I used to participate regularly in In My Mailbox. But lately, I've stopped posting this meme for a couple of reasons.
-I somtimes feel that In My Mailbox is a bit show-offy. I like how I see what people are getting and what's really being promoted, but for me, I don't want to appear as though I'm bragging about what books I got. So at times I had a hard time posting my mailbox posts. It didn't bother me as much if it was library books or books I bought, but I kind of disliked showing the books I was mailed-either by request or not. It just felt a bit selfish to show off advanced reader copies. Because that's not what blogging is about for me-who got the most coveted ARC. Blogging isn't about ARCs and making people jealous, it's about sharing books. I felt like showing off a pile of ARCs was a bit like saying "look, I'm cooler than you" and I really hated that. I know not everyone feels that way and some people really like mailbox posts and that's fine. I'm not saying all bloggers who post mailbox posts are trying to show off, but it just wasn't for me. I do like from a librarian standpoint seeing what books are being marketed and sent-in some ways it can give me an idea of what publishers are trying to build up buzz for. But it wasn't working for me personally.
Since I haven't bought many books recently, I haven't had much to post. And so often I check out books from the library only to have them sit on my shelf and I don't get to them. So then I would never review them because I never read them. Other people have mentioned they don't feel that way about mailbox posts, so maybe it's just me.
-The other, bigger reason was that I knew my work on the Printz Committee was coming up next year and I knew once committee work started, I'd be getting A LOT of books in the mail. And these are titles I won't be able to share or talk about. So I couldn't post about them anyway. So I decided to go ahead and phase out the In My Mailbox posts now.
But I still want something to post on Sundays. A review of posts from that week? Picture book review day or a day I can post my storytime plans from the previous week? I'm open to suggestions! I'd love a new Sunday post idea so let me know what sort of post you'd be interested in seeing.
-I somtimes feel that In My Mailbox is a bit show-offy. I like how I see what people are getting and what's really being promoted, but for me, I don't want to appear as though I'm bragging about what books I got. So at times I had a hard time posting my mailbox posts. It didn't bother me as much if it was library books or books I bought, but I kind of disliked showing the books I was mailed-either by request or not. It just felt a bit selfish to show off advanced reader copies. Because that's not what blogging is about for me-who got the most coveted ARC. Blogging isn't about ARCs and making people jealous, it's about sharing books. I felt like showing off a pile of ARCs was a bit like saying "look, I'm cooler than you" and I really hated that. I know not everyone feels that way and some people really like mailbox posts and that's fine. I'm not saying all bloggers who post mailbox posts are trying to show off, but it just wasn't for me. I do like from a librarian standpoint seeing what books are being marketed and sent-in some ways it can give me an idea of what publishers are trying to build up buzz for. But it wasn't working for me personally.
Since I haven't bought many books recently, I haven't had much to post. And so often I check out books from the library only to have them sit on my shelf and I don't get to them. So then I would never review them because I never read them. Other people have mentioned they don't feel that way about mailbox posts, so maybe it's just me.
-The other, bigger reason was that I knew my work on the Printz Committee was coming up next year and I knew once committee work started, I'd be getting A LOT of books in the mail. And these are titles I won't be able to share or talk about. So I couldn't post about them anyway. So I decided to go ahead and phase out the In My Mailbox posts now.
But I still want something to post on Sundays. A review of posts from that week? Picture book review day or a day I can post my storytime plans from the previous week? I'm open to suggestions! I'd love a new Sunday post idea so let me know what sort of post you'd be interested in seeing.
I completely understand about feeling like IMM can get braggy--but I really feel it's only the original poster who ever feels that way. I know I get little twinges of jealousy sometimes when I read IMM posts full of books I want, but I get a little jealous when a friend tells me about all the cool stuff she bought when she went shopping, too. And for the most part I really do enjoy seeing what everyone's getting. And I never hesitate to post my own IMMs--this is the ONE place in the world where I know people will be excited for me because I got an ARC of "Title X" or won "Title Y" in a contest. Blogger and blog readers just "get" what the rest of the world--well, most of MY world, anyway--don't.
ReplyDeleteSo, feel free to share if you want to. Although I totally understand about the Printz thing, though. Are you allowed to talk about it at all--like, what's the reading commitment like? How many books will you be expected to read, and over what period of time? (Please know that I'm not asking to finagle confidential info, but because I'm honestly curious, and would like to learn more about in case I'd like to pursue committee work at some point.)
Wow, I'm chatty tonight! Apologies for the rambling!
I tried to do mailbox posts, but that didn't work for me. Personal preference. I do enjoy the summary posts that I come across. Either a weekly or monthly summary of reviews posted.
ReplyDeleteChristi-Not rambling at all!:) I love talking about books and blogging. Yeah, I do think it's mostly just me that feels that personally about it. At the same time, it's fun to share in the excitement of getting books.
ReplyDeleteAs for Printz, I'm not sure what the reading will be like. I know it will be A LOT. It's a year of reading-so reading all next year-Feb.-Jan. I'm so glad done a state committee before this-I think that helped. I have friends who make it a goal to read 300 books a year to prep for BFYA because that's a ton of reading as well, so getting used to reading a lot isn't a bad idea. If you're interested in a committee, I would fill out an application and see what happens-I think they're open until Sept. 30!;) I started with Fabulous Films for Young Adults which is AWESOME and tons of fun-lots of watching movies. I hope you get to do a committee sometime-it really is worth all the work! And ALA is amazing-it's so fun to network at conference. If you go sometime, let me know!
I totally hear you, Sarah. Honestly, I stopped doing IMM because I just didn't have time to write up the posts every week! Also, I used to really love IMM when I had more time for reading and blogging and I was requesting titles from publishers. Lately, I've felt swamped with ARCs from conferences and reading for the YHBA list, so I haven't been requesting books. Therefore 1) I'm not getting a lot in my mailbox these days and 2) I'm not paying as much attention to what galleys are available.
ReplyDeleteI do think it's neat to know what bloggers are reading and what books they're excited about! (BUT if you're getting 10-20 books in your mailbox a week, there's no way you're actually reading all those books*, so...)
*Unless you're on the Printz Committee! Ha!
Heather-I think summary posts are good, because there are times my feedreader is just too full to read everything! So they help me catch up on things.
ReplyDeleteAbby-HA! Exactly-my mailbox has been so light the last few months-I know it's just preparing me for the massive storm that will hit soon! I do think it's hard to read them all when my feedreader is so full anyway, so it gets hard to catch up. I've been so busy with my new position as well that I feel like I haven't read blogs or blogged myself as much as I'd like to which I hate. And IMM was just another post I was failing at posting and I hated feeling like I failed at posting something when I already felt I wasn't posting enough! But maybe I'll still post some cute pictures of my puppies with books! :)
ReplyDeleteI can definitely see where you're coming from. I'm much more likely to get books from the store or friends than from my mailbox so I'm not usually one to participate in this. But I do love reading about what other people got!
ReplyDeleteI've been feeling the same way about IMM posts. I never want to appear braggy when I have ARCs, but there are some blogs that leave me with the impression that they are bragging. I've been considering not participating unless I'm showcasing books I've purchased.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of a good Sunday post, but maybe you can start a meme for those of us who don't want to participate with the IMM posts anymore :) Maybe you could post about book talks you've done in the library or something. Or you could give tips for teachers who are really into literacy and promoting reading in their classrooms.
I'm very excited for you about being part of the Printz committee!
I totally hear you on IMM. I actually skip all IMM posts!
ReplyDeleteA lot of book bloggers participate in the Sunday Salon, so you could always try that!
I would love to hear about your storytime plans! I love to read about the different programs you implement!
ReplyDeleteI'm not doing anything for Banned Books week, partly because it falls during our Fall Break, but also because I recently read an article (http://libraryjuicepress.com/blog/?p=3019)
ReplyDeletethat made me more aware of how the current focus on books that have been challenged dilutes the message about books that have been truly banned (think Nazi book-burnings, etc.) and also promulgates the idea that book challenges are intrinsically bad. I have not myself been through a serious book challenge and I know from others that it can be a very unpleasant experience, but I also think book selection can be tricky and we do make mistakes. I would really love it if others who read this blog would read the article and respond.
As a storytime planner now, every week, I love seeing what other books worked (or didn't work!) for storytellers, what extension activities were used, and so on. It's helpful in my planning and I can often adapt based on what my collection has.
ReplyDeleteI know this is an old blog post, but I came across it from on a post on Stacked.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you wrote and I never participate in IMM either, mostly because of the name. In My Mailbox implies that you are receiving ARCs or gifted books in the mail, and well, I don't. I know one can include books from the library or purchased books, but the name just makes it sound braggy.
Exactly! I think the name sounds braggy too.
ReplyDelete