Confessions of a Reader Facing Burnout

So, I'm a reader. I've always been a reader.

I was that kid who read EVERY DAY...every day growing up.  I still read almost every day.

Reading is how I've always relaxed...hence the name of my blog, LOL.

Image from Wise Craft

As I've gotten older, in general that has not changed. I still feel compelled to read every day and I find that something is missing if I don't.  Reading is probably what could be called my life's passion.

And yet, with all of my professional reading responsibilities now - professionally reviewing for three national magazines, reading to consider books for our library's fourth and fifth grade book club, reading to be able to provide excellent reader's advisory to all my tween and teen library patrons, and finally reading books to consider for the seventh and eighth grade book award committee that I'm co-chairing this year - I'm starting to feel a little reader's burnout.

Image from Talk Nerdy 2 Me

Instead of happily curling up with a book... now I'm starting to feel anxious about my reading.  Though there are plenty, and I mean PLENTY, of books that I would like to read, I literally have no time to just idly pick out a book.  At this point, I have about thirty books waiting to be read in just the next two months!

Every time I put down a book, there are three more waiting to be read and I have no choice any more, really, about what I'm reading.  When a new book or sequel to something comes out that I'm just dying to read, I actually feel guilty if I squeeze in four hours to read it on a weekend.

*sigh*

Reading is not as fun as it used to be...and I miss that.  I miss it a lot.

While there's not too much I can do about things at the moment, I think in the new year I'm going to make some changes. I think I'm going to be cutting back on some of my reading responsibilities so that I can just re-embrace the joy I used to find in reading.  I want to be able to happily peruse the library shelves and just pick up a book that catches my eye and read it that very day.  I want to be able to put a hold on a book and not panic when it actually comes in and I have no time to read it.

I want to READ TO RELAX.

Image from EASLibrary

So, until then, I think that I'm going to ease up a little on the blogging.  Not that I'm going to abandon this blog by any means, but I think I'm going to ease up a little on my book reviews.  I'm going to give myself a mental break and maybe throw in a bunch more of other types of posts.  Memes, movie reviews, celebrity gossip, etc.  Something to make this feel less like just another reading responsibility that I have to keep up with... because I want this to be fun, too!

If you have any commiserations or suggestions for dealing with reader's burnout, let me know! This is the first time in my life that I've ever felt like reading isn't really that fun anymore...

Island of Silence

Island of Silence

by Lisa McMann

The Unwanteds, book two



Following the life-altering events at the conclusion of The Unwanteds, the stark world of Quill and the magical haven of Artimé are now home to whoever wants to live there, whether they are Wanteds, Unwanteds, or Necessaries.

In Artimé, Alex Stowe and his friends continue to hone their artistic magical spells while welcoming newcomers, wondering how long this peace between Quill and Artimé will last. Alex is stunned when Mr. Today comes to him with a very special request—one Alex questions his readiness for, until circumstances offer a dramatic answer.

And back in Quill, Aaron Stowe, Alex’s twin, faces a very different path. Devastated by his loss of status after Justine’s defeat and seething with rage toward Alex, Aaron is stealthily planning his revenge and return to power. (Description from Amazon.com)

 

This is a series that I will tell you I unabashedly enjoy. It has a very similar feel to Harry Potter, but takes a very unique spin on the arts. I envy Lisa McMann's imagination when I read about the artistically inspired spells the kids use in Artime.

As in Harry Potter, this second book has taken the series to a slightly darker place. While Artime is still a thriving, beautiful, and creative place, the political repurcussions of opening Artime to everyone are felt throughout the land. While the Artimeans are busy battling the Quillians, they also discover that something sinister may be occuring outside of their land, as well. In fact, even as Alex is trying to wrap his brain around being groomed to lead Artime one day and also deal with his evil twin's sinister plotting (which gave me shivers, btw...kid's got real power issues!), several of Alex's friends go missing and Alex finds himself in charge much earlier than expected.

The only fault I found with this book was that it left off with huge plot cliffhangers!! While a few questions were answered, many more were raised, and I'm going to have a hard time waiting for book three to find out what's really going on at the Island of Silence!!

 

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for SLJ