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Thursday, August 19, 2010

Thursday Blues...

Have you just ever had those days where blogging and writing reviews just seem to take the most effort ever? Well, for some crazy reason I'm really experiencing it...BIG TIME! I meant to post my review today of 'Dangerous Neighbors' but never got around to doing it this morning. Now I feel like half of the day is gone so why bother...I'll just write it up later tonight to post tomorrow. I think the problem is I'm feeling a little burned out on reviews!! OMG!!! I've been thinking about this for the past two weeks actually and have wondered how I can get my review MOJO back...haven't come up with any real good answers. I have decided though that I'm going to keep using Lynne's review style and Show Me 5. I like them... a lot, and they help me put my thoughts in a more streamlined manner. I think I put too much pressure on myself! How many book bloggers think this too?? Are we still reading for fun or to just meet a deadline???? I'm just curious if others have experienced this too. Please share your experience, cuz' you know misery loves company!!!

33 comments:

  1. I'm totally rushing through books to make blog posts! It's absurd. And I have unwritten reviews stacked up as well (which is dangerous, because I start a new book and forget the details of the last one!) I think we need a break! :--)

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  2. I think you are probably experiencing "post vacation depression" *voice dripping with sarcasm*. I know I'm having a hard time wanting to blog right now too. I'm recovering from "post wedding depression".

    I think blogging about books does change the reason for reading. Before blogging I'd wait for the mood to read to hit me and then pick a book. Sometimes I'd even go months without reading. This year I MADE A MONTH BY MONTH PLAN! I've never planned my reading in my life! This blogging has been an experience. One positive is that I do like having a record of my reading. A negative is I feel like I need to be reading constantly or I won't finish my challenges. I don't think I'll participate in as many challenges next year.

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  3. Staci, I think blogging blues hits all of us. I actually get it every time I sit down to write a review, because I think to myself there are so many better bloggers writing better reviews than I could hope to write.

    I am though still totally reading for fun and to turn my students on to bigger and better books.

    Take care relax and do what you can when you feel like it. You will get your mojo back.

    PS I like the show me 5 style too and am even going to have my student use it this year for a review.

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  4. I think we can put too much pressure on ourselves. I struggle with changing my review style, thinking I need to do more indepth rather than a few words about how I felt about the book. BUT, I won't do it, this style suits me as I read way too many books to do it any other way. Stick with a style that works for you and don't feel like you have to review every book you read for pleasure. If it is no longer for you or fun, then go back to where it becomes that for you again.

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  5. I think that happens to all of us. I was going to suggest trying a different review style but it sounds like you're doing that already.

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  6. I'm having one of those weeks, too. I have just one review to do, for a book that I finished last week. It should be a really easy one, but I just can't get myself to even start.

    So yeah, it happens to all of us.

    I'm loving that kitty pic though :)

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  7. It could just be a summer slump. I know I'm feeling sluggish about everything!

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  8. I do feel obligated to provide content. I mean, what blogger doesn't? But, I am moving at a slower pace these days. Reading only what I want to read and if the book is one of those that has me lingering...then I linger. I don't want to rush through a book just so that I will have something to write about.

    I get into these blue spells every now and then... I call it my "wonkiness" but if I don't fight it and just got with it, then I am usually back in the game after a few days of frivolity.

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  9. Totally get where you are coming from. My mind is much distracted right now and I'm trying to get through as many of the books I had evreyone vote for before the baby comes. But I am giving myself a bit of a break on the review end. I used to make 350 words my minumum goal, but I've decided if I feel like writing 200 words that's okay too! Gotta do what works for you.

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  10. I think it happens to everyone, but I think a break might be in order. When reviewing becomes a chore, it's not as fun anymore... maybe a couple days off we'll make you miss it and want to get back into at full force! Good luck! :)

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  11. I feel for you, cos yes I have felt like this too. Those times I go for my short review form, my plot, romance, bad and good things style. So easy and nice.

    So go with that show me 5 if it works for you :) and it was a nice style too

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  12. Love the kitty picture. I want to scoop him up and give him a hug! As for feeling the way you do? I have felt that way too many times to count. Sometimes I can just blog through it and sometimes I just need to take a break. Give yourself a day or two off and you'll probably be ready to be back at it again. No worries either way, we'll be here when you feel like writing your reviews and getting them posted!

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  13. This week, personally, has been crazy! That's why I've hardly posted anything.
    Plus reading Middlemarch means no book related blog posts for a while. It's a huge book and I'm having trouble reading it like I read more contemporary novels.

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  14. I haven't even been reading! BLAH. Must just be one of those months all around, I guess. :(

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  15. I don't do reviews or blogs or otherwise, but I've had my share of blogging blahs... where the thought of trying to think up a new posting is 'too much'........

    Perhaps like everything else, we need breaks from it, even stuff we love. Maybe that old phrase 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' works for blogging too.

    And I haven't been reading as much lately. I've been taking my time with books instead of rushing through to get to the next one on the pile. I've been taking less out of the library too (one or two, not 10).

    I've been enjoying that sense of savoring as I read.


    Hope you find your world 'righted' soon............... and it will all feel beautiful again.

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  16. OMG, Me, Me! I was just thinking I meant to write my review on Fragile; Unger and instead, I waste an hour playing Video Poker on my iPad...LOL

    It's like when I was in college, and I would do ANYTHING instead of sit down and study, even clean the house...LOL

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  17. I think this is the reason I don't offer to review for publishers/ authors. I read for pleasure and I worry that by offering to review, it will become more like a job. I read the books I want to, when I want without feeling like I have to review it or read it within a time span.

    Maybe wind back a bit? Relax and get back to reading and reviewing because you want to and not because you think you have to.

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  18. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I hope you get your Mojo back soon!!! I sooooooooooooooo love your reviews....and seriously girl...I used to be SUCH an AVID reader and then I fell out of it...and Staci, you are the one that got me 'back on the saddle' to reading as much as I used too!!! I can not thank you enough for that! Your reviews really pull me in, and I value your opinion soooooooooooo much! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

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  19. I get that too Staci. lately I am just tired and I think I am just a bit overwhelmed with work, personal commitments, life, a kid going back to college.... and then I sit down to read and or write a review and I am just..... tired.

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  20. What I want to know is can I pet the kitten?


    When it ain't fun anymore, it is time to take a step back and question why ya are doin' it. Sorry, I just read a book that took place in the backwoods and I dun guess it wore off.

    Missing you, but have been there too,
    G

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  21. Oh my goodness, Staci, am I ever with you! I feel like I have yet to find a way to write reviews that really works for me: every review is hard to write! I am finding that signing up for blog tours is a good thing because at least then I have deadlines. Otherwise I tend to let the unreviewed books pile up... These days, work is crazy too (and about to get crazier in September), so I feel like I'm just trying to keep up with it all...

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  22. I've definitely had many of those meh moments. The good thing is that they pass - I hope yours does soon, Staci.

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  23. I'm with you, kiddo. I haven't felt like doing too much blogging lately either. Reviewing? That's starting to become a chore for me and the only way to get around it is just read more of what you want to read, I guess. I have no answers for you, really, but just know you are not alone in this feeling. The Bumbles had a great post about this a few weeks ago and I was relieved to see I'm not the only one feeling slothful out there.

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  24. You know I'm enjoying the books I'm reading but I am having trouble getting down to writing reviews. It's seems like such a chore right now and I don't know why. I'm breezing through a few books but now I also have a few reviews to write.

    I've slowed down on commitments now so hopefully I'll have more time to just read what I want but I do sometimes miss the days when I could just read and read and not have to worry about posting a review.

    lol-I don't think I helped you at all.

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  25. Just checking in for a second and won't do a big comment on this topic, but BOY DO I HEAR YOU!! Sorry about the shouting. LOL

    I've got some stuff to say about the direction of my blogging, my reading and my book world in the next few weeks. Stay tuned and stop by to see what I pondered all during my vacation - watching the Pacific waves. I think I went into a trance! LOL

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  26. Staci, I completely get it. For me, I actually don't like to write about the book all that much... I just want to know if you recommend the book.

    I answer two questions for my reviews: 1. why I picked it and 2. would I recommend the book to a busy friend (quick take)

    I also start my review when I start the book so all I need to do is the quick take when I'm done. :)

    Hope you get your mojo back soon but listen to your mind... there's nothing wrong with a break.

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  27. I've been going through the same thing lately. And even those books that I have written out reviews I haven't posted yet. (I hand write them in the summer time especially because it's impossible to concentrate with cartoons on and my kids constantly interrupting me. I have almost zero time uninterrupted on the computer. For example, right now my 5-year-old is showing me the many forms of his current favorite Pokemon.) It is absolutely impossible to think critically in this environment.

    So I have my reviews written out in a notebook, but I have to type them up on the computer, which requires some focus. And I've just been too tired to care by the time the boys are in bed. I've decided to take a few days off from blogging completely, starting tomorrow. Other than my Sunday post I won't have anything scheduled. I'm thinking a few days off will do me good.

    Only 17 more days until school starts! The sad thing is I will miss having the kids around, but I will be able to get a lot more done. :)

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  28. "Reading and blogging is just for fun." Repeat three times and then follow your heart and do what feels like fun. Repeat if necessary. :)

    My thought is just do what works for you, Staci, and eliminate all pressures; otherwise, it becomes a chore and/or burnout takes over. Life is too short to make something we love into something we dread. There are no rules to how you read and blog - follow what feels comfortable to you and most of all enjoyable.

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  29. Oh Pumpkin! Don't feel like this! I totally understand where you are coming from. Personally I sometimes feel I need to come with totally professional review with all of these insights and stuff, when I just want to say I loved the book and this is why.
    Hmmm...that has potential.

    Please don't get bogged down with reviews. It's a hobby not a job and there are tons of other book bloggers out there promoting the same book. You are not the only and the world will not fall off it's axis of your review isn't timely. Blogging burn out unfortunately happens from time to time. Love ya sis!

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  30. I've totally been going through the same thing! You can tell by the past two weeks on my blog--only three posts each week and most of those were reviews I had to post. It is feeling a bit too much like work right now which I was totally hoping to avoid this year. Hoping to have planned better for the coming months so I can read more for fun--which will make blogging more fun, too. Not that I don't love getting those books for review! Just that those time limits can be a bear.

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  31. My 'book reports' are the hardest thing I do on my blog. I put a lot of thought into them, and try to find links that connect with the book. And they are often the least read (or at least commented on) of my posts. :<) But really and truly, I write them for myself. I like to be able to go back and see what I thought of a book, and when I read it. It is good for me to reflect on a book, and often when I begin to write, I discover things I hadn't thought of as I was reading. I do love the whole process, and I write them when I have the time. If you've visited my Letters lately, you may have seen the ones that are 'coming soon.' This summer has been busy and I haven't had as much solid time to put together my book reports. I am absolutely, positively reading 'for fun.' I've said to many people that reading is the one pure pleasure. If writing reviews doesn't make you happy, let them go or just write little short ones. No pressure, Staci! :<)

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  32. Um, have you been reading my mind? Know exactly what you're feelin' sistah. There's a reason you haven't seen any posts from me lately...hehe. 'Cause I'm over here havin' my own slump. But let me tell you, it sure feels good to take a break. I didn't think I'd be able to stay away; it's almost become an addiction. Guess I'm one of those 'quit cold turkey' types, because I stopped a week or so ago when I went on vacation and now I can't start again. lol. I'm still reading, though - and actually enjoying it because I stopped putting pressure on myself to do reviews.

    May you one day get your mojo back...when the time is right.

    I think everyone is going through it in some way, shape or form.

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  33. I completely get what you're saying! I was always so jazzed about blogging (to the point where I created WAY too many blogs), and now I don't jump out of bed as eagerly in the mornings, because the routine is feeling too much like work!

    I think, like someone else said before me, that we have to find the fun again. And that might mean taking a wee break....

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