In My Life
So many books, so little time! I’m sure many of you can relate to this. Lately I’ve been wanting to spend more time reading, and less time blogging. I’ve been thinking of taking a week or two off from blogging, so I can gain more time to read. Taking a break is inevitable anyway, no matter the hobby. I don’t train for sports all year round. When a season concludes, my teams have always taken a break before resuming training for the next season. I’m thinking with blogging, a break might do me good as well.
Then again, if I would just get my act together and schedule posts, then that would solve that problem too. Content would be updated, I’d still be able to interact through comments but wouldn’t have to think about what my next post was going to be. I don’t know. I’ll see how things go.
Proving brioche tressée dough before baking
The past week I’ve also been baking more again. I find baking bread especially soothing, what with the calm of kneading dough and inhaling the glorious smell of leavening dough. It’s particularly satisfying to wake up in the morning and eat bread I baked for breakfast. For some reason I’ve neglected baking over the previous few weeks, so I’m glad I found my baking mood again; a little at the expense of blogging but I’m happy, which is what counts.
On the Blog
Review
Blog Post
Around the Blogosphere
Bloggers & Blogging
- Hazel @ Stay Bookish is dreaming big and would love to travel as part of the Big Blog Exchange 2014. In order for that dream to become reality, she needs your help! Vote here or read more about it on her blog.
- Ashley @ Nose Graze addresses the questions of whether GIFs infringe on copyrights. It’s such a grey area, which is why I hardly use them myself. I wouldn’t know whom to credit.
- Cait @ Notebook Sisters asks for opinions on short comments and if they’re okay.
- Kristilyn @ Reading in Winter wonders whatever happened to originality in book blogging, in light of the increasing promotional posts that abound in the book blogosphere.
Books
- Meg @ Adrift on Vulcan is tired of happy endings. She seeks realistic endings, “even if it means that the heroine must die,” she says.
Covers
- Ula @ Blog of Erised rants about the overuse of stock photos on book covers.
Genres
- Tabitha @ Not Yet Read considers genre shelving errors at bookstores.
Rating & Reviewing
- Tabitha @ Not Yet Read collected feedback from publishers about what’s okay to do with ARCs (advanced reading copies).
- Amy @ Aya M. Productions takes issue with Amazon and Goodreads reviews.
- Miranda @ Tempest Books asks if you have a particular review style.
Reading
- Miranda @ Tempest Books and Sana weigh in on the merits of mood reading versus systematic reading.
- Becky @ A Fool’s Ingenuity guest posted on Oh, the Books!, wondering if reading too much is a bad thing.
Spoilers
Quote of the Week
The sound of words as they’re said is always different from when the sound they make when they’re heard because the speaker hears some of the sound from the inside.
—A, Every Day by David Levithan
I’m currently in the midst of listening to the audiobook of Every Day and I must say, I adore the prose. This quote especially struck me because perceptions have a huge influence on how we relate to things that have been said. We might hear the same words that have been spoken, yet understand completely different things. I think that is something that we cannot take lightly and need to remember, especially when we run into misunderstandings.
I’m seriously a bit envious of your baking skills. That bread looks amazing! I tried baking this past week and it went HORRIBLE. I was trying to bake spritz cookies which shouldn’t have been so difficult in theory but man, what a stressful two hours! They ended up really floury and dusty which sucked but at least I was smart and didn’t make the full batch (which could have also been why they turned out so horrible because I’m fairly sure I screwed up the ratios). I definitely am not cut out for baking. I much prefer cooking! I feel like that cooking gives me a lot more freedom in doing my own thing and experimenting which suits me very well because I totally suck at following instructions haha. I think when I baked that day, I tried to bring in some of the things I do when cooking like eyeballing ingredients and taste testing but obviously it didn’t work. With baking, I definitely feel like you have to stick much closer to the recipe!
And as for taking a break, I say go for it! I used to be so worried about taking breaks because I didn’t want everyone to forget about me but I think it’s a rather silly view honestly. If anything, taking a break can only do you good!
And hmm, what do I do to destress? I don’t even know what I do. I think I just panic, message my friends like crazy to tell them about my troubles and then just sleep it off. I hate getting stressed out and honestly, I’m not great when it comes to dealing with stress. I just wait it out and hope that something good ends up happening. But sleeping definitely does help take my mind off of things!
It took years of baking and reading up to get there :) the first time I baked cookies, they were dry and crumbly. But at least they still tasted great. Lol. I like baking precisely because the ratios matter. I like measuring things out and knowing that the result will be the same if I use the same recipe again. And I like being able to take a recipe and make it my own.
I’ll try to schedule posts this week, so I don’t need to worry about blogging for the rest of August and can focus on some non-blogging things. I’ve been wanting to sew, so yeah, maybe a blogging break might be good.
I have a tendency to stress sleep too. Haha.
1. If you feel like taking a break, go for it. You know I just came back from a month and a half away, and I think that was one of the best decisions I could’ve made. I’ve tried to push through it, get ahead on posts, etc, but ultimately I just needed time to read without any pressure or outside influence. It’s A LOT like sports in that regard. Sometimes a break allows us to come back stronger than ever. But obviously, do what you feel is best.
2. I just finished reading Every Day! Someone told me I should listen to the audiobook, but I’m not really into audiobooks. I absolutely adored the prose as well. I’m glad you’re enjoying it! :)
Like I tweeted some time ago, welcome back to the book blogosphere, Rachel! :D It’s so nice to see you back. I have mixed feelings at the moment. I have so many ideas and things I want to write/post but then once I sit down at my laptop, that motivation to type sort of leaves me. Which is exactly how I feel sometimes about sports too. I have all those visions about things I want to improve on and the things I need to do to get here but once I start training, all I look forward to is being done. I’ll try to schedule some posts this coming week, so I can focus on non-blogging things during the second half of August.
The audiobook of Every Day was splendid. I absolutely loved listening to it because then I could close my eyes and really think about what it meant for A to be in a different body every single day yet still retain that individual identity independent of the people whose bodies A was in. It was also great for soaking in that beautiful beautiful prose that Levithan wrote.
I don’t bake a lot, but I do love to eat it (my sister bakes a lot), haha. I always love the smell of batter/dough. I think it’s a great idea to take a break so you can enjoy your books! When you return you have more than enough reviews :D Thanks for linking to my spoiler post!
Hahaha. My sister always tells me she’s glad I bake because this means she gets to eat what I bake. I actually have a whole pile of books that I have already read but not reviewed. The only issues is actually typing out my thoughts. I wish I could just stare at the screen and automatically transfer my thoughts. So yeah, maybe a break really is in order. But I’ll try to schedule some posts firsts. And you’re most welcome for the link-up ;)
When I need to destress I do one of two things: 1) Binge a new tv show, or 2) read a 500 page book in one sitting. I turn on my lavender candle and within 20 minutes I’m feeling much better :) If I’m really, really stressed, I’ll just put in my headphones and listen to my old metal music (courtesy of troubled 14-year old me), or the Lord of the Rings soundtracks. Works every time! I like baking, but the eating part, not the work part ;)
Taking a blogging break really helped me at the beginning of the year; I took two weeks off and came back feeling much better after that. But scheduled posts help now too! When I have a few hours alone and I feel productive, I’ll schedule a few and then just sit back to enjoy the easy-going blogging week.
I can’t remember the last time I read a 500-page book in one sitting. That actually sounds quite daunting yet very satisfying. I should block off a day to do just that and see how it works out for me.
I think I’ll try scheduling a bunch of posts this coming week, so I can take a breather during the second half of August.