Thoughts and Daydreams #3: Changing Reading Tastes

Marie and I have been friends for about five years and have collaborated on all sorts of things during that time. After the hiatus from The Authorteers, we toyed around with a few ideas for things we could do together for fun once in awhile. One of the ideas was a Facebook group. We discussed it for awhile and ultimately decided against it since we probably wouldn't be able to post as regularly as we'd like on there, not to mention the fact that there are a large number of those groups out there already. So we adapted our plans into a blog feature called Thoughts and Daydreams (combination of my blog name and hers, Ramblings of a Daydreamer). We'll be discussing reading, writing, and blogging topics on both of our blogs. If anyone else would like to participate in these discussions by posting on their blog, we welcome it! Just snag the header and post. Be sure to link us to it so we can read and comment!

Changing Reading Tastes

As we get older, the things we like and enjoy can change in varying degrees. It's the same with reading. One day you're reading contemporary fiction, the next day you're reading fantasy. Sometimes we bounce between various genres all the time, and sometimes we completely change in our tastes.

Genre Jumping

Years ago, I read mostly young adult novels. This was before new adult came on the scene. Before I started this blog, I read mostly contemporary YA. I read a lot of paranormal YA after my temporary Twilight obsession. Then about the time this blog was started I was reading dystopian YA. I drifted between all of those for a while.

I noticed my disinterest in some of them when I read books that weren't as good as the first ones I read. That's one of those things--when something becomes a popular genre, everyone starts writing it and the really good books get harder to find. Or by the time the last book in the series comes out, I've already started reading other genres and am only slightly curious what happens in the end. Like with the Mara Dyer series. The last book delayed for a long time to the point where I found it hard to get into when I finally had the chance to pick it up. Not that it was written poorly, because that was hardly the case, I just couldn't get my mind back to the fictional world I was familiar with a couple years ago.

Complete Changes

I remember the time when I started reading more adult books. I was on NetGalley and decided to request a new adult book. I enjoyed it immensely and started slowly integrating more and more into my reading cycle. After some time, I began reading adult romances from the Harlequin and Entangled lines. This caused me to slowly reduce the YA books I picked up. It became rare that I would choose to read one.

It all happened so gradually that I barely even noticed. It's kind of funny how that happens, how easy it is to bounce over to new genres without even batting an eye. If someone would have told me years ago that I would be reading 99% romance novels, I probably would have said, "Huh, what's that now?"

I do have to say that the bookish community assisted in some of my changes. The more people I followed who read romance books fueled my love for the books, including my excessive hoarding (on my actual bookshelf AND my Nook). Not to mention the overload of gorgeously desirable novels listed on NetGalley (huge weakness).

The Future

I don't know what to expect! Considering how much has adapted in my bookish ways, who knows where I'll be genre-wise in a year. Right now I'm reading a poetry book, something I haven't done in a LONG time. So, we'll see. I do know I'd like to get caught up on several books I've been wanting to get to for the last few years, including some YA books. There are a few authors I adored reading years ago who have published since the last book of theirs I've read. I'd love to check them out again! So, I'm looking forward to seeing what is in store for me reading-wise in the next few years. ^_^

How about you? Have your reading tastes changed over the years? In what ways?

Thoughts and Daydreams #2: Blogging and Reading Slumps

Marie and I have been friends for about five years and have collaborated on all sorts of things during that time. After the hiatus from The Authorteers, we toyed around with a few ideas for things we could do together for fun once in awhile. One of the ideas was a Facebook group. We discussed it for awhile and ultimately decided against it since we probably wouldn't be able to post as regularly as we'd like on there, not to mention the fact that there are a large number of those groups out there already. So we adapted our plans into a blog feature called Thoughts and Daydreams (combination of my blog name and hers, Ramblings of a Daydreamer). We'll be discussing reading, writing, and blogging topics on both of our blogs. If anyone else would like to participate in these discussions by posting on their blog, we welcome it! Just snag the header and post. Be sure to link us to it so we can read and comment!

Blogging and Reading Slumps

Slumps. They happen to the best of us. It doesn't matter how long you've been blogging or will blog, you're going to run into the possibility of a slump, whether it's temporary or long-term. Over the almost five years I've been blogging, I've had moments where I've cut back or even taken a temporary hiatus. And, oddly enough, I've been dealing with one recently on both fronts!

Blogging Slumps

When you first start blogging, you're trying to get into the swing of things. Participating in memes and giveaways to draw attention to your blog. Reviewing new books and sharing the links on your Twitter page.

After doing all that and getting myself established, I bounced around with different ways of doing things on my blog. I tested out several kinds of posts. I signed up for blog tours and release blitzes.

Last year I was doing A LOT in those aspects. I think that's what lead me to reaching the point of what's commonly referred to as "blogger burnout" around the blogosphere. I spent December doing a bare minimum, almost not even having enough time to put together my end of year and beginning of year posts. I thought I would bounce back in the new year, but I didn't. I still slacked on getting posts together. I finished a couple review books right before I needed to write reviews. I usually am good about posting on release day or the day after if I have multiple releases in the same week. Not so much this year apparently.

Granted, I've been a little busy in real life with another upcoming move and trying to secure a new apartment before my time runs out. Not to mention rushing around to put stuff up for sale on eBay to reduce the number of boxes I have to move. I do believe that I was still trying to bounce back from the burnout despite these outside things.

As I'm writing this post (which is at the tail end of January in case you were wondering), I'm finally starting to feel like I can get things together more. I wrote a review earlier today to go live tomorrow, and I signed up and scheduled a giveaway that will be happening in a couple days from when this post is up. It's going to be a process to figure everything out and get back on track, but it'll get there eventually.

Reading Slumps

Ahhh, reading slumps. You'd think it wouldn't happen to an avid reader, but it can. I've had moments over the years where I couldn't get into the books I pick up, or I kept getting distracted and didn't set aside time to read like I usually do. I feel like my latest slump was partially getting distracted and partially the pressure of review books.

Don't get me wrong, I love review books. I read some super freaking amazing and awesome ones last year that I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to read. The problem, as I stated, is the pressure. Needing to read within a designated amount of time, posting the review on or not long after release day. And it's not just reading/reviewing--it's also setting up the post itself. So, of course, this ties in with the blogging slump.

I still had a few review books to finish at the beginning of this year and I thought it would be a breeze reading and reviewing them so that I could move on to some "me" books. That didn't go as planned. Every time I wanted to read, something would get in the way or I would read a few pages and be unable to concentrate. I don't know what caused it, but it kept happening.

Like I said regarding the blogging slump, things were a little chaotic for a little bit. Now I'm feeling more focused and able to concentrate on reading and reviewing again. Once I finish these last 2 NetGalley books, I'm going to stay away from review books for a little while. I think my subconscious couldn't stop prodding at me about them and I need to give myself a breather with some books I don't need to rush through. I might be able to savor them more. :)

How about you? Have you been through a blogging or reading slump?Is there anything you've done to deal with it or get through it? Please share!

Thoughts and Daydreams #1: Back to Basics

Marie and I have been friends for about five years and have collaborated on all sorts of things during that time. After the hiatus from The Authorteers, we toyed around with a few ideas for things we could do together for fun once in awhile. One of the ideas was a Facebook group. We discussed it for awhile and ultimately decided against it since we probably wouldn't be able to post as regularly as we'd like on there, not to mention the fact that there are a large number of those groups out there already. So we adapted our plans into a blog feature called Thoughts and Daydreams (combination of my blog name and hers, Ramblings of a Daydreamer). We'll be discussing reading, writing, and blogging topics on both of our blogs. If anyone else would like to participate in these discussions by posting on their blog, we welcome it! Just snag the header and post. Be sure to link us to it so we can read and comment!

Back to Basics

As a book blogger, every new year brings about new plans for the blog. Sometimes it's small ones, and sometimes it's bigger ones. For me, it's a mixture of everything.

Books...

For starters, I want to focus my attention more on backlist books rather than ARCs. I'll still read the occasional ARC or new release, don't get me wrong. Since I've accumulated a number of books over the last few years (on my Nook, Kindle app, *and* my literal shelf), I feel I need to devote some of my time to catching up on those. There are several books I've purchased that I've been itching to read but haven't had the time because of how many review books I had lined up. The nice thing about reading more books for pleasure rather than obligation makes me feel like I can set the book aside instead of forcing it, which will be nice.

There was one week in 2015 where I requested 6 books that all released on the same day... let me tell you, that was an exhausting week. I don't like feeling under that sort of pressure, so I'd rather just stick to a limited number of ARCs so that I'm not overwhelmed.

I'm also aiming to read fewer books than I did last year. I don't know how I managed to read more than 200 books, but I did it. It really did take up a lot of my free time, though. So my goal for the year is going to be 52 books, which is one book a week. I'll more than likely bypass that by the end of the year, but at least I'm being reasonable with all the other stuff I'd like to do in 2016.

Features...

I would love to have more than reviews on this blog again. I've come up with all sorts of ideas and topics, but have slacked off on keeping up with them. When I was sorting through my pages before I had the blog redesigned, I saw all the great memes I've done over the years and thought back on how fun they were. I'd like to add some more of those in here and there. I probably won't do them all weekly, or even monthly, but I want to diversify a little bit. Maybe slip in a Waiting On Wednesday here, Quote-tastic there, and possibly even throw in some random discussions.

I did A LOT of release blitzes, cover reveals, and blog tours over the last couple years. I loved being able to support authors and draw attention to their new books, but it was really bogging me down. Even though several of the tour companies offer HTML ready posts, they don't always work as well as you hope they would. I would spend two to three times as long setting them up so that they looked decent on the blog. I stopped signing up for them because I couldn't handle the last minute pressure of putting the post together. I'll definitely still do what I can for a few people, but I'll be more likely do opt for a special feature rather than part of a tour/blitz so I can put it together faster.

I also have plans to write more personal posts on my author blog. I considered writing and posting them here, but I want to keep the book blog and personal stuff more separate. Maybe down the line I'll incorporate the personal posts over here instead, but for now I'm going to start it out this way.

Pacing Myself...

I've spent most of my time as a book blogger pushing the limits. Review after review, blitz after blitz, etc. I overwhelmed myself more times than I can count. There were times I took brief breaks or spaced posts out more or blogged ahead enough so that I can relax a little bit. But then I'd go right back to doing the same thing all over again.

Why do I keep doing this? Because I love my book blog and don't want to see it fade away like so many other blogs have. I've been at this for nearly 5 years now and I can't tell you how many bloggers have vanished into thin air from that time up until now. I'm sure that maybe someday I'll cut back more or even quit entirely, but that day isn't today.

From now on I'm going to be reasonable. If I'm starting to feel like I have too much on my plate, I'm going to take a step back and possibly change things up. It's when it feels like too much that you feel like you want to quit. Making sure to pace myself will go a long way in keeping this blog alive and active.

How about you? Are you doing anything new on your blog this year?
Or is there something you are thinking about doing differently? Tell me about it!