It’s been a week of just trying to get by while I am sick. And no, I haven’t been reading as much as I would like.
Last weekend, we did a quickie trip to meet my brand new great nephew. There is a pattern when I visit my sister and her family: We always get sick. It’s either we’re sick just before we leave (which frankly would have canceled this trip) or we come back being sick. When I found out my eldest great nephew was sitting at dinner with a double ear infection AND the flu, I was scared. I didn’t have the time for any of that, whether I caught it or someone else in my immediate family caught it.
Welp, I caught something, but I think I’m having the best case scenario. It’s a mild cold. But my sleep is disrupted enough that I’m only doing what absolutely needs to be done this week. I’m on the mend at this point, which means I should be able to do the half marathon I have scheduled. I should be able to still get a PR for that, but I have to work on this exhaustion. Fingers crossed that I can!
Until then, it’s time to get to what I have been able to read this week.
Reading Social Media News
This week, Twitter/X went down thanks to a DDoS attack. This presents a new problem: Social media sites can be taken down due to the political beliefs and actions of those who run them. And yet, people are still using the spray and pray method on social media. If you haven’t given some love to your website in awhile, now is the time to focus on it. Your site is the only one you can trust at this point.
My favorite tip from this article on SEO mistakes to avoid is to not sacrifice the user for traffic. This is something that happens on social media as well as on websites. If you’re constantly creating content without the user in mind and with the hopes of getting loads of engagement, you’ll get people who are stopping for a short time and aren’t really interested in what you have to offer. That’s a recipe for disaster for businesses. Instead, keeping who your buyers are in mind and creating for their wants and needs will get you far better long-term results that will actually result in sales.
Reading Books, Books and More Books
Past
When it comes to Charlotte McConaghy books, I have a tendency to swallow them whole. The fact that I didn’t do that with Wild Dark Shore disappointed me. I don’t think it’s the book’s fault, necessarily. That expectation was the problem. The excellent book I was expecting ended up being just a good book.
The conclusions were all wonderful, but the parts backing up those conclusions needed some work. They lacked the emotional depth that was there in previous books. I don’t know if it was because she tried to tell the story from multiple viewpoints, but the emotions that have moved me in her writing just were not there. It almost feels like this was an unfinished book. I’m wondering if the publisher pushed this book to be published before it was ready or if McConaghy truly thought this book was done. I think the former is likely. Whatever happened, I just wish she had spent more time with this book before it fell into my hands. In the ending note, she writes about how she wanted to write about how it felt to be on this island. It made me ache because she didn’t achieve that. Score: B
Present
I have mixed feelings about this next book. I have two friends who give the best book recommendations. Our favorite books usually match and it makes finding books I want to read so much easier. One said she loved Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe, so I immediately added it to my library requests. When it arrived, the other asked what was on my list. I told her that was waiting for me at the library, and she told me she wasn’t a fan of it. Gah. I was then reluctant to pick it up and it’s just been sitting in my house since I finally did get it. But maybe lower expectations is a good thing? After my latest read, I have to think not expecting much going in is a good thing. I guess we will see.
What are you reading? What books are you looking forward to?