Saturday, September 13, 2014

The Color of Burnout


Burnout is orange. It's made of sharp pointy things and it smells of blackened pizza. It makes you prickly and insufferable if you think about it too much. It's not especially pleasurable but the outcome can be positive in the long run. I've been here, before.

Yes, my friends, I am definitely still in the midst of blogger burnout. I thought maybe a week or two of avoidance would do the trick but I'm still happiest away from the computer. So I've been thinking maybe I'll do weekly updates till I get over the hump. It doesn't aggravate me to sit at the computer and write. It's merely reviewing that I can't tolerate.  Frustrating, but hopefully it will pass.

Reading update:

After my last update, I finished Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Believe it or not, I was never assigned any Steinbeck reading at all during my school years. Shocking, no? I've read several of his works as an adult and inexplicably convinced myself that Of Mice and Men was one of them. But, recently I came to the realization that I was wrong; I hadn't read it at all. And, of all the books I've read recently, Of Mice and Men turned out to be the one that gave me the strongest I want to talk about this sensation I've had in quite some time. So, it was definitely a fulfilling read.

My copy of The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell arrived via Paperback Swap not long before Trish announced her Sparrow Read-Along (#SparrowRAL at Twitter, still under way) so I joined in on that and finished it, mid-week. The story is still rolling around in my head. I liked the story but I loved the characters, particularly Emilio. I still miss Emilio.

I only finished two other books, this week, both poetry for children from the "Poetry for Young People" series published by Sterling, both purchased. I enjoyed the extra material in the two volumes I read in April: Robert Frost and African-American Poetry, so I was very excited to find some of the other titles in the series reasonably priced when I went shopping for poetry.  These are the two I purchased and read, this week:


The illustrations in both books are fabulous and I particularly enjoyed the Kipling because there was ample information about each poem, beyond the biographical information at the front of the book. I'm not certain Dickinson is for me, to be honest. But, I do claim a few favorite lines from her poems -- like, "Hope is the thing with feathers" -- even though I'm not entirely taken with her poetry, in general.  I've been in a Serious Poetry Mood, so I have purchased a few other titles and hope to get started on them, soon.

I've also begun reading The Light Between the Oceans by M. L. Stedman, as planned. I began reading Gail Sheehy's memoir, Daring: My Passages, shortly after I started The Sparrow, although the reading of Daring skidded to a halt during the time I was most immersed in The Sparrow. And I just began reading A Survival Guide for Life by Bear Grylls, last night. I'm definitely enjoying my reading more, now that I've relinquished the pressure of reviewing. Hopefully, I'll someday get my reviewing mojo back. In the meantime, I'm just going to enjoy myself and take each day as it comes, soak up the air, endeavor not to burn the next pizza, play with the cats. It's in the 70s! The windows are open!!  Cool air makes being alive a million times more gratifying.

Happy thoughts to all.

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15 comments:

  1. Whenever I've got the blogger burnout, reviewing is definitely the first casualty. I read Of Mice and Men as assigned reading in high school. Powerful but so sad! Hope the burnout passes soon and that you enjoy the other things in life in the meantime! =)

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    1. Yes, I think it just gets tiresome to talk about every single book you read. I've recently skipped reviewing a few reads from my personal shelves and have taken off a week here, a weekend there. I guess after 8 years I just hit the wall, so to speak. It happens. :)

      I probably would have read Of Mice and Men in high school, had I not substituted journalism for English lit and grammar classes. It is sad and shocking and beautiful - a mercy for the friend to do what he did because there was no way out of what was going to happen but still deeply troubling. I loved it. There's so much depth in Steinbeck's writing.

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  2. I'm making a blogger casualty list right now. Just so you know you're NOT alone, my dear friend. (It's a very, very long and distinguished list, by the way.) I am a huge fan of the annual hiatus. And using that hiatus to do other projects to revitalize yourself. The more you pressure yourself to come back to reviewing quickly, the less quickly you will be back. (Oh. I imparted bloggy wisdom there, didn't I?)

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    1. Oh, good. I'm glad to know I'm not alone!! I usually do take an annual 3-4 week break around the holidays and I've taken a week off here, extended weekends there. I tried to head burnout off at the pass, so to speak. Failed, but at least it kept me going for a while. I've been having a super time scrubbing the kitchen to within an inch of its life while the cook has been off the continent, haha. You're right, though, I probably need a completely different type of project.

      You're always so full of wisdom, bloggy and otherwise. Keep it up. I'm listening.

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    2. I'm getting too old. Should that have been "an inch of it's life"?

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  3. I think I've been experiencing blogger burnout for the past two years! haha... I try not to feel bad about time away from the blog and just look forward to coming back when I feel better. Anyway, hope you enjoy your time away from the blog and hope you read a lot of good books.

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    1. LOL I've definitely been on the verge for a long time. I'm trying not to fret. Really, it's just the ARCs sitting there glaring at me. If I didn't have them (especially the two from authors), it would be no big deal. I do feel icky about not being able to write about books people have sent me, though.

      I'm enjoying my reading, thanks! Getting a lot of housework done, too. My house needed me to burn out on blogging for a while. ;)

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  4. I think it's the time of the year. Maybe the new year will bring a renewed sense of purpose. I wouldn't sweat it too much. People aren't reading like they used to either so I don't feel the need to keep posting stuff knowing busy everyone seems to be.

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    1. The time of year certainly isn't helping, Ti. I think in my case it's partly the lack of feedback (definitely not getting the comments I used to; I think you're right about people not visiting blogs as much) and the fact that I am just flat bored with my own writing. I've been doing nothing but the weekly malarkey and reviews. Very meh stuff. Having said that, I may just go ahead and chatter about the novels I've finished without writing formal reviews because I do feel bad about not writing a thing.

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  5. The story is still rolling around in my head. I liked the story but I loved the characters, particularly Emilio. I still miss Emilio.

    After all these years (and a second reading), I still miss Emilio... and the rest of the cast of characters. I so love that book!!

    I hope you're beginning to feeling better about blogging. I think it's all about setting your own terms and conditions and doing what works best for you. After a month-long break, I've enjoyed my return, posting from my "stash" of reviews that I wrote while enjoying my "retreat." I'm one book away from being completely caught up, which makes me so happy. Maybe now I'll have time to participate in Sunday Salon and Top Ten Tuesday without feeling guilty about not working on book reviews.

    Enjoy your cooler temps. We hit the mid-80s again today after a terrific storm early this morning. Mother Nature is always fickle this time of year. I'm not complaining, though. I'm very happy to get 1 1/2 inches of rain while I sleep. :)

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    1. Emilio was wonderful. Have you read the second book, Les?

      I'm feeling better about blogging as long as I don't let myself think of the word "review", which is bizarre but whatever. Instead I tell myself I'm just going to talk about whatever book I read. I mean, really. Same thing. LOL

      The cooler temps lasted all of one day. We've been back in the 90s. In fact, the local meteorologist had us laughing when he said, "But next week . . . spring," and stepped back to show that next week it will get all the way down to highs of as low as 85!!! No luck breaking the latest 90s highs, just yet. I might on the verge of losing my mind.

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    2. Yep, I read Children of God, but didn't love it. I hate to say more... don't want to give away any spoilers. Let's just say it was worth reading the first few couple of chapters, but after that, I lost interest. Have you read it?

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    3. Nope, I don't have a copy and don't particularly feel compelled to continue reading. I put Children of God on my wish list thinking I'd ponder whether or not I even want to read it but I'm probably going to remove it, especially since you didn't find it as absorbing as The Sparrow.

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    4. Maybe find a copy at your library and read the first few chapters...

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    5. I think that would be best. It's a good excuse to go check out the library a little more closely.

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