So, it’s been nearly a full year since I started up the blog in these new digs and I think I’m wrapping my head around the differences between blogger and WordPress. Unfortunately, I learn by doing things wrong so I have a lot of behind the scenes fixing up to do.
Like with the subject tags for each blog versus categories. Apparently I need to switch those two around if I want an efficient and helpful way to search by authors and genres. Right now the tags are limited to a certain number and appear in a cluster and only the most currently popular tags are visible. Where as the category fields are unlimited and much better suited for long lists of authors.
Then there’s the way the blog posts just run on one after the other with no way to divide them up in to manageable groups that would be easier for browsing. Blogger automatically cued posts up by month and year which was ever so helpful. I need to figure out if that is possible on WP. Which means I have to conquer widgets. They sound cute, but trust me, they aren’t!
I’m also toying with creating pages for specific things — like winners. That would make it easy for readers to stop by the blog any time and scroll through recent wins in case they missed a notification.
Anyway, all this to say that the blog will be under construction for a while and I’m praying I don’t break anything. 🙂 So it might look different when you come to visit but I’ll keep Book Reviews as the home page so you should always wind up here…I think. Yikes!
Now for the biggest change to hit the blog for years!
Due to the steep hike in book prices I’ll be reducing the number of giveaways each week. Probably 2-3 instead of the usual 5. As well, please pay careful attention to the giveaway details as there will likely be more ebook only options in 2024. As well as more gently read print copies.
I’m hoping this all won’t become too confusing but I think I’ve figured out a way to be clear and concise — you just have to read the fine print!
Let’s say I wrote an awesome book entitled “Kav’s Amazing Year of Best Reads!” and, of course, I wanted to review it. A review only (as in no giveaway) blog title would look like this:
Kav’s Amazing Year of Best Reads!
BUT, if I wanted to do a giveaway for my truly awesome-guaranteed-to-be-a-bestseller book 🙂 the blog title would look like this:
Kav’s Amazing Year of Best Reads! + Giveaway
So easy peasy way to spot the giveaways but then you’ll need to scroll down to the giveaway section of each review blog and read the details. This will look like it always has — blue print with the edition options in red to catch your attention — but it’s more important than ever to make note of the giveaway options. Here they are:
For a giveaway where either print or ebook is possible:
Please Note: Unfortunately this type of giveaway will only be available in the US and Canada though International readers with a US Kindle account can opt for the ebook edition.
US – available in print or ebook — winner’s choice
Canada – available in print or ebook or audible (if available) — winner’s choice
For a giveaway where the book has been gently read by moi:
Gently read paperback copy available to any reader anywhere in the world! Woohoo, a truly International Giveaway!
For a giveaway where the book is for an ebook only:
ebook copy only — available to any reader who has an American Kindle account (com) OR Canadians will get an Amazon gift card towards the purchase of the ebook for their Canadian Kindle. (For some bizarre reason, we can’t gift ebooks up here in the True North!)
So, not too many changes. Just remember to note whether the title indicates ‘Giveaway’ and make sure to check formats available each time, as they will vary. Otherwise, it’s business as usual…bonding over the best kinds of reads!
PS: Monthly New Releases giveaways and Reader’s Choice days will remain the same, with options for either print or ebook for all entries.
Kav's Best Reads 
I have no idea how you keep all of this give away stuff straight anyway. Widgets, formats, I can’t fathom! You do a wonderful job with keeping us up to date on Christian fiction. WordPress seems to be working for me which is a big plus. I understand the cost of books, everything seems to be going up these days….don’t get me started on groceries for my family of four. It’s outrageous! Thank you for being a light in the CF world.
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I have a system for the giveaways that rarely fails me…not so confident about these pesky widgets! 🙂 And I love that WP works for you — and so many others (including me!) who had difficulties commenting on blogger. And, yikes, I’m with you on groceries! My garden made such a difference int he autumn that I plan to grow more next summer. Freshly frozen home-grown veggies are so much tastier than store bought — and cheaper too!
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I agree Kav, you’re doing an amazing job with WP and this blog thingy. So thankful that you’ve been able to manage it and find your way around it all. I truly understand the price hike and your decision in how to handle it is perfect. It will still be a pleasure to read your reviews and see what’s new in the readers world. I love being a part of all of this and am so thankful for you doing it for us, though we do know you’re also benefiting a lot from it as well. We readers always do just by hearing news from our favorite authors. So good luck on the fine-toning of all of this. We do appreciate your hard work.
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Thanks so much for your support, Becky. I do so enjoy our bookish community!
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With knowing how difficult it can be on my end of just reading what needs to be read first and getting reviews posted and shared, I can only imagine how difficult what all you do can be. I’ve always said how much I greatly appreciate you and what you do for us delighted readers that benefit from it all. ❤
Also sadly understand the expenses and having to change. With postage continually going up, if I live long enough the post office will become extinct. And that's not accounting for your time and work. I also feel that before much longer, folks like me that have to read paperbacks, due to personal reasons making ebooks and audios impossible for me, I fear that reading for me one day will be re-reading books on hand, shared with friends or our very small library purely because of the way everyone is getting away from paperbacks. At times, I feel like the old dinosaurs, going extinct as the new replaces the old and no way of changing with the times. That being said, none of this is your responsibility at all. I will continue to read your reviews and keep up with your daily emails for as long as my eyesight and computer abilities continue.
Once again, I wish to say THANK YOU!
2clowns at arkansas dot net
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Thanks so much, Kay! And I’m with you on print books. For some strange reason my eyes don’t do screen reading and I love my shelves full to brimming with books. I’m able to enjoy audio books as well though and that has been a real blessing. But I’m still determined to keep up with ‘real’ book giveaways so keep an eye out for them!
And on a brighter note — I actually think we’re transitioning back to being a ‘book’ book society. Two independent bookstores have opened in my area — one within walking distance and one a short bus ride away — and they are doing a thriving business. Very canny marketing too with lots of author events and theme nights. Sadly neither carries Christian Fiction but my heart sings at the fact that they are up and running with great success. Plus I’ve noticed an increase in free little libraries in my neighbourhood and they are really popular. So my heart is full of hope for our beloved print books.
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Thanks for all that you do~~~we appreciate you!
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Thank you, Connie!
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I used to blog & it was no fun learning the whys & wherefores of everything when I 1st started out. UGH! I don’t envy you, that’s for sure. I agree the price of books is getting outrageous & even ebooks have gone up. I wait awhile to see if they go on sale & then tell my FB reader friends about it! Sometimes I pay regular price out of desperation & can wait no longer. LOL! NetGalley helps, but I have slowed down on NG books somewhat. I like to see a cover when I read! Your reviews are SO delightful & among the very few I read all the way through! I so appreciate them & all that you do. Prayers as you navigate your way through all the changes you’d like to make.
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Thanks so much, Diane! You are bestest of book friends. I just got approved for my first Net Galley audio book! Totally gobsmacked. As you know, I can’t do the ebooks, but I sured drooled over all the options available there! Prayers appreciated — battling widgets is not for the faint of heart. 🙂
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Yay! How exciting! Your 1st NG audiobook! I feel perhaps NG will make more audiobooks available as more people request them. (fingers crossed for you!) I can’t concentrate on them & my mind wanders, but some people not only love them but need them.
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For a non-techie person, as you insist you are, the transition to this blog went very smoothly! Just my thoughts looking from this side of the desk. Understand there are some refinements you would like to see, but “trial and error” is a basic part of life. We blog followers are, or perhaps I should just speak for myself, very happy with having fewer issues using WP as opposed to the increasing and more restrictive issues with the original host. The potential changes in format you mentioned could be nice benefits. We appreciate all you do to promote the enjoyment of books and to provide a forum for us to share and chat about them. It is an unusual and historic time in which we live with the residual effects of the pandemic, monetary policy, and resulting supply/demand plus inflation concerns affecting basically everything, including books.
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Thanks for your understanding and encouragement, CC! Hopefully my backroom blog renovations will go smoothly too. I live in hope! Also that it won’t take too much time away from my reading! 🙂
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I appreciate all the books you’ve given away over the years, but mainly I appreciate your friendship. It’s wonderful to be involved with other Christian fiction readers and talk about books!
My wild reader imagination has often wondered if you were secretly an heiress, or a millionaire, or owned a bookstore, lol. But I know when it comes right down to it, you are a reader who loves sharing books with other reads and that makes you tops in my book 😉
I also appreciate you pressing through on WP to figure out all the quirky things that make it possible for us to keep in touch with you!
As ever, you are the best Christian fiction promoter I know!
You are loved and appreciated so very much!
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Ooohhh — I want the bookstore option from your imagination please!!!! Though being an heiress who consequently opens her own bookshop with her millions would be pretty nice as well. Bwahahaha! I like the way your mind works, Tracey. Alas, my riches lie in my library collection and bookish friends all around the world and that’s fine by me! And the librarian in me loves sharing books with readers. So it’s win/win for me. Thanks so much for your kind words. I appreciate your support and friendship.
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Tracey, great minds think alike. However, I thought for sure she was a millionaire princess living incognito in Canada above a bookshop. Maybe we should collaborate on writing a book! Then again…nahhh. I think we’re better off reading them. 😉
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Bwahahaha! I had no idea I led such an interesting life! Can one of you write in a book loving hero please?
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Thanks for the update and we all understand, I am sure!
I once blogged with friends at one site and then they shut down the blogs. We found another site and it was awesome. Then they shut that down. We tried so many places, including WordPress, but they didn’t suit our needs and most people found it too confusing. We ended up in a private fb group and I never cared for that much. So kudos to you for all you’ve done. Learning as you go along is part of it all.
The pricing for everything these days is out of control and so I am sure everyone understands.
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Thanks for your understanding. Frustrating about all the blog platforms you worked on. Everybody makes it sound so easy to set up a blog, but if you don’t have a tech background or grew up in the last decade or so where computer education really took hold, well, it’s pretty daunting.
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Hey, I totally get the book costs😬 Frankly, I’m surprised you have been able to maintain the number of giveaways that you have for so long already!😓
Your reviews stand on their own two feet though😉 This blog is awesome with or without the number of giveaways as in past years. The community you’ve cultivated here is like a bookish family-away-from-family that I look forward to hearing opinions, suggestions and comments from daily! And your reviews are always delightful! I’ve opened myself to (and enjoyed!) a lot more books than I would otherwise have given a chance to, because of your thoughts on them😃
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Thanks so much for saying that, Elly. Makes me full to brimming with bookish glee. I’m so appreciative of this community. I had literally zero like minded readers in my sphere up until a few months ago, so it’s so much fun to talk books and share reviews with people who ‘get’ it. And, woohoo, a friend of mine discovered the joy of audio books a while back and I’ve been able to recommend lots of Christian Fiction, which she didn’t know existed, and she’s loving it. Though she still doesn’t talk ‘book’ though. Sigh. I’m working on that. 🙂
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Kav I totally understand. I cherish our friendship. You are so loved and appreciated. Blessings on you.
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Thank you so much, Jackie! Hugs!
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I would be extremely happy with your book copies 😊. No need to order new for me.
Thank you for your sharing with us, Kav. I have enJ*O*Yed your daily posts book notices all these years with everyone. Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House
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Thank you, Kathleen! So grateful you all understand. And, of course, I am the gentlest of readers so when I say ‘gently read’ I mean it! 🙂
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Kav, you’re the best! I so enjoy your posts, your reviews, and all your bookish delight and sharing. The Christian Fiction book community here is such fun. I truly enjoy seeing everyone’s book ideas and suggestions and what they’re excited to read. It keeps my TRB pile outrageously big and overflowing, but, hey, that’s a good thing, right? LOL As a tech-challenged person, I’m impressed with you being able to switch and learn new things. Thanks so much for all you do for us. Your generous giveaways are such fun and the friendships here are priceless!
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Ah, thanks, Winnie. And hooray for outrageously big and overflowing TBR piles — wouldn’t want them any other way. 🙂
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Thanks for all the work you do to produce this blog. It is my favorite of all the blogs I subscribe to. I have no idea how you do it all but am thankful for all the book giveaways and reviews. I can certainly understand your need to cut back a bit.
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Thants, Pam. So lovely to hear that (picture me with a Cheshire grin as I look up from the book I’m reading.)
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I appreciate all you do. I’m not sure I could keep up with it. Thank you. Blessings
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Thanks, Book Twin! 🙂
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thanks for sharing this with us. eeeppp hope we can all keep this straight. I have no doubt you will help along the way. thanks for all that you do for all of us readers.
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It’s going to be painless. Easy peasy. This will be my mantra as I face the dreaded widgets. 🙂
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Kav, thanks so much for updating us on the upcoming changes and under construction things we may notice. You do such a great job with your blog — we all appreciate you so much! I’m cheering you on!
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Thanks, Cheryl! I’m off to tackle widgets!
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You are doing a fabulous job and I love reading your reviews!! Giveaways or not, I will continue to make my way over here to see what is going on 🙂 I appreciate you and all you do for the blogging community. Does WP not have the line function where you can make the post small, and then be able to click on “continue reading or read more” like blogger does? I am sorry you still have to figure things out…that’s one of the reasons I haven’t switched from blogger, it just seems overwhelming.
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Thanks so much, Cindy! I’m sure WP has something like that, but I’m that inept that I wouldn’t know it if it hit me over the head. 🙂 Baby steps, that’s how I’m proceeding…cautiously.
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Sounds like a plan, Kav. The time you put into this blog just makes me tired thinking about it. You do a great job. Wishing you the best as you make changes. I know you can do it! We all appreciate you!
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I agree with all of the above comments. I truly appreciate all the reviews and all the work you do to bring so many great books to our attention. Thank you! Sandy
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