Up Close and (un)Conventional – Memes

Posted 6 May, 2016 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Discussion Posts / 37 Comments

Up Close and (un)Conventional - (un)Conventional Bookviews

Up Close and (un)Conventional – Memes

Welcome to this week’s Up Close and (un)Conventional. This is where I discuss both things that have to do with reading and blogging, and things that just have to do with life in general. This week, I’m going to talk about Memes, they are like the cornerstones of the blogging community in some ways. There are so many amazing ones out there, and especially when I first started blogging almost four years ago, they were like a hidden treasure! Not only did they give me the perfect prompt so I had something to say, they also helped me find a lot of fantastic bloggers – some I follow still today, and interact with fairly often.

I don’t do all the same memes now that I did in the beginning though, and I have been wondering lately if I’ve maybe ‘grown out’ of some? I’m not sure, really because I still stop by Feature and Follow posts – this meme is hosted by Parajunkee’s View and Alison Can Read, both are amazingly friendly and open bloggers! I still find the Feature and Follow interesting, and still a way to find new to me bloggers, but I don’t feel like participating in them anymore. While it does make me a little sad, I guess it’s just that I’m going in a slightly different direction when it comes to blogging, now. One thing that’s changed here is that I have started having a single post per day, rather than one review post and one meme post… so that definitely limits the space I have for memes as well.

Another meme I used to participate in all the time was Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. I loved how inventive the posts were, and even if the prompt was the same for all blogs, the answers differed everywhere I went. I think the main reason why I stopped doing this one can only be called laziness… It takes a lot of time to come up with ten different things of a set theme, and after a couple of years, I just didn’t feel like it anymore. I still find it to be a great one, though, and if I ever feel less lazy, I might get back to it.

Even the Waiting on Wednesday hosted by Breaking the Spine – which is to feature upcoming releases we are excited about is one I have not participated in these past few weeks. I can’t even explain why – I’m just as excited about new releases as the next blogger, and I love finding new to me books and authors that way! Sometimes, it’s the only way I have of finding a debut author, and being excited about a debut is just as great as being excited about a long-time favorite!

I do still participate in The Caffeinated Reviewer’s Sunday Post, and Talk Supe’s Bought Borrowed and Bagged / Team Tynga’s Stacking the Shelves, and I think I will continue, but who really knows? I do think that sharing the new books I’ve added to my shelves is good, because it’s always nice to hear what other bloggers have to say about them. And wrapping up my week and visiting other bloggers on Sundays is really nice, too 🙂 Of course, I can’t forget my very own Thirsty Thursday & Hungry Hearts meme, where I share food or drink quotes every Thursday. That one came to me because I love eating and drinking, and some books just share the most amazing (or disgusting…) food and drinks.

Do you participate in a lot of memes? Have you stopped doing some, due to time, or just a change in what direction you want your blog to go in? What do you think of memes in general? Yay or nay?

Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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37 responses to “Up Close and (un)Conventional – Memes

  1. Understandable about how the mood takes you when it comes to Memes. I know some do them once in a while and others do them every week. Some do one or two while others fill each day with them. Guess its all about preference and no hard and fast rule. We’ve not done any since I’ve been with the blog. But I do enjoy reading them when I visit other sites. As you say, same question or topic, but a myriad of answers.

    • I used to do a lot of them every week, and I love reading other people’s meme posts, because a lot of them are all about discovering more / new books. It’s always interesting to see what people come up with even when asked the same question.
      Thanks for stopping by, Sophia Rose.

  2. I don’t do a whole lot of memes. Just Cover Characteristics and The Sunday Post. Top Ten Tuesday just got kind of old because I think my taste in books just didn’t match with that of a lot of other people participating, so I didn’t get all that much interaction. Anyway, like you, I have other posts I like to do each week like reviews and discussions and now I’m trying to add even more, like maybe interviews or something, so that doesn’t leave much time for other memes. But when you find one that suits you and the bloggers are all actually social and visit each other, those are the best 🙂

    • I enjoy reading the Cover Characteristics posts, Kristen, but it’s not one I’d participate in myself, I think. I can swoon over a pretty cover, but then, I kind of forget about it afterwards…
      It’s too bad that you didn’t get too much interaction with the TTT posts. I think little by little, my blog is evolving, and I’m not saying I’ll never do those memes again, just that for right now, I feel like posting other things instead.

  3. I don’t do any memes. I could on Hot Listens if I wanted to. I’ve thought about the Sunday post. I love the idea and sometime I want to share things, but the idea of writing a post every Sunday seems like a lot of work on top of everything else. I don’t think I could keep up. Writing three reviews a week and trying to visit and comment just has me maxed out. I’m also starting a new job on Monday, so I don’t know how that will affect my time either. I don’t want to stress myself out. I do like visiting some other bloggers’ memes.

    • The Sunday post is awesome – and some people actually only do that one once a month, Melanie *wink wink, nudge nudge*. I think what I like about that one is that we can share both blogging news and personal news.
      Yeah, writing the reviews, visiting other blogs and staying busy is definitely sometimes a bit daunting.
      Congrats on your new job! I hope it will be a great change for you!

    • I love The Sunday Post because I think it’s the easiest one to do. I save the basic HTML template and then I only need to fill it in the current weeks stuff. The part that sometimes takes the longest is the Shelf Additions because I occasionally get out of control with the freebies. lol But I’ve streamlined my process for that section and I try to add books as I pick them up so it doesn’t take as long.

      • I use templates for my posts, so we both save time that way 🙂 I have templates for reviews, for the memes I do, and for my discussion posts 🙂
        Oh my, I know what you mean – the adding too many books thing seems to be a very common blogger-thing 😉
        Adding books as you pick them up is a great idea, one that I use (most of the time) as well. But sometimes, I forget.
        Thanks for commenting!

  4. When I first began I did Waiting on Wednesday and Mailbox, I enjoyed both but created the Sunday Post because I wanted more than just a haul post. I still love Wow, but stopped for the simple reason I couldn’ fit all of my review posts, discussions and features on my blog each month. Great discussion.

  5. I do the Waiting on Wednesday meme. That’s the only one I do regularly. Since my blog is just me, I try to stick to 1 post a day M-F. On a schedule like that, too many memes means a lot fewer reviews. But I’ve been toying with starting on on the weekends; probably Caffeinated’s Sunday Post. Or one more during the week. I don’t know yet. I love reading what other people come up with for them, though.

    • The WoW meme is great, because swooning over books a long time in advance is a lot of fun. I haven’t really come upon any upcoming releases that I feel that excited about though…
      The Sunday post is great, Heather, and you could try out a couple of different ones, and see which one you feel good with 🙂

  6. I guess I still do quite a few memes, but also mix things up with reviews and discussion posts. I like combining several memes, like my Weekly Updates include Sunday Post, It’s Monday…, Stacking the Shelves, and Mailbox Monday.

    On Thursdays, I love that I can combine three events, including your Thirsty Thursdays, et.al. The best thing about memes is connecting with other bloggers around our books.

    Thanks for the great post!

  7. I used to do FFF and WoW all the time but I gave up on FFF a while back too. Now I only do WoW if there’s an especially exciting release that was just announced…or if I don’t fancy the TTT topic that week. I do the TTT more regularly now which I didn’t before. And I do my Harry Potter weekly MEME and my Fandom one on Sundays. If I can EVER get ahead on my reviews enough to post those more often, I might cut a few MEMEs out but for the time being, this schedule works for me. Great discussion topic Lexxie^^ ♥

    • I might do a WoW post if I come across an upcoming release that makes me swoon completely, Micheline. I think it’s all about having our own schedule and enjoying what we do on our blog, Micheline, so yeah – of course you should continue doing what you’re doing!
      🙂 thanks!!

  8. I have been struggling with Top Ten Tuesday lately! You’re totally right-its time consuming for sure. And some weeks the topics just don’t work for me. So now I skip more than I participate! I pretty much only participate in The Sunday Post any more!

    • It is time consuming, but I also love reading other people’s TTT posts. I have had some weeks where the topic didn’t work for me, as well, but overall, it’s really my own organization that has changed more than anything else 🙂

  9. I guess I do memes when I don’t have anything to post on that day or if the topic really interests me. I do host a meme, but it is more like a writing prompt, Beyond the Books. I like talking about other things once in a while and it is the perfect outlet for me. Not a lot of people participate, but I like doing it so there’s that.
    The memes I read are all the weekly wrap up type/book hauls. I love those and Top 10 Tuesdya is kinda cool sometimes. I should be more than just a list of book though, in my opinion. Like the post has to do more than list the books. Some people are really crative with it so I almost always read their TTT posts. I like Friday Reads, but I don’t participate.
    Great topic!

    • I enjoy chatting about other things, too, and it’s great to see what other things other bloggers come up with, too.
      I love the TTT, but it’s very time-consuming, and that’s the main reason why I stopped doing them.
      Thanks for commenting, Karen!

  10. If I know I won’t have a lot posted on a certain week, and I have time, sometimes I’ll do Waiting on Wednesday or Top Ten Tuesday. I don’t do them regularly though. I tend to forget or I just get lazy, or lately, I have a lot of things I’m trying to post and don’t have the extra room – hence all my double reviews lately! haha

    I like reading memes sometimes though, esp. WOW or TTT because it’s fun to see what people post, find new books, or meet new bloggers. I try and comment on those when I can even if I don’t do my own post!

    In general, I like memes. I think they can be fun and are a good way to break up book review after book review. It also lets you get to know the blogger a bit better sometimes too, and that’s cool!

    -Lauren

    • I agree, I love reading memes, because it’s both a great way to find new to me bloggers, and also a fantastic way to discover upcoming releases. I like memes, too, but I somehow have gotten to do less and less, and it took me a while to figure out why that was 🙂
      Thanks for commenting, Lauren.

  11. Since I am still super new to book blogging (had a weight-loss/lifestyle blog for 3 years), I enjoy joining in with a few different memes. I am currently doing Sunday Post from Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and the Bookish. I really enjoy Stacking the Shelves as well, but have only participated once so far.

    • I still enjoy these memes, Michelle, but I just seem to have less time to actually prepare posts for some of them myself. You should definitely try the Stacking the Shelves one day, I love seeing all the pretty books other bloggers add to their shelves.
      And the TTT is great, I love the prompts – it just takes a lot of time to prepare those posts, and I think that’s the main reason why I’ve stopped – at least for now.
      Thanks for commenting!

  12. When I first started blogging I want to take part in as many memes as I could but it became apparent that if I did that, they would become a chore and I didn’t want that. So I only do the Waiting on Wednesday one because I get to learn about new books that way, ones that are outside my usual genres. So I like that. I do like reading the responses in different memes though — it’s stilla good way t learn about new blogs and books

    • I think that making sure our blogging doesn’t become a chore is very important, Verushka! I usually check out the WoW posts now, even if I haven’t done one myself in a while 🙂 And it IS a great way to learn about both new blogs and new books.
      Thanks for commenting.

  13. The only one I do that isn’t one I created myself is The Sunday Post. And I don’t do a linkup for the ones I created, so really I guess they’re more features on my blog? I’m not sure. *shrugs* 🙂 I have had a few people ask if I’ll do a linkup for Monster Porn Monday, but most people just prefer to live vicariously through my reviews instead of reading those books themselves. LOL

    • LOL I think reading your monster porn reviews and living vicariously is enough for me, at least 😉 And yeah, some features don’t really need link-ups – if other people want to do something similar, they still can, if they link to you, right?
      Thanks for commenting!

  14. I used to participate in more memes when I just started blogging or maybe I just changed which ones I participate in. I used to participate in WoW, but eventually had a hard time coming up with books to feature and it was hard to get interaction on those posts, they just didn’t seem to spark a lot of conversation.
    Nowadays I still participate in the Sunday Post and in Michelle her My To Be Read List meme, I think those are the only two. I like the Sunday post as it gives me a way to recap my week, share which new books I got and it’s a fun way to interact with others. i met some great bloggers through that meme. And the My To-Be Read list one is great as that way visitors can help me decide what to read next and it’s fun to hear which book people want me to read and why.
    Overall I think memes can be a lot of fun and a good way to meet new people. But they can take a lot of time to set-up and make the post interesting. So I prefer to only do a few as not to get overwhelmed. I also only do one post each day, so that limits the memes I participate in. There are also a lot of memes I like and see on other blogs, but don’t participate in myself. Great post Lexie!

    • I agree, it is sometimes hard to find books to feature for WoW, and I don’t want to feature one that I have an ARC on, so that made it even more difficult.
      I love recapping my week with the Sunday post, too, and it’s always a pleasure reading other bloggers’ Sunday Post, too.
      I completely agree, memes are a lot of fun, and a good way to meet new bloggers, but as you said, time is not always on our side. Especially if we want to keep to one post per day.
      Thanks for commenting, Lola!

  15. Excellent post!
    I agree that some of the meme’s are getting a bit stale and I’ve noticed fewer and fewer people participating in ones that have always been quite active. I’m just as guilty as the rest though particularly the Top Ten Tuesday because, as you say, it is difficult to come up with ten items each time.
    Have a great week!

  16. I think the same can be said of memes as books – they have to suit our mood. 🙂 I used to participate in FF and Teaser Tuesday but my mood changed. I decided I wanted to do different memes, like yours, that were fresh and fun. It makes creating the post exciting instead of feeling like work. I, of course, get the ‘lazy’. And that’s okay too. Sometimes we need a break. It’s important to keep blogging fun for us and I think that means changing things up every once and awhile. 😀 Great post, Lexxie!
    One more sleep… see you tomorrow!! **BIG HUGS**

  17. I really enjoyed most of these memes when I first started blogging but as the years went on I started to take part in less and less of them.

    Returning now I will only keep up with the Bough Borrowed & Bagged one simply because its the only one I still have a strong interest in.

  18. I still love doing TTT posts, but MAN does it suck the energy out of you! I’m so happy that I can split it with someone and only do five. If I had to do all ten, I think I would burn out quickly.

    We do a wrap up post and we try to stick to a discussion post, but it seems that we kinda just do our own thing, and it feels very freeing. I think one of the issues with blogging is that you can burn out very quickly just based on your own expectations.

    • I love reading the TTT posts! It’s so great to learn more about the bloggers who participate. And yeah, coming up with then specific things each week sadly just became too much for me.
      Doing our own thing is the best part about blogging! In the beginning, I really wanted to do all the posts, but I quickly realized that if I wanted this to be a fun hobby, I should only do the kinds of posts that I had fun preparing, and that didn’t take too much time.

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