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My Progress:


9 / 30 books. 30% done!

2024 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama
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- California (3)
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- Washington, D.C.*

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- Australia (1)
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My Progress:


12 / 51 states. 24% done!

2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

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Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge

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27 / 52 books. 52% done!

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21 / 40 books. 53% done!

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34 / 104 books. 33% done!

Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

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31 / 52 books. 60% done!

Disney Animated Movies Reading Challenge

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32 / 165 books. 19% done!
Tuesday, July 08, 2014

Bless Me Father, For I Have Sinned ...


I know, I know.  You don't hear from me for days and, suddenly, I post four times within a 24-hour period.  What's up with that?  Um, yeah.  Apparently, the long, lazy days of summer have zapped my blogging energy—I've read lots of books, I just haven't gotten around to reviewing them.  Now that I'm back from a week of vacation in Utah, I'm trying my hardest to catch up.  So, I really shouldn't "waste" time on Top Ten Tuesday, but you guys, I just can't help myself!  This is my favorite bookish meme, especially when our lovely hosts over at The Broke and the Bookish give us fun topics like this one—Top Ten Blogging Confessions.  Without further ado, here are mine:

1.  UPS/USPS deliveries still make me squeal—After eight years of book blogging (eight years!), the thrill of getting free books in the mail should probably be gone.  It's not.  Not at all.  I still get excited when I find packages on my doorstep or in my mailbox from Harper Collins, Scholastic, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, etc.  If my reaction to that ever sours, I guess I'll know it's time to start drafting a goodbye post.

2.  I still can't be trusted in a bookstore—Because I've been doing this book blogging thing for almost a decade, I've accumulated a lot of books.  Thousands.  They're stacked on my desk, crammed into bookshelves, packed into boxes that fill the closet in my guest room ... I've got more books than any person could possibly read in two lifetimes and yet, I can't resist buying more.  Seriously, I think I need an intervention.

3.  Someone needs to cut me off.  Like now—Closely related to the above two confessions is this one:  I need another review book like I need a hole in the head.  I have so many, I literally do not know what to do with them all.  Over the years, I've become much more selective in what I choose to accept for review, but I still have no control at all when presented with new books from my favorite publishers.  My greedy little book bloggin' heart wants to read them all.

4.  It's all about the numbers—Okay, it's not.  It's really not.  But Megan's confession #2 reminded me of how hard I always try to reach my reading goal of 200 books a year.  I've yet to accomplish it, but I still find myself avoiding chunky books and embracing quick, children's reads—especially toward the end of the year when I'm racing to get as many books read as I can.  How neurotic is that?  The only person who cares about my numbers is me.  Major head slap.

5.  I really, really want to be nice—Over the past eight years, I've earned a reputation as the Simon Cowell of book bloggers.  People describe my reviews with words like honest, brutal, scathing, pulls-no-punches, etc.  And those are compliments (if not entirely accurate ones)!  But, here's the thing, I'm really a very nice person.  I hate conflict.  I go out of my way to avoid offending people.  The truth is, I wish I could review every single book I'm offered and do so with raving, gushing excitement.  I wish I could make every author happy.  As a veteran book blogger, I've learned something:  it just doesn't work that way.  The only way I can do this "job" is to tell it like it is.  And you know what?  I'm not going to apologize for that.

6.  I spend a lot less time in the library than I used to—Maybe this has nothing to do with book blogging at all, but I find myself spending very little time in the library these days.  I used to love to roam the stacks, spending long hours browsing and spine-gazing.  Nowadays, I'm much more efficient—if I see a glowing review of a book that looks interesting, I reserve it online, then go grab it from the library, and proceed on my merry way.  Most of my visits to the library take less than 5 minutes (ironic, since I make a point of driving to the county library that's about a 15-minute drive from my house because I like it better than the city library, which is a whole lot closer).  This turn-of-events makes me sad because I truly love libraries.

7.  Long waits don't bother me none—Most people complain about having to spend hours and hours in waiting rooms and airport lobbies.  Not me.  I embrace the uninterrupted reading time.

8.  I'm a reading vs. socializing hypocrite—I love that my preteen adores reading, but watching her choose books over interacting with friends, family and classmates sometimes gives me pause.  While I completely understand, I find myself lecturing her a lot about putting her book down and engaging in the world around her—all the while, ignoring my own advice.  I'm an adult, so that's okay, right?  Right?

9.  I'm getting choose-y in my old age—As I mentioned before, I'm a nice person.  So, I felt terrible when I had to pare down my list of book blogs on Bloglovin'.  Well, I didn't get rid of any, I just shifted my favorites into their own section.  While I still read tons of book blogs, usually they are only the ones on this exclusive list.  I know, I'm an awful person!  The guilt is killing me (but I feel a whole lot less overwhelmed by my list of blog posts to be read).

10.  Uh ...—Okay, I can't think of any other scandalous secrets to spill, so I'll just end my confession here.  What do you think?  Do I have some repenting to do?  A Hail Mary or two?  How about you?  What are your deepest, darkest blogging confessions?  I promise I won't tell.  I'm a book blogger, so I'm totally trustworthy ...          

16 comments:

  1. Agree, like, a lot about someone needing to cut me off. It's so hard, though! Every Tuesday, it seems, something new I need RIGHT NOW is published. And then every other day of the week, something I absolutely need will go up on NetGalley or Edelweiss. The woes of being a book blogger, I guess. And YES to long waits--as long as I have a book, I don't care if I'm waiting in the doctor's office for an hour; I'm set.

    Thanks so much for stopping by Mark My Reviews!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your reading versus socializing confession got me thinking about myself a lot. When I was younger I would avoid all socializing and read through everything. Now I'm a lot better about getting out there and socializing rather than reading all the time. It's hard to keep that balance though!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I always feel like i'm being too harsh on books sometimes. And then i feel bad for being mean, but i have to say what i think.

    If i'm in a bookstore it's almost guaranteed i'm leaving with a book.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Haha my husband doesn't trust me in a bookstore either. That's why I work in a library....I can check out as many as I want and it doesn't cost a thing!
    Thanks for stoppin' by! Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same here!! Love working at the library for that reason. Especially, when I'm the first person to check out a new book!!

      Delete
  5. I've never received any free books from publishers yet. I actually outside the US/Canada and I haven't even been blogging for a year yet. But I do a happy dance when books I order from the Book Depository come in. It's like Christmas every time. LOL :)

    I think I need an intervention as well. If I weren't so afraid of contracting debt, my credit card would be full to its limit with book purchases. :)

    Thanks for sharing and for stopping by my TTT :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. #7-Amen. Read 100 pages at a doctor's office. Fine by me!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ever since I started blogging, I hardly go to the library anymore, and I have no idea why! It's a big building filled with books! It should be my favourite place, but something makes me choose a bookstore over the library almost every time...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Long waits don't bother me either just if I have to wait outside in the cold winter... Haha your #4 is completely true to me but in the last few days of the year I try to read as much short-stories from the series I read as I can, they are like 10 to 100 pages long or and they count on my challenge! Nice list!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm with you on being choose-y on the blogs I follow. I'd love to follow all the awesome blogs out there but then I'd never have time to read all their posts let alone my own books. Oh well.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yes, I cannot be trusted at a bookstore either. Not because I have thousands of books, but mainly because I just don't have the money. And I'll buy books with the money that I'm supposed to be using for dinner...

    ReplyDelete
  11. All of these are me...well, except #6. I work in a library. Haha. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. No one dared to try cutting me off because I give them the "glare" lol Control doesn't seem to exist in a reader's vocabulary when it comes to getting books haha

    Ella @ The Filipina Booknote

    ReplyDelete
  13. +JMJ+

    #8 -- This is interesting. My much younger siblings really don't care about books, so it's pretty much the opposite thing at my house. I have no idea what I'd do if they loved books too much and even I thought it was getting unbalanced. =P But that's a good problem to have, aye? LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I loved this post. I relate to it in so many ways--especially the reading v. socializing hypocrite (though my oldest appears to be an extrovert and I'm still trying to figure out how THAT happened. At least he still likes to read). And my TBR list is ridiculous (probably not as bad as yours, but even reading 3-4 books a week won't get me through it any time soon).

    ReplyDelete
  15. Aww, thanks Mom... I assure you that I'm just fine when it comes to socializing. Maybe I COULD use a little practice, but at least I'm not like the girls in my grade who gather in small clusters at the close of the school day to discuss who's dating whom. Many of these bookish confessions I agree with. I squeal with you when I see UPS, too.

    ReplyDelete

Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.

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