Nerd Church - Viral Reading

Are you ready to be a Bookish Rebel? Cos we're gonna shake sh** up today! 😉

I love my blogging friends - but you weren't originally who I was aiming my brain babbling at (But I still love you!!!! Never leave me!!!! *tugs at your sleeves to stop you going*)

No, when this blog started, it's half-formed, characteristically-vague, ideal was to spread reading like a positive plague across the globe - I wanted, and still want, to make READING go viral.









That means, my dearest nerdlets, that I truly appreciate all of you - both from the blogging and non-blogging sides of life.

I wish I knew more about what you non-blogging folks like/think though! And you bloggers from other niches/categories. Everyone's welcome here! XD

Remember you can always talk to me on social media or comment on Dora Reads - you don't need an account to comment, you can put in a name, or comment as Anonymous (but don't use that as an excuse to act like a douche.)

Don't be surprised if my replies are awkward af though - it's definitely me, not you!









If you just wanna read my stuff - then that's ok too!

I'm not the sort of person to try and force interaction.

Sometimes you just wanna read a post and nothing else - and that's ok. 😄








What do you think is the best way to spread the love of reading my nerdlets?

I know that leading by example - talking books, reading books, reviewing books, hyping books - is one of the best ways to make things spread.

And I know so many awesome people who are doing just that (keep it up dearest nerdlets!)








Diversity is also the way to go.

Diversity is the reality of making reading something for EVERYONE. Diverse books make reading something that welcomes the world in - as it should.









We also need to be less precious.

I love you, dearest, dearest, nerdlets, but some of you have little quirks which you think everyone should follow.








If you don't want to dog-ear then don't! But people who dog-ear are not 'monsters.'

I don't tend to dog-ear, but neither am I particularly bothered about other people doing it.

My books are not pristine - many of them look like they've been dragged through a dense forest on a string behind me. (Rumours that this may actually be the case are unfounded... maybe.)

I carry books around in my handbag, and ain't nothin' coming out of there in as good condition as it went in. There's at least three demons in there, I swear.

I don't care about having series of the same edition/covers. I will pick up a series in the middle. Etc. etc.

I worry that sometimes people are put off from the online and/or offline bookishness by the trappings - the little stuff that becomes the big stuff for reasons I struggle to fathom.

Genre wars. Fandom wars. Ship wars. E-book vs print. New vs second-hand. YA vs MG (middle grade) vs Adult. Fanfiction vs original work. Indie vs mainstream publishing.








Plus there's the endless string of acronyms that it's physically impossible to keep up with - how are people who aren't online 24/7 supposed to know the difference between TBW and a TBR?!

(Please don't come at me for that example.)

It's ok to use acronyms - of course it is! But I don't want us to get so caught up in lingo that we alienate people we could be enticing into the realms of bookishness.

And I want to make it perfectly clear, right here, right now - IF YOU EVER DON'T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING I SAID, JUST ASK.

Honestly, between the bookish slang,  the fandom slang, the Welsh/Wenglish slang, the British slang, and the random-a** cr*p I come out with all by myself, it's amazing that anyone ever understands a thing I say 😅









I think the book-blogging/bookish online community needs to do more to spread reading - we need to reach out to people who aren't big readers.

Because it's ok to only read one book a year. It's ok if your shelves look like there was some sort of natural disaster - even if there wasn't.

It's ok if you don't give a sh** about pictures upon pictures of books... I love you guys, but I will never get the appeal of Bookstagram (bookish Instagram) - you've seen one pic of books, you've pretty much seen them all.

Likewise, it's ok to read hundreds of books a year. It's ok to obsess over getting your shelves to look pretty (within reason - please remember to sleep, eat, go outside, etc!)

It's ok if you absolutely adore bookstagram. It's ok if you don't get why I don't get it.







To sum up:

• Reading is for EVERYONE

• If non-bloggers wanna talk to me - I'm here!

• Read YOUR way - that's what matters

• We need to make room for every sort of reading, and every sort of reader, in our online community/communities

• Diversity is essential for the growth of reading as a pastime, hobby, way of life, whatever

• Reading is something we need to spread to the whole damn world! 😈💖

So, my nerdlets, are you with me? Do you think we need to do more to attract non-readers? Do you have any ideas for tempting people into reading? Talk to me! 💬😊

You can follow me on Twitter @CeeDoraReads, on Dora Reads @ BlogLovin, and on Google+. For more ways to support me, check out the Support Me page






Related posts:

• Nerd Church - The Value of Reading

• Nerd Church - Yes, We Damn Well Need Fair Reviews