Today, Sophisticated Dorkiness turns 10 years old.
Truthfully, I spent most of this week thinking I’d only been blogging for nine years. I discovered it’s actually been a decade when I went to look at last year’s blogiversary post and realized my mistake. Ten years! That’s amazing.
I started this blog in 2008 just a few days before my college graduation. I was 21 years old, and I was feeling sad and nervous about leaving college and all of my friends and teachers. I wondered who I would get to talk about books with when I wasn’t an English major anymore, and so decided that I would start a blog and see what happened. To find other bloggers I literally Googled “book blog community.” Everything was small back then, and so that worked. That was such a stroke of luck.
I wish that I had something profound or insightful to say about a decade of blogging, the lessons I’ve learned or the trends I’ve observed or what the landscape of blogging looks like now compared to 10 years ago. But I don’t think I have much that’s new there, I can just talk about how my life and this blog have changed.
For a period of my blogging journey, I saw this as a semi-professional space. It was a personal project that, as I finished grad school, was helping me with my career as a young journalist because I could show that I understood online communities and how to write for the Internet. That was a big deal back in 2010. And even as I worked in journalism, I kept this space going with an eye to professionalism. I shared a picture of my life, but not many of the messiest and most difficult parts.
And then in 2016, I lost my person and became a widow at 30. It still feels un-fucking-believable to write that sentence. Eight months later, I lost my job in community journalism and found myself having to radically rethink my life after being on, essentially, one path since I graduated college.
I let this space sit quiet for some time while I tried to sort all of that out. I started being more involved at Book Riot through writing a weekly nonfiction newsletter and, this spring, launching a nonfiction podcast. For better or for worse, a lot of my professional bookish energy now goes there, which has allowed this space to become more personal. I worry less about being unfinished and casual here. To me, Sophisticated Dorkiness now feels more like a reading journal than a book blog, although that may just be a difference in mindset and semantics.
I’m glad that I made 2018 my year to recommit to this space. Posting regularly reminded me what I wanted to be doing in the first place, having conversations about the books I’ve read with other people who want to talk about books too. Whatever else is going on, being able to do that is important, and I haven’t found a space that feels more comfortable to me than this one.
I remain profoundly grateful that, despite all of those changes, there are still people who show up in this space (and in all of the other spaces we find ourselves online) to connect over a common love of books and reading (or crafts and cats and bad television, depending on the day).
Thank you for continuing to be here, and indulging me in a little metadiscourse about my blogging journey. I’m going to end with a bit of what I wrote last year, since the whole thing still applies:
As always, the biggest thank you needs to go out to all of you. Finding a community of readers and friends through this blog has been one of the biggest joys of life, and something I don’t take for granted. Thank you for being here through the rough stuff and as this space continues to evolve with me.
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Happy 10 years! That’s amazing! And I need to check out your podcast!
Thank you!
Love your blog, glad your still here after 10 years..Congrats!
When you think of your life in decades, it seems kind of surreal.
Just think of how many books you’ve read in that time!
🙂
It really does feel surreal! Ten years feels like a long time to be doing anything, much less being a nerd on the Internet 🙂
I agree with Kayo and Sarah – congrats in 10 years! That’s amazing. And I do love your blog, even though I read very little non-fiction. That doesn’t matter though – we both love books and I like to see what others think about the types of books that don’t make their way into my reading life often. I agree that for me, my blog is a journal. And I have come and gone at times due to whatever. So, great blog – keep the thoughts coming – I’ll keep reading – and best wishes always!
I like thinking about it as a journal right now because, like you said, you can leave it and come back and just sort of pick up where you were. That’s a nice feeling!
Congratulations on 10 wonderful years! I think I hit 10 years later this summer.
Congrats!
Congratulations on your bloggiversary! 10 years is definitely a milestone and I’m so glad that you are here and wishing you many more years of blogging!
Thanks! Now the next big marker is 20 years (yikes!).
We started blogging the same year! Happy blogiversary! I’m glad you’ve kept it going.
That’s right! I remember that our blog birthdays are always close together (although not as close as our real birthdays! 🙂 )
We started blogging the same year, and your blog was one of the first I started religiously following, Kim. I, for one, am glad you’re still here talking about books and your reading experiences and life, in general. If nothing else, the last ten years have taught me how to evolve my blog into the space I need it to be, and I’m glad you’ve been able to do the same as life throws the worst (and the best) at us. Happy blogiversary!
Yes, that’s exactly it! Blogs don’t have to be just one thing, and I think part of continuing to do it is making it a space that is allowed to change as you do.
Always sending love and positive vibes from Chicago! I’m glad you’re doing you here and you are still a role model for those of us who haven’t been around as long. Keep it up girl!
Awww, thank you, that’s really sweet 🙂
Congrats on 10 yrs of blogging! What an achievement. Despite all the stuff that life throws at us, we can always rely on Books & bookish prople to carry us through the darkest of days.
I look forward to seeing what happens here next.
Absolutely. Bookish people are the best people, and I’m so glad to have found my tribe here online.
I’m so glad and so impressed you’re still doing this after 10 year. Your blog really inspired me when I first got started and I enjoy it even more for that reason 🙂
Thank you, that is so nice of you to say!
Congrats on 10 years! I started November 2017 and completely forgot about my own 10 year anniversary – there has been a LOT going on in my personal life lately. I love how although blogging has evolved and changed over time, so many awesome people are still a part of this community. And even though I go back and forth about whether to keep my blog active, I can’t imagine giving it up for good.
I would absolutely have forgotten, except that I put it on my calendar as a reminder. It’s nice to spend a little time thinking about where you’ve been once a year or so 🙂
Congratulations on reading ten years of blogging! I’ll be halfway there this year, which is hard for me to believe. Time goes quickly! I always enjoy reading your posts, whatever they may be about. 🙂
Good for you! In internet time, five years is a huge achievement.
Congratulations on ten years, friend!! I’m realizing as I write this that I’ve missed my own ten-year blogging anniversary, because I started a few months before you did. (Things WERE small back then!) I’m glad we’re friends, and I’m so glad you’re still reading-journaling in this space. <3
So small! Every time I think about starting a blog now, I wonder about how impossible it would be to feel heard through the noise, especially writing content they way I like to write it. When things were small, we didn’t really have to worry about that.
Happy 10 years! Mine is coming up in a couple of months and I certainly never thought I would be doing it this long. Instead, here we are and I miss all of the people who didn’t stick with it this long. I’m glad you’re still here and doing what you need to do to make this a happy space for you. 🙂
Same! If you asked when I started how long I’d be blogging, I’m not sure if I could have picked a number of years. Certainly not 10!
I just found your blog today via a different book blog (doing Dewey). There’s so much kindness in this post, and I will definitely be back.
That’s so sweet, I am glad!
Congrats on the 10 year anniversary! I can’t remember how I discovered your blog, but it’s always been a favorite of mine. I’ve discovered many a good book thanks to you. Over the years you’ve also been a huge influence and inspiration to me when it comes to my own blogging.
It was a pleasure to meet you at in New York at BEA/Book Bloggers’ Convention awhile back. So much fun!
Keep up the great work!
Thank you! It is always great to meet people in person. I’m glad we had the chance to do that!
💖💖💖 HAPPY 10 YEARS, best co-host of all.
💖💖💖 right back at you!
Who knew that we’d all still be here 10 years and many changes later? I can’t tell you how happy I am to have met you — both here and in real life. The community and friendships have been (and continue to be) astonishing.
Agreed! So many changes, and so much happiness that we’ve had the chance to become friends because of blogging.
Happy 10 years! I have enjoyed your blog the past number of years and though you have suffered a terrible tragedy — I think it is helpful that you’ve recommitted yourself — to a couple book sites and your journalism and I wish you the best with all of it.
Most of the time, I’m better with a deadline… a true journalist! So, setting a goal to post once a week, usually on Thursdays, has been a good practice this year.