Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Blogiversary and Random Bits


I started this blog twelve years ago in July 2008. The world was different, the community was different, the books I was reading at the time were different. These days I read far fewer picture books, far more genre books. I allowed diversity to seep into my reading organically by following from one book/author I enjoyed to another similar/tangential one. I read more memoirs, mainly by funny people. I don't make enough time for reading other blogs, mostly because I am barreling through my owned books and the library's audiobooks in an attempt to escape to anywhere else. (I know some people are having trouble reading right now but I just finished my 72nd book of the year yesterday. That's ridiculous.) And, just writing this post, I can tell that I'm missing blogging. I no longer worry about visitor counts or giveaways or review copies but I do worry that some of you might miss out on a fabulous book because I didn't share it.

Anyway, here are a few random bookish things of recent note:

My heart broke last month with the news of Carlos Ruiz Zafón's passing. I went back through this blog and counted 45(!) posts that were reviews, giveaways, or mentions of his books. I have all of his books that were translated into English in hardcover and I revisit them regularly. I'm starting to feel the need to renew and improve my Spanish reading skills so as to eventually read his books in their original form.

There is a Fire and Hemlock discussion at the end of this month (27 July, 8pm EDT), hosted online by the Brooklyn Public Library. Follow the link to register. I think it will be a fun little Zoom gathering, especially if a couple of us DWJ fans from around the world join in!

Monika has compiled a Goodreads list of "not-cis authors". They have 206 books on this list so far!

And here's a free short story from Sarah Pinsker, one of my favorite current authors. She actually wrote a post-pandemic tale, A Song for a New Day, that came out last year and recently won the Nebula Award for Best New Novel. I told her that she might be a witch and she didn't disagree.
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So, I do feel kind of happy writing right now and I am certainly reading enough to give me content so maybe I'll be back soon? I was going to wait until after the November election to decide whether to come back or not but I feel like this might be the moment when I need to reach out, to start rebuilding what I once loved. If you are still around and reading this, please leave a comment below!

10 comments:

  1. It would be lovely to see you around again, beautiful friend! Hi! And thanks for the news about the Fire and Hemlock Zoom gathering. I'm so bad about remembering these things but I am truly going to try to remember this one.

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    1. I still need to register and get it on my calendar. That's the only way I will remember!

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  2. It's funny to see how we all ebb and flow on different platforms. I started withdrawing from social media in the late summer of 2016, when we moved up to WI, because of some things that happened in my family and later after the election that year. I forced myself to keep posting periodically on Instagram and facebook, but was very, very quiet generally on them compared to where I had been, and it would have been easy to give them up altogether. Then this year, I started to reemerge. So do whatever feels right for you, and as always, we'll be listening. It's definitely different out there now than it was in 2008, that's for sure!!

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    1. Thank you, Amanda! I think the main thing I keep thinking is that I don't want to completely close any doors. So, I may move around platforms and formats but I will keep reading and sharing somewhere!

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  3. Oh, I've missed you! And I am very grateful for the Fire and Hemlock hint; that would be SO FUN.

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    1. :)
      And I would love to "see" you at the F&H meetup!

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  4. I always love to hear about what you're reading, so however and whenever you choose to share, I'll be there. (Not that I have a twitter or Instagram or whatever else account, so I'm kind of hoping the blog keeps going!)

    Don't know that I could join a Fire and Hemlock discussion: I've read it multiple times and I still don't think I get it! But would be cool to hear what other people think of it.

    The Sarah Pinsker story looks cool, thanks for the link!

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    1. I almost totally understood F&H this last time. ;)
      And I will see what I can do about posting here more!

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  5. Lovely to see you posting again. 🙂 I always enjoy reading your thoughts on books and life in general.

    The Fire and Hemlock Zoom event sounds fascinating, but I don't think I will be motivated to get up in the middle of the night for it. I'd love to see a summary post from you for all of us who can't make it, though. 😉

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    1. Thanks, Lauren!
      And yeah, middle of the night seems a bit much, even for an awesome book like F&H!

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