A Milestone: One Hundred Posts!

One hundred. That’s how many posts I’ve written so far. It’s quite a daunting number, isn’t it? Even though the first post on The Open Book was published in 2019, I had been thinking about starting a blog for quite some time before that. Let’s reflect on what I’ve written so far, and take a look at what might happen in the future.

I started this blog because I had a dream. I know it sounds painfully cheesy, but it’s true. The dream I had was that I would start this book blog and, eventually, but definitely sooner rather than later (because in dreams, anything can happen, can’t it?), it would make me famous. I would write about books in such a sophisticated way, that people simply had to read my blog. They would love how insightful each post was, they would be entertained by my observations, and, best of all, they would have learnt something. And since my blog was so successful, I would be contacted by publishers, by authors, by radio and tv programmes, by Instagram influencers, by fans all over the world, because everyone would like to hear my unique point of view. I would have tens of thousands – nay, millions! – of followers who would update their mailboxes every five minutes because they simply couldn’t wait for my next post, and I would become a celebrity. Oh, such a glorious dream it was. I often imagined myself appearing on tv and being hailed as the woman who made reading fun again. 

(I should add here that somehow in these daydreams I would somehow also stay true to myself; obviously wildly successful and radiantly beautiful, I would still spill my drink on the show’s host, break my microphone, flap my arms too enthusiastically and accidentally slap someone in the face (I wish I could say that this didn’t actually happen to me), or do something else that would cement my reputation as the clumsiest guest to a tv show ever. But since it’s a dream, this wouldn’t matter, because it would make me even more lovable, and I would be the celebrated founder and figurehead of clumsyism, a movement that embraces the fact that we can’t all be perfect and elegant at all times. And then I would write books about that, and I would not be able to not enter a single building without being recognised and having to sign their copies of my books, which they would always carry with them.)

Well, that didn’t happen. This is the one-hundredth post on The Open Book, and so far I’ve got 92 followers – some of whom are friends and family (hi, mum and dad!), and none of whom have contacted me about a tv appearance yet. What I have noticed is that each post has slightly more readers than the previous one, and more and more people bother to leave a comment (this still excites me so much that I do my jumping-up-and-down-in-glee-flapping-my-arms-around thing again – and I’m proud to say I managed not to hit anyone yet). And I like that, because it feels like I made the right decision in starting this blog.

Having a blog is quite scary. It took me quite some time before The Open Book actually saw the light of day. When it first went online, I had been talking about it for over a year, but I wasn’t sure anyone would like it. Somehow, I decided to simply go for it, and I hoped that it would all be easy from now on, and that I would never doubt myself again. I’m getting better at it: every time, right before I press the “publish” button, I only double-check whether I’ve fixed all the typos and weird sentences, and reread it only once more just to make sure I don’t say anything stupid. It used to be worse, trust me. Insecurity is a big part of me, and even though I don’t always show it right here, those close to me know that I am never convinced I’m doing the right thing, and that I always worry about even the smallest things. Maybe that’s why I hoped that I would become famous: instant recognition and compliments galore.

Well, that didn’t happen. Instead, I’ve got this blog, my blog, which allows me to share my thoughts on my favourite topic in the entire world, and I love it. But now, since I’ve reached this milestone, I want to do more. Or, more specifically, I want to show more.

This blog is called The Open Book. I called it that because I liked the sound of it, and because, with a title like that, there can be no confusion on the subject matter. However, I also called it The Open Book because I wanted this blog to become the place where I could share my deepest thoughts and innermost feelings with you, the audience. I wanted this book to be a sort of bookish diary which would help me understand my life through the books I’ve read, and each book would somehow be part of the road I’m taking to become the person I want to be. Well, that didn’t happen… yet. To be honest, I’m not very good at showing how I really feel. I want to, though. So, from now on, I am planning to be a bit more personal, and whenever I have read a book that really made me feel something, I want to share these feelings with you, instead of just telling you how I’ve interpreted a novel. It’s scary, but I feel like the time is right.

This is the one-hundredth post, and I know this is just the beginning. Thank you for sticking with me, thank you for reading my posts, and thank you for liking, commenting, and following me. This blog happened, and it’s like a dream come true.

Which books have changed your life? Which books would you like to see featured on my blog? Do you have any dreams, book-related or otherwise? Please let me know in the comments (I’ll try not to hurt anyone in my enthusiasm)! Also, don’t forget to follow me if you want to receive updates from The Open Book!

P.S.: Win a free book! I took some random books from my shelf and took pictures of their one-hundredth page. If you think you can identify all these books, please send me a message. If you get two of them right, I will send you one of my books – for free! Have fun, and good luck!