Tuesday, October 1, 2013

BOL Review: The Whole Golden World by Kristina Riggle

Dinah’s world is about to fall apart—her independent coffee shop is failing, and her nemesis wants to buy it out from under her; her overly coddled twin sons are having a hard time adjusting to a new school; and, worst of all, her 17-year-old daughter, Morgan, has just been caught half-undressed in her math teacher’s car. Rain, the teacher’s wife, is watching her life go down the tubes as well—after years of struggling, she is finally pregnant, but, instead of being overjoyed, she’s trying to hide her delicate condition from the scornful public as she accompanies her husband to criminal court. To make matters worse for both families, Morgan is convinced he’s not just using her for sex, that this is true love... Read the rest of the review at Booklist Online!

I. Can't. Read.

I have 4 piles of books next to my bed, a total of 70 books. There are an additional 30+ books on my Kindle waiting to be opened. I have a running "to-read" list on a Google Doc, that now numbers 105 (thankfully, some of those are also part of the physical pile or on the Kindle, but probably less than 20). I have two authors out there who are probably really annoyed with me because they sent me copies of their books weeks (months?) ago and I just haven't had the chance to look at them yet.

The last three books I've read have been for work reviews, and I even have one right now that is painfully overdue (don't tell the boss).

I'm in a reading rut. A complete stand-still. It's like a government shutdown on my brain. And I don't know why! Well, I sort of know why. I'm stressed at home right now, I'm over-tired, I'm doing too much in too little time. But I just don't have any motivation right now. Every book in the pile is a good one (believe me, I weeded an additional 30 of them out last month!), each one is something I really, really want to read. But I just can't muster up the initiative to crack one open. Instead, I check Facebook all evening. Or slog through emails. Or play this ridiculous Nemo game on Kindle. I know full well I am wasting time, but I peek over at the pile of books and I hang my head in shame.

When I was commuting by train for work, I used to read 3-4 books a week. The fact that I read ONE SINGLE BOOK ALL SUMMER for fun is killing me. And it was a great book! Kate Atkinson's Life After Life. Couldn't put it down! Loved every page of it! Couldn't wait to talk to someone about it! I really thought that would help me get my reading mojo back, but nope. That was 2 months ago.

So I need advice. Or just some sympathy. I'm not looking for recommendations (hello, did you not read that I already have too many books to catch up on??), but if you've been in a reading rut, can you tell me how you broke out of it? Or just reassure me that eventually I'll get back into the swing of things?