I am on a spree with reading and it feels good.
There has been a lot going on over the last couple of months, and I had to put reading on the back bench. I didn’t like it. It didn’t feel good. And I wanted to come back to it.
And then I started getting the email alerts from the library. Everything in my possession that I had been so excited to read was now woefully overdue. Since most of them were new releases, I couldn’t even renew them. So I just regularly started getting emails begging me to please bring the books back. This was as good a reason as any to get back to my beloved reading.
Now that I’m carving out this time for myself again, other things are coming back into place. I’m reading a breakneck speed right now that probably won’t go on for much longer, but it feels right for now. It’s amazing how much more I can do when I put boundaries in place to protect my reading.
But anyway, let’s take a look at what’s on my reading list this week.
Reading Social Media News
Generative engine optimization (GEO) is still in its infancy and we’re all learning about it at the same time right now. So I really appreciated this outline about the differences between SEO and GEO. GEO is likely to change a lot since AI is changing so fast right now, so in my opinion, doing great SEO should be your focus and being your GEO efforts as you have time. If you do anything for GEO at this point, you are ahead of the curve.
Instagram launched three new features this week. The most relevant one is Reposts. My God this is helpful. It makes it so much easier to share your fans’ content and other content your fans need to see. We’ll see how it develops, but this feature is going to make a lot of social media managers very happy.
Reading Books, Books and More Books
Past
I am so glad I got to spend time with All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker again. I had forgotten just enough to keep the twists and turns somewhat surprising. And despite the subject matter, there was so much comforting about this book. The chosen family, the small town and all the shades of gray… It felt like a real place I was able to visit again. After finishing it, I asked one of my friends if she had read it, and her response was, “Oh my God, I have to read that again.” I have no doubt that in a year or so I’ll have those same feelings. Score: A
When this month’s book club pick was The Letter Carrier by Francesca Giannone, I was excited. It’s by an Italian author, and I always get excited to learn more about my heritage. My excitement quickly fizzled. First off, the library didn’t order many of these books. That is usually a sign that a new book is not very good. I ignored it and went to buy it at the bookstore instead. I am so salty I spent money on this book. The translator wrote something with very stilted language. And then the story was so predictable that it couldn’t save the bad translation. Just a total skip on all fronts. Score: D
Present
Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett is a part of a series that I’ve enjoyed in the past. It’s silly. It’s funny, and I’m excited to dive into this world again. This has accidentally turned into a week where I visited worlds I have enjoyed in the past. I’m not mad at that at all. It’s providing some comfort when a lot of my world is about to be upended by my daughter starting preschool. It’s an excellent time for some good comfort reading.
What are you reading? What books are you looking forward to?