Disregard the skepticism, Promise, I have a point… or at least I think I do.

Gosh, I’ll be typing yet another monthly round-up on the weekends, and the posts are still minuscule (although they have improved compared to last month, albeit slightly). But I’ll be saving the complaints for later, because it’s not the reason why I’ve posted, but I have reflected on some of the things I did for the past four years. Yep, I’ve been blogging for four years, & no, this is not a celebratory post. But rather on my biggest problem to date: BOOK SLUMP!

You still in it, Mitchii? Why, yes, I’m still stuck in this rut, and the fact is… I’m beginning to get comfortable in it. Slump and comfortable Two words that really shouldn’t be together, but honestly, it’s becoming too comfortable in here and makes me so anxious to try reading a book. I always wake up telling myself I’m going to read later, but I end up distracted. The goal of the day was smashed to pieces. And that happens every freaking day.

But you know what? It did make me realize some things, like: the number of books I read does not make me less of a reader than someone who, let’s say, reads a hundred books (so far, I have read 172 books this year, and I only need 8 more to finish my goal). So not really shabby work). But it does make me want to read a book that I really want to spend my time with. Before, I read books sometimes for the heck of it. Now, I want to read because I’m genuinely interested in the story. Furthermore, I have unconsciously upped my ante. So chances are, if the book is not what it promises, I’ll be more critical of it. (I seriously blame Tokyo Ghoul for raising my standard; that damn, awesome of a story!)

I also became very indifferent to ARCs. I used to check Edelweiss & Netgalley on a regular basis. Now, it’s a miracle if I actually remember to check it out. My last visit to NG was two months ago… I think more than that I also don’t easily jump at the opportunity when I hear “free books” from a publisher (like, seriously, where were these invitations when I was very active in reviewing?). I realized I couldn’t commit, so why should I accept it? It’s not fair to me or to them. With that sort of thinking, in some bizarre way, I have matured. I’ve learned to accept things I know I can do and not just because I can (if that makes sense). And ARCs, like all books, will get published sooner or later. Some of the books I was eager to read before came out, and I haven’t even read them. Yep, how strange things turn out to be.

But most of all, I do not only rely on the books I read to blog anymore. In four years of blogging, I’ve realized something fundamental: I love blogging. It doesn’t necessarily involve books. Sharing something and having a specific outlet/place to put my thoughts really makes me happy. Now I remember why I kept a diary when I was a kid (up until I was in high school, and by the time I was in college, I opened a livejournal). Still, I don’t mind whether I receive attention or not. The fact that I shared something out in the open is already satisfying to me.

But after all that, this problem remains; I’m still in a book slump. Now get back to tackling books and actually reading them!

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How about you? Been in a reading slump? How dreadful was it? Did something good come out of it? Care to share it with me?