Yet another week passes, and I still feel largely disconnected from my blog because I’ve been so busy with work I even had to miss a few Bookstagram posts because I just had no time to edit the photos. Mental health is not at an all time high either, let me tell you. But at least there was #bookmail!!! To fix all ails. Originally, I only requested Exit Strategy from Tor.com, but instead… They sent me five books! A finished copy of The Million and four ARCs:
An image of my book haul: The Million, War Crt, The Black God’s Drums, Exist Strategy and Finding Baba Yaga
Anyway. But I have been having certain thoughts about my blog and blogging in general lately. I feel like it’s going to take shape soon, and I’ve talked about some of it in this tweet – please come and share your opinion if you want:
#bookbloger THREAD
I’m thinking of changing the format of the blog. I want to just talk about the books I loved, and not in boring reviews. I want to be excited about books! I want to just casually talk about them with you all. Not give FORMAL reviews, nobody even reads them! 1/x— Evelina | Avalinahsbooks (@AvalinahsBooks) September 15, 2018
Bottom line, anyway, is that I’m sick of talking about books when I don’t want to. I’m sick of having to post reviews, I’m sick of the calendar. I’m sick of it being a job. Isn’t blogging supposed to be you talking about books out of your love for them? Instead, we don’t even notice how it turns into an (unpaid) job. I have been incredibly unmotivated about the blog lately purely for this reason. And I think the way I blog is going to change. I’m not sure how yet – and I’m definitely not quitting, but don’t be surprised to see posts from me on your feed appearing at odd times. I might be doing away with set post times and days. We’ll see how this goes.
I know at least a few of you have been having similar thoughts lately. Share them!!!
~ We Need To Talk About Some Books I’m Reading ~
Have I talked about this miracle yet? I know that I was buzzing with Going Widdershins right and left while I was reading it, but that was also unfortunately the time when I was going on vacation really soon, so I might just have been buzzing to a couple of you on DMs, and that’s all. Truth is, this book should be known far and wide and read by all women, especially if they’re at least a little into the alternative belief of getting in touch with your spirit, the Earth and the elements, as opposed to a patriarchal god. This book got tears out of me, tears of sadness and of joy. I haven’t read something that resonated with me like this for a long time! My review for it comes out on Tuesday, please come read it – and I thank Jane Ryder for the recommendation from the bottom of my heart. Jane, you’re amazing!
~ Last Week On The Blog ~
Last week I posted a lot of mini reviews and a review for a book I really loved: Sleep, Merel, Sleep. The book is very, very recommended!
~ Coming Up Next Week~
Even though I said I’ll be doing away with the calendar, I still have some posts scheduled. And next week is an exciting one! First of all, I’ve got an AMAZING book that I just mentioned – Going Widdershins, and also, another welcome post for #NewBloggers! So please come read. BOTH! I demand your attention ❤️
~ Little Book Haul ~
I had actually hauled nothing this week. And then the surprise bookmail arrived! I am both happy and bummed out xD haha. More happy though. Since I have already read The Million, technically, I only hauled these four. But seriously, I was very excited for The Black God’s Drums, but had to skip requesting it because I was busy with the vacation and all that. Now I can read it anyway! Super happy about that.
~ In The Bookish Community ~
Shealea @ That Bookshelf Bitch talked about how she rarely posts TBRs and why it’s like that. And then, she… posts a TBR xD
Ellie @ Books at the End of the Alphabet posted a really strong review for a feminist book, read it!
So how has your week been? And what are you reading? What did you haul?
As usual, I’m linking up with the Sunday post meme at Kimba’s book blog and Stacking The Shelves over at Tynga’s Reviews.
I’m Evelina and I try to blog about books that matter, with a bit of fun there too! Disability and equality will be topics you see a lot, but there’s also a lot of scifi, fantasy and… GIFs. I’m also the proud founder of #ARCsAnonymous.
Eh! Book mail is always fun! And I completely understand changing the way you blog. For me, my schedule works, because it’s set to twice a week, and one of those is a feature post not involving a lot of writing. Lol. And reviews go up whenever, and my reviews are SUPER unformal so. But everybody has a thing that works for them, and I hope you find something that you enjoy!
For me schedule worked for two years, so I can’t complain 😀 but I guess I’m just tired of it now. We’ll see what I can make of it 🙂 I guess I was just too rigorous with my schedule.
How exciting! Hope you’ll enjoy all the books 🙂
I totally understand the sentiment to only talk about stuff that makes you excited!
Thank you 🙂 I am sure I will! At least the one I requested, haha 😀
And I hope I can make it into a good new format of blogging 🙂 we’ll see.
I’m so happy you got Exit Strategy!! I can’t wait to hear what you think! Also, the Black God’s Drums sound amazing 😀 To be honest, I get sick of blogging being a job sometimes too, but I mostly solve it by not giving a damn? I very often don’t post full reviews of the ARCs I request on my blog, only short ones on my Goodreads account. But I do still get stressed when I can’t finish a book by the publishing date, so I understand the feeling… I have a lot of experience with unpaid work since I… Read more »
I know! I absolutely loved the entire series 🙂 sad to say I still haven’t read The Black God’s Drums D: I don’t know what’s wrong with me! TOO MANY SHINY BOOKS x.x Agreed, I have been opting for short reviews for books I didn’t absolutely fall in love with lately too. It’s a lifesaver 🙂 otherwise I don’t know how I’d manage! Ah, I hear you! I haven’t really done volunteer work, but yeah, blogging is kind of like that too. Except in volunteer work you’re more likely to be helping people, I guess xD it’s really cool that… Read more »
What I find fascinating about (book) blogging is the whole ‘nobody reads them’ type of comments that have a great habit of making all we do seem futile. I get told *all the time* that nobody reads reviews. Nobody reads excerpts. Nobody reads promo posts (blitzes, tours etc) yet… People obviously do. I mean, I’m one person but I’ll read them. If I have a genuine interest in the book or the author or something (cover, tag line etc) catches my eye, I’ll read it and I have a hard time believing that I’m a special snowflake for reading them.… Read more »
LOL I guess someone does read them, but maybe it’s not the same people who leave comments? Because we never really find out what those people think. I don’t really even know if they exist. The views versus comments is just… Views don’t tell you a lot! I guess I end up just disregarding them, although that’s probably not right. Personally I barely read reviews because they slighly bore me (especially if it’s a book I’ll never really read), and I also don’t have the time. Yes lol I also don’t know one. I just know some bookstagrammers who get… Read more »
Aaahhh!!! New books ripe for the picking!!! I understand your frustrations with the blog. It’s nice to just make posts on your blog, whenever you want to. Every time some people make a schedule for when they do posts for their blogs, it just makes things too stressful. That’s why I prefer to just post whenever I feel like it.
I often prefer a schedule – because if I didn’t schedule things, I feel that I wouldn’t blog a lot of the times too (I’d be too tired when I have to write a post, or I’d be doing overtime… something like that.) I tried not scheduling! But it didn’t work xD
I like the sound of Going Widdeshins – thank you for the recommendation Evelina. I look forward with interest to see what you do with your blog. I’m also having a go at varying my blogs and including more personal articles about my own writing experience. In the meantime, I hope the coming week is a kinder one…
I can really really recommend that book! I loved it so much. And I hope you’ve been enjoying me blogging less, but more concentratedly, haha 😀 I will be doing less posts, but I’m really proud of some of them. Quality over quantity, I guess 🙂
Thank you!
I agree with you completely about blogging. I am not being paid to blog. I am not being paid to read books. I am not being paid to write reviews. I do it because I like it. So I am going to do what I want when I want to do it. When it stops being fun, I will stop doing it. I mostly post my reviews on Goodreads and link the reviews to my blog. Though there are times I can’t stop myself from talking about a book…those are the reviews I really want to share with others, I… Read more »
Definitely. But it’s also not always hard to figure out ways that you actually want to blog! With a lot of the things some of us tend to go with what’s accepted… At least I know I did, for sure. And that’s where it tends to become a chore, I guess.
Hooray for the book mail! That is so exciting! 🙂
Yes, yes, and a thousand times yes to your tweet and your follow-on comments about reviewing and about blogging in general. I feel the same way and you put it into words perfectly. What happened to blogging for FUN? Why does every review have to be professional and publication-ready instead of just rambling talks about what we thought about a book? I’m ready to ditch the rules and take the fun back!
Exactly. I don’t know.. Maybe all of us just try to be like that so we’d get more review copies? But that doesn’t make sense… So yeah. I’m done being like that 🙂 I want to have fun with the blog.
Yeah for book mail! I hope they are all awesome reads. I am with you. Blogging is not my job. I spend almost 12 hours a day at and commuting to/from my job. I do the things I enjoy for the blog. End of story. I have been seeing a lot of good buzz for Merel. I need to check that one out.
I’ve read half of them already, and they were, so I guess I am lucky 🙂 and you totally need to check out Merel! I think you’d like that book.
Book mail is therapeutic! It always makes me happy too:) And I know just what you mean about blogging. Sometimes it does feel like a job. That’s when I know to give myself a break and spend more time on other things.
My Sunday Post
Haha, yes it is 😀 I’ve already read two of them, and I guess I’ve been lucky, because they were great 🙂
I can relate to feeling tired of the review process. As you know, I vented a bit about Amazon and the stupid passcodes…(and I think I’m the only one with this issue! How is that possible?) LOL. But…I’ve been reviewing (and blogging) for ten years, so it’s hard to imagine not doing it.
We all need a break sometimes, though. Enjoy however you decide to proceed. Thanks for sharing, and for visiting my blog.
Ah, yes, I remember that! Oh wow, ten years. Yeah, you definitely know what I’m talking about then 🙂 but I also feel like I couldn’t abandon it after just two years. It kind of becomes a part of you.
Congrats on your book mail! I know exactly what you mean about scheduling and being a slave to your calendar. I hope your new blogging format works and gets you more excited about blogging. I personally need more structure, otherwise I don’t know if I’d blog at all.
I’m still trying 🙂 we’ll see where it goes. But the blog has been much less stressful lately! So I guess it’s working 🙂 I used to need the structure myself, but I guess people change, you know?
I think you should blog however you want. Mix it up, do twiter-style reviews when you feel the need.
Twitter style reviews sound interesting!
Wow, that bookmail is totally insane, how cool is it that they sent so many books for you? That’s a blessing and a curse I suppose because so many new books to read! I think we’ve all gone through that phase of hating reviewing and blogging feeling like a chore, you need to figure out what works best for you. I often find that reviews are difficult and they aren’t the posts most likely to convince folks to read a book. I used to love top ten tuesday posts for finding new books so I would love to smaller versions… Read more »
I know! Well, they are small books so I have already got through most of them. I only have one left 🙂
You’re becoming famous!!!! Congrats Evelina this is a big step for an international blogger 😉 And I can’t wait to see what you plan to change about blogging …
Haha lol I am so not becoming famous xDDDD haha but thank you. I think the reason is because Tor.com has international English rights (as I’ve glimpsed somewhere), so they don’t have the legal deterrent from sending us stuff. Plus, they’re also nice xD
I am also curious to see what I’ll change cause I am not sure myself yet xD haha
I can really relate to how you are feeling — the sense that it’s become a chore rather than a joy, the sense of obligation instead of fun in reading and reviewing. I’ve been struggling with that myself, on and off, for the last year or so — certainly for much of 2018. Like you, I’m trying to figure out what to do about it. I cut back on memes, which has helped. Now I only do Sunday Post (because I enjoy it, and it’s a chance to wrap up the week) and occasionally Top Ten Tuesday, if the topic… Read more »
I believe what I was experiencing at the time might be called a blogging slump? I’m happy to say I’m now out of it. I didn’t end up changing my format too much – but I guess my outlook must’ve changed 🙂 yes, agreed, I almost don’t do memes either. But I absolutely love The Sunday post, just like you 🙂 it’s fun.
Oh I so know what you mean about blogging and reviewing. I’m at the point where I’m trying to change things up a bit. For one thing, I’m not taking on as many blog tours and trying to stay away from NetGalley as much as possible. It’s a start anyway. Hope you have a great week!
I think all of us get that feeling after a few years of blogging 🙂 I have actually only taken part in maybe one or two blog tours, but I feel like that was enough. That was too stressful and I feel like I’m not interested in them anymore.
Congratulations on the awesome bookmail! Those are indeed some amazing books you got your hands on. And I hope the new changes to your reviews will make you happy. That is what’s most important after all. 😉 Happy reading, Evelina.
Thank you! 🙂
Hey Evelina, I know people don’t read book reviews that much since they can read the book themselves. That is why I like booklikes.com. http://jackiez.booklikes.com Most people discuss the book they are reading as they go along, and I like that. And yes, I have two blogs + book likes 🙂 I always retain more if I write down my thoughts as I go and I imagine people do this in a notepad already. I am glad to hear more book bloggers are switching things up. I started blogging for the fun of it, and reviewing books and reading them.… Read more »
I actually made a booklikes, but never got into it! I wasn’t sure what it’s all about. I am not sure I would have enough time for another sort-of-blog though, because booklikes sort of it another blog 😀 but I’ve switched to Instagram for that. So far it’s fun 🙂
All of those books have amazing covers!
I feel you on the book reviews. I have been changing things up a little, though not completely abandoning the calendar. (I need some sort of schedule.)
I’ll have to keep an eye out for Going Widdershins.
Yeah, they really do 🙂 agreed, I am keeping the calendar too, but more like a guidance thing instead of how I used to use it before – to make myself write xD
And yes! Going Widdershins is 100% recommended, it’s such a lovely book.
I’m excited about Exit Strategy but I’ve been doing audio. I like everything digital for my books and audio.
Sometimes I feel that I talk about the same things in every review because I don’t want to spoil – so I talk about characters, world-building, how I feel about the pacing and plot. I DO read reviews but I don’t think they need to be long. Anne – Books of My Heart
I think it’s a great series for audio! Yes, you’re right, I will also talk about characters, emotions, themes… Sometimes it’s so hard not to spoil!
I think there’s a lot of different formats that could be used, or different ways to blog- it doesn’t have to just be reviews. I think a lot of us blog more or less the same way because we’re used to it? But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a better way to do it? It’s kind of thought provoking to think of all the different ways book blogging could be done!
And yay for book mail! Can’t wait to read Exit Strategy.
Yeah, it’s actually really hard to invent something new – the reviews are boring, but they’re easy in a way, cause it’s an expected format, so it’s not hard to keep writing it that way. I’m still not sure about the format I’ll have from now on xD I guess we’ll see.
And Exit Strategy was great!
Yay for some fun book mail. I don’t really have a set schedule for when I post things. I tend to post 4-5 times a week, but it still just depends on what will show up on certain days. I think you should be able to post whenever you want! It’s all good. 🙂
-Lauren
4-5 times a week is a lot! I don’t think I could manage that 🙂 that’s so cool that you post so much.
oh wow i never recieved book mail, i would be so surprised and excited if i do! and i definitely agree with how you view about blogs, bloggers should be happy about what they’re blogging whenever,wherever
I know, it’s pretty hard for internationals or bloggers just starting out to receive book mail 🙂 but you will be able to, given a little time!
Great book haul. Tor is awesome. And good luck on taking your blog in a new direction. I’m excited for whatever you decide to do!
They really are awesome 🙂 and thank you!
YAY FOR BOOKMAIL!
I love you and your content, and I hope that the changes you make bring you more joy! xoxo
Aww, thank you, Kaleena 🙂
I wanted to comment on this before but just couldn’t find the time! I had 16 tabs all contaning different blog posts that I had to comment on We are down to 4 now About reviewing, I rarely accept books if they are to be reviewed in a particular time frame. I cannot go about making a reading rountine. I also read your thread on twitter and I agree that reviews are the least successful of all posts but I am not giving them up just now. Maybe take a break, give up the reviewing for now and consider it… Read more »
I absolutely know what you mean 😀 it’s so funny that I am also late in replying to your comment xD
I did decide to keep reviewing some, but not the way I used to. I need to feel creative about my content, I guess 🙂
I know exactly how you feel about changing the format of your blog. I went from being bored with my blog, to changing the whole template of it, to loving it, to now going back to being bored lol. I think it’s because I haven’t changed the way I do my reviews and other posts. There’s little room for growth and extension for what we bloggers do, so the content feels stuck. But I’m trying to add more different content to make it better.
I did change it up for a while, and it seems I’m back where I was 😀 maybe it was a period of struggling and transition. I seem to be happy with my blog again though, so that’s good 🙂 I guess people call those blogging slumps, huh 😀 I hope you can soon get over yours as well 🙂
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What a fabulous book mail surprise! And good luck with figuring out how you want to move your blog forward and change your schedule. I love that we have 4 of us, it makes blogging not stressful and we all fill in when the other is slammed with life, work, sickness or other things that take up time and it makes blogging fun. Hugs and good luck!
Thank you! 🙂 yes, having co-bloggers definitely must help. I am still manning this ship alone – but I’ve been managing better lately 🙂
Unexpected bookmail is just incredibly awesome!!! I’m so excited for you, Evelina! ♥ Also, I get those fuzzy blogging thoughts every now and then. Difference is, I kind of enjoy writing reviews! I don’t get really formal with them, and typically do list-type reviews, so maybe that’s why I enjoy them so much? And personally I LOVE reading reviews–it all depends on the blogger’s voice. I guess I would enjoy informal ones more!
Definitely 😀 thank you! I feel like I am also going back to the place where I enjoy writing reviews now 🙂 list type is the best, you’re right! Probably most fun to read as well.
“And I think the way I blog is going to change. I’m not sure how yet – and I’m definitely not quitting” – this is exactly how I am feeling, but you know that already. I will always support you and your blog no matter what direction you take – and yes, it shouldn’t feel like a job, we are not even getting paid!
I can say the same about you and your blog! <3 and thank you 🙂
Hi! Sorry, I’m super late responding to this blog post… but I absolutely understand what you mean about the reviews not being fun any more. I often find that unless I want to gush about a particular book I’ve just read, then I’m way more likely to just … leave it until later? And by “later”, I mean, I basically just had to re-read a book to write a review the other day because it had literally been months and several dozen books read in between, and the story was fine, but it didn’t stick in my head. So, maybe… Read more »
I can absolutely understand! And by the way, I am always very happy about long comments like this 🙂 I know what you mean though, I’ve come close to rereading once myself and that’s too bad you had to – I actually really REALLY loved this one book, wrote half the review. Then abandoned the book, cause it’s too good “for later”. Then lost the review. FACEPALM 😀 I think I’m up for a reread as well 😀