Discussion: Book Bloggers: Unsung Heroes or Nuisance?

Hi gorgeous people!  I started Reading with ABC because I wanted a forum to share my love for books, authors and all things bookish.  As many of you know, book blogging (and I imagine any type of blogging) is hard work, and alas, we do it all for free.  Believe it or not, we all have other lives besides our book blogging persona.  For instance, I work full time at a local health system in a very demanding a busy job.  I am a military wife and mother of three.  My free time is very precious to me, BUT I also love reading.  I love to share with my readers about this shared interest, I love giving unsolicited recommendations to others, I love lending my books and learning about new authors, I love going to book signings and book festivals.

As I said, I do it all out of love.  I don’t get many review copies because I don’t take the time (and honestly I don’t have the time) to request copies from publishers. The few times that I have, many of them didn't even bother to send a denial my way.   I do keep abreast of upcoming books and authors via catalogs and Goodreads, but I’m not in the book blogging world or the perks it might provide.  Ask anyone and they’ll tell you that free is good, but I only try to accept books that I would like to read and that are a good match for my audience.

The way I see it book bloggers provide a service to the publishing community and to authors everywhere.  We provide free publicity for many authors and publishers, yet I feel that many of the very same people that we are helping, as a byproduct of our love (and obsession), see us as a nuisance.  I have to reiterate here that I spend a lot of money in physical books and eBooks, you only have to check my blog during the weekend, when I proudly display my new acquisitions, like the proud owner (or lender if it is a library book) that I am. 

I would like to see the book blogging community being recognized for the work we do.  I would love to see a special buying ‘club’ from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books -A -Million for us.  I would love for publishers to maybe choose a few new bloggers to send a nice surprise for (I do know that ARCs are precious and few, but finished copies or swag might not be).  I would love to see more events (virtual or in person) with us in mind.  I would love to see a nice Tweet or comment in our reviews (I do get some). I   would love for publishers to use other blogs in their tours and cover unveilings, as opposed to the same ones all the time.  In short, a thank you once in a while as a sign of respect wouldn't hurt :)

Would I stop blogging anytime soon? No, of course not.  I might not have the best book blog out there, or the one with the most followers, or the prettiest one, or the one with the more ARCs reviews; BUT I do love what I do and I love to share my passion with others.  I hope that counts for something dear reader. *Rambling over*

What are your thoughts?