Babbling About Books - A Little Reading Q&A for the New Year

First, I'd like to apologize; I know I've been in and out of things here on Eli to the nth, and I really don't have an excuse other than life happens. I've been clocking in the hours at my full-time job, so this volunteer and fun job got put on the back burner.

To start out I'm going to get back in the groove of thinking, writing, eating, breathing books with this really awesome survey I found at Eve's Fan Garden. I love doing these surveys, and I hope some of you do it too!  There will be reviews coming, so please bear with me; the content is coming again, I promise! :)

1. Favorite childhood book?

My favorite childhood book changes in the expanse of my childhood. When I was really little I loved Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd. I couldn't get enough of that book. My parents and I would spend an hour saying goodnight to everything in my room just like in the book. Then as I got older (5-7) I devoured The Berenstain Bears series by Stan and Jan Berenstain.  When my little brother was born, my parents got me The Berenstain Bears and the New Baby just so I could relate to what I was about to go through!  I had so many of them, and I still love them now!    

2. What are you reading right now?

I am currently reading: it changes constantly!  While 2015 was a sloooooow reading year for me, I still read all over the place genre-wise.  Of course, the books are 99.99% YA.  YA is bae.  But I am enjoying the hell out of the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas!  I don't know why I waited so long to devour these books!

3. What books do you have on request at the library?

Here's the thing about me and the library: I have a problem with returning my library books on time. After the 50th time of this happening I've put a personal band on myself. This is really funny considering I have a degree in Library and Information Sciences. I'm a librarian who can't even check out books from the library.

4. Bad book habit?

If I'm reading books I personally own, I have a tendency to write in them. This is an unfortunate habit left over from my undergraduate days as an English lit major. We have to explicate everything, so it is just automatic for me. If it's not my book then I have the bad habit of not returning them on time (I never want to let any books go!)

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?

Nada (see #3)

6. Do you have an e-reader?

I use to have a Nook Color, but we all know what happened to that e-reader.  I much prefer a hardcopy anyway.  I love the smell, weight, and texture of a real book.  Nothing can replace it, even for convenience sake.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?

I read several books at once. This usually happens because if I get a new book I have to start reading it! Right now I'm reading six books, and starting three reviews. I also have like 100 books in my TBR list. It's a problem.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?

My reading habits continually fluctuate, and I wouldn't say it's due to my blog.  I've always been a reader, but with college my reading became more discerning.  I read not only for pleasure now, but I also analyze books more closely.  But I suppose there is a change due to blogging, just because I don't always get to choose when I read certain books, especially if they are specifically for review purposes.

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far)?

I'm going to go with 2015 since I've only read 3 book so far in 2016.  Out of all the books I read in 2015, I only had one Did Not Finish: One Thing Stolen by Beth Kephart.  The premise sounded intriguing, and I got the book for review, but I just could not get through it.  The style of writing was strange, and it was confusing right away.  I think that might have been the point, but I just could not get into it at all. 

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?

Again, looking at 2015, hands down, no question about it, Uprooted by Naomi Novak was my FAVORITE BOOK! Maybe not even of the year, but Top Ten ever!  It was such an amazing book, full of intriguing characters, beautifully built settings, and a non-stop engaging plot.  If you like fantasy even a tiny bit, then you must get a copy of Uprooted!

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Let's Get Down to Business!

Hello!  I'm sure you're wondering who this person is writing right now.  I understand, I've been a bad blogger.  But in my defense there's been things happening!  But first I want to wish you all a...

2013 has been packed full of changes in my life.  The biggest of all my job I started in June!  Then my promotion in December!  Oh and I moved into a house.  Just lots of added responsibilities that pulled me away from blogging, and even reading!  I was in such a horrible reading slump the later half of the year.  It had me freaking out!  But I seem to be coming back little by little, which is great because in November 2013 (which I completely missed) Eli to the nth turned THREE!  I've had this blog for more than that, but it's been focused on books for the past three years and I've loved every minute of it!

I hope that you all stick with me as we start this new year.  I'm going to be doing some reworking on what I want to focus on, but it will always be books (just maybe with some other things thrown in).  Also, as January 1st officially starts my Birthday Month (yes it's totally a thing) I will be holding a International book giveaway in celebration!  Details to come tomorrow!

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING 2013; IT'S BEEN A BLAST!  HELLO 2014, HOW ARE YOU?

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Top Ten Tuesday (36)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because they are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. They'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week they will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of their bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All they ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on their post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share.  If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

The topic this week is: 

Top Ten Things That Make Your Life As A Reader/Book Blogger Easier

1. Scheduling posts! Being able to schedule my posts is a lifesaver, especially if I'm busy. I can write up posts weeks in advance and set them to automatically post. A blogger's best tool.
2. Paying a Hosting Fee! While many people have a problem with Blogger, that's the platform I use. I pay $10 a year to keep my domain name my own, and they forward any body who have my old name to the new one. Easy as pie. So no matter what platform you use, paying a hosting fee or domain fee is worth it.
3. Netvibes! This is the blog feed I use to keep track of all the blogs, book and other alike, that I read. It works as a really excellent feedreader, as you can make different pages to separate the blogs from one another. I have always used this over Google Reader, and when they shut that down, I didn't have any issues adding those few blogs I did follow over to Netvibes.
4. Goodreads! What would I do without Goodreads? It's probably a bad idea to be so reliant on a website, but alas I wouldn't have half the book info I do without this amazing resource.
5. Connecting my Social Networks! Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr are my best friends, and I cross-post most of the time. They also are good outlets to post smaller points of interest, or get info out to my followers quickly!
6. Youtube! Not only do I blog, I vlog (or create "content" as the fancy term is). I love Youtube for the visual aspects of the book blogging world. I'm an extrovert, so being able to connect to my followers more "in person" is so awesome. And sometimes it's just more fun to show off your books in your own hands.
7. My Fellow Bloggers! The ladies and gentlemen of the book blogging world are all fantastic, enthusiastic people! We all love the same thing and the passion that pours out of the writing just makes it so fun to be a part of the community. I've had some favorite bloggers over the years, and there are always newbies popping up. Camaraderie at its finest!
8. Professional Organizations! I am a member of both ALA, YALSA, and NCTE. I love all of them, and they connect me with professionals (librarians and English teachers) across the country. I also get to meet so many authors at all the annual conferences, as well as gain some kick butt book savvy to utilize in my future profession. Go librarians!!
9. Using a Book Lamp! This is probably a no brainer, but I think people forget how very handy book lights are. They don't have to be used just to read books, and boy are they nice on those long car rides when you can't just flip the car light on. I horde mine, and the one I have can run on batteries or can be charged. Convenience!
10. Keeping a Book Journal! This is a tool I use to keep track of the books I've bought/read/reviewed for my blog. This helps me do New to My shelves, Genre Favorites, Book Reviews, etc. If I didn't keep lists I would be totally lost!

What are some of your reader/blogger tools? Leave me a comment below!

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Thoughts From an Acute Triangle: Getting Over the Blogging Blues

Thoughts from an Acute Triangle is a feature where I discuss things related to books, authors, reading, or just me.  This is a place for me to be a little brainy or a little silly.  The conversation is always open for comments and if there is ever a topic you want me to discuss, please leave a comment!

I've been in a slump lately. For a couple months now in fact. I've been in a blogging slump. I haven't really posted consistently, or really commented on anyone else's posts. I've been feeling apathetic and drained. This has made me sad, which in turn made me even less likely to post. But at the same time I have loved this time. A time where I didn't feel obligated or trapped. I could read whatever I wanted and really enjoy reading agin. But it became a vicious cycle, and I've been slowly trying to rally. I love book blogging, even if it's only for myself. I want to continue doing it.

Writing this post is helping.  Just writing something about books, even if it never makes it on the blog, has been helping.  I posted my first Waiting on Wednesday in over 3 months yesterday (click the link to see it!).  Before that I had sporadic posts: a new bookshelf tour, asking for help with book reviews for The Florida English Journal, and three Blog Tour Stops.  But, hopefully, moving forward I ca get back in the swing of things.

So to gather some techniques, I went to that all-encompassing, vast repository of knowledge: Google.  And I googled "How to get out of a blogging rut".  Here's some helpful sites I found.

• The SITSgirls offer these 5 gems to help you out.
• Tiny Buddha offers wise words for all you rut needs.
• A Quirky Girl offers these quirky tips
• Brand Camp offers some building blocks to dig you out of the rut.

And as I've come through the other side with some bright eyes and bushy tails, I offer this nugget: It is okay to be selfish. It is okay to take a break. It is okay to stop doing something. It is okay to start again. It is okay to still love patiently. And it is okay if you're a little scared. Take a step in a direction and commit.

So I'm committing again.  I took a break, which turned into a three month long selfish claiming of time.  But I've taken a step back and realized that I love this, and I'm going to keep doing it.  Even if I'm a little scared that I'm going to fail again.  But nothing tried, is nothing gained.

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