If reading was a numbers game, this summer would be a fail.
For the last six or seven years, I have maintained a reading pace of a book a day or more. I have blown through the family reading challenge most years (although not in 2018). And I have long lists of great summer reads.
Not this year.
I read 11 books in June. I’m on pace to hit that or maybe do one or two better in July. Twenty-two books in 60-some days is way off my usual pace.
And it’s going to be okay. It has to be because that is my reality. And really, no one cares other than me.
So I will celebrate the great books I read and look forward to even more great reads as 2021 continues. Here’s the wrap up for summer 2021. (You can read back through my summer plan here – and then laugh at how naïve I was!)
Family Reading Challenge
None of us finished. Not one. I read 1 of my five (a re-read from my favorite series). My husband has finished 3. The teen has read nothing.
BUT…. We have decide to extend our deadline into mid-August. My husband is committed to finishing all five of his books, and the teen says he is going to read at least one by the new deadline. I’m not sure what I will do. I am enjoying my ARC reading since I shifted some things around, so we’ll see.
ARCs
In my start-of-summer post, I posted 23 book covers of some of the ARCs I need to be reading. Of course, this was before my July sabbatical (more on that in a minute). Of those pictured, I read 10 and DNF’d another (Did Not Finish). I’m on pace to finish at least 17 ARCs (well, two were DNFs) during these two summer months by the time this posts. Not bad. Not amazing, but not bad.
Sabbatical
One thing that was NOT on my radar when I posted my summer reading plan 8 weeks ago was my July Sabbatical. You can read about it here.
This is one of the best decisions I could have made for myself and my mental health. I relished the freedom to read – or re-read – or not read. And I might even be tempted to do it again. I needed this break desperately. And it gave me some time to consider the future.
This blog is very important to me. I’ve poured a LOT of time and a lot of myself into it. But I’m changing things up to make it more sustainable with my new responsibilities.
- I am keeping Book News on Mondays. Doing book research on new releases is one of my favorite activities. I refuse to give it up. I might include fewer books going forward, but this was one of the driving factors I had for creating The Neverending TBR in the first place. So it stays.
- I am keeping reviews for adult books on Wednesdays. This is not changing. For the last couple years, I have often posted *two* adult reviews a week because I have had such a surplus. But I am committing to myself that I am only going to post one a week for awhile. This means I have to fight against the feeling of being “behind.” And reviews won’t always post near their release date any more. And until I get “caught up,” I have to be okay with that.
- I am moving my reviews of books for kids and books for teens/young adults to Fridays. Some weeks the review will be for a middle grade book and other weeks it will be a YA graphic novel and another week it will be a picture book. But one review a week, like the adult reviews, just to help me maintain my peace.
So, that’s the scoop. Generally 3 posts a week, two reviews and Book News. I don’t know if I’ll keep doing Saturday Smorgasbord. We’ll have to see what evolves over time. But this pace feels far more manageable than 3 to 6 reviews a week like I have been doing for the last few years.
I think the highlight to my summer reading has to be the re-reading I have enjoyed. There are few things as soothing as reading a favorite book – it’s like hanging out with an old friend.
So, what did you read this summer?
