So! To kick off the first of my review posts, we start with a book. A very instrumental book in the creation of my blog program, actually.
Written by Margaret Mason, No One Cares What You Had for Lunch is a smallish paperback book I picked up from Books-A-Million in 2009 after my spiral from graduation. I was unable to find a job, lost most of my friends and was getting in hot water for “ranting” on Facebook. Yeah, long story.
I honestly wanted to learn how to blog short of typing angry feelings at the world. What should I blog about? What was okay to put on the Internet? How could I connect to someone by sharing what I experienced?
By then I was pretty much allowed to post what I wanted to at the time, so carving a new way online with my own two feet was left up to me. So yeah, enough of that. This is a book review, not another Storytime.
This was a close contender to A Dummies Guide to Blogging, however, What You Had for Lunch won out for price. Yes, I paid $7 bucks for it in the bargain pile. That was a chance buy, crossing my fingers and hoping that it was worth my money.
However it was and still is a very valuable book, despite most bloggers not liking it for the simplicity. True, Margaret’s book is very broken down to a simple level, and is more of “100 things you could probably blog about” jar. For me, it was a valuable book that helped me grow to the point I am today.
Her book is broken down in a few sections, basically dividing the book into types of bloggers on how much time they have. Only have ten to fifteen minutes to blog? Here’s some ideas. Have thirty minutes to go? Here’s another. Gosh, have a whole hour? I’ve got the idea for you!
The ideas are fairly relevant, and some actually do cover how to nicely lay an opinion out nicely. Most are actually relevant to Facebook and maybe even other platforms such as Tumblr. If you’re having trouble coming up with some basic ideas on what to post, this is the book for you.
One thing I do like about this book is its age. This book hails from the era before instant online gratification, back when the Internet was a bit smaller and the smartphone wasn’t around. Content had a bit of more value to it, and you can see Margaret easing readers into such content. Not just memes, silly GIFs and selfies. To her, a blog was a serious affair with important things than some loosely-written post.
Now this book is just an idea book. It doesn’t really cover how to set up a blog, or the basics of blogging. Most of the negativity against this books stems from either its simplicity or this issue; it’s just a book to help you get ideas of what to post, not how to post and how to run a blog.
Should you buy this book?
- Are you having trouble of thinking up content on your blog?
- Do you want some different ideas for quality content to post?
- Are you a beginner blogger and at a loss of what even to post in the first place?
If you answered yes to any of these, then yes.
- Do you want to know blogging mechanics?
- Do you want to know about SEO and web things that are vaguely related to blogging?
- Do you have an idea of what you want to post?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this book is not for you.
Obviously the book is available on the all-mighty Amazon for varying prices. There’s actually an eBook version, which I’m pleased to see as the author/publisher thought the book was important enough to put on a modern platform. Link’s here: http://amzn.com/032144972X
I personally have carried this book around for one year when I was planning content for janeilh.com, and still have it on reference when laying out posts and scheduling. It was well worth my 7 dollars.
Special thanks for Megan Swecker-Lamb for the photos
*Disclaimer: Please note that links to any product is to provide information. I do not profit or benefit from links and/or reviews by any affiliate programs, nor am I sponsored by the product I am reviewing. I am an independent individual giving you my opinion. Thank you.