Book Blogger Hop: At the end of a hard day, how do you get yourself psyched about writing a book review?

At the end of a hard day, how do you get yourself psyched about writing a book review?

Simple answer this one: I don't.

At the end of a hard day, I can't psyche myself up to do anything blog related. Somedays, I can't even bring myself to read so I turn to something mindless on Netflix to lose myself in.

This is why I have so many issues now with blog tours, book blitzes and cover reveals and why the quantity featured on my blog has significantly dropped.

I've had it with promo materials being sent in the day before (which for me in the UK usually means the night before) and having to try and muster the energy to prep a post and get it scheduled to go live on time.
I used to bust my ass to meet the commitments before I came to the conclusion that the PR people I'd signed up with weren't always meeting what I felt was their commitment to their hosts (like sending stuff through in a timely fashion!) so I just started saying no.
If I'd signed up for something and the material wasn't sent through in a timely manner (aka at least a full day in advance) then I wasn't busting a gut to meet their deadlines.
After all, we're not paid to do this.
We do this because we want to share our love of books and to help support authors/stories we care about in a 'crowded' market.
We receive nothing for our participation except for personal satisfaction and the occasional thank you.

I'm the same for review books.
I've had them sent through the day before a review was due. On multiple occasions and I'm not joking.
This is just completely taking the mick out of those giving up their time to review so I drew the line there too.
I only sign up for reviews in moderation and if someone thinks they can give me any less than a week to review, it ain't happening.
Honestly, even a week can be a problem as I'm a mood reader and if the book doesn't fit the current mood, I have to force myself to read it... Which never ends well.

It's taken me a long time to realize that running my blog should be fun.
It should not be another source of stress.
If something makes running my blog a repeated stress then that thing needs to be eliminated from my blog.
Simples.
I no longer care about doing what the 'cool kids' are doing.
I, maybe surprisingly, no longer feel bad about not signing up for more release blitzes, tours and arcs from both authors I love and authors just starting out, because I just don't have the time and sometimes you just have to prioritise yourself and your own well-being over the bookish juggernaut. 

Book Blogger Hop: Do you check how many views your posts have received?

Do you check how many views your posts have received? 

Nope.

I load blogger onto my 'posts' page and never bother clicking onto the 'stats' page.
For one, I have no idea how accurate blogger is at tracking this. I've heard conflicting information and just don't know what to believe.
For another, I have no idea how many views would be considered 'good' and what would be considered 'bad'.
Is there a good or bad?
Surely good and bad is all relative?
What if I viewed my stats and was horribly disappointed in the numbers? That would make all the effort expended in writing, formatting and publishing posts completely wasted, wouldn't it?
What if there were no views?
Or the only views I had for a day were from the couple of times I visited my own blog to grab some post links for social media?
No one likes shouting aimlessly into a void and I'm my own worst critic. My stats could be awesome but with nothing to compare them to, I'd feel like they weren't good enough. Trust me, I'd never review them and think they were good enough... But that's just me.
I guess it all comes down to why you blog.
Do you blog to share your love of books, connect with other readers and to feel like you're part of a little bookish community, or do you blog to feel like the biggest cheese at the market?
I personally blog for the community, the connection and the love of it but I'd be lying if I said I didn't hope that people actually read my blog on the regular and therefore made the effort expended worth it. Plus, it's also nice to think that, even in the smallest little way, I'm having an impact and convincing other readers to try new authors or to read a story I absolutely loved.
I know I've certainly been influenced and bought books because other bloggers have recommended them.

What about you? Do you check your stats? Do you find it motivating?

Book Blogger Hop: Do you re-read previous books in a series before reading the new one?

When reading a series, do you re-read the previous book/s before reading the newly released book?

There isn't an easy answer to this! Whether I re-read is dependant on so many other factors.

If it's a series that I love and have read a lot then I don't need to re-read before reading the new book but reading the latest in the series will probably trigger an excited re-read because I love it!

If it's a series I enjoy but I've only read the books once then whether I re-read will be dependant on how well I remember the past books and the length of time between the new release and the previous one.

If there's been less than a year between releases, I'm unlikely to need to re-read.

If the past books in the series are 500+ pages long, I'm unlikely to have the time to re-read (no matter how awesome).

How many books are in the series? If it's a couple then a re-read isn't an issue. If it's 10 then it's unlikely (unless I love the series).

I guess it all boils down to time... Time to re-read and time between releases. 

TMST: Your favourite series you'd like to see revisited or a spin-off?

Question: What are some of your favourite series you would like to see revisited or a spin-off?

This is a difficult one for me for one of my absolute favourite series ever that ended last year has a spin-off/related series... And the authors have hinted at more to come in future. 

I'm talking about the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews.

It's missing the final book cover but I was lazy and didn't go back and change it... Sorry.

I love it!

The spin-off series is The Iron Covenant series featuring Hugh and as I said the authors have hinted at more spin-offs to come so I guess I'm hoping that those other related series actually materialise at some point in the not so distant future!

I'd love a Roman spin-off or a Julie/Derek Spin-off... Or both because I'm greedy that way!

Another series that left me gutted when it ended was The Hollows series by Kim Harrison.

I'd have legit pimped out a kidney to get my hands on more books in this world but I discovered only a few weeks ago that that would not be necessary as the author is returning to this world, and these characters, and I'm so beyond excited I do a little happy dance whenever I think about it. 

Richelle Mead's Dark Swan series

Anyone who has read this series knows the ending is awesome with the exception of one very big, ugly, and unforgivable thing that immediately needs correcting!

Seriously, thinking about it just fills me with rage!

The author needs to write another book because the series is awesome, and she's said she hopes to write another book for the series at some point, so I really hope if/when this happens the big ugly thing is finally resolved!

What about you? What series do you need more of?