April Reflections and May Plans

Well, that was an interesting month.

Reflections

I enjoyed doing the April A-Z blogging challenge, but I really hated it all at the same time.

It was super fun to dig into my memories, track down books and movies and whatnot that I have loved for years, but perhaps haven’t revisited in a long while. And I’d like to believe that all those posts were helpful for people who don’t know me, to get to know me.

But.

It was NOT a smart idea to try to do a blog challenge at the same time I am just starting to build my new site. Sure, it means I have a whole bunch of posts now, but I didn’t have the time to devote to setting up images, SEO, doing social media sharing, or even responding to comments because I was too busy simply writing the damn posts.

(And for everyone who visited and/or posted a comment, I am eternally grateful and will be responding to them all soon. And will be visiting your blogs too. I promise!)

Twenty-six posts in 30 days is nuts, and I will only attempt it again if I plan WAYYYYYY in advance, pre-write a lot of the content, and have an actual blogging routine that makes this all seem like a lot less hard work.

In summary:

What worked

  • Made a lot of content
  • Got visitors most days in April, to a brand-spankin’ new site (whee!)
  • Enjoyed writing about my childhood and sharing my favorite things with the universe

What didn’t

  • Trying to do a challenge without my blog being 100% prepped and ready to go was a hideously bad idea — I do not handle the whole “flying by the seat of my pants” process very well
  • Between all the posts and my full-time job, I didn’t have the time to devote to sharing and networking and reading everybody else’s posts that I wanted to
  • I didn’t have time to develop my own posts and blogging schedule, outside of the challenge

Plans

Oh, so very many.

May is going to be a big planning month. And a big reading month.

This whole blog thing is still very much a work-in-progress. I’m still figuring out setting up social media, how often to post, what exactly to post, and how to manage all the moving parts in this strange new world I voluntarily put myself.

So, there may be fewer posts this month as I figure out what my whole weekly plan and process actually IS. I’ve been reading and researching and I’m kind of on blog information overload.

But also, this is a blog about books. I need to read the books.

So here’s my (over-achieving) reading list for May:

  • Choosing to Run, by Des Linden
    • I got to see Des in person at a book signing last week, and was SO excited. I’ll be finishing her book soon and will give a full report.
  • Homecoming, by Kate Morton
    • Huge fan of Morton’s, and have read all her novels. This one’s a bit hefty so it’s taking me a bit longer than expected. I’ll review later this month.
  • Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
    • I’ve had this on my bookcase for a couple of months. It’s about time.
  • The Last Heir to Blackwood Library, by Hester Fox
    • I picked this up last month on a whim, and I can’t wait to get into it.
  • Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens
    • Again, this one has been hanging around for a while. (I’m terrible — or really good, depending on your point of view — at procrastinating.)
  • The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, by Phaedra Patrick
    • Because dear lord, I think I need something a bit more light-hearted — though, as a novel about a widower, I might be barking up the wrong tree.
  • and (not pictured) Towards Zero, by Agatha Christie
    • I’m participating in Read Christie 2023, an annual Agatha Christie reading challenge. This month’s choice is actually Unfinished Portrait, written under her pseudonym Mary Westmacott. But that tends to lean toward romance and I just want the mysteries, so I went with the alternate option. Also, I don’t remember much of the story, so here’s hoping I’ll be surprised all over again!

What are you reading this month?