Amara's Eden was created on October 24, 2012, but its story really starts in April 2011. That was when I stumbled across Goodreads, and in spite of my current feelings toward the site, it revitalize my enthusiasm for reading. But more than that, it introduced me to the concept of book reviewing as a hobby. From there, I found my way to book blogs. And from there, I found my way to Netgalley and Edelweiss.
After being introduced to the concept of eARCs, I was totally sold on this book blogging thing. Free books, and all I have to do is share my completely insignificant opinions about them? Count me in!
Finding a Home
Amara's Eden did not start here at Blogspot. I actually started it over at Weebly, and the original site is still up, though it serves only to redirect to this version. (You can check it out here, if you're curious!)
But I wasn't totally sold on Weebly. For one thing, I couldn't find a single other book blog using that platform, which implied that it probably wasn't the best option for my needs. So what were other people using? Mostly Wordpress and Blogspot. So I moved to Wordpress.
That was a mistake. I seriously did not like it there. The site is designed around paying customers with very little available for their free users, which is perfectly fine for people who can afford to invest money in their hobbies... but I'm definitely not in that demographic. So I left for greener cheaper pastures fairly quickly. My Wordpress site is still up, though, and you can check it out here if you want to see it.
After Wordpress, there was one obvious option left: Blogspot. While it may not be the most spectacular way to run a blog, it works for me. It's everything I need at the moment, and while there's always a chance I could move somewhere else in the future, I expect to have a happy home here for quite some time yet.
Year One: October 24, 2012 - October 23, 2013
The first year of Amara's Eden was, ultimately, an experiment, and I got a lot of things wrong. Most importantly, I overwhelmed myself with both reading challenges and eARCs, and I'm only now getting better at the latter.
So what else happened in The First Year? How about a timeline?
- On October 24, 2012, I created Amara's Eden.
- On November 1, 2012, I posted my first eARC review.
- On December 24, 2012, I posted my first Top Ten Tuesday meme.
- On January 1, 2013, I posted my first set of New Year's resolutions for the blog.
- On January 6, 2013, I posted my first Showcase Sunday meme.
- On January 18, 2013, I posted my first Friday Finds meme.
- On April 10, 2013, I posted my first DNF review.
- On May 30, 2013, I posted my first audiobook review.
- On September 29, 2013, I posted my first Cover Characteristic meme.
- On October 1, 2013, I began my first themed time period on the blog, called the 31 Days of Halloween Extravaganza.
- On October 3, 2013, I posted my first movie review.
Year Two: October 24, 2013 - October 23, 2014
The second year of Amara's Eden started strong, but fizzled. In 2014, I resolved to post (much) more often, and for the first four or five months, I did a pretty awesome job, managing to post something just about every day. But after so many months at such a frenzied pace, I burned myself out.
I didn't post much over the summer, and though 2014 has been my most productive year yet, I'm definitely not satisfied with my commitment to the blog. Year Two has been The Year of Laziness.
Here's another timeline for you, because I know you're just dying for another.
- On October 24, 2013, I completely forgot to even mention my blog anniversary. Go me!
- On December 23, 2013, I posted my first Favorite Books of the Year.
- On December 24, I posted my first Favorite Covers of the Year.
- On December 31, 2013, I posted my first Top Ten Most Popular Posts and the results of my 2013 resolutions.
- On January 1, 2014, I posted a new set of resolutions.
- On March 11, 2014, I posted my first TV review.
- On March 26, 2014, I posted my first Waiting on Wednesday meme.
- On March 27, 2014, I posted my first Thoughtful Thursday meme and my first (and so far only) Quotable Thursday meme.
- During July, August, and September 2014, I had my least active months ever on the blog, only managing to post five times during each month. July was the worst--it was almost all memes! Prior to this, my "worst" month had been June 2013 with only six posts. Apparently, I really really struggle with blogging in summer...
Year Three: October 24, 2014 - October 23, 2015
It's now Year Three of Amara's Eden, and since it's only just begun, I have no idea what title it deserves. All I can say is that I truly hope it won't be The Year the Blog Died or The Laziest Year of Them All or something. Maybe The Year I Got The Hang Of It? A girl can hope.
Here's one last tiny timeline for the road.
- On October 24, 2014, I once again completely forgot my blog's "birthday". I should be ashamed of myself. Poor little blog.
- On November 3, 2014, I committed to my first Read-a-Thon.
From there... who knows? If you have an idea for something I should do at Amara's Eden, I'd love to read it--just leave a comment below!
And thanks for reading.
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