An Update

I'm not sure how many people there are out there who actually read my blog but, even if it is just one, I feel I owe you an explanation for my continued absence.  On Dec 19th, 2014 I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. 

The pregnancy was considerably more taxing this time around.  I wasn't simply that my body was being taken over by a severely demanding parasite, I was also teaching a demanding workload and dealing with a demanding three year old. 

As such, my reading life took a real toll.  I had always enjoyed getting approved for new books, reading them and then sharing my thoughts in review form, but, suddenly I could barely stand to pick up a book and the thought of actually writing about one when I finished was enough to exhaust me completely.  Instead, I spent my meager free time the last few months binge watching TV. 

But, I don't think it was just exhaustion.  A lot of it came from me burning out on reviewing.  I started to dread finishing a book because it meant I would have to sit down and attempt to write a review when all I really wanted was to start a new book.  I also found myself wanting to re-read an old favorite or try a series that had been published for a while but I felt guilty about neglecting my to-be-reviewed pile.

All of this led to a 4 or 5 month reading slump in which I barely picked up a book and had no desire to review anything.

I am now back at home, settling into life as the mother of two boys and have finally started to feel the desire to read again.  It is my hope that I will soon be able to get back to reviewing and updating.  But, at the same time, I feel like I need to make some changes. 

1) I will try to be much more picky about which books I request for review.  I am determined to only request if I already had my eye on that book and/or it has a phenomenal synopsis/unique idea.

2) I will throw some older titles in with the new reviews.  There are lots of already released books that I want to read and series that I would like to start but I have been putting those aside in order to review new books.  No more!

3) If I want to re-read an old favorite I will.  TBR list be damned!

4) If I don't feel like writing a review (or a full review) I won't.

With these new rules (or non-rules) in mind, I should be able to balance reviewing with the sheer enjoyment that I used to get from reading anything and everything.