Hey y’all!

It has been a while since I’ve taken an extended amount of time off from the blog — which is something I never want to do. Anyone who knows me knows that my blog is my FAVORITE activity. But after a lot of thinking, I’ve decided to take a few weeks off in February to focus on getting healthy.

The flu really beat me down into the ground, and I have notoriously awful lungs. (A job application recently asked me what my memoir title would be, and my final answer was “The Aesthetic Asthmatic.”) My 53% effective lung capacity and I will be taking some time to fully recover. Plus, hopefully taking more time for catching up on work and less time for screens will mean that I get plenty of reviews written. (As much as I can restrict myself from posting, I can’t seem to stop myself from reading and writing…)

In the meantime, let me know what y’all want to see! Message me, tweet me, shoot me an email. I’ll be taking a break from social media as well (and will likely lose some followers over it), but I would LOVE to hear your suggestions and incorporate that to the blog content I’m psyched about this spring.

See y’all in a few!

Hey y’all!

As you’re reading this, I’m currently either flying to or exploring in New Orleans, Louisiana. I’ve never been before, and I’m psyched to be doing my first (and probably only) solo trip this summer.

I decided relatively recently to head to the American Library Association‘s annual conference, which is big for several reasons.

For one, it’s been two years since I’ve been to a publishing conference. It doesn’t sound like that long ago, but I last went before college, back when I was still convinced I would work in publishing no matter what, and when I was still totally up to date on industry everything. Two years has changed a lot. For one, I’ve been reading mostly older releases, or books I buy myself; I haven’t done as much reviewing for upcoming titles. For another, I have more options in terms of working, so I may not actually end up working for a publishing house like I’d always expected. And then I’m also much more comfortable with leaving my schedule up to fate.

I’ve never gone into a book conference this blindly. Back before I first went to BookExpo America, I’d have nightmares about screwing up my schedule or missing books I’d really wanted. This year, I’m more curious for the conversations I can have with publicists, especially because I have a much better grasp on my taste. I’m willing to be a little adventurous in what I read this summer, and I miss the freedom of browsing.

I’ll still put together a list of must-have titles, but it’ll probably be much smaller than in years past. I’ve already read The Wren Hunt, which was the book I was really dying for in 2018 (and it lived up to the hype!) I’ll probably cut my days a little shorter to go explore the city because I love cities with character, and what has more personality than New Orleans?

Hoping to write a spectacular wrap-up when I’m back (and get to dish on all the hot books coming up throughout the rest of the summer.) If you have any suggestions for where I should go, or what I should try to read, please let me know in the comments!

See you on the flip side.