State of the Blog: One Year Later

By the time this post gets put up, it'll be one full year of Raiders of the Bookmark. So, what better time than to update the readers on how I feel the blog has come along in its first year one, as well as set forth what the next year could look like. So, let's get talkin'. 

I created this blog initially so it would be its own entity, not just thrown out of nowhere blogs on my other blog, Retro Oasis (which I do eventually plan to come back to). I felt that with its own place to breathe, it would make the work within matter more. I also wanted to find a place where I could do updated recaps of the original 62 Goosebumps books. Initially, I planned to finish the original 62 in the first year, but plans ultimately changed. I feel with the first few months, the blog was definitely stalling. It had mostly become a place to repost prior posts from the previous blog. It wasn't until I decided to open up to other kids horror books that I felt the blog finally found itself. Proving that there was more interest to this place than just covering Goosebumps, though those are still usually the ones with the most views and interest. But given there's nearly 100 blogs on the franchise alone, it's not hard to see why.

It wasn't until at least October or so that there was a more concise stream of posts and reviews. Though it still remained Goosebumps and kids horror at first. This continued into the next year with more Goosebumps, and more stuff from Shivers, Ghosts of Fear Street and more. It wasn't until April that I finally felt that it was time to move into more Y/A horror by finally covering Fear Street like I had planned many years before when I started covering Stine's works. I look at May 2021 as my best month ever. I focused on the final Slappy books available with Night of the Living Dum-May, covered more Fear Street, finally covered Point and entered into the work of Bruce Coville. But most importantly to me, the kid who read Animorphs and not Goosebumps, I finally brought Animorphs back. Overall, 21 new blog posts this month, and varied in different topics and ideas, feeling like I finally found my niche with this blog. Maybe not with the stuff I initially planned, but still enough stuff to really make this place special. And June just reinforced that with a ton of new content. 

Over 160 blogs in one calendar year. That itself is a sign that I truly am having fun with this project. And while I never get numbers in the triple digits, there is always interest in what's being covered, proving that the fun I'm having is worth it. And I can't thank you enough for everyone who continues to help this place grow. I just hope that year two continues on this momentum and general interest. 

So, what does 2021-2022 hold? I'll start with the biggest dropped bombshell. I'm planning to finish the remaining Goosebumps books I intend to cover. This means the remaining Series 2000, Most Wanted, SlappyWorld and OG Series Rereads. I still need a few more Series 2000 books to own. I find the books I cover for the blog through searching thrift stores and second hand bookshops for the most part. And I've made the decision that if I can't find the remaining Series 2000 books by August of this year, I'll order them for a higher price. But by the end of the year, Goosebumps will stop being the priority blog. That doesn't mean it's gone forever. I still plan on covering new works, as well as more stuff like A Case of the Bumps or The Stinal Showdown or whatever other plans I have for it. 

R.L. Stine isn't going away in terms of the blog either. I plan to continue with Fear Street, his standalone stuff, The Nightmare Room, Mostly Ghostly, Rotten School and anything else the man put his name to that can work in the context of the blog itself. Honestly, by January of 2022, the plan will be for Animorphs and Fear Street to be the main focus of the blog. More kids horror from other authors will also get more focus. But I also plan to cover so much other new things. Mysteries, sci-fi, some bizarre and odd finds that could work. Almost anything is fair game. So, with that, what do I plan to cover in the future?

The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew: Yes. These have been on my radar for the longest time and I feel that by the fall of this year, I want to give them more of a cover, as well as other mystery works. 

Bailey School Kids: Yes. These intrigue the hell out of me, and while they're more intended for younger readers than Goosebumps was, I'm still interested.

The Babysitters Club: Maybe? I'm gonna admit that being an adult buying BSC books in a bookstore would likely get me looks. But, maybe if I find one to look at every now and then, maybe?

Sweet Valley: Same, but I'd probably be more down to cover those more. It's a wait and see.

Wayside: Yes. I plan on touching on Louis Sachar's works. 

Post-Animorphs Applegate (EverWorld/Remnants): It's a possibility. Want to finish Animorphs first.

More adult works (King for example): Eventually. There's definitely a lot of stuff I'm interested in.

Older works (The Oz or Tolkien books for example): Yes. Definitely stuff I want to tackle.

Books based on stuff like Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who: Probably not since I'm not versed in those franchises the way others are. Not opposed to it.

The books with the boy wizard: NEVER. Once upon a time there was a sliver of a chance, but no. After everything she's done, I will never touch her works.

Other horror based TV shows (Twilight Zone for example): Maybe. Not opposed.

So thankfully there's plenty of stuff for me to cover for as long as I feel like making this blog. 2020-2021 was a great blog year, despite the rest of the world falling into the void of absolute hell. And if anything positive came out of that hell year it's that it got me back into blogging again on a regular basis, which is always nice. So, one can only hope 2021-2022 continues that trend and we're back here next year talking about a strong second year and great the third year will be. Time will definitely tell.