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So Christmas has come and gone, hooray, presents are all finally put away and the house is cleaned up. The kids are playing with all their cool new games, The Husband’s new Mr. Bacon magnet is on the fridge, and I just now had a minute to sit back and realize that – wait for it – I only got ONE BOOK for Christmas (Finish This Book
How odd, she said!
I can’t recall the last time my Christmas present stash didn’t include a whole heaping pile of books. Seriously. Of course, I also can’t recall the last time my wish list included much besides books (with the occasional movie or CD thrown in for variety). Or the last time I felt so overwhelmed by the need to read books for work rather than to read books I wanted to.
Sigh, she said.
Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy reviewing books for authors and publishers. I enjoy the free books, the connections, and reading things I would never have found on my own. But I’m also getting a little bit worn out by the need to read things on deadlines. Things are so busy lately, between new family obligations (YAY!), holiday things (YAY!), moving things (YAY!), and the occasional attempt to write my own stuff (BOO – because I’ve been very bad at making time for that lately) that I have fallen woefully behind in my self-imposed deadlines for reviewing books. As a result, I suddenly find myself with a stack of apologies to authors and an even higher stack of books that I have to read and review – and no time, interest, or inclination in asking for new books for myself as a result.
ODD indeed, she said!
I guess it’s just that I don’t want to get further behind or to have more books that I want to read but don’t have time to get to just yet. Still, it’s weird.
How about you? How was your holiday season? Anything unusual happen to you, gift-wise?
Boy can I relate to this post! My New Year’s resolution is to read more for fun and accept less deadline reviews. Have a great weekend!!
I am SOOOOO there with you Dana. I am going to keep doing my non-fiction LuxuryReading reviews – those are only 1/month, are interesting, keep me reading non-fiction, and have garnered me some great new followers. But I’m having to start being a lot more selective about author/publisher requests because I don’t want to spend another year watching my own TBR pile grow and never being able to work my way through it! It’s tough, because as a writer myself I can imagine how it must stink to have a reviewer say no – also as a writer I am often reluctant to turn down a publisher request, even if the book isn’t exactly my cup of tea, because contacts are everything… But at the same time, I have to be able to read for enjoyment too – and while I have enjoyed many of the books I’ve reviewed, I don’t always love them all… Thanks for your comment and you have a great weekend – and holiday! – too!!
I am ahead of reading on my writing. Does that make sense? I am currently 3 1/2 books ahead of my writing reviews. It is hard for me to sit still without picking up a book….
Blessings,
Kathy
It does – and I’m right there with you Kathy, finally! I agree about sitting still – unfortunately, it’s harder for me to find time to sit still lately than usual!! 😉 But I currently have 4 books done that need reviews – which is a very good thing, much better than the position I was in a week ago, with so many book review books unaccounted for, but it still leaves the authors waiting (which I hate and imagine they do too), and leaves me feel like I’m still way behind… Ugh. Still, there are worse problems BY FAR, right?? 🙂 Thanks for your comment, happy holidays!!