Armchair BEA: Blogger Development & Genre Fiction

So today we get to talk about two things: blogger development and genre fiction. I don't know how helpful I'll be at the first subject, but let's give this a go.

Blogger Development

Even though I've been doing this for almost 3 years now, I still feel like such a newbie! I'm not one of the big blogs out there and I'm ok with that. I do however think that over the years I've grown as a blogger, I've begun showing more of myself through my Daisy Updates and I've made friends through Twitter. I've let the though that I should be pushing myself to become the next big thing go, because I don't want to force myself to be someone other than myself on this blog.
I do have some tips though:

-Twitter is your friend: seriously, if you want to get yourself some blogging friends, Twitter is probably the easiest place to start. Everyone is very friendly and open and you can just jump in a conversation. I love that I can connect with people all over the world through this and it's a good way to market your blog.

-Requesting arcs is easy, make sure you have the time to read them: I am so guilty of this pitfall... There are so many shiny books up on Edelweiss and NetGalley and if you're lucky enough to be able to get your hands on physical arcs, it is SO tempting to just request EVERYTHING. Before you know it you'll be gleefully swimming in ARCs. Then comes the panic of knowing you can never ever read all of them before the release date...

-Be yourself: people will know if you're pretending to be someone you're not and hey, nobody likes that! People will like you for who you are, there's a book reading buddy for everyone :)

-Decide if you want to brand yourself: having a sort of 'genre blog' can be the way to attract a large following, but decide for yourself if that is what you want. There are pros and limitations that come with this. I'm an eclectic reader and my blog shows that, but there are blogs that focus mainly on YA or romance or urban fantasy or well, basically anything that comes to mind.

-Enjoy yourself: this is possibly the best advice anyone could give you in my opinion. Because if you're not doing it because you love it, why would you put all of this time and effort into it??

Genre Fiction

I do appreciate literary fiction, I do. But if you scroll through the posts on my blog, you will find out that I'm ALL OVER genre fiction. I love that possibilities that come with it! I'll list some of my favourite genres and favourites in said genre:

-Fantasy: this is quite possibly my biggest love. Dragons and knights and swordfighting! There's just something about a guy with a sword...
Some favourites that come to mind are A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin, The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss, Fire and Thorns series by Rae Carson, Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, Witchlanders by Lena Coakley, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas.

-Historical Romance: I love swooning over strong heroes and beautiful heroines and balls and gorgeous dresses and ALL OF THE EMOTIONS! Seriously, these books have some of the best romances out there. And kissing ;)
Some of my favourite authors: Sarah MacLean, Sophie Jordan (though I know her Firelight series is probably better known than her historical romance), Julia Quinn, Katharine Ashe.

-Paranormal Romance: particularly of the YA version. There are some bad eggs in this genre, some Twilight-wannabes, but there are also some of the most compelling stories I've ever read.
Favourites: Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead (I've only read the first 3, but they are AWESOME), Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan, The Goddess Test series by Aimee Carter, Everneath by Brodi Ashton, Die For Me by Amy Plum, The Unearthly series by Cynthia Hand.

Ok, somebody stop me before I just list ALL the books I love!

So any recommendations for me? Books we share a love for? Tips for becoming a better blogger? Let me know!