It’s been an odd week, but odd in a good way. And of course that oddness included my reading.
I think I was burnt out and didn’t recognize it until my daughter went to summer camp. All of a sudden I had time again. I had time to think and do. What did I do with that extra time on the first day? I stared at nothing. The next day, I forced myself to do a little writing and that’s how it went the rest of the week until I stopped again for the weekend.
I had plans of doing some catch up over the weekend, but instead, I did family stuff. And then Sunday, I did nothing. It was everything I had ever dreamed of.
Yes, I write about how you need to take breaks, but between being a mom and working, it’s rare that I get any kind of true break. What happened after I took that much needed break? I have been the most productive writer ever this week. I’m averaging astronomical daily word counts, and it’s all good, solid writing. I can’t work at this breakneck speed for long, but this week has set me up well. I’m a week ahead on writing again, which is where I like to be. Maybe I need to take a breath more often?
Anyway, let’s move on to what I’m reading this week.
Reading Social Media News
Age restrictions are becoming a huge topic on social media. There have been countless articles this week about all the different efforts social networks are using to restrict the age of users. This is all in response to new laws in other countries to help protect minors. But as this Social Media Today article points out, these laws may be unenforceable. And there needs to be an industry standard. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new app in this space sooner rather than later. Whether it will fully answer the questions around this remains to be seen, but it is likely pretty far along in development at this point.
I love process articles. They’re my absolute favorite to share, and I don’t think enough people post them. This week, Buffer shared a process article from one of their employees about posting on LinkedIn every day. It did something that was awesome: It recognized that we have low days and that not everyone can post video every day. These reality checks are necessary and it helps people get into the right direction for them, rather than the supposed right direction for social media. I highly recommend a quick read through this.
Reading Books, Books and More Books
Past
Last week, I talked a bit about how I kept falling in and out of Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell. It wasn’t the book’s fault. Jewell once again took impeccable care with this book and provided some great twists and turns. I just wasn’t in a place to read it, and it didn’t grab me like many of her past books. The combination made me live with this book far longer than I have any of her past books, which doesn’t work with a popcorn book (I call it that with the utmost respect because I love a good popcorn book). So this ended up not being for me. I don’t blame the book, and I still think the world of Lisa Jewell. She just announced yesterday that she has another book coming out next month. I am still excited about it. Score: B
I read nothing about Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab ahead of time, so I was probably rewarded with more twists and turns than the average reader. I just love Schwab and am more than happy to read anything by her. And I think she gave a little something here and there to her fans in this book, which was fun. What I really liked about this book was that when I was certain I knew what was going on, things shifted. It’s rare that a book keeps me guessing quite like this one. It felt like the start of an adventure, and I really hope this becomes a series. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see. Score: A
Present
It is book club time, and I get to spend some time again with All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker. I’ve had a good run of luck with other people picking out books that I have loved in the past. It’s nice to revisit some favorites and get to live in them again. Unfortunately, I haven’t left near enough time to savor this book again. But it’s fine. I’ll still enjoy the short time I have with it all the same.
What are you reading? What books are you looking forward to?