Sunday, June 26, 2011

Sunday Blatherings: Summer Vacation?

This week I  had a bit of a mini meltdown--twice.  I realize I sound a bit dramatic since I had a nice vacation out of the country, but I swear I haven't had a moment to let the brain reboot and run its own updates.  Since school let out I've been in classes, meetings, and appointments, and to top it all off, my online courses that I teach started up summer term on Monday.  Needless to say, I had my meltdown moments.  It seems to me that we all need a second to breathe, to take in whatever we're doing, but I'm not sure that life affords such luxuries?  Having some downtime this weekend to read and watch a movie or two has definitely helped me to chill out a bit.  Time for me to put the drama queen away!

On the reading front, here's what I'm reading:


Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning.  Enough said.  I'll probably be sucked into this one all day!


My Jane Austen Summer by Cindy Jones.  I like this one well enough, and even started it when I was in England.  It's a teeny bit slow right now, which might not be the best combo with my previous read.  I'm sure once I finish the Fever series, this will take over.


Finally, I'm finishing up Bill Bryson's book, Notes from a Small Island.  Most of this was read on the plane before I hit England, so I'm really just finishing up.

I also had a bunch of books come in at the library.  Here's what I'm excited to read next:



Besides finally diving into my summer break this coming week, I have some goals for my blog this summer.  I'd like to set up a rating system.  I realized that my audience here is pretty diverse. Some of my friends really want to know if a book has material that might be offensive, not to mention the fact that I sometimes have students that find out I have a blog and search me out.  I definitely want to be sensitive to a wide range of readers.  Because of that, I've thought about adding a rating system that breaks down content as well as my own thoughts on the story overall.   I don't want to be too technical though, so I'll be thinking about a quick system where I can share some "want to know" information, but in a fun and easy way.

Finally, I want to reach out more.  I have a hard time commenting on other blogs when work gets busy, especially when I come home and teach online classes.  Being online for work often leaves me wanting nothing more than to get offline and pronto!  The blogs I follow though are really incredible, and I respect so many of the people that I follow that I want to take some time to interact again.  Honestly, I'm excited to take a little time to reconnect with the blogging community!

Well, this week I'll be taking care of a few more items on my list for work, so I'm not off YET.  The nice thing is that I get to sleep in this week, which is huge, so I already feel like I'm on vacation. Now I'm looking forward to great summer weather, a little R&R before fall sneaks up on us, and getting through a stack of great books this summer!  What about you?

6 comments:

  1. The Food of Love looks seriously awesome! You have to tell me what it's like once you finish it.

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  2. I know exactly what you mean! You can take vacations, but they're not always relaxing. I usually need a new vacation to recover from my vacations. I hope you get more relaxing and reading time soon.

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  3. Enjoy some sleeping-in this week!

    I see that you're at 50% of your reading goal for the year. Good job! I'm 7 books behind right now on mine - but hopefully a get-away weekend in July and a week of vacation in August will help me catch up a little.

    Happy summer reading!

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  4. I have heard great things about Anna & the French Kiss. It is on my list to read. Look forward to hearing your thoughts on it.

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  5. Meltdowns happen. At least you realize it and are looking for ways to correct/avoid. Take care of yourself. Hope you relaxed this weekend. :)

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  6. Heidenkind--Sadly, I'm finding it to be semi-sleazy? I know that sounds odd, but it's not what I expected.

    Meghan--Exactly! I definitely have felt like I needed a big time out to get resettled.

    Alison--I hope you get a few more books in! I was doing a whole lot better until I started slacking lately. It's been kind of scary how little I've been reading.

    Carrie--I'm still trying to finish a few others, but I can't wait to start Anna & the French Kiss! I hope you get a copy soon too!

    Bree--Thanks! Those meltdowns at least helped me put into perspective how stressful some of the little things people had asked me to do really were. Now, I just have to balance everything! I see a break coming soon though, and I can't wait.

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