Welcome to Always Trust In Books! I’m Stuart and I’m addicted to books. So much so that I had to create a blog to give myself an excuse to read even more. I have been running this blog for three years now and it has been an amazing experience.
I created ATIB to celebrate and share all sorts of fantastic books from indie to big names. From Fantasy to Non-Fiction. From 96 page novellas to 1600 page tomes. Books are everything to me. I grew up addicted to books. I have always loved the concepts of story-telling, knowledge and art, important aspects of life that everyone can get from a good book. I have been a part of the blogging community for over three years now and the passion still amazes me. Everyone I meet here has one thing in common and that is an unbreakable love for books.
After 3 years of having a blog I feel like I am part of the online book community, it is a tough place sometimes, you have to give a lot in order to get anything back, but once people start seeing you as one of their own then the rewards are endless. I am constantly learning, refining and changing my blogging style so it may take me a few more years to feel satisfied with my workβ¦
I discovered a love for books in primary school when the much loved Harry Potter books had just started being released. Since then I have pretty much read as much as possible, I have to break for eating (well sort of…), sleeping (I cannot read in my sleep) :(, Work etc.
My love for books is only matched by my love for (in order of most importance):
1.My wife Georgina and my two awesome sons Freddie and Tobias
2. Book Shopping!
2+. Talking with other book lovers!
2++. Video Games…(I know I was meant to grow out of them but…whoops)
3. Baked Goods/Mexican Food
4. Scrubs, Black Books and I.T Crowd
5. Heavy Metal
6. Some forms of exercise…
7. Learning other languages
Though I read a wide variety of books, it is mainly science-fiction, historical -fiction and non-fiction that provides me with wordy sustenance. I always wanted to learn as much as I can about everything, and these genres definitely help me achieve this. If I ever want to escape this planet, I usually reach for the fantasy books. Or if I want to pretend I am more adventurous or smart, I will gather up the Action/Thriller/Mystery novels.
There are many reasons why I started this blog. I LOVE to talk books π but unfortunately the people I spend my time with are more interested in other avenues of fun and/or culture. Luckily for me, I have you and everyone else who populates the world of books. So I decided to starting talking at people about books until they caved and started listening π
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Always Trust In Books is a name I came up with after a lot of thought and consideration, I felt it summed up how I feel about books in general, they are one of the main consistencies in my life. I can always count on books to inspire me, entertain me and make me smile. Yes people say to me that not all books are great, but I believe that all books are something special to someone and that to me is the essence of my blog.
I am in no way a professional…I am a guy who loves books, talking about books to people who might listen. I do take my reviewing incredibly seriously though and I am lucky enough to have publishers like Gollancz, Titan Books, Hodder & Stoughton, Little Brown, Simon & Schuster and Penguin Random House who regularly send me awesome books to share here on ATIB. My main goal here is to have a website that any reader can come to, have a good time and leave with some great books in mind.
After all, it is you and other readers that make the world of books spin, you are the main influence in this exciting world and I need your help to keep getting the word out about stupendous, top notch and fantastic material that people need to read!
Thank you for taking the time to read this little piece. I always have time for readers, authors and publishers. You are always welcome to talk to me here, even if it is just to chat away about your favourite books.
See you around πππ.
Stuart
Oh, my gosh, I love The IT Crowd. “I’ll just put the fire over here with the rest of the fire…”
I see you followed my blog today. Hooray! I’m going to follow you back and look forward to talking books with you on both of our blogs π
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It is really amazing π the humour is brilliant, ”In the time I have been talking, over 80 million people have died from stress..!” It is a shame it finished so soon π¦ Thank you for the follow back and I definitely look forward to chatting books. It is nice to meet you and I look forward to reading your posts.
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Can we just keep quoting The IT Crowd? “0118 999 88199 9119 725…………..3.” JK π we’ll talk books
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We shall keep the quoting to a minimum. Book talk is the priority π
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Thanks for following my blog π Look forward to your posts.
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Thank you. Likewise! I really like that thought provoking nature of your blog π and the imagery is awesome too.
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Thank you! π
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Hi! Just dropped by to say hi from here in the PH. ππ Thanks for the follow by the way. I’m so glad to discover a male book blogger because I only know quite a few. Hoping to interact here on blogosphere with you!
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Your welcome! Hi from myself here in GB. Yeah… there are quite a few of us about. Breathing Through the Pages is another male blogger.
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Oh, thank you! I’ll check his blog out. Is he also on WordPress?
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Yeah his username on here is fictionbookdude. His blog is great and he is very interactive.
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Thank you! Btw, what name should I call you? I think I didn’t see it on your About page hehe π
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I should probably sort that out! My name is Stuart, nice to meet you Karina. π
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Haha I agree. Nice meeting you too Stuart! π
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https://readersr.wordpress.com/2017/04/29/versatile-blogger-award/
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I love learning another language- it’s one of the most difficult things to do, but it’s so worth it! π
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I try when I can. There are some brilliant learning apps like Duolinguo and Memrise that make it so easy.
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Omg, I love duolingo and memrise, they are so helpful for my studies π
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Thanks for dropping by and liking/following! It means a world to me π
By the way, I LOVE book shopping too! I just can’t stop buying books despite the fact that my TBR is getting longer… lol
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I notice your TBR is getting longer. However, I agree that books are sensational at raising awareness and equipping us for reality. If you might squeeze another read in then you can have a free PDF.
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Thank you for the comment Polly π
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I have a rather significant wait time on reviews at the moment. I am always looking for book extracts or guest posts to share with my readers if you are interested.
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Hey there! I respect you and what you have been able to create on your blog! Any tips and tricks that you’ve learned that you wouldn’t mind passing along, I’d love to hear! I’m exploring what my niche is and what I can do to have a more consistent presence! Thanks for what you do π
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Hello! I recommend heading over to The Tattooed Book Geek’s page as he has just done a huge post about how to set up a book blog, find your style and get noticed. It is a really great post and you will find everything you need to know. Book blogging is a lot of work and reading is only about 20% of the whole job. Networking and supporting other bloggers will quickly get you on the radar and then you will start to receive plenty of review copies.
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Wonderful! Thank you so much π I’ll head over today! Happy Reading!
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How did you hold all those books? They must of weighed a ton!!
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They did weigh a lot but they are precious cargo so I pulled through π
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Hi, Stuart!
Thanks for checking out my blog! I’m happy to find another avid male book blogger. It is undeniable that we are outnumbered by females in the book community. Hahaha. Not that I’m being sexist. :3 #JustSayin Anyways, although our literary preferences seem different, I look forward to reading your posts. π Have a great week! ^^
Sincerely,
Josh
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Hey Joshua, there definitely seems to be more female book bloggers but we all pitch in and make it as fun as possible. If you are looking for more male bloggers there are plenty around. The Tattooed Book Geek and Breathing Through Pages are two great ones. I have quite a wide range of genres I review so there maybe a few that will catch your eye!
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Which heavy metal bands do you listen to?
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A mixture. Iron Maiden, Metallica, Volbeat, Five Finger Death Punch, Parkway Drive (more metalcore), Black Label Society, Trivium, Killer Be Killed and Steel Panther to name a few π thanks for the comment.
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No problem. Have you tried Nightwish, Within Temptation, Apocalytpica or Kamelot?
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I do like Apocalyptica, their songs with Corey Taylor and Till Lindermann are great.
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Their instrumental stuff is awesome. I highly recommend Nightwish
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I have listened to Nightwish but I am more into heavier bands like Arch Enemy or Benedictum.
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Ah ok that’s cool
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Thank you for visiting my blog…..Loved the list of things that you love….
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Thanks, that list always makes me hungry for some reason π
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Wonderful blog! Thank you.
I love books and languages, too! Great minds think alike… π
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I always get so hung up on the ‘about me’ sections on social media – this has definitely inspired me! I love the passion and the fearless way you express your personality. Good job π Also thanks for the follow! I look forward to reading your posts!
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Thanks Amy! Cheers for the lind words π
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I nominated you for the Blogger Recognition Award! π Here is my post!
https://readinginthewings.wordpress.com/2017/08/27/blogger-recognition-award/
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Are you a member at GoodReads.com?
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Yes I am.
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Thank you Stuart for adding my blog “Book Reviewers International” to your list of good book blogs. I’m glad to share your great love of books! Incidentally when I saw your link to my blog, I was that evening, watching the 2nd in the series of “Stuart Little.” Even though I’m an adult I love stories like Stuart Little and Ice Age. I even once thought of touting a story idea for another adventure of Stuart Little to the movie-makers – – about Stuart getting lost in a big city, and this was because I took my Stuart Little toy to a hotel once that I stayed at – but left him behind.
I had taken a photo of him sitting on the shelf so that was the evidence. The staff were asked if they had found Stuart but said no, to my surprise, but I kept asking the Hotel for Stuart Little back. Eventually the Hotel let me know that he had turned up somewhere so I high-tailed it back there and collected him. “This would be a great sequel” I thought !! Your stack of books are anything but little though.
Thanks again, Celine.
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Great read Sir. I googled “How to start a successful fiction book review blog” and your post was on page 1. Of course I read a bunch of others, but this one just hit me a certain was even though it was in 2017. That is what is so bad arse about the internet. Something you wrote three-and-a-half years ago can impact someones life just the same today as when you wrote it.
Anyway, I am a fellow book junkie myself. Have been since third grade when I read my first book “Where the Red Fern Grows”. That book still brings tears to my eyes 36 years later.
I hope to start a horror review site myself, and your post gave me some more confidence.
Cheers
Carson
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