On Book Haul Posts
Posted 24th July 2017
Category: Chit-Chat Genres: N/A
3 Comments
…Or what I refer to here as Latest Acquisitions posts.
I haven’t written an acquisitions post recently. It isn’t because I’ve not received/bought/borrowed any books – I have had fewer books enter my home but enough to warrant a post. It’s because the knowledge that they are easy posts, and the considerations as to how and when to create them, got me thinking I should write less of them.
That ‘worry’… I’ve been about it in some shape or form for ages, then Holly posted her own thoughts which in turn were inspired by Ariel Bisett’s video. I thought I’d take a leaf from their book and write down the thoughts I’ve kept to myself. Primarily my thoughts concern the ‘why’ of book hauls, but also revolve around the form the posts take.
I create my latest acquisition posts because I like to highlight books I’ve received, knowing it’ll take me a while, sometimes forever, to get to them all. I do it because it gives me a chance to flag up a new release I’m not set to review until after the publishing date. I do it to share my excitement and my reasons for saying ‘yes’ to a request or buying a book. (In the second case – buying – it allows me to share my journey, if there was one, to buying it.) And I like posts that include lots of books.
On a less personal note, book haul posts are easy. Yes, they are easy (generally) for me to write (on occasions when I’ve accepted a book for review not knowing too much about it I feel the lack of good background information) but also easy to read. As much as long posts are great, sometimes people just don’t have the time to read them so a mix of long and short posts hopefully helps mean more time for both. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that short posts see more comments, and it’s entirely understandable. (Reviews are excluded of course – in my experience they are effected, comments wise, by whether or not the blog reader has read the book.)
Two of my considerations are length and time:
- The balance between a short, easy, post, and something of value is something that in the case of hauls I’m still working on.
- Time – how often to post; how many books in each post (which may affect post frequency); how many are too many.
And always lingering at the back of my mind – when dealing with review requests, does this constitute showing off?
I’ve acquired many books since my last haul post but due to pulling back a little on review copies for the time being, I’ve been reviewing them pretty swiftly… which is another thought – I don’t like posting about a new book twice in quick succession unless I’ve lots (and lots) to say about it.
Though I should probably write another acquisitions post soon, leaving out books I’ve since reviewed – that’s another factor. Wait too long and calling a book ‘new’ is no longer true.
The amount I’ve written here… I guess this post has been a long time coming!
What do you think about book hauls and their value?
July 24, 2017, 2:16 pm
When and where I get books is another thing I don’t keep track of. Don’t have the mind of a librarian, I guess.
July 28, 2017, 3:27 pm
I don’t think it’s showing off!! And to your other questions — I mean, I’ll say that I love reading book haul posts, and I feel like most/many bloggers feel the same way. It’s just SATISFYING in this way where it almost feels like I’m buying new books by proxy. So I call book haul posts a win — they take less time, and people love seeing them.
(or maybe I am just projecting :p)
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July 24, 2017, 12:22 pm
Your point about short posts is so true– I feel like that’s why memes like Top Ten Tuesday and tags are always so popular.
Thanks for the shout out! :)