Rose City Reader turns sweet 16 today. I started this blog 16 years ago and it is hard for me to think it has been around for so long. I celebrated my blogiversary by taping an episode of the Rare Book Cafe, a book vlog you can find on Facebook here or Instagram here. Give them a follow!
I started Rose City Reader to keep track of all the book lists I was working on. I had finished the Modern Library's list of Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century. While working on that project, I found that there were many other book lists that appealed to me and I started to gather them up. Some were admitted knock offs of the Modern Library list, like the Radcliffe list. Some were prize winners, like the Pulitzer and Booker Prizes. Some were "must read" lists, like those compiled by Erica Jong or Anthony Burgess. I needed a place to keep the lists and track my progress in reading the books.
As I went along, I added some lists of my own, like bibliographies of favorite authors and theme lists. I now have my own lists of Campus Novels, books with a French twist, books set in Venice, and others. You can find a list of all the lists I'm working on at the tab at the top of the page or here. I also started reviewing books in addition to listing them; participating in annual reading challenges; and playing along with a few weekly events, like Book Beginnings on Fridays, hosted by me here on Rose City Reader.
Over these past 16 years, book blogging seems to have waxed and waned in popularity. Other social media platforms have lured away bloggers and potential bloggers with shiny new options, some which faded away themselves and some which are going strong like Instagram. I like both "bookstagramming" on Instagram and traditional blogging. Instagram is fast and short, but with pretty pictures. Blogging is less visual, but offers the opportunity for longer, hopefully more thoughtful, posts.
My own blogging activity changes over time, depending on what else is going on in my life. Since I started my own law firm, I have had less time to blog. No kidding! But I plug along with Rose City Reader because I love it. As I spend less time in the office and my law partner takes on more responsibility, I look forward to spending more time reading and blogging.
