It's been so sleepy on my blog for the last few months. Here's a few things to kick off my post ~
One: I am in the worst reading slump ever. It's been 5 weeks since I've finished a book (although I've started and abandoned dozens).
Two: I love this time of year and love reading about everyone's fave things of 2014. I am drafting some blog posts of some of my fave reads this year <3 (and also a post about books I can't wait for in 2015).
Three: I have always always been a mad crazy reader and I love chatting about books so I don't think my blog will ever die completely but I have seriously been lacking in motivation to sit down and blog. In part, that would be due to being in a slump, also due to seasons of life and shifting passions and it is also due to many of my fave bloggers having left the scene so things just don't feel the same. I started in 2009 and so much has changed since then. So a big shout out to anyone who is still around and reading (my sporadic posts).
Four: So many of my highly anticipated reads for 2014 turned out to be real duds for me! Haha, that felt a bit blunt, but it is so (unfortunately) true. Books by authors who I previously loved fell flat, books in series I was so into had me forgetting characters and stalling midway. Hate when that happens. But I also discovered new-to-me authors to love and new fave series to follow AND I read outside my fave genres and found some new books to love <3.
Five: On a personal note ~ 2014 had so many challenges for me with health and study but it also included the BEST (five week) holiday ever in braw Scotland (with a touch of York, Cardiff, London and Paris thrown in). I have fallen in love with Scotland and absolutely cannot wait to go back. My mum is Scottish and all her family is still over there (she has five sisters all still living where they grew up) so it was awesome visiting with them all ~ I am half Scottish by blood and it has stolen my heart :)
I've picked just a tiny section of photos from Scotland for those who are interested (see below, haha. I was going to keep going and get my England, Wales and Paris pics but was worried I'd never be able to restrain myself...)
Six: I'll be back in a few days. I hope you all had an awesome Christmastime ~ so much to celebrate and be thankful for at this time of year x
One: I am in the worst reading slump ever. It's been 5 weeks since I've finished a book (although I've started and abandoned dozens).
Two: I love this time of year and love reading about everyone's fave things of 2014. I am drafting some blog posts of some of my fave reads this year <3 (and also a post about books I can't wait for in 2015).
Three: I have always always been a mad crazy reader and I love chatting about books so I don't think my blog will ever die completely but I have seriously been lacking in motivation to sit down and blog. In part, that would be due to being in a slump, also due to seasons of life and shifting passions and it is also due to many of my fave bloggers having left the scene so things just don't feel the same. I started in 2009 and so much has changed since then. So a big shout out to anyone who is still around and reading (my sporadic posts).
Four: So many of my highly anticipated reads for 2014 turned out to be real duds for me! Haha, that felt a bit blunt, but it is so (unfortunately) true. Books by authors who I previously loved fell flat, books in series I was so into had me forgetting characters and stalling midway. Hate when that happens. But I also discovered new-to-me authors to love and new fave series to follow AND I read outside my fave genres and found some new books to love <3.
Five: On a personal note ~ 2014 had so many challenges for me with health and study but it also included the BEST (five week) holiday ever in braw Scotland (with a touch of York, Cardiff, London and Paris thrown in). I have fallen in love with Scotland and absolutely cannot wait to go back. My mum is Scottish and all her family is still over there (she has five sisters all still living where they grew up) so it was awesome visiting with them all ~ I am half Scottish by blood and it has stolen my heart :)
I've picked just a tiny section of photos from Scotland for those who are interested (see below, haha. I was going to keep going and get my England, Wales and Paris pics but was worried I'd never be able to restrain myself...)
Six: I'll be back in a few days. I hope you all had an awesome Christmastime ~ so much to celebrate and be thankful for at this time of year x
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| Gartmorn Dam, Alloa ~ right around the corner from where my mum grew up |
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| My daughter with some local highlanders at the Scottish Highland Games |
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| Campbell Castle, Dollar |
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| Views from the Wallace Monument, Stirling (The Ochil Hills) |
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| Hills in the highlands opposite Rob Roy's gravesite |
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| Walking along Loch Ness, Fort Augustus |
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| River Ness, Inverness |
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| Inverness Castle |
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| Urquhart Castle ruins on the Loch Ness |
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| Highland Cows at the Culloden battlefields |
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| Culloden Cottage, site of last great Jacobite uprising |
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| Clava Cairn, 3000BC burial chamber |
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| Walking Ben Cleuch in the Ochil Hills |
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| Magnificent Ochil Hills |
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| Stirling Castle |
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| Old Town Edinburgh |
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| Clackmannan Tower |
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| Me and my three kids, Ben Nevis Mountain Range, the highlands |
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| Bonus pic to say hey ~ my kids and I up the top of the Eiffel Tower, Paris (it was freezing and windy but very cool!) |
Hi Nomes!
ReplyDeleteGreat to 'hear' from you!
Firstly, I adore your photos from Scotland! I went there six years ago and also fell in love with the place. There aren't many places in the world I would consider moving to but Scotland is one of them.
Point number three you made about lacking motivation and how much things have changed.. you've said everything I've been thinking *sigh*.
And it has also been a bad reading year for me too. Uni has kept me so busy and I've just been in this slump for the last 6 months. I'm hoping the summer holidays will pull me out of it. I miss chatting books but it is hard when I haven't read what everyone is talking about! I feel so out of the loop :(
Am looking forward to your end of year posts! I've attempted to do one but i've barely read anything so it's not as interesting as previous years. At least re-reading my reviews has reminded me how much I miss it all.
Take care and Merry Christmas to you, Pete and the kids xx
I would love to move to Scotland too! It was so beautiful there and had such a great atmosphere (although I haven't been there in winter, haha).
DeleteI am sure our motivation will rise and fall :) But once uni is back on, I'll be flat out again... you know the uni life...
I would still love to know some of your fave reads this year! Would love to see a post but I get it if it doesn't come together. I am having trouble picking my top ten but I am determined to do it :D
Thanks for the holiday wishes ~ back at you and for your awesome fam as well x
I love the Scotland pictures, I remember being seeing them on Instagram and being so envious of all the places you were seeing!
ReplyDeleteYeah, i know what you mean by not really wanting to blog and things being so different, I feel like I'm stuck in 2009-2011 time period while the rest of the internet has moved on. I'm finishing series I started while I was still really into reading and not really picking up any new ones. I'm excited to see your favourites lists!
haha @ being stuck in that time period! Those were our blogging heydays! :) I have not been keeping up with new releases or series either but am hopeful that I'll see a few good recs around in the next few weeks. I should prob follow some newer blogs to see where the buzz is lately :)
DeleteYou inspired me to do this post (after reading yours in my feeder) ~ I'll be over soon to chat x
I'm still around, Nomes! *waves* Well, sort of. Not blogging much anymore but that's mostly because I'm in the midst of grad school and it has swallowed up all my time/energy for reading for fun. But I do try to keep up with my favourite blogs! I too am sad that several of the bloggers I was friends with have stopped blogging :(
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the reading slump! Will definitely be checking out your end of the year lists, both for books to look for (and maybe books to avoid? lol).
And yay for Scotland! I travelled there many years ago when I was a kid and would love to return, as I too have some Scottish ancestry and feel like it would be a good idea to get more in touch with my roots on that side :D
Hey Danya :) I still do see you around and I am the same with much of my reading and computer time being taken with study. I am definitely less motivated to sit on the computer when I am working on research and essays a lot.
DeleteScotland was amazing and I know I will definitely be back! You would love it there and yay for Scottish blood <3
My posts are more which books I loved (Maybe I could mention some let downs? I always feel bad publishing negative highlights, haha...)
Those pictures of Scotland and your kids are wonderful! It seems like your time there was magical :)
ReplyDeleteI'm still sort of around but like you I've had a massive reading and blogging slump. I agree, it feels like so many of the bloggers that started back in 2009 have left the scene and that makes me sad but what can ya do? Some of us are still around but just at a slower pace ;)
I hope your 2015 reading year is better! And I can't wait to see your lists :D
It was entirely magical. Gorgeous people and brilliant weather and amazing scenery and atmosphere.
DeleteI am definitely a blogger who goes by at a slower pace these days, haha. I used to spit out 3-4 posts a week and comment daily... I still do read blogs in my app, though, and am so grateful for the people still going.
Hopefully you can kick of your 2015 reading year with some awesome books and end your slump. x
Hey Nomes, lovely to see you around the interwebs again! I'm getting back into blogging after a year of writing about books a lot for work and not so much for myself. I'm also finding it a little sad that so many of my fave bloggers have stopped! So, I'm especially glad you're still blogging :)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely adore your pics of Scotland!!! I've actually just started planning a four (hopefully five) week trip to the UK with my best friend in 2016 (which, scarily, isn't *that* far away now). We're planning to visit London, Liverpool (for The Beatles hah), York (including North York Moors), Scotland and Ireland (where my dad's side of the family is originally from). I would dearly love to do Wales as well, but perhaps that's best left for another trip ;) Your gorgeous pics make me even more excited for the journey that awaits! If you have any must-see recommendations, I'd love to know :)
I hope you and your family had a lovely Christmas and 2015 is full of joy!
Michelle @ The Unfinished Bookshelf xox