State of the Blog July 25th 2021- First Book in Four Months

Hello and welcome to the state of the blog for Sunday July 25th 2021, the weather is hot, getting hotter, and I am excited to be going the farthest west I’ve ever been. We’ll see what that leaves me with next week.

This morning, I finished my first book in about four months. A review will be up later this week for it. I started reading Dead Famous by Greg Jenner before I moved to New Jersey for a theatre contract. When I’m knee deep in a show, I’m lucky if I can listen to a fifteen minute podcast. Anything with a narrative gets shut down because I’m focusing on the details of the production I’m on. So that slowed me down. Then, my boyfriend and I officially moved into our apartment. 

And…and…and. Picking up my Kindle to read has been enormously hard. We are still getting used to living with each other and our cat (to much success, I’m happy to announce). Then I started helping a friend move into and work out how she wants her house. Also I’ve restarted this space. It’s been an intense few months. I’ve had to transition into new routines and reading was really the thing that got put on the back burner. Plus, I knew I needed to finish Dead Famous before I got into anything else. In the past I have not finished books because of similar transitions. I never went back to them for no other reason than “I was too busy”. It makes me sad, so I decided to just wait it out this time.

I did not read until I figured out my new routines. A little after my boyfriend went to work, but before I had to get ready for the day. A nice evening when we just weren’t doing the same thing for once. If I forced it, reading felt too much like work. My days of reading for work (outside of theatre, that’s a different thing in my head) are over. I want to read what I want to read, and sometimes it’s just not a good time for me to sit on the couch and take a few hours. Which is good, and necessary for everyone who is a hobbyist reader. We don’t always find ourselves in a place where we can sit and enjoy books, for no other reason than life is too busy, too hard, or just too much to add other personalities and plot lines too. 

Then there’s the “about me” as a reader: I’m not really a niche reader, or listener- and I’m sure there are more people like me that lurk around. I don’t always know what I want to read next. Lately I’ve been eyeing up more science fiction. Since I’m not in a niche, I might find a book years after an acclaimed debut, or a quiet debut. It might take me a few years to afford a book that’s far enough down my list. Honestly, I’m happy for this. I’m very glad to maybe give a book an extra push after things have quieted, or just give an author a moment of “I’m so happy you liked my book” after they maybe didn’t get a ton of buzz. It may make me scattered but I am naturally scattered, as much as I try to quell it. Hence, Magpie. Collecting shiny things I like, and being slightly chaotic in the process. (I promise, I will not peck out your eyes. Gross.)

The good news is: with how I’m feeling now, and how smooth finishing Dead Famous was- I think my brain is ready to take the time to dive into the books I’ve been collecting. Note to everyone: stop putting ebooks on sale because my backlog is atrocious. 

Perhaps my life will be: Podcasts by day, books by night. Or maybe just books on the weekends, or…who knows. I’m content with where things are going right now.

Reading for fun, even if you have a blog like mine, should always be enjoyable. Don’t be afraid to take four months to read a book if your hardware is being weird. If it’s not your hardwiring, put it down if it’s just not doing it for you. Throw it in a Little Free Library or something. Feeling obligated if you’re just not feeling it takes the fun out of what’s supposed to be entertaining and good stress. Let this be the reminder to all of us that if we enjoy something, let’s keep it enjoyable for ourselves. It’s hard, but you live your life, and people on social media live theirs. We’ll all meet in the middle somewhere. 

Last Week on the Blog: 

How to Listen to Podcasts– How to parse down from the massive amount of choice you have when just starting out

Coming up This Week: 

Release Day Review – a New Sci Fi Audio: Twenty Forty, keep an eye out for more!

Book Review: Dead Famous by Greg Jenner