The Good Book Hangover

So, you read a really good book, And I mean REALLY good. And then you read another. And another. And you're on top of the world. You're all, "WOOOOOOOOOOO! BOOKSBOOKSBOOKS!"

And then you read another book, and while it's by no means a bad book, it is definitely doesn't match the other three's Level of Awesome. Now you're finding yourself kind of blah about it, though it's not the book's fault, really. It's you. You're just kinda of blah towards reading in general, at the moment.

I call it The Good Book Hangover.

I currently have it.

Don't like it. At all.

What I've Learned About Blogging This Year and 2011 Goals

So, 2010 year was a huge year for this blog. I gained so many readers, friends, and contacts, each of which I'm incredibly grateful for. And with another year comes some new knowledge, which I figured I'd pass along to others, and as a constant reminder to myself:

1. Don't take on too much. This is one lesson that I learned the hard way. I was signing up for book tours left and right, and they all ended up coming in really close to each other. With all of the other books I had to review, it quickly became too much very fast. When life is hectic, I can usually get a book a week read, so when you have three books one week, you can see how this would be a problem. Now, I only rarely sign up for ARC tours. (I do not blame the tour site runners in ANY way, just to be clear. This was completely my fault.)

2. Read a book that isn't for review once in a while. At one point this year, blogging had me SO STRESSED. I was ready to take an indefinite hiatus, it was getting so bad.

Instead, I went to my bookshelves and picked out a book that I'd won from a contest a while ago. Meaning: I did not read a review book. For the first time in a long time I read a book for me and no one else, and it helped so much more than I would've thought. It just goes to show that you have to read for yourself too, otherwise this thing becomes very un-fun very fast.

3. Don't spend three hours a day going through blog posts. Yeah, there was a point that I would wake up, eat, then go to the computer for a couple of hours to catch up on blog. I wasn't even commenting on blogs, just looking at what had been posted, and it was slowly taking over my life.

Now, I use Google Reader, and I have a folder with a couple of my favorite blogs. I still don't get the chance to comment as often as I'd like, but this way I actually get to READ blog posts and it only takes a half hour a day, usually.

4. Stay organized! Dude. This is probably the most important lesson on the list. I cannot tell you how much staying organized is important. I'm homeschooled, and with me driving around for me AND my sibling's activities, I'm always on the go. So I usually pre-schedule posts. It's not always super reliable, but lately I haven't had too many issues with it.

I also find help in keeping a calender for the month in a folder. This includes books to read, when to read them, when to put up the review, etc. It actually helps a lot. It just keeps me focused, I guess.

With review books, I keep a spreadsheet. When I posted about review books taking over my life, a commenter recommended this, and I love it! Though I don't update it as much as I should, it lets me know who sent what first and stuff like that.

And I've got a few blogging and reading goals for next year. They are:

Read more!!! (I'd LOVE to average two books a week instead of 1)

Read more blog posts and leave more comments

Host more interviews

Read one Harry Potter book a month (I've never read this series and I'm dying to!)

Read more books I own (as you've seen, there's a lot)

Get my review pile under control

What are some things about blogging you've learned this year? And what are your goals for 2011?

New Library Books!

I have a tons of books that I own just begging me to read them. But, so is just about every book in the library. And if I keep getting library books, then there's no time to read books I own. But I can't stop getting library books. My mom calls it my "disease." I told her that the next time we went to the library, I COULD NOT get any more books. So, here's what I got:

Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink
Cirque Du Freak: A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan (Book 1)
Ninth Grade Slays: The Chronicles of Vladmir Tod by Heather Brewer (Book 2)
Newes From The Dead by Mary Hooper
Kissing Coffins: Vampire Kisses Book 2 by Ellen Schreiber (I wasn't a fan of the first one, but I've heard so many people rave about the series that I decided to give Book 2 a try.)

It's a disease. But these are the last books that I'm getting from the library that aren't already on hold...seriously.

What I Read In July:

I seriously cannot believe that July is over. It was such an amazing month of reading for me! I read and reviewed:

1. Specials ( 3 and 1/2 stars)

2. Once Dead, Twice Shy (4 and 1/2 stars)

3. Fairy Tale (4 and 1/2 stars)

4. Wake (Five stars, but that was when that meant one of my favorites. So now it'd be Favorite.)
5. Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side (4 and 1/2 stars)

6. A Great And Terrible Beauty (4 stars)

7. Life As We Knew It (4 stars)

8. City of Ashes (Favorite)

9. Wings (4 and 1/2 stars)

10. Hush, Hush (Favorite)


Shiver, Prophecy of the Sisters, and My Soul to Take all come out today. I've had Shiver on hold at my library for a few weeks, so I should be getting that soon. :) Meridian, and Rampant both come out this month as well. Hopefully August will be another awesome month of reading!

Last Line First

When I get a book, when I've just started it or am about to start it, I always do this thing. I'm not proud of it, but it's one of my bad habits. Or maybe it's more of a quirk. Anyways, I ALWAYS read the last sentence of the book. Nothing more or less, just the last sentence. Why? I have no idea. I just know that it makes me really mad when authors put a giant spoiler in the last line of the book, like in Uglies by Scott Westerfield.

I need to stop, I know. But, I don't seem to be able to. I'll try...but you know how hard habits are to break.

This was just a random thought that I felt the need to post. But does anyone else do it?