Jet Lag, Catching Up, and Some Changes in the Works

I'm back on home turf after a full month of traveling abroad: Ireland, Scotland, France, Spain, and Italy. I am exhausted, jet lagged, congested (that last 9 hour flight didn't get along with my sinuses), and completely, blissfully happy: to have seen all of the places I've seen, to have eaten all the food I've eaten, to be sleeping once again in my bed, to be reunited with my tiny fuzzballs of energy and face kisses, to have spent a month divorced from my computer, deadlines, and due dates.

A month away from the blogosphere had the unintended consequence of giving me some time to step back, pause, and think about this space, and what it means to me, and what I want it to be when it grows up. I'm not alone, I know in wondering what role book blogging will continue to play in the publishing world, or in how to keep content fresh and interesting. I've worked hard to ensure that this blog has never felt like a chore or a burden, taking breaks from posting completely when needed, shifting content away from straight book reviews (have you noticed posts over the last few months have been more lists than long-form book reviews?), but the push of new releases and staying on top of the galleys that accumulate has started to make my corner of the internet feel like all work and no play.

In recent months, other bloggers have had similar thoughts: Beth, formerly of Bookworm Meets Bookworm (now Beth's Blog), transitioned her book blog to focus on more of what she loves: fashion, beauty, photography, you name it. Shannon at River City Reading wrote about creative content, in part as a response to Andi from Estella's Revenge question about getting bored with blogging. Rachel from A Home Between Pages announced while I was away that she'd be shutting down her blog completely, focusing her writing on other outlets instead. And dozens upon dozens of others have written about the same.

2014 has been a big year for me in taking ownership and control over what I'm doing. I quit my job in advertising earlier this year to take a riskier, but potentially more fulfilling, position with a small charitable foundation doing grant oversight. I took two months off between jobs to breath, read, and visit family. I took a month off after starting the new job to travel to Europe with my husband. I'm going to do the same here: rather than trucking along same-old, same-old, just because it's what I've been doing, I'm going to shake things up a bit. I'm not going away, but expect this corner of the internet to shift to cover new topics: photography, a new adventure for me; travel (I'm addicted); non-profits and social change. I'll still write about books and reading--you can't conduct an entomological study of a bookworm without the books--and I'll still write for Shelf Awareness (and other outlets, as possible). But to keep this interesting--to me, at least--I'm going to expand beyond books here. I hope you'll come along for the ride.