Skip to main content

Reading a Letter from 2016 Me



Back in early June of 2016 (June 3rd, 2016, to be exact), I wrote a letter to "future" me on my hopes and dreams for Reading is Inevitable, not only including the blog but also the bookstagram. Now that it's been over a year and "future me" is now "present me", it was time to open up the letter and see how much Reading is Inevitable has grown!

To read my letter, read the text below.



Dear Julia,

How is the blog? I am sure that it is not exactly what you have wanted for the blog at this point. Running a blog is tough! Oh, don’t forget to write that post on what you have learned so far, blah blah blah. Although, if you decided to follow schedule, you should have already written it. If not, you’re late!

Anyway, moving on, I suppose I should write down some of my wishes and hopes for the blog at this point. I hope that we have a new design (not too fond of the current one…?), or at least that it’s a bit more colorful or bright. I hope that Emily has more posts on the blog, or that at least she has some and that I am not always scrambling to write a post. It would be great if I was actually tagged in book tags, rather than me just stumbling across one that says “anyone may join!” I would also like to see our pageviews for the blog increase...rather than decrease.

As for the Instagram page, I would love to have...200 followers? Is that asking too much? I suppose I really don’t care, though, as long as I’m writing for some sort of audience! It would also be lovely if we had decided on some sort of theme, but if we have a variety of pictures, that’s fine by me!

I wonder what books I have read...Am I reading more? Less? What’s the bookstagram community like now? Is the #flipthatbook thing still popular? Or is there some new trend? Am I still really invested in the blog? Do I still spend hours, whole nights, even, working on it, even if it’s just research for posts or playing around with the design?

I guess I just want to know how things are...and how things have changed. Currently I work a lot on the blog. Lately, I have been doing research in how to improve Instagram pictures and posts to write that might get a good deal of traffic. I still leave the photography to Em, but maybe that’ll change…?

Well, that’s all for now. Happy reading! (Do I still say that?)

From,
Julia (the past you)



I think it's fair to say that things have changed quite a bit from the time that I wrote this letter.

I actually forgot about that post idea that I mentioned in the first paragraph. It's funny that I did because I know that I had been looking forward to writing that post for a long time. I couldn't stop thinking about it for a few months and yet, when it's finally time that I can write it, I've forgotten it.

I hope that we have a new design (not too fond of the current one...?), or at least that it's a bit more colorful or bright. I hope that Emily has more posts on the blog or that at least she has some and that I am not always scrambling to write a post.... I would also like to see our pageviews for the blog increase...rather than decrease.

As for my goals for the blog, I think that I've met some of them. We have actually changed our theme quite a bit over time, but I think that I've finally found something that I like, and I believe Em does too. (She did surprise me by picking yellow... It has always been a favorite color of mine, but I never imagined her to pick it!) Unfortunately for past me, Em does not work on the blog anymore. The blog is now mine to run alone, and while this would probably upset past me, I don't think much of it now. (If she ever does have a post, however, I am always willing to post it!) Pageviews for the blog have gone down with each falling-out I have, but, as I always say, I am trying to fix that.

As for the Instagram page, I would love to have...200 followers? Is that asking too much? ... It would also be lovely if we had decided on some sort of theme, but if we have a variety of pictures, that's fine by me! I wonder what books I have read...Am I reading more? Less? What's the bookstagram community like now? Is the #flipthatbook thing still popular? Or is there some new trend?

Bookstagram certainly has changed. I think that, when I wrote the 200 follower goal, I really was hoping for more, but I only asked for 200 as a precaution. At least I can say that we did that! Our theme is definitely something, but I want to work on it more. The #filpthatbook trend, well, isn't much of a trend anymore, but that was expected. And the bookstagram community...? Oh, the bookstagram community... At least when I was last on it, there was a lot of issues. (Part of the reason why I felt like I needed a break. Once again, I'm sorry.)

Am I still really invested in the blog? Do I still spend hours, whole nights, even, working on it, even if it's just research for posts or playing around with the design? .... Currently I work a lot on the blog.

I really haven't had one of those blogging ruts in a while. Well, that is, until I fell into this one. These last few posts that you've been reading (and probably the next few ones)...? I wrote them all within a few days. So. I think that I'm getting back into blogging.



I am going to write another letter to myself that I'll open up in 2018! It feels so far away but I'm sure the time will go by so quickly. Hopefully Em and I can work out some of these goals before then! Until next time (and happy reading!)

Comments

This Month's Popular Posts

Quotes: The Nightingale

I realized that, over a year ago, I wrote a post called "Quotes: Audacity" , and that this post did really well (it's actually Reading is Inevitable's most read post!), and yet I never wrote another post of quotes from a book. I liked writing that post, too. I like sharing quotes I like from books. That's why I started doing it on our bookstagram page . So why did I never write another one of these "quote blog posts"? I don't know. But I intend to write at least another one. And that's why I'm here today. Well, there's that, and then there's also the amazing book that is The Nightingale.  If you've read some of my recent blog posts or have poked around a bit, you would know that exactly a month ago I published my book review on The Nightingale , in which I explained my love for it and why you should read it yourself. And while I actually have another post in the works on that book because it definitely deserves more than on...

Quotes: Audacity

As some of you may know by looking at my posts on our social media page (@readingisinevitable on Instagram), I am currently reading Audacity by Melanie Crowder. It is a beautiful book written in free verse, and follows the life of Clara Lemlich, a female Jewish immigrant who came to America in the early 1900s. (For the full summary of the book, click here .) I absolutely love books written in free verse, or any type of poetry, in fact! This book is so lovely that I have decided to dedicate a whole post to some of my favorite quotes or parts! (Note: I am only on page 294, and there are 366 pages, not including the extra content at the end of my local library's copy.)

Pride Month 2017 - Why Representation is Important

Hello everyone! How fitting it is that this year's anniversary of same-sex marriage being legalized in the U.S. falls on Monday, one of my posting days! (And if you didn't know that it was the two-year anniversary, well I guess you know now!) Last year I made a list of some good books with LGBTQ representation, and I will include a list at the end of this post, but to shake things up a bit I thought I'd quickly discuss why representation is important in the media, specifically in books. After all, this is a mainly bookish blog. (If you would like to view last year's post, click here .) First of all, what is  representation? Well, it's exactly what it sounds like. It's the inclusion of people with sexualities and/or genders outside of heterosexuality and the gender binary. It's having a gay character or a trans* character and showing readers that, "hey, LGBTQ people do exist" and "hey, not being cisgender or 'straight' is okay...

Book Review: Audacity

Title: Audacity Author: Melanie Crowder Genre: Historical Fiction Rating: 4 out of 5 Reviewer: Julia Credit for the picture of the cover goes to www.penguinrandomhouse.com. Hello, everyone! First of all, how do you all like our new look? The old one was a little too dark and we wanted something more "light" and "fresh". So say good-bye to the old pink flowers and hello to this new gray-purple-blue theme! (I think of it as the "Iceberg Theme".) Anyway, moving on, I don't know if you recall, but about three weeks ago I published a post on this book:  "Quotes: Audacity" , and has somehow hit #1 for this month's most popular posts, so thank-you for that! It shared a few of my favorite quotes from this lovely book. I quickly finished the book after writing the post, so now I am writing a review on it! One of the reasons why I loved this book so much was because...