Now here’s a strange occurrence. After almost nine years of blogging about books, mostly, and my life, sometimes, I’m finding the need to do so less and less. I’m not as inclined to jump out of bed and wonder what comments have been left while I was sleeping as I once may have been. I’m not as inclined to mentally construct posts while I’m reading. And I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’m not inclined to leave nearly enough comments as anyone considered a polite blogger would do.
Either I’m getting a bit lazy, or I’m getting a bit tired of it all.
But, just like a rat in the psych lab I’m susceptible to partial reinforcement. The arrival of books which still appear on my doorstep continues to thrill me. (Waiting for me now in the basket by my wing chair are Where The Bird Sings Best by Alejandro Jodorowsky from Restless Books, and The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen from Pushkin Press). The interaction on your blogs over books unfamiliar to me continues to enthrall me. This passion I have, called the-love-of-books, refuses to die.
I wouldn’t expect it to. I’ve loved books for over fifty years. They speak to me when I have no words of my own. And I guess that’s what will carry me through the interim of I-don’t-want-to-blog-right-now.
Because I will always want to read.
I just kind of appear on my blog, so I know exactly what you mean!
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Nine years is a long time! Take a little break, and maybe then the passion to write about what you read will return again…
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I know exactly what you mean (6.5 years here). I feel like a bad blogger going though the motions as although I read lots of blogs, sometimes I just don’t feel like commenting or posting:(
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I know what you mean! The longer I stay away from the blog, the more excuses I make to continue staying away. And then, I don’t know how to come back, or what to post. It’s tough!
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I can relate, Bellezza: I have, if not exactly a goal, the intention to read more and blog less this year. Still, I hope you return to the blog front revitalized at some point. P.S. I haven’t re-started DQ yet, so even less pressure than before for you if you’re still not enjoying it by this point. Ciao!
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Richard, truly I had every intention of read Don Quixote this January, and then all these library books came in which I’d had on hold forever; I wanted to read them before they were due and therefore got side railed. Hopefully, I will get to the classic sometime in 2015.
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Enjoy those books! Keep reading that”s the life blood 🙂
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We all need to take a break every now and again. As Richard has said, I hope you return to blogging refreshed and renewed. All the best, J
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I can relate to your post and I haven’t been writing my blog as long.
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As others had said I can see what you are saying it does become hard to find motivation sometimes and I think after a while it becomes very work like to blog regularly
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Yes, I agree with you. It’s amazing that we are still here blogging, even if it is only occasionally. I can’t see myself ever getting bored of reading so I think there will always be a part of me wondering which books other bloggers are loving. I have lost that passion for blogging, but for some reason I do keep coming back.
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I think inevitably the way we blog changes as our lives change. I’ve certainly found that I don’t blog as frequently, but I still get a thrill when I read something that touches me and I want to write about it. Saying that, although my commenting has decreased, I still love to read about what others are reading and finding out about new books on blogs.
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I understand this totally, after a year away from blogging it is no longer normal, so now I sometimes stare at the laptop & think do I really want to do this, so I read a bit more, maybe check a few posts from fellow bloggers before jumping in again. It is no longer as easy as it used to be, but I’m hoping that’s down to absence as I still love talking about book & going LOOK THERE this books wonderful please read it.
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I could not possible stop altogether now that you’re back!
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I think we all go through it. I had a wicked case of the blogging and reading blahs in the latter part of 2014. Luckily, it seems to have passed. Do what makes you happy, love!
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A break every now and then doesn’t hurt. We blog because we love books but we also have other things happening in our lives. Finding that balance is the key.
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One of those moments of reality.There are more important things in life.
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To blog or not to blog, that is the question. Bellezza, enjoy your reading, and blog (or don’t) when you feel like it. I understand. There are so many ways to spend time; it is difficult to choose at times!
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I know exactly how you feel about not having the urge to the ‘must’ of blogging. As for myself, recent development with the demanding responsibilities of looking after elderly parents have stopped me from doing any reading even, let alone blogging and writing posts. I’m not sure if I can keep up with you on the Proust. But, reading is for pure pleasure, not pressure. So, I’ll just have to take my time. 🙂
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How right you are, Arti, that reading is for pleasure (not blogging). As for Proust, I’ve been listening to The Guermantes’ Way on audio in the car, as you know, and my iPod ran out of batteries a week or so ago. Time to recharge it, as I was on Part 3! Maybe listening is the way to go, except that I can’t highlight pertinent passages while driving.
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That might be the way to go for me. Id like to listen to Proust while driving. Which audio version of the book do you have? Downloaded MP3 or CDs?
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Arti, I have the Naxos audio for The Remembrance of Things Past, on my iPod, which you can find at Naxosaudio.com
It is really a wonderful way to “read” this Volume, although I do miss being able to highlight certain passages which I would do with a text.
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Thanks. I’ll look for it.
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Away from your blog? You’ve posted 8 times in 19 days. Methinks you aren’t away from you blog nearly as much as you think you are. 🙂
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Well, there you are. When I look at the statistics, as you did, I guess it’s more of a feeling than a fact of not being involved. One of the things I know for certain, though, is that I’m less involved in commenting which makes me feel out of touch with everybody. My fault.
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There is nothing like new books in the mail to get that blog going again! I also am enjoying my library finds! Enjoy yours!
Harvee
Book Dilettante
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I’m with you. I don’t want to let it go, but I don’t feel the need to check it every day.
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We are of like minds right now, because I am feeling the same way with regards to blogging (hence the silence over at Bookish). My love of reading remains and flourishes, but my love for blogging dwindles.
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I can totally relate.
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I’m feeling that too but I think that mine at least has something to do with the winter weather. My house is in shambles because all I want to do is curl up and read or watch TV!
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I think we all have a tendency to try and do too much, easing up on some things is a healthy thing to do. Blogging should be fun and slightly obsessive!
My blogging and commenting waxes and wanes…but the reading never does.
Enjoy your reading break – sounds lovely 🙂
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On the other hand, there are reviews here for everyone. If it hadn’t been for your review of the new Starbuck’s Flat White, I wouldn’t have one at hand just now, and I wouldn’t have found — at last! — a worthy substitute for the wonderful con leche I used to nurse at Caffé Espresso, Berkeley, 1979-1981. I’ve been looking for a replacement ever since and now I have it.
See? You offer something for everyone!
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Well, that would be my hope, and if you’ve found he perfect coffee? All the better! xoxo
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I tend to get in a bogging slump during the holidays (too much to do) and after a vacation. I’ve been blogging almost 9 years, too, but seem to have found my mojo once again. Posting when I feel like it, and adding some cooking posts, has helped tremendously.
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I can relate. I’ve passed into a new stage of mid-life that includes the needs of elderly parents as well as kids and grandkids. I am truly sandwiched! Add onto that the maintenance of marriage and home as well as a demanding career and it is no surprise that I rarely do more than read and Tweet lately. Reading is more important to me than blogging, so that gets prioritized. Perhaps I will blog again in future 🙂
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Nine long years? That’s great! I do hope you keep blogging. I guess even I do not blog as frequently as I did when I was a new blogger.
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