Reading Slumps, Book Collections, and Other Bookish Thoughts
Hello! I am back after my month-long hiatus from the blog. I missed it, but I honestly needed the break. School is back in swing full time for me as well as my seven homeschool charges. (My siblings) Between grading, studying, and everything else that goes into being part of a large family, I was having trouble keeping up. To make matters worse, I was in a complete reading slump. Nothing I tried to read interested me, and it started to feel like a chore. Sooooo I knew it was probably break time! In addition to all the usual stuff, I'm also still trying to figure out how to run a blog and manage it without it taking over my life. I am going to hit quite a few subjects in this modge-podge of a post, so I hope you enjoy!
Let's discuss my reading slump...
Reading slumps... every reader's nightmare. This was perhaps the first time I was in a true reading slump. It was a little depressing. I think it started because I overdid the Regency Romance genre. I had signed up for an ARC of a Regency book, not realizing that it was actually the third book in the series. The review was due at the end of the month, and I wanted to read the first two books before getting to the third one. I absolutely loved the first book; the second book was super sweet, but by the time I got to the third book, I couldn't bring myself to start it for some reason. I have been reading Regency for months now, so I think it was just time to take a break. Another thing I think that added to the problem was my TBR. It has become apparent to me that I am not good at making them... or keeping them. The books that sound interesting to me at the start of the month are suddenly not so interesting a week later. I found that I ended up getting stressed trying to keep up with the TBR, so reading became something I had to do rather than something I was excited to do. That also brings me to book reviews. I didn't realize how much work went into writing a book review. Don't get me wrong, the writing part was easy. It was the taking-notes-as-I-read part that had me stumped. I have decided that I am not going to feel like I have to do a full content review on every book I read. I will always review, rate, and give my general thoughts, but beyond that, I will not be doing full-length content reviews on every book. For now at least! The good news is, I am now out of my reading slump... like really out of it. I found a new historical romance time travel series (I will be discussing it in an upcoming post!) that I have been binge-reading for the past two weeks. I currently have five of the seven books in the series read. I am actually hitting pause on the series until my friend catches up because we want to read the last two books together. So please, comment on this post and tell her to hurry up because I will not be sharing the series with you until I finish all seven books... and I'm dying to share!! Seriously, pressure her so she reads quicker.
Now for a confession...
Yes, a confession. You see, I always knew I had a lot of books, but I never realized how many. My books are in a bit of disorder because my shelf does not hold them all. My dad is currently building me another one, but until then, they are in stacks on the floor. Recently, I decided to count them... I was surprised at the amount. In fact, I'll give you guys a chance to guess! In my next post, I will reveal the answer! Hint: it's more than 100! Drop your guess in the comments below! ALSO, I got a very exciting package in the mail this month! Months ago, I discovered perhaps one of my favorite historical fiction series called Timeless by Gabrielle Meyer. This is also a historical romance time travel series, but not the one I mentioned earlier. See a theme going on here? Anyway, It's the best.... The next book is coming out this spring, and I couldn't be more excited! I may re-read the series before then.... Anyway, I splurged and preordered the special edition of When the Day Comes which is book one in the series! I took some special pictures so I could share my excitement with you guys!
Because I preordered it, I got a special bookmark and a signed bookplate! Honestly, this is one of the fanciest fiction books I own. The sprayed edges, beautiful cover, end pages.... ahhhhh. Andddd, there's bonus content in the back! Also, I've also never done book photography like this, so it was a lot of fun!
So, what am I reading right now?
Good question. The answer is three books. Well, sort of. I am in the middle of one, just finished one today, and about to start the next in the series, and also about to start the first book in a new series. And then, of course, my Bible. Okay, that was confusing, so let me back up. I am currently reading Anne of Green Gables with a book club; it will be a while before I finish it because we are currently reading only four chapters a week. So far, I am enjoying it! I just finished Love's Long Journey, book three in Janette Oke's Love Comes Softly series, earlier today. I will be starting book four, Love's Abiding Promise, either tonight or tomorrow. Finally, I am planning on starting a new series sometime this week called the Four Kingdoms series by Melanie Cellier. I am a little hesitant about this series because I tend to avoid any type of magic in books, but I thought I would give the first one, The Princess Companion, a try! As for Bible reading, I am currently doing a Philippians Bible study with a friend (the same one that I mentioned earlier) and setting up my own prayer Bible! I have never had one before, so I am excited to get started.
Let's talk life.
Okay, I think I have babbled enough about books! (Is there even such a thing??) Now I want to share a bit about life! So, as I mentioned earlier, life has been crazy lately. Starting school back up has had me so incredibly busy. I currently do college work from home while also working for my parents to oversee our homeschool program for my six siblings. We use Abkea Academy, a Christian homeschool curriculum based in Pensacola, Florida. It's a great curriculum, and without it, I honestly don't think I would be able to keep up with it all right now. I like to keep my home life and family private and will not be sharing much about it on this blog. However, as a side note, if any of you are ever interested in a post about how we organize and manage six grades of Abeka from eleventh grade all the way down to kindergarten, let me know! Also, I would like to do a Q&A post if you guys have any book or blog related questions! If you do, just drop them in the comments or contact me, and I'll try to put together a post answering any questions you may have!
Well, that's all I have for you today! I hope you all had a wonderful September and an even better October! See you soon!
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