Reflection: 2 Years of Blogging Fun On Elena Reads

It’s been an amazing two years on Elena Reads!

I started this blog because I love to read and I love to write and I am a very social person. Also, I wanted to spread diversity through books and reading.

Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is someone who inspires me. When watching her Ted Talk, I was in awe of her story, because she said that as a girl, she had only read books about white girls. Those books were all she had. Now, she writes books about people that look like her, so no one else has to go through what she had to go through. I hope my blog invites parents and kids to fill their shelves with diverse books, so their children can see themselves in stories!

It’s been fun recommending great books to you guys. Some of my favorites have been Merci Suarez Changes Gears, Magic of Melwick Orchard, Brown Girl Dreaming and Pashmina.

I love reading and I love showcasing my writing to the world, and when I see that someone from another country has read one of my reviews I get really excited! Writing is such an amazing tool to have in life.

Reflecting back, I have really loved connecting with awesome authors and illustrators like Kelly Starling Lyons and Vanessa Brantley-Newton. Their Jada Jones series were the first books I reviewed for my blog. And they were the first ones to agree to be interviewed by me.

I have gotten so many amazing opportunities doing the blog; connecting with authors writing amazing stories, being on a podcast that will air Monday, and even doing an EdTalk at the Metro Parent Magazine Education Expo. It’s been a great two years, and it’s been fun to do this with you!

I just want to say thank you all!! You guys are always recommending books, commenting and liking my posts, and it feels so amazing to have so many people cheering me on. No matter if you are an author, a fellow blogger, one of my teachers, my friend, one of my parent’s friends, one of my friend’s parents or a stranger, who just likes to read like me! You are all so awesome!

Happy Anniversary, Elena Reads!!