A Short Update: A Non-Linear Trajectory for my Blog

Hello, My dear blogger friends and readers! I hope all of you are well in this unprecedented time of crisis. I have a short update to share.

You might have noticed I have not been active in blogosphere lately. I registered my blog on WordPress seven years ago, but it was only from November 2018 that I started writing in my blog regularly.

2018-2020 was a particularly tough period for me. I had left my job to prepare for a grueling and extremely competitive Masters entrance examination. It took me two years to realize my dream. While I was struggling professionally, my blog was a means of escape for me. And books too! Where will I be if not for the books.

And Turkish series. Yup, they helped me survive too! If you have not watched a Turkish series yet, I request you to read my articles on them. There are some great Turkish series out there. Although the English translations sound cheesy, I promise you will be hooked.

• Dolunay (Bittersweet / Full Moon)
• Erkenci Kuş (Early Bird / Daydreamer)
• Bay Yanlış (Mr. Wrong)
• Aşk Laftan Anlamaz (Love does not understand words)
• İnadına Aşk (Love out of stubbornness)

After this small detour from the world of books, let us go back into it again.

By God’s grace, I am now admitted into a STEM Masters program of a prestigious university in India. However, Masters course is demanding. Very demanding! I hardly have time to breathe some days.

This, naturally, affected my blogging schedule. I used to post on Wednesdays and Saturdays. But, that was no longer possible. My blog is mostly about books. But, I have not been able to read as many books as I want. Hence, now I post once a week. Sometimes, even that is not possible.

Other than paucity of time, another factor has affected my blogging. I no longer feel that same happiness in blogging. Why? Well, growing stats is a major factor in motivating any blogger (no matter what they claim). Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, book reviews do not work well. In fact, it is my posts on Turkish series that garner most of the views on my blog. I have no shame in admitting in this.

I tried a lot of tricks in the bag to improve my stats. Joining blog tours was one of them. While I enjoyed them initially, the joy has now tapered down for me. Blog tours have not resulted in any significant improvement in my stats. As a result, reading a book and writing a review within a stipulated period of time is taking away the bliss of reading for me. So, I have decided to participate in only those book tours which will absolutely rivet my attention. I have already started doing so.

Then, there is a beast called Netgalley. A very attractive beast. But a beast it is! Once it lures you into its portal, only an extremely strong willpower can get you out of it. Though I have stopped requesting books from Netgalley (Yay, willpower!), my ratio stands at 60%. So, more ARCs to read … in time!

Moreover, as any book blogger knows, blogging is not just writing. It is also about presenting. You need to create graphics that enhance the attractiveness of your post. Writing the review itself is not easy. All of these take time. A precious commodity which, now, I do not have.

Hence, I have decided to go completely wild with my blog. I am no longer going to bind myself with compulsions of posting according to a schedule or finish reading a book within a certain date. I am going to pickup any book that fancies my mood at that time. It might be a classic or an ARC or a backlist title. My blog is not going to have a schedule, at least not for the immediate future. I may post more series or film reviews than reviews of books.

I have never written a discussion post before. This is more of a revelation-of-self post. So, I may write discussion posts in the future too.

The schedules for the book tours I have signed up for will definitely go up on time. I will try to read all the ARCs I have requested and have been approved for in the next 3-4 months. However, that’s it!

I require time to get back my joy of blogging. Till then, I request my readers to be patient with me.

Meanwhile, you can let me know in the comments below if you also experienced a similar situation. If yes, how did you overcome it?

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