Why you haven't seen many book reviews lately

Or rawther, any book reviews lately.

The answer is quite simple.

I got burned out on reading.

Here's what happened: When I discovered all of these reading challenges I was so excited, I signed up for as many as I could. I realized not long ago that I bit off a lot more than I could chew. You see the lists of books in my sidebar, that I'm supposedly reading right now? I stopped reading them in mid-August. I simply got fried, and decided to take a break from books. It was becoming like a job for me.

When I was in the middle of the reading challenges, I really enjoyed them. However, as deadlines approached for the ends, I began to feel pressure to complete them. One day I just threw my hands up and said, "Forget it! I don't want to feel pressured to read!" I found myself turning into a reading machine, and I didn't like that.

The demands of my job recently have also made it difficult to find time to open the covers of a book. It's not uncommon for me to work 12-14 hour days. By the time all is said and done at the end of the day, I've been too tired to focus on the written page. Instead of falling asleep to a soothing literary lullaby, I've been falling asleep listening to the drone of the automated voice of the Weather Channel's local forecasts. Puts me to sleep every time. But I digress...

But now, I'm feeling the itch to get back into the bibliogroove. I will always love books, but after signing up for so many challenges, and feeling pressured to complete them, I had to take a break. However, there is some good to come out of this: Thanks to these challenges, I've read genres that I normally would never have read. I participated in posts that I never thought I'd write. It was an enriching experience for me.

Next year, however, I'm only signing up for one or two challenges. Three, at the most. And if I get overzealous again, kittens, please, hold me accountable. Let me know that I'm biting off more than I can chew. Help keep me in line!