I don’t mean to keep doing disappearing acts from the blog, but since I’m not pushing myself to have content ready to roll on a set schedule these days, I’m afraid sometimes that’s exactly what happens. However, I really think these little breaks, planned or not, are probably healthy for both the blog and me.
I’ve been almost as busy at work since I got back from my vacation as I was before I left. I was away last weekend. And frankly, there are times when other activities–getting outside, reading, movies, TV, even napping– just appeal to me more than writing, and so I’m giving myself leave to follow those impulses. There’s no one right way to do this, but when it feels too much like a chore, I think maybe that’s a wrong way.
This has been a very quiet three-day weekend at home, though, and it’s giving me time to unwind and get some of that blogging energy back. I’m about four reviews behind, and am not letting myself start any new audiobooks till I catch up–I think the conditions may finally be right.
What I’m…
Reading
July (behind, again!) and August ARCs for Shelf Awareness…and that’s mostly it right now. I read a couple of books from my “free-range summer reading” stack last month, but haven’t made my way back to it yet–I think I’m holding off till after the Big Book Purge I’ll be doing in a couple of weeks, because that might change things.
Watching
TV series on Netflix–we just finished Season 3 of Orange is the New Black, and started on The Guild this weekend. I’m feeling a pull to rewatch the first two seasons of Alias (the last three are not necessary) but haven’t convinced Paul to join me yet. We’re open to recommendations if you have any!
Sharing
I’ve been following Denise’s accounts of applying the KonMari method to her books with great interest as I prepare for a similar attack on my own shelves.
On a somewhat related note, Kim’s thoughts about “reading out” struck a definite, all-too-familiar chord with me:
“Going through my bookshelves as part of a massive book purge reminded me of how many wonderful books I’ve invested in… and made me realize I’ve somehow become unwilling to pick up the books I’m most excited about reading because I spend too much time thinking, instead, about when the perfect time to read the book will be…And when those inevitable moments I’ve been saving a book for do arrive, I often choose something else, still afraid of spending out this abundance I’ve invested in.”
Many of us book bloggers are–or were, at some point–heavily invested in ARCs. The MobyLives blog raised some thought-provoking questions about ARCs last week–What do they do? Who are they for? Have they become a product in their own right, apart from the books they’re meant to promote?–and Shannon has responded to a few of them.
Oh, and this was a thing that happened this week–
Hooray! I won a copy of Jane Eyre and a @Litographs tote @PenguinClassics http://t.co/4BGsRiozQE @ReadItForward
— Florinda PVasquez (@florinda_3rs) July 1, 2015
What are some of the things that are happening with you this weekend?
