Random Ramblings #3 - Thanks

So I haven't rambled in a while but that's because my laptop was all wonky and then my back up on was all wonky and well I'm back for the time being! So I have this post I wanted to do and I have a few people that I'm dedicating this rambly thing to. And like all my Random Ramblings, I write like I talk, so bear with me! 

A year of blogging is approaching me soon (11 months today!) and I want to take this time to thank so really awesome bloggers and non-bloggers who have helped me along the way with the Guy's Side. I know I should really save this post for my blogiversay but I'm just way to excited and with a working laptop now is the time to do this! So without further ado! 

There are two non-bloggers who deserve my biggest thanks and they are the ones responsible for me starting my blog last year under the name Tales of a Book Nerd. One of them is one of my best friends, former "roommate" and craziest enablers of things that I get into, Samantha! She encouraged me to actually start blogging and I have to thank her immensely for it and for everything in the last 5 years of our lives that we've gotten into throughout college and our post graduate lives. She's actually working at a library these days which means I'm going to have more of a reason to harass her on Twitter these days.  

My other big thanks for her encouragement was one of my former supervisors at my college library, Deb! Deb has always given me book recs and asked if I thought a book would be good! She's actually responsible for me falling in love with Something Strange and Deadly! Even now after I've graduated me and Deb still talk books and whats new and she's a great friend as well. So thanks Deb for encouraging the blog and me and everything over the years!

Now there are lots of bloggers I have met on Twitter and there are some that have been super helpful and amazing! 2 of them I mentioned during the #BCLove event on Twitter last night and were confused as to what they've done for me. Well you two, you're going to find out! Most people know who they are, so they would be Nori and Kelly! 

Nori better known as @ReadWriteLove28, has been one of the biggest helps and friendliest people I've had the pleasure to meet since I started. Her blog is also fantastic! http://readwritelove28.com/ From her excel sheets (which have been a godsend!) to just being a great person to chat with and even encouraging me to do posts and looking over posts for me and other little things. She also has #RQWN, which is always a blast and has been a way for me to meet even more new bloggers! So Nori, I just wanted to thank you for all the help you've been to me and my blog over the last few months! It was actually because of Nori, that I met one of the other most amazing ladies ever; Kelly. 

Kelly or @YAFantasyFan, is another fantastic blogger and friendly face around Twitter. The two of us had a conversation about getting co-bloggers one day a couple months ago and we both have them now. Kelly and her tweets with all the advice in them and pictures have actually kept me going with the blog when I've felt like throwing in the towel at times. She also reminds me of another friend who goes by the name of Kelly as well. It's a small world in the blogosphere. So make sure to check her blog out  https://livelovereadya.wordpress.com

I've met very few other guy bloggers and all the guys I've met are amazing in their own ways! There's one though who's been a major help and become a good friend! Ethan Gregory from One Guys Guide To Goodreads! I actually met Ethan during his blogiversay celebration back in March. Let me say this for Ethan, he's a great guy and I am so glad I met him. He introduced me to a whole new realm of books and some other fantastic people. We've discovered that our nerdy interests run pretty much the same, along with our reading habits and he's become my scape goat when I buy new books. He's always put up with a chat with me for whatever reason, even if its about my job and calling the horses; cows and sheep. Hey Ethan if you see this, I've taken to calling Bajaia a mule!

I'm going to take this last little bit of this post to thank the others that I've met and have been thankful for. I would list everyone but that's another post in itself.  There are many more pretty much all of those I follow on Twitter and those who follow me. All of the guys and gals of #OTSPSecretSister project. All of you have been a huge help and lots of fun to talk to all of you. So I guess I have to say thank you to everyone for everything these last 11 months. Next month is my one year anniversary of blogging and I hope y'all are around to see what I have to say then, because it will be an even LONGER post than what I'm used to writing. So I guess until my next R.R. post!

Y'all come back now! Ya hear! 

-Brian

Random Ramblings #2 - Me

This post won't be that exciting because like the title said Me. Yeah I know what you're thinking an entire post where I talk about myself how exciting is that going to be. Well lets find out how exciting it will actually end up being. As you found out if you read my last post I write like I talk which means bad grammar, circles, my own version of words but hey that's my point behind these posts, a chance to get to know me better and this one is hopefully going to do that for you.

So getting into it most of you know that I'm Brian and and if you follow me on Twitter (@bookishbrian) then you know that I work with horses. Well I love what I do with horses and all that fun stuff but life has a funny way of showing you what you actually want to do, from the encouragement of friends and family and former supervisors things change and I'll get to that in a minute.

Well this section is going to be a little history on how The Guy's Side came to be. I had graduated college in the spring of 2014 and ended up at home and working there for a while. I thought about attempting to blog but was never really sure because the blogs I had seen were impressive! So thankfully with my friend Samantha (look Sam I called you Samantha, twice!) and former supervisor and friend Deb from my college library (now its a university but it will always be DVC for me) they got me to start this blog and I have name changes for this and finally I have The Guy's Side and I love it the most out of the others! My friends were supportive of this blog because they knew that I was (and still am a crazy avid reader and have recs for them like its my job!)



What else is there to know about me? Well I'm going to do some telling in pictures in this section because I can't do all the talking. But a bit more talking and then you can see some pictures that isn't me rambling :p! I am a proud owner of some unlikely creatures, my little rats. Yes rats that's right! I also have the typical rabbits and dogs. I was a 4-H and FFA member (can you say nerdy kind of hick), I have the most amazing group of friends from DelVal who support my bookish antics and like I said earlier know that I have recs for them and some can say I give more than I should. You might actually get to see some of them on here from time to time with a guest review (Scott). Oh and if you ever want a Harry Potter, LOTR, Marvel, or Merlin or some other fandom chats I'm your guy! Alright I talked more than I thought I would have talked right now and I promised pictures! So pictures time!

Well that's all folks for this rambling little piece and I leave you with Porky Pig signing off!

Changes!

So for those of you who stick around know that I don't post as often as I would like to which is why this post is named what it is. Now don't worry I'm not going anywhere just looking at what I can do to take this to the next step or just post more periodically.

First off: I'm going to severely limit what I allow myself to request from NetGalley and the like and even signing up for blitzes, blog tours and cover reveals. I like that they are easy posts for me but I get so busy with work and life that I forget about them.

Next: I have had some ideas for new features here on the blog and one of them is going to go live soon and I really want to put more time and thought into these and make them the best that I can do. Hopefully y'all are as excited about these new features just as much as I am! Especially this first one. My friends are supportive and like the idea but as for the general public, we'll see what happens.

Pretty much this is called changes because I originally started this to write about the books I read and wanted to share with people and write some posts that invade my mind and need somewhere to go. So my theory is to take The Guy's Side back to where it was when I first started and let this become what I originally had planned. Might not ever be the biggest or most popular blog out there but its my little corner and if you come by to read my reviews or my posts, then I thank you from the bottom of my heart. As such my Random Ramblings will continue even if they aren't always bookish but whatever crosses my mind and I try to put into words.

So hopefully y'all aren't disappointed with what I choose to do but I feel that by writing and reviewing when I can and on what I want then I'll be doing what I planned to do. Keep your eyes open for my newest feature coming in July (tentatively)!

I guess that's all folks for now!

Brian