Welcome to The Quiet Pond, old friend

It is a quiet night. Unusual, you think, because you had expected that a forest this dense would be teeming with nightly music. And yet, you are here, trying to find its heart rather than escape it. You wonder, why you are here of all places. Shouldn’t you be at home, in bed, reading the pile of unread books waiting for you on your shelf? But before the question can falter you, the moonlit path on the forest’s floor seems to glow a little brighter, encouraging you to continue on.

Ahead, you see a clearing and you catch the twinkle of the moon’s wobbly reflection. As you approach, a feeling – a memory? – plucks a cord in your heart. You stop in your tracks, trying to grasp at the wisp of memory, but it’s gone. Left behind is an afterglow of familiarity; the feeling of coming home after a long journey away.

But wait! You realise you have found a pond, of some sorts. It illuminates a purple glow in the night, and you know, somehow, that it is powerful but also… kind. A scuffle of green and purple foliage draws your attention to a tortoise tending to some herbs over there, and then there’s a frog sewing a costume by the water over there. Strangest of all is a little axolotl wearing a little flower on its head – reading a book? Perhaps sensing you, the axolotl turns around and, seeing you, gives you a big goofy smile. The axolotl picks up a stick a little bigger than it is, and waddles over to your feet, smiling all the while.

“Good, you made it! I’ve been waiting for you,” the axolotl says, her voice small but certain. “I thought I sensed a good and kind heart cross the boundary. Welcome to The Quiet Pond, old friend.”

---

Hello friends, and warmest welcomes to my new blog, The Quiet Pond!

What is The Quiet Pond?

The Quiet Pond is book blog with a narrative. Here, you’ll find book reviews, book recommendations, and the occasional discussion post and art. It is a blend of fantasy, the magic of curiosity, compassion and pond animals — and you will get to know the pond’s inhabitants soon enough! ✨

So friend, what can you expect from The Quiet Pond? 

• Book reviews
• Book recommendation lists
• Discussion posts
• Book news
• Fanart and graphics
• Book influencer/writer features

But first, introductions!

In case we haven’t met – hello friends and strangers! Please call me CW; it is an acronym for my actual name but I prefer to go by CW (please call me that, even if you know my actual name)! My pronouns are she/her. I was formerly a book blogger at Read Think Ponder, but I decided I needed a fresh start – hence why I am sharing The Quiet Pond with you all today.

Outside of blogging, I was born and raised in Aotearoa (New Zealand), am Kiwi-Asian, and I am currently a postgraduate student researching in the field of Psychology. I also have a degree in Sociology, I like corgis, the colours pink and yellow, and fried chicken.

What I hope to achieve with The Quiet Pond

First, I want to help you discover your new favourite book. The joy I get from reading a good book is unlike any other joy I feel in my life. I want to help readers find books that resonate with them – so they feel seen, feel heard, and feel like their stories and identities matter and are valid. I remember feeling this way – the first time I read a book that understood me – and so my goal is to help you find books that understand you.

Second, I want to make your day a little brighter. I wanted The Quiet Pond to be more than just a book blog. The idea came to me without warning: ‘I love of drawing cute animals’ + integrate a simple narrative that involves you, the visitor + incorporate my love of RPGs and bright fantasy. I wanted The Quiet Pond to be a place that is filled with light and warmth, and a blog that you’ll feel happy and safe visiting. I don’t know if I’ll achieve this, but I promise I’ll do my best.

The books I’ll be writing about in The Quiet Pond

My reading interests are mostly young adult fiction and adult science-fiction/fantasy, though I do try and read a wide range of genres. Almost all of the books that I read are diverse books. In other words, I like to read books by marginalised authors and/or are about marginalised characters. By marginalised, I mean individuals of colour, people with LGBTQIA+ and gender diverse identities, disabled folx, and so on.

My focus on diverse books comes from ongoing dedication to supporting and uplifting marginalised voices and stories that have a positive impact on representation, youth, and awareness, and my goal is to connect readers to books that they will feel represented in and will love.

The Quiet Pond will be a blog with no rating system

During my time as a reviewer, I have considered, very deeply, the idea of rating books. Quantifying the quality, worth, and the degree to which I love or dislike a book has never felt right by me. Indeed, rating books is helpful, especially on sites such as Goodreads where we can measure books against each other, but over time, I’ve come to the opinion that rating books is reductive and isn’t in line with my approach to reviewing books. Therefore, The Quiet Pond will not use a rating system. Instead, I will end my reviews with a simple and, hopefully, more helpful message: whether I a) highly recommend, b) recommend, or c) do not recommend the book.

What will happen to Read Think Ponder?

For those of you who are not familiar with my previous work, Read Think Ponder was my book blog, one I proudly owned and ran for 5 years. However, on October 2017, I quit and thought I wouldn’t return to blogging again. (And yet!)

Long story short: I want to put Read Think Ponder behind me. I was proud of what I did on there – still am – but I want to move on and try something new. I want to do something that is unique, fun, and cute, and I don’t think I can achieve that with Read Think Ponder. Deep down, Read Think Ponder was mine, but it never felt like me. The Quiet Pond will hopefully different, and while drawing and preparing it, it felt like me — which is already a good sign.

Thank you so much for visiting!

It’s really great to be back, friends. When I quit Read Think Ponder and book blogging altogether a year ago, I was genuinely okay and felt at peace with the decision. However, after getting back into reading some months ago and reading some truly awesome books, I realised that I couldn’t support and promote them as much as I wanted. (Twitter is great, but it just didn’t have the same effect for me.)

And honestly? I really missed blogging. That was particularly clear to me during the five months or so that I spent working on The Quiet Pond. I’m really excited for The Quiet Pond and to see how it’ll develop and grow over time. This blog has been in the making for a long time, and I am thankful to all my (very) patient and supportive friends. (Special thanks to Aentee from Read at Midnight for helping me come up with this name.)

In my next post, I’ll be introducing you all to the little inhabitants of The Quiet Pond and a bit more of when you will be seeing them! I am also looking for a co-blogger, so more information and the application form will be posted soon. Keep an eye out for that, if you’re interested!

Friends or strangers? I’d love to hear from you.

If we haven’t met before and we are strangers, please don’t hesitate to leave me a reply below and introduce yourself! I’d love to follow some new bloggers, especially diverse book bloggers, so I would love to hear from you.

And to my friends, welcome, and I hope you all like The Quiet Pond. Thank you, again, for being so patient with me and this process. I love you all.

Until then, take care, thank you for visiting, and happy reading. 💛