me to uncheck it. And now the whole classic vs block debacle (I have wanted to use that word on this blog for ages) making my blog prep more work. Yes it is a free platform that is one of the best out there and it makes blogging much more connective experience but it does have points when it makes my life difficult.
Repetitive Content
I know what you are thinking! If content is an issue then be more creative, plan more interesting posts, conjure up meaningful impressions on important issues… you’re probably right. I will try harder but you have to admit that more you blog, the more you discuss, debate and acknowledge a chosen subject, the more elaborate your views become and it starts being harder to switch it out or freshen it up because you get set in your ways. I want to contribute more to the book industry but I need a major reset so I can look upon with a fresh set of eyes. Does anyone happen to have a neuralyzer? (please tell me you understand the reference!)
Not Attending More Book Events
I wish I could be more involved in actual book events. I get invited to them but I keep making excuses to myself about why I can’t go. I need to sort this out and start getting out there. There are so many events I would love to attend. I got invited to Bloody Scotland and several other book fests last year and I failed to go to them all. I definitely want to go to the Wigtown Book Festival and the Hay Festival too. I need to give myself a good talking too and start immersing myself in book celebration! (This was written pre-pandemic, but I am certainly motivated to get back out there once everything opens up again).
Slowing Down My Reading To Avoid Reviews
I go through phases with my reviews. Sometimes I am on a review high when my writing reflects my reading perfectly and I connect with the book even more when describing my experience. I love those stages. Then I have to contend with the opposite. Review anxiety is a real problem for me. I just feel nervous, unable to put the words together and I begin to worry that I am doing a book that I enjoyed a disservice. I end up taking forever to read a book because I am taking my time to avoid a review. Something I have to work on I guess!
Reading/Blogger Slumps
Some times I stop reading all together! I never used to get stuck in a slump. Now it seems like I get trapped in them all the time! I have written quite a bit about the subject in the past and it is all good advice but you can’t plan for life going awry. I told you this was more of a grumbling about myself more than anything! Slumps seem to hit harder each time they return and it takes a little more to fend them off. I think a good reshuffle of my TBR and blog might do the trick to re-infuse my mind with encouragement and obsession when it comes to tackling my list of books.
Blog Tour Fails
There are plenty of press contacts that are fantastic at keeping you in the loop right up until the start of a blog tour, and I am very grateful to the wonderful people. There are other people though, the forgetful or those who want to make you work for that spot on their tour. The contacts that forget to pass on specific and important details that deny bloggers the ability to post on time. I know you are busy! We all are! But not being able to post as part of a tour doesn’t only make us look bad but feel bad too. Yes I could easily chase up them myself but even then sometimes replies are even late or non-existent. I owe blog tours a lot but there people out there making them an unpleasant experience… please stop. (Luckily the people at Titan Books, Gollancz, Orenda Books and Simon & Schuster are beyond helpful).
People Talking Smack About Bloggers On Twitter
This one is quite self explanatory. You know who you are. The book community on Twitter is one of the best I have ever had the chance to be involved in. 99% of everyone are fantastic people who just want to share great books and have a laugh. 1% feel the need to put us in our place. There’s no need. We are just fine the way we are thanks.
I hope this post was cheerful enough for everyone :D. I do tend to complain a lot and it is starting to pour over into my blogging. If you are new to blogging then please be prepared to be frustrated a lot by things like this. Writing about books can be a rewarding and pleasant experience but like everything in life, there are downsides. For all those who are in my position, I would love to hear about your own blogger grumblings in the comments. I do these posts to get the complaints off my chest so I can focus on the great parts of blogging. I do love it really. I hope this post might resonate with you in some ways. Thanks for coming by!
Always Trust In Books 
yes wordpress has taken to changing things the last few years .As for blog reading slumps i tend to just steam on through pick a book i know i m going love or just a different post like a list books or music
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is great Stuart! WordPress is so annoying the way it keeps changing! I wish there was a warning button somewhere to let us know about it, so we could avoid the day or time they’re making changes.Like in the old days, when websites would let you know when planned maintenance was going to happen. Don’t get me on blog tour fails and even publisher fails without tours being involved. there are some publishers I’m going to avoid now because they don’t reply when I don’t reply to my emails. I mean, it can’t be that hard can it?
Hope you and the family are well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m with you regarding WordPress – I can struggle with it on a normal day. I still haven’t got it looking the way I want it to – like it once did!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This was great! I loved tour and still love it but now I feel like I can’t keep up and there are already too many books to read than sign for another one on tour and then I’m a forgetful person and not really organised as well. My daughter keeps me busy and sometimes it slips my mind that I was supposed to post on particular day. I’m not much involved on Twitter but it’s hard to find balance with reading, blogging, instagram, and twitter check.
I don’t have WP issue so far. I’m using block editor ever since it came for use. You can remove that button from widgets and if you have social menu from there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think most bookbloggers have felt the same way at one time or the other. I am not happy with all the changes to WordPress either, but like you say, it is free, so I guess we just need to grin and bear it. I am never caught up on my reviews. I try, but there are times I would rather just read. I love these rants, it lets me know I am not alone.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am still unable to handle block editor so I am sticking with classic editor till the end. Slumps are definitely one of my biggest disadvantages along with a sprinkle of other issues so yup I totally get you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Eugh, don’t even get me started on the WordPress changes! I sometimes feel like I need an IT degree to write a post 😂 Re the review anxiety, I get that too. It’s horrible, isn’t it? If it’s not a new release that an author’s asked me to review by a certain date, I remind myself that the only pressure when it comes to writing a review is the pressure that I put on myself. There are some days where I feel like I can barely string a sentence together, let alone write a review. On those days, I tell myself that the review can wait until I’m feeling a bit more ‘writerly’ and confident in myself.
Also, I’ve been wanting to go to the Wigtown Book Festival for a couple of years now, ever since reading Shaun Bythell’s The Diary of a Bookseller. Since moving to Scotland, I’m determined to actually go in the next year or two!
LikeLiked by 1 person
YES! What an awesome post. Ventilating a grumble always feels far better than letting it fester, and there’s always others out there who share the same frustrations. I’ve been worried about my content getting repetitive too, or that I’m not reading the “right” kind of books that I “should” be reviewing… hmph!
LikeLiked by 1 person