So the holidays are just over, I have been reading and should be reviewing and then reading some more, and commenting on all of your lovely blogs. For some reason I have hit the bloggie wall though. Do you ever do that!? What do you do when you hit it? Do you stop blogging, do you push through, do you put up a little message on your blog that says " away on vacation" even though it is just a mental trip? Seriously, what do you do if all the sudden reading isn't nearly as exciting as it used to be, if you are more into crafting for a season, or into a new show on TV?
All you book-eating-insanos don't get uptight I am not deserting...but like with everything else the new year is a time for new beginnings and taking a second to put your life before you and cutting out the things that you don't need to do, and holding on to the things you love.
What do you do when you hit that wall, when the ARC's and review copies are not calling your name? Fill me in peeps!
20 comments:
I've had a few times where I haven't wanted to blog and/or read for a few days but it's never lasted more than 3 days. If it did I'd for sure post something quick saying I'm taking a break.
Sorry I can't be of more help.
I think we all need breaks so we don't burn ourselves out. It's only natural. I'm not one to put up a post saying I may not have a post up for the next couple of days or week. I'd rather blog than blog about excuses. If it's not fun anymore than something needs to change, whether it's a break or changing our approach to blogging. I took a look at my blog going forward to 2009 and decided to cut out those things that I thought weren't fun for me to do. It's good to reevaluate from time to time.
Is the reading or the blogging that's got you down? If it's the reading, take a reading break. If it's the blogging, take a blogcation...you can even just spend an hour scheduling some posts to rerun while you're away if you're worried about it.
Having said that, I usually push through. :)
one more thing...how long have you been blogging?
Hi there! i've been following you in silence for a while but I thought I'd answer your question now since it has happened to me to just not read..for a while. And I felt guilty, and sorry...but now I think that reading (and blogging) should come naturally and should be done from pleasure. When it becomes an obligation we don't like it anymore. So, whenever I feel like disappearing, I just do...and then I come back more interested than ever, because it is my passion and a part of me and it will never go away. :)
I think this happens to all of us, for various reasons. When I get burned out, I take a few days away from the blog and either don't read at all---zoning out to mindless TV can be oh so very nice---or just read whatever jumps out at me from my personal TBR list. It reminds me of why I love reading, and it puts the blog in place on my priority list as something I enjoy but that is not necessary or mandatory.
lol! read my mind again? I have hit the book reading/blogging wall right now.. i am glad i had a few posts scheduled for the last week of dec coz i sure didnt read any book.. now i am forcing myself to finish a few ARCs for book tours i have already committed to..:( how to get out of this??
I'm pretty easy on myself about my blog. If I don't feel like posting, I usually just don't. I'd rather not post at all then post some junk that nobody would want to read, because I didn't even feel like writing it! I know a lot of people are really into having a certain number of posts on their blog per week but I'm not really one to take my blogging too seriously. I have a job, I have a life, and this is something I do for fun when I have the time. If it's not fun for me to post, then I don't. I don't need another job - especially one that doesn't pay! There's nothing that would put me off my blog faster than trying to make it a scheduled obligation that I absolutely must keep up with in addition to everything else life has to throw at me.
That being said usually the way things come out for me, though, is that if I'm not really feeling like blogging I'm probably doing more reading and if I'm not really feeling like reading books, then I probably have a good amount of blogging (or blog reading) to catch up on, so usually I end up doing the other when I get tired of the one.
So, I guess what I'm saying is I think when you need a blogging or a reading "breather," you should go ahead and take one. It'll be better for you and your blog and your reading in the long run even if it's not so great in the short. :)
When I need a break, I take one. My blogging length & frequency fluctuates wildly depending on what else is going on with my life -- school, work, church, etc. Blogging is enjoyable & I want to keep doing it, but ultimately it's a lower priority than most other things. I'm more likely to sacrifice a few blog posts in order to catch up on some real-life things than the other way around.
It hasn't happened to me yet, but by all means, take a break if you need it. This is supposed to be fun, not a chore.
I recently went through a time where I didn't feel like blogging, so I didn't as much. I didn't want to post reviews. I've bounced back now and my reviews are better than ever!
I go through times where I don't want to read ever now and then. Every few months I have to take a week off. After that week, I come back to reading and read more than ever.
It's like a good vacation. Taking a break is good. When you come back, you feel rejuvenated and ready to take anything on!
I went through a blog/reading slump for almost the whole last quarter of the year. Yah, part of that was related to being in the first trimester of pregnancy and feeling like crap, but I had much more frequent posts (prescheduled) when I was on my honeymoon, for goodness sakes! Basically I just let myself take vacation, although since it was so long I did make myself post SOME stuff. I'm trying to get all my backlog reviews written as we speak, and then hopefully I'll be back on track.
This happens to me more than I'd like to admit, and not just with books/blogging, but with pretty much any project I take on. I jump in with both feet and go full-out at first, but then I lose interest or burn out. When that happens, I usually end up dropping the activity completely, sometimes for a week or so, sometimes more. And I haven't been at all good about posting that I'm on a mental break.
I've found that book burnout (often brought on by too many challenges) can be mitigated by picking up something different -- generally brain candy type reads, not related to any commitments I've made. Something light and fun to read, just because I want to read it. It's so important for us not to feel that reading is a job or a chore -- it's something we love and we need to let ourselves enjoy it.
When it happens to me I try to schedule a bunch of fluffy posts ahead of time, that way I can take a break from the ARCs and the blogging if necessary. I've found that I only need a few days off and then my enthusiasm is back. I also will go to the library and pick up something I've been dying to read and then read it before I go back to the ARCs.
My blogging and reading fluctuates as other things get busier. I just try to go with the flow. If other things besides books are taking your time, I would blog about those.
If you have to ask, then you're probably due for a break. I took a two week break in December from blogging and even reading for a bit, but now I'm refreshed. Like some of the others have suggested, maybe you need to reevaluate the things that you enjoy doing and the things that are just taking up time. I wish I could be more active in the blogging world, but I also realize that I can't do it all. I've stopped requesting and accepting ARCs for the time, and I feel good about that decision. Reading should be pleasurable, not a chore. LOL--don't mean to lecture. :)
I've struggled with feeling burned out on blogging, having to review every book that I read, and generally feeling like it's a chore. I read candy books for much of December and really neglected my blog, but I feel much better about my towering ARC pile now that I've had a chance to step back and realize that those obligations aren't my life. Plenty of other things are, and I really do like this whole blogging thing.
I have only ever taken one break from reading in my life, so I can't comment on that, although my reading frequency varies depending on what else is happening.
- medieval bookworm
I think that we all get a bit like that some times. Occasionally I will just not post for a few days, or other times I will watch something on TV and blog about that, or surf Youtube and find some clips that amuse me, or music or whatever.
I don't have any good ideas or anything, but it seems like many bloggers "hit a wall" from time to time. I know I did! I didn't post at all in December. I felt a bit guilty about it for some reason, but now I'm ready to get back into it again.
I hit reading slumps on occasion. Sometimes that just means I need to change what I'm reading. If I'm not inspired to read what's in my book pile, and there's a big pile, then I need to switch to something else. That happened to me this fall. I checked out a whole bunch of library books, and then went, "Bleh."
Other times, my brain just can't seem to concentrate on what I'm supposed to be reading. Those times, I usually just force myself to sit and read, and while it may not be the most enjoyable reading, it's helped me to learn to be disciplined so that I can read just about anything (boring stuff like the God-awful textbook for the speech class I took last year was made easier by this).
Burnout happens, it just SUCKS.
Post a Comment