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This Week's Question:
Do you over-extend yourself with too many reviews because you can't pass up a book in hopes you will get them all done or do you carefully plan and be sure you can fulfil the deadlines for all the promised reviews?
My Answer:
No. Yes. Sometimes... I'm much more careful nowadays than I used to be.
Back when I ran my previous blog - The Book Lovers Codex - I used to jump at the chance of a review copy. I said yes to all the books because I felt I was supposed to and so many of the books offered to me sounded appealing.
However, it didn't take long for the review copies to overtake my life. I felt pressured to read, stressed while reading and wanted to hide from my blog because it was all too much.
Everything I read was because I 'had to' read it not because I wanted to read it right at that moment.
It didn't matter what mood I was in, if a review was due I'd have to read the book.
It got me down and though it wasn't the reason I decided to quit blogging it did play a huge part in sucking the joy out of blogging and making it a chore.
That's why when I decided to start blogging again - and created Sunny Buzzy Books - I decided I wasn't going to do it. I was going to read only what I wanted to read, when I wanted to read it.
This has meant that I have to be very selective in what I sign up for and I have mostly managed it, although April is going to be insane as a result of being accepted for everything I applied to take part in... Ooops!
In my defence, I'm really excited about all the tours I'm on this month and reading the books has been anything but a chore seeing as I'd buy them all to read on my own anyway.
However, I guess it shows though that no matter how wise you think you have become to something - and no matter how selective you are - every now and again you'll get bit in the butt, lol.
No, because I only read what I want. There for a while I was taking on every book that was sent to me and I had to stop doing that. It started being a chore and stopped being fun. I don't have a 'book blog' so I don't post reviews every day. I post other things as well and that break has helped me keep reading and reviewing books fun and not seem like a chore.
ReplyDeleteI’m glad you came back to blogging and found a way to have fun and read the books you love.
ReplyDeleteI definitely have become more selective. You simply have to.
Thanks for your wonderful answer.
I think our stories are a bit similar! I went on a very long hiatus instead of stopping or starting a new one, but it did give me perspective, too!
ReplyDeleteI'm fairly new to book blogging still and I just started taking on review requests and already I've had to close them because I mainly just accept them all. I definitely prefer being able to read what I want at my own pace, because the deadlines of some of the reviews just take over my life and making reading a lot less enjoyable. I'm still learning how to handle review requests and still knowing that I am allowed to take time for myself and my own life.
ReplyDeleteI posted a more indepth response on my own blog if you're interested in reading it! http://inkblottings.com/book-blogger-hop-april-6th/
I'm also behind on reading Cruel Prince 😂 It's always nice to find a book on sale!
ReplyDeleteI think i'm in the overtaking my life zone. I keep saying yes to everything and now i'm drowning in books. I need to stop requesting and focus on other things before I burn myself out.
ReplyDeleteI began accepting all requests and became swamped. Everything was chaotic and something had to give. So I became picky about what I would review so that books could still be enjoyed instead of the process feeling like a chore. I sorted the organising chaos and now everything runs like clockwork...( most of the time ;-) )
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