Hello bookish people,
Today we are the 30th of March 2022, and it’s the 2nd anniversary of this blog! I’m so happy about it! Of course, two years it’s a lot for a blog and the amount of work it asks me to do to be able to update it is a lot, but I just love to share my thoughts with you.
To celebrate this second year, I will share with you how everything begins, and some explanations and a surprise will wait for you at the end.
How did everything start?
For that, I needed to go back in 2016. It was my last year of college in France, where I studied fashion marketing. During this last year, I wanted to improve my English and be more confident with it, as in this field, you need to talk a lot in English. So, I enrolled on some courses for the following year in London. The only thing I didn’t know at that time was a job opportunity at the end of my internship. So, I hesitated but decided to go to London and refuse this job, as everything was already paid for (and it wasn’t cheap.)
In London, I rebound with my love of books. As I was reading a lot but couldn’t talk about it with people, I created a blog to share my thoughts. This was my first blog, and I chose to write it in English as it was natural for me to do it. A little after, I applied to the London College of Fashion to follow a Postgraduate course. Still, before it started, I needed to go back to France to organise everything. I didn’t post anything anymore on my blog, and I finished by not using my blog for two years. I couldn’t find a job in London after my course, so I went back to France. I started to read again, but in French, and I didn’t revive my blog. I was just reading for pleasure.
In 2019, I couldn’t find a job, so I was: “2020 will be my year”, and let me tell you, no, it wasn’t (yeah, I’m looking at you, Covid19.) My worst fear was falling apart, I was unemployed at 27, and my mental health wasn’t the best. So, I did the one thing that has given me comfort since I was young: read. I started reading again at the end of January 2020, and the book was Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Pérez, which I started 2 years prior and wanted to finish. So, after two months of readings, and a pandemic that obliged us to be confined in our houses, I decided to again share my thoughts on the books I was reading. I never thought of starting a Youtube channel; I prefer to create a new blog again from scratch. And here come the two years of self-discovery and self-help in a situation I couldn’t have imagined: unemployment and pandemic.
Why read in English?
Do you know how much time it takes to translate a book? Too many, except for specific authors or very hyped books; some aren’t even translated. Sometimes you feel left out of stories, worlds, characters, authors, and it’s regrettable. I still read some books in French, for example, mangas, or when the author is french (like duh) or when the book is translated from another language than French and English.
Why did I choose to use English for my blog and not French?
The truth is that I don’t know. As for my previous blog, it feels natural for me to write in English, even if it takes me more time. Yeah, sometimes I would like to share those books in French, especially now that more and more French people are reading in English. Still, I don’t see myself doing a review twice, once in English and one in French.
Why a blog and not a Youtube channel?
I’m more of a blog person, it’s more challenging to transcribe an idea with words, and I like that challenge. However, I’m not closed to the idea of a Youtube channel, but I think it will be in French. Still, a channel is a lot of work and asks for a good organisation, so for now, it’s just an idea, that’s all.
Why does the blog change a lot?
A lot has changed in two years. First, me, for example, I know that I don’t want to work in fashion anymore, and second this blog. The name and logo changed, the format of the posts too. Also, some posts stay, and some go. But I think it’s a good thing to try different ideas and not restrict myself to them so that I can create a blog that looks like me.
What is the gift for this second anniversary?
The present is a new change. I wasn’t satisfied with the name and that from the beginning. That’s why I tried to create a logo but still wasn’t a big fan. So here is the new name and logo of the channel:
For the domain, it will wait for a little before being changed. This was an idea I had one night after spending I don’t know how many months thinking about a new name.
I can’t thank you enough to follow and liking this blog. I hope you will continue to enjoy the content I’m doing and continue this journey with me.
That’s all for this post. Happy birthday to this blog, and see you next time,
Liz.
Books & Reviews 