More about these guys in a minute. Aren't they cute?
As much as I love reading short stories, and I read several over the weekend, I have to tell you . . . lately I have been dragging my feet when it comes to writing about them. Maybe it's just Sylvia Townsend Warner's writing. Inviting and whimsical as it is, I struggle with it, though I love it, too. That said, but I was happy to finish the collection I was reading. Maybe it is just a general ennui. I've been tired lately. Tired of the heat and of the sameyness of my daily routine. Life feels a little lackluster (but that's life, right). I have not been very inspired when it comes to blogging. Part of me wants to pull out and go offline for a while, but part of me really loves this way of being bookish and interacting with others who feel the same.
I am not ready to give up book blogging entirely, but I think I need to change the things I am not enjoying very much about it. How often do I say this, but maybe I need to be less rigid about posting daily. (I think it is in part that dratted calendar that is on my sidebar which notes just when I am around and when I am not. I think it needs to go away). Maybe I need to stop doing short story posts. A monthly round up? In a way the weekly short story post keeps me motivated to read at least one a week. But the weekly post has slipped from Sunday to Monday and then last night I couldn't even muster the energy and did yardwork instead. (So, the yard DID need attention after all that heat and humidity--those weeds luxuriate in the heat in ways I do not).
Maybe I need to feel less guilty about not writing "proper" posts about all the books I read. But I do want to continue writing about them in some way. Some will call for something more "proper" and others maybe just a mention, a teaser, something really brief. More in progress posts? More reading notes and lists (which I love)? Maybe just more photos? More excerpts? Though am not fond of this (this here post) navel-gazing sorts of posts, so less of this! Maybe something more along the lines of a diary format blog about books with the occasional "review" type post interspersed.
So, yes, I need a new path to follow. The book blogging world is full to the brim of readers--so many and so many others who are much better at writing about books in a more review-type manner than I am, and I think that is a good thing! So I need to find a new inspiration. Maybe a little change in style/appearance. I've felt very disconnected this summer, in part due to my lack of motivation, as well as the weather and the fact that my computer is showing its age and not pleasant to work on any longer. I've also been doing more things outside of my home and enjoying them which makes it hard to sit down in front of a computer. I've been restless here and in many other aspects of my life and you may or may not have noticed that I am looking for a way to re-invent myself. So, it continues. And things may look different here soon. I need to look around and see what other longtime book bloggers are doing these days. I've been inhabiting this space since 2005 (!) and think a little change of course is in order.
Now, about those animals above. My Picturetrail account is coming up for renewal and I no longer want to pay to use their site, so I need to move my photos to somewhere I can store them safely and perhaps find a free place to display them again. This is from one of the folders that I have deleted that was filled with photos of "UFOs" or unfinished objects/projects. I started this one when I first started stitching. It is riddled with mistakes, but I think it is entirely salvageable. It calls out to be finished. It does, however, require the entire background be filled in with black floss, which sounds pretty tedious and likely was what made me set it aside in the first case.
See, this poor, old sampler needs a little revamping as well!