Making A Book From A Blog
Donna Hopkins Photography | Blog Books by Pixxibook | Volumes 1-5 | 2020 - 2023
To be honest, I’ve never been particularly inclined to produce a book of my blog since this space is kind of unpredictable and often a mess. Over the years, my blog has had several titles. I began on blogger in 2010, where I wrote and shared pictures under the title, Pic Me Up. In 2016, I moved to squarespace with a website and blog, Like Medicine For Me. In that space, I worked through the grief of my mother’s dementia, taking and posting a photograph every day for an entire year. It was a hard year, but a good one in many ways. At the end of that year-long work, the blogging process had become a part of my life, and I wasn’t ready to step away. I continued blogging under the title, Coming To My Senses, using the power of picture-taking to calm and soothe my weary spirit. I found my voice, in the pictures and the practice, where the pictures mirrored my growth. Or maybe the pictures prompted the growth. All I know is that photography and healing moved in lock-step, gently walking me to a safer and more loving life. Finally, the titles all dropped away, and the website became simply me and my name. The blog part of the website has been called many things—a journal, a sketchbook, a notebook—but they are all the same things really. Letters to myself. Dear Donna, Here’s what I am thinking about. Here is what I am learning.
It’s difficult for me to imagine what the purpose of a book of my blog might serve. My mother had a sentence she liked to pull out like a trump card, whenever she wanted a little extra love or respect or reassurance . . . and it was mostly some version of you’re gonna miss me when I die. Everyone wants to be remembered. And while I do think my sons may reflect on my life when I die, and these books in some measure might be my legacy, I am not at all sure that is a sufficient reason. I’ve browsed in enough thrift shops to know that much of what we consider important ends up donated and living in someone else’s home. I find this observation comforting. There is something reassuring about holding our own hand and letting go of an inflated sense of self-importance. So what then is the reason to make a book of my blog?
The books are simply a celebration. They make my husband so very happy. Now. Not in some future where I am dead and gone. He loves to look back at the pictures I’ve taken (which are really OUR pictures) and he gleefully exclaims, remember when we went there? The books are a gift to him. A way to say thank you for understanding me in a way that no one else could, or would ever want to. Making him happy makes me happy, so deciding to spend money on the blog books was an easy YES.
A short and sweet review for Pixxibook.
Ease of use: 10/10. The process is incredibly easy. I linked to my website and Pixxibook indexed every page and created the books within minutes!
Pricing: 10/10. Affordable and reasonable.
Quality: 8/10. The paper is thick and not at all see-through. The photographs are printed with stunning quality. The printed text is a little soft, not as sharp as I would like. There are some issues with placement of pictures and text and cropping, but this is to be expected for an automated process (not deal breakers for me). I LOVED being able to customize the covers (I would do the spines a little differently now that I see how they could be improved). The cover colors are vibrant and bright but not garish. The books hold up to 300 pages, but after having held the books in my hands, I’d try to keep at less than that - maybe 200 or so (I think this would improve the longevity of the book). I had so many posts in 2022 that I divided that year into two volumes. The book for 2023 has exactly 300 pages and it is too heavy for me lift with one hand.
Shipping: 9/10. The turnaround time is only 2 weeks and the books arrived via UPS. A couple of the books were a little crimped at the corners. This might have been from jostling during shipping, but I suspect it was more an issue of a big book with the maximum of 300 pages and the limits of the product for the price point.
Satisfaction: 10/10