An update (of a sort)

Hello friends. I had thought that it would be the perfect time to catch up on all of the unwritten reviews from 2019 while being isolated at home. In reality, it has been incredibly difficult for me to think coherently much less write anything approaching comprehension. That being said, I have continued to read and write down my thoughts on the books that I've read during this time with the idea of posting them eventually. I've even started making notes like "Read during the second week of self-isolation on a Monday." and "Finished in two days during the 4th week of self-isolation." You get the idea. As of today, I've read 9 books not counting a reread (The Neverending Story helped get me over the slump at the start) during this time. Seven of these books were nonfiction because it seems my brain could more easily absorb facts than the building of characters and fictional worlds.

Increasingly, I've felt guilty for not updating and doing more 'work' on the blog. I didn't want to seem 'unproductive' or 'lazy' while at home. I guess a lot of us feel that way right now. I do intend on getting back into the swing of things as it were but I also felt it was right and proper to give this little update so you know where I've been both literally and figuratively. (Not sure if figurative is used correctly there but my brain isn't willing to linger too heavily. I just mean to say I've literally been at home and figuratively my mind has been all over the place. Hope this translates and the over-explanation isn't make it worse. Now you can kinda see into my crazy brain for a bit.)

So that's where I'm at. Are you interested in what I've read so far during this time?

• The Lie Tree by Francis Hardinge and illustrated by Chris Riddell (bought for the cover)
• Dry Store Room No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum by Richard Fortey
• Stuffed Animals & Pickled Heads: The Culture of Natural History Museums by Stephen T. Asma
• Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel by Michio Kaku
• In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and illustrated by Jen Wang
• So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
• How to be a Victorian: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life by Ruth Goodman
• The Art of the English Murder: From Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes to Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock by Lucy Worsley
• Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change by Elizabeth Kolbert

And I'm currently reading The Complete Mapp & Lucia: Volume One by E.F. Benson.

If you're feeling so inclined, please drop a comment below with some of the books you've read and what you're currently reading. :-)

Posting Schedule Update

As you may know, I've kept up a regular posting schedule for the last year and a bit where I post my reviews on Tuesdays and Fridays. (I announced this change on January 22, 2016 actually.) You might have noticed that this schedule has gone a bit wonky over the last couple of months. This is because of my new job. I just don't have the time or the energy to keep up the pace of a twice weekly posting schedule anymore. For one thing, my reading has dramatically decreased so I don't have the material for the posts. So I wanted to give you guys a little update and let you know that for the foreseeable future I will only be posting on Fridays. If I happen to accumulate more material I might make bonus posts here and there but for the most part it will be Friday reviews only.

I hope that this came out semi-coherently and that you guys get where I'm coming from with this. As usual, I welcome your feedback and I hope that you'll continue this reading journey with me. XD

Tiny update (or gigantic depending on your point of view)

So despite the fact that I didn't post the review of Out of the Silent Planet, I actually finished it last week. It was such a great read that I thought it would benefit you guys if I just finished up the Space Trilogy in its entirety before updating. With that thought in mind, I started on the sequel entitled Perelandra and I'm moving along quite well with that. I think you guys are really going to like these.

While that was happening I went to my very first book signing (in Brooklyn no less!). If you remember I reviewed Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs a few months back. Well, his sequel (I'm into book series apparently) Hollow City has just come out and he's touring to promote it (and be charming and create lifelong followers). Long story (which isn't particularly long) there was cookies, creepy pictures, and strange videos. It was delightful. I encourage you all to participate in an interactive book discussion with an accomplished author whenever the opportunity arises.

I'm nearly finished with Perelandra and hopefully That Hideous Strength will arrive in the mail shortly so I can post again next time. I want to create a regular posting schedule if possible and I welcome your suggestions and comments on where you want this blog to go in future. I know I'm having a fun time and I hope you all are too!!

Keep turning those pages!!!