Yes, Wahoo!! First, happy thoughts! Is everyone thinking happy thoughts? Sunshine! Blue skies! A bubble bath! Lying on your back beneath the stars!
Very good. Now, we're going to move to Bookfool's Recent Discoveries. Stay happy and maybe you'll get through the boring bits.
1. I have discovered that I must never, ever, ever say the words, "Coming up next." Some of us are just too fickle to plan every single blog post. And, there's nothing wrong with being spontaneous, after all; it certainly keeps things interesting.
2. Gluttony is evil. And, my book supply is looking pretty scary, here, so that means I need to work on paring down (again) and stop requesting books of any kind. I'll have plenty of books showing up and still have some tours ahead, but I've already started winding down on the book tour concept. My blog just hasn't been the fun, spontaneous place that it used to be, since I became "scheduled" and, much as I'm enjoying the variety of books I've gotten to read this year, I have plenty that are waiting patiently in their little ("huge" being an acceptable substitute for the word "little", in this case) piles and I want my old bloggy self back.
3. It's important to wahoo and highly possible that I can't count. I can't remember the last time I wrote a Wahoo! Wednesday post!! Horrors! And, the reason . . . again . . . is that packed calendar. You know the joke about the pig and the chicken? The chicken who lays the egg is involved in your breakfast, but the pig who donates the bacon is committed. I think I'm feeling a little too piggy, here, in more ways than one. I need to lay a few eggs and move on. Gosh, I hope that makes sense.
There were going to be some bookish bits, here.
Unfortunately, (or, really, quite fortunately) the night's insomnia is coming to an end and I can no longer focus in a productive manner. So, off to bed with me. We'll talk later, okay?
I know what you mean! I have largely moved away from blog tours. I am starting to find them annoying and I didn't even really do that many. Plus, I have a hard time making myself read a book and post about it on a certain day. I prefer to read what I want, when I want... Hope you start to get things back to 'fun' soon! I still enjoy your blog, though, regardless of your opinions on it. haha. :)
ReplyDeleteI miss the Wahoos! And all those things--the blue skies, sunshine, laying on your back under the stars are great reasons to wahoo. The bubble bath sounds good in theory, but I'm too lazy. :)
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about being overscheduled and I stopped taking in new books (other than personal purchases) for quite a while. This month I started again but I think that's enough to hold me over for several more months. Spontaneous works best for me.
It makes me sad when I have to pare down and stop requesting. I did the same thing a few weeks ago, and now my mailbox isn't getting much love and I...am....sad.....
ReplyDelete(And since I'm no more caught up than when I sternly admonished myself, "enough". I just told myself to shut the heck up already and I'm back to requesting....it makes me happy!!!)
I like the Wahoo picture!
ReplyDeleteSeveral of my posts every week are scheduled, but there's room for creativity in several of them. I like having a few set posts - otherwise I stare at the week and wonder what on earth I'm gonna say...
(I can only make my days of writing, research & promotion sound exciting for so long. Authors really do lead boring existances sometimes!)
L. Diane Wolfe
www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
www.spunkonastick.net
www.thecircleoffriends.net
Happy Saturday Nancy!
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to #1. I'm always saying book reviews coming soon and before I know it, another week passes by without a review. sigh. Oh well, that happens :)
And, let's not talk about the towering stacks of unread books. haha...
I've learned the hard way as well to not try too hard to plan things out with my blog. It's better to be flexible about things.
ReplyDeleteKailana,
ReplyDeleteYep, they're annoying, all right. I don't mind the tours with a two-week window so much, but posting on a specific day gets really irritating, after a while. Not that I haven't had a great time reading those tour books, but the truth is that I don't honestly need them. I'm a master swapper and if the books come to life I will be killed and eaten because I am vastly outnumbered. Signs, all signs.
Aw, thanks! My blog has always had a "work in progress" feel, to me. It's a little like life. You change some things, drop others, learn new stuff, keep moving.
Trish,
Thanks! I've missed the wahoos, too. Actually, I can't even remember if I mentioned that my son proposed to his girlfriend, this week. That's a big wahoo, isn't it?
You're too lazy for a bubble bath? I can't do without my nightly baths. Sometimes they're plain, sometimes bubbly, often smelly (I adore fizzies) but I must soak. Last night, the water heater threw its breaker and I had to take a cold bath. Eww! Awful.
Kelly,
I have that problem, too. When the books stop coming, I miss them. But, one thing that helps is rearranging constantly. If I move my books around, peer into cabinets and shelves . . . then I know just how many unread books I own and I'm okay. It's very fun getting parcels, though, that's for sure. You have to do what makes you happy.
Diane,
ReplyDeleteThanks! That's from the Memphis Zoo. It was unbelievably hot. Most of the animals were panting.
I never really had any trouble finding something to say, before I began doing book tours. And, now that I have a packed schedule (this week is empty -- hallelujah!), I find that I'm trying to squeeze a little of myself into my blog. That seems a bit silly, doesn't it? I'm sure I'll occasionally do a book tour, once I've stopped the excess influx of books, but they just need to be rare.
Yep, a writer's life can be really dull. Been there, done that.
Iliana,
Happy Saturday!!
I never go a week without doing a review, but yeah . . . that happens. I need to just stop saying something is coming and say what I want to say when I'm ready to say it.
The towering stacks can take on a life of their own and they have a frightening capacity for staring down a reader. ;)
Angie,
Let's just say I'm slow on the uptake. My blog keeps changing. I try new things, now and then, and they often last a year before I realize they're not for me. Challenges, for example. I totally un-challenged myself, this year, but it took me two years to get to that point. This time, it's book tours . . . yeah, took me a while to get it. :)
My book gluttony has been getting out of hand too. I MUST stop acquiring new books. Also, I need to stop merely saying this and start actually doing it.
ReplyDeleteYour reply to Kailana cracked me up :D If my books came to life I'd be in serious trouble.
Nymeth,
ReplyDeleteA major part of the problem is that it has become far too easy to acquire piles of books at no cost, since people are hankering for reviews from book bloggers, these days. We must be a swell crowd, honest and pure. Yep, gotta stop saying, "I'm not going to request," and start really doing. Otherwise, the cycle continues.
I'm surprised I don't have nightmares about my books attacking me, really. Imagine a single night: the books grow teeth and legs, they spot the lone human skulking in the corner. CHOMP. It's all over. What a letdown. There ought to be few enough books for the human to have a fighting chance.
Ha! The blog tour thing is so true! I've only done a couple and I can already see that it's not going to be a good thing for me. I want to keep blogging fun, but if I have to do something on a specific day, I'll cave under the pressure. I was much more intimidated writing my review of RAVENS for the tour than I would have been if I'd just written it "on my own." Oh, well, live and learn!
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful day here too. :)
ReplyDeleteI love getting packages in the mail too. That is the only bad thing about cutting back on tours which I need to do also. My TBR is outgrowing its alloted space. lol
There are a lot of books I want to read that are not tour books so it is hard to fit them in between. I often don't feel like even reviewing them when I am done reading. I am grateful for the tour books though. I have been exposed to more books and I read more now because I did not have buy all of them. :)
I need to cut back on my buying though. No more book coupons. lol
Have a great weekend!
"Stay happy and maybe you'll get through the boring bits." What boring bits? I've never read one of your posts that's been boring. They are always fun, upbeat and bring a smile to my soul.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about review books. They are fun to receive in the mail, but they tend to come to fast and stack up too high creating a feeling of obligation instead of fun. I've cut way back and only except books that sound incredibly good.
Wonderful parable of the chicken and the pig. I'm going to imprint that saying on my heart, "Lay a few eggs and move on." Sage wisdom indeed.
Gwendolyn,
ReplyDeleteI remember feeling intimidated when I first began to tour books. I don't feel that way, anymore (kind of like someone's looking over your shoulder and they'll smack your head if you don't say the right thing) but the scheduling aspect has always been kind of miserable. I did limit my tours, for a while, and then I let it get out of hand. Right now, I'm really looking forward to eventually having an empty calendar and the freedom to write or not write about any book I read.
Brittanie,
Isn't it pretty outside? And, not too miserably hot.
Getting those books in the mail is kind of like shopping -- fun, but there has to be a limit. I feel the same as you, though, that I've "discovered" a lot of wonderful books I would have missed out on, otherwise. I'll still do some, but I'm just going to strictly limit them, again.
I'm deleting those book coupons, too. They're dangerous!
Thanks! Happy weekend to you, too!
Booklogged,
ReplyDeleteWell, thank you. That's an awfully nice thing to say!!! I love knowing I've made someone smile. :)
That's exactly it -- when the books come in too fast, it's easy to become overwhelmed. I really love being a part of promoting good books because I love reading and love authors, but there just has to be a limit to the influx and obligation. Nobody will ever get me to shut up about my favorites, that's for sure!
Oh, good, I'm glad that chicken and pig business made sense to you! I probably ought to print it out and slap it on the wall: LAY SOME EGGS AND MOVE ON. Boy, wouldn't that be a conversation starter?
Gasp! A wedding? Well, that probably is something to Wahoo about! Have they set a date yet? Is this the one who recently asked to move in with his girl? (I saw something about it on twitter).
ReplyDeleteAbout the baths. When we had a shower/bath combo I would take baths more often, but now we have a giant garden tub and for me to get in it I'd have to do a thorough scrub down first--which is why I'm too lazy. :)
Trish,
ReplyDeleteYes!! A wedding!!! And, yep, that's the same son. When he called to ask me if I'd disown him if he lived in sin, I said something to the effect of, "If you can't bear life without her, why don't you just marry her?" And, this week, he called to ask for advice on buying an engagement ring. :) Me happy. No date, yet. She's just begun her first year of residency (she's an M.D.) so I think my son's fiancee is just a bit shy on free time, right now.
Oh, yes, you told me about the garden bath! I told my husband what you said and he shared a story from someone at work. They had this McMansion custom designed with a giant tub and now they hate the tub because his wife is "so small she disappears in it". Hahaha. I love it.
Wahoo! and woo-hoo for good measure! :-D
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to the book gluttony (and #1 for that matter). I have a pile of books with me on vacation but I keep telling myself Oregon has no sales tax and it would be a shame if I didn't take advantage of that.
I hear you about needing to make your blog more about what you want to write about! I miss seeing your rambling, just thinking posts. Hopefully there will be more of those in the days to come.
ReplyDeleteSoftdrink,
ReplyDeleteLOL! Right back at ya.
I love your book pile. Well, no sales tax . . . what can you do?
Tammy,
There will be a lot more rambling, although I still do have at least one or two weeks that are going to be really heavy on the FirstWild preview chapters. By September, I should be mostly back to prattle, babble, blah, blah. :)
Boy can I relate to this post. I was feeling all prideful about the book requests I was receiving to review, until I thought to myself last night, "Self? Have you read anything you wanted to this summer?" And now that summer is almost OVER, it's too late to do anything about it. So, I'm with you on spontaneous. And, I'm with the squirrel in your header eating ice cream cones. He's not bogged down by "should"s and "ought to"s, is he? So, we can learn from chickens, pigs and squirrels!
ReplyDeleteBellezza,
ReplyDeleteYou crack me up. Yeah, that squirrel saw opportunity and took it. He didn't care that ice cream is not the standard squirrel diet; he just grabbed what looked interesting.
I've read some terrific books, this year, really. It's just that there are some that I keep glancing at longingly and you shouldn't have to wait 6 months to read a book because you're scheduled, you know? Incidentally, have you read that book about not wanting to go to church, yet? It's been in your sidebar for a while. I put that one on my wish list, but I think I've got a while to wait. I'm just curious what you think.
I totally know what you mean... I stopped taking books because they were taking up too much of my time and I didn't like feeling like I had "homework" to read. I'm much more interested in just reading what I feel like when I feel like it.
ReplyDeleteUm...I'll get to it right away. Promise! You and CJ both asked about it so I won't slack here.
ReplyDeleteKim,
ReplyDeleteHomework is a good way to describe the obligation -- that or an unpaid job. There's a lot to be said for having the freedom to read whatever strikes your fancy at any given moment.
Bellezza,
Oh, no hurry. I'm just curious about it. We haven't attended church for quite some time, although I do join in on one or two Bible studies, each year. I'm actually trying to talk myself into going back and not having much luck.
Hey Nancy. Thanks for your comment on my blog today. I have not read any of Dave Ramsey's books, but a couple of people have suggested them. Will look into it.
ReplyDeleteLast Sunday, Miss Belle took a header on her bicycle. Fortunately, she was wearing her helmet. Unfortunately, she hit her face on the pavement first. Didn't break her nose or lose any teeth, but did give herself a nice little concussion, a trip to the ER AND a CAT scan. Ended up with a 3 day headache and a fear of her bike. Kids....
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI gave my Dave Ramsey books to my eldest or I'd send mine to you. He made such a huge difference in our lives.
OMG!!! That must have been terrifying! My eldest had a bad bike accident that swelled his face up so much I could barely recognize him as mine. It was awful. Sounds like Bella got it much worse. I'm so glad she didn't lose any teeth or break her nose, but the medical costs certainly aren't anything you needed right now. I'm glad she's better!!!
Ah, book gluttony seems to be the theme in the blogosphere these days! I think a lot of folks are burned out on receiving all those ARCs and partaking in blog tours. I know I've cut way back on what I accept anymore. Too many stacks of unread books here in this little house. Of course, what do I do? Go to the library and add to the piles. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you wahoo-ing again!!
Les,
ReplyDeleteThe problem, as I see it, is that it's become too easy to acquire ARCs (because bloggers are the marketing medium of choice). I got 19 in a single week, about a month ago. That's one thing that made me sit back and think. I can read 19 books in a little over a month. If that many arrive in a single day, something obviously has to change.
Oh, yeah. I went to the library today, too. LOL We're so funny.
Yay for Wahoos! I love your wahoo and rambling posts so I'm looking forward to more of those. And congratulations to your son!!! :)
ReplyDeleteSometimes I'm jealous of all the free books you American bloggers have access too but then I look at my towering stacks and realize it's probably a good thing I live overseas. :P
Nat,
ReplyDeleteThank you! This is going to be one of those weeks that is a bit heavy on tours, but my calendar is slowly clearing out and I'm sure that means we'll be back to constant chatter, soon. Thanks for the congrats. :)
The problem with those free books is that they come with an obligation attached. I've realized I had it right, earlier on. I limited myself to one or two tours a month and, since the ARCs weren't flowing quite so freely, just reviewed for an author or publicist on occasion. That's what I plan to return to. My stacks are obnoxiously huge. I need to work on seriously whittling them down. I can understand why you'd feel a little envious, though. It's gotten far too easy to acquire ARCs in the U.S.
That's a funny post. You remind me of me. I should probably do less "coming up next" too. And Gluttony IS totally evil. I have had to stop with the review books as well.
ReplyDeleteRebecca,
ReplyDeleteThank you. :)
I've discovered it's almost natural to want to say, "Here's what's coming up, next" and I have to work at stopping myself. Wild.
I'm glad I'm not the only person who has given up review books. I don't miss the strings attached to them, not one bit.