I’ve been pretty lazy the last few weeks, months even, about writing. The blog’s been relatively quiet — our vacation which was highly beneficial in other areas of life, wrecked havoc on blogging — and my personal writing has become almost non-existent. Butt in chair has been a tough thing to overcome now that summer is here and there are millions of fun exhibits opening at museums, art events to attend, jazz to listen to in the park, friends to catch up with. You get the point; I’m easily distracted.

While updating my list of read books yesterday, I took a look at my challenges page and found I’m sadly behind on almost every challenge I joined. This doesn’t surprise me at all since I’ve been picking books at random and reading what feels like the right book at the right time the last few months instead of following any sort of list or schedule. It’s made me happy. I’ve read some good books, some really fun books, and some great books and enjoyed reading like I haven’t in a while. I’ve also been reading much slower than usual and that’s mostly been due to my crazy schedule the last two months but I’m starting to feel like I’m appreciating my limited reading time more.

I usually don’t join challenges at random; I look for ones that fit my reading style and feature books or the type of books, I want to read. I think of the challenges as a sort of reading map. This year, that map is now coffee stained, ripped beyond repair, shoved between the seats, and forgotten. So, done with challenges? No, not really. I’m still interested in some of the challenges but what I’ve done is take a look at the books I have listed, picked out what I really want to read and ditched the rest. While it would be nice to complete every one, I know it’s not going to happen and I don’t want to do it to the detriment of my reading. Why mess up something that makes me happy? I don’t like looking at reading as a chore so I’m not going to.

So, what have I been reading that’s been so good?

I finished the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger this week and this is a series I’m really sad to see end. The books are short, funny, entertaining, and great reads when I need a little something fun. I plan to read these again. I reviewed the first two here and here but I haven’t posted my review of the third yet and haven’t even written reviews for the last two. I’m planning on writing those reviews, or not, this week.

I’ve discovered Patrick Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind and am planning to get the second book in this series very soon. I wasn’t sure I was going to like this at first but then it sucked me in and I didn’t want to put it down. It’s a world to get lost in. This is another review I need to get to also.

China Mieville is on my short list of favorite authors and his newest book, Railsea, is another great read. He creates an amazing world, fills it with wonderful characters, and takes you on a journey. And for this one, I do have a review.

What am I reading now? The Master of Heathcrest Hall by Galen Beckett. It’s the third book in The Mrs. Quent trilogy and while it’s moving a little slow for me, I do like the world building so I plan to see it to the end. I also found The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley on my shelf yesterday. I think this is my next book. I loved this book when I read it so many years ago and it’s a book listed in a challenge and a book I want to re-read. It also feels like it should be my next book.

With that, I wish you all a happy Sunday and some happy reading to go with it. Enjoy.