Site News: Is this the longest blog post in history?

So it’s been almost two weeks since I took the rather impulsive step of drawing up on my blog posting in order to reinvest the time in bringing everything back to order at RobAroundBooks. It was a rather unexpected decision to make I know (especially when things didn’t look all that disorderly in the first place ), and because I’ve been keeping everyone pretty much in the dark during the interim, I thought I’d do the decent thing before I return to full-time blogging tomorrow, and give a quick rundown on the ‘behind the scenes’ happenings, and how things are going to progress moving forward (although once you’ve read through the following swathes of text you’ll wish I hadn’t bothered ). It’s the dawning of a new age fellow reader, or at least it is from my lowly and insignificant perspective, but before I go on to tell you all about that, I should perhaps briefly explain what brought about this sudden halt to the blogging proceedings in the first place.

Well, about a month ago I began to get a little disconcerted with everything I was doing blogging-wise. A wave of ‘what’s the point’ started to wash over me as I began to feel as though all I was doing when it came to my blogging, was simply going around and around in circles ultimately achieving nothing of any real value. I guess I began to doubt myself (perhaps for good reason), and this self-doubt prompted me to get all reminiscent and philosophical as I began looking back on how I’ve developed during my 18 months of blogging. I started thinking about the kind of services I offer on RobAroundBooks and I also set about asking searching questions of fellow readers and friends, both publicly and in private.

Of course none of this ‘soliciting for opinion’ had anything to do with ‘ego stoking’ – heaven forbid I ever start looking for that. Rather it was because I value the opinion of fellow bloggers and friends, and I needed their assessment of things. I’m glad I did take that step of asking others for opinion because the feedback that came back to me was incredibly valuable, and as a consequence a final decision fell in place – I needed to take a temporary hiatus in order to works things out.

Have I worked things out? Yeah I think I have pretty much, and although I ‘bigged it up’ in my opening paragraph by hailing the ‘dawning of a new age’ I’ve got to admit that on first impressions not a lot appears to be that different around RobAroundBooks, with the possible exception of course, of a new ‘shiner’ header. Well be patient my good friend, for beavering I have been – up to my elbows in mind maps, planning notes, html and plugins – and all will become clear, if not today then in the coming days. Let’s begin however, with a quick rundown on the features etc. that I’ve decided to move forward with on RobAroundBooks, and my reasons for retaining them:

• Forethoughts/Afterthoughts aka my ‘unique’ way of reviewing books – One thing I always strive for in life is to be a little different from the norm. I crave individuality and uniqueness almost as much as fresh air, and at RobAroundBooks my desire to be different is just as strong, and this is why I review books in a different manner to most people. Some may say that my method for reviewing i.e. providing forethoughts (initial impressions of a book before reading it) followed by my eventual afterthoughts (my posh name for a ‘review’), is a rather drawn out way of doing things. To some extent I tend to agree, but for me this system of reviewing perfectly mirrors the metaphorical journey I find myself on when reading books, and for that reason alone I adore this method. Therefore, after much soul searching I’ve decided that my system for reviewing books will remain (aside from the odd occasion when I grab a book on impulse and read it through without any consideration beforehand leaving no opportunity for forethoughts) albeit with a few little tweaks (mainly in the afterthoughts department).
• Reading Journal – Going hand-in-hand with my forethoughts and afterthoughts is of course my Reading Journal, the one feature on RobAroundBooks that I’ve felt compelled to question lately: is it a feature that serves a genuine purpose on RobAroundBooks? Well from the overwhelming feedback that I’ve received (thank you!) it seems it is a worthwhile feature to have around, and so it’s staying. I’m glad because after much soul searching I’ve come to the same conclusion myself. Not only do I love writing ‘on the fly’ about the books I’m reading, but the Journal also allows me to capture that middle bit between first opening a book and finishing it – the ‘journey’ itself (the reason why I launched it as a feature in the first place). As such I’m able to track my development through a book, and offer a more enriched ‘snapshot’ of my reading experience. Furthermore my Journal also acts as a repository for my thoughts on the stories I’m ticking off in anthologies and collections – which can take an age to read – and I am then able to refer back to these entries when I come to providing my final review on a short collection/anthology. So, invaluable my Reading Journal as a feature it certainly is, and so it remains firmly in place, albeit with a number of enhancements to hopefully make it a lot more interesting and fun to read.
• Book News/Book Bites – Both of these features are of course synonymous with one another, with Book Bites being lesser, more informal snippet-like pieces of bookish news, and the former being self explanatory. I don’t think I need to make any changes on the way I present these features other than to increase their frequency. I had considered dropping news coverage from RobAroundBooks altogether, but the amateur journalist in me just won’t let go. Besides, news coverage offers another service for readers of RobAroundBooks and publishers/publicists alike, so it’s an important feature to keep.
• Daily Bookshot – Did you know I’ve been running this feature for almost a year now, and despite not often being able to provide a shot on a ‘daily’ basis it remains one of my favourite features on RobAroundBooks? I consider it a great way to share some of the books that come into my hands – books that I love and adore – and in a format which really engages my more creative side (however good or bad that creative side is ). I never have provided Daily Bookshots as a ‘look what I’ve got’ kind of exercise (as one anonymous person suggested) because I’m truly not that kind of person; I’m more gracious and humble than expectant. No, Daily Bookshots are more for celebrating the more aesthetic side of book love, and for giving me a further platform for bookish commentary. One thing I am going to strive for as I move forward though is a lot more consistency with regards to the feature, and the hope that I can maintain a ‘daily’ focus.
• Bookshelf of the Week – I know when one looks at the bigger picture, a weekly feature which focuses on the very structures that bears the bibliophile’s precious hoard all sounds a bit geeky and sad. But the fact is I love scouring the Internet for bookshelf shots that ‘float ma boat’ and I couldn’t live without it. Thankfully, looking at the stats for RobAroundBooks it’s a feature that you guys seem to enjoy too. So as geeky and as sad as it might seem, Bookshelf of the Week is here to stay, and I couldn’t be happier.
• Behind the Pen – The most important people behind our books are of course the authors – a wonderfully enigmatic group for which curiosity seems to reign supreme. I began my own author interview series – Behind the Pen – last year, but through time and focus I’ve failed to follow through with providing any more. This for me is a hugely wasted opportunity, so I will be upping the ante on author interviews moving forward in the coming weeks and months, and already I have two wonderful authors waiting in the wings.
• On the Radar – Like any and all bibliophiles my eyes are always scouting the horizon for new books to add to the ever-expanding library. I first began my On The Radar feature last year as way of sharing books which I’d become aware of, and it has since proved valuable in both highlighting these books for other people’s benefit, and for giving me valuable feedback on whether my initial excitement of a book is well-founded or not. What’s more On The Radar also allows me to keep a track on these books and retain more of a memory of having seen them in the first place – very handy when one is standing in the middle of a bookshop wandering what to pick up. So the feature is here to stay. Yay!
• Cover Love – You may have already noticed that I put up a Cover Love post at the weekend which offers a big clue as to whether the feature is staying or not. No prizes if you’ve guessed already that it is, and for good reason. How could I possibly drop something that’s so visually stunning? The feature of a book that so many artists slave tirelessly over? The metaphorical shop window through which the reader gazes on the goods on offer? Hehe…you get the picture? It’s impossible to omit such a feature isn’t it? So Cover Love remains, albeit in a more occasional format (although to be fair it wasn’t particularly regular in the first place).
• Rob’s Reader of the Week – This is an old favourite of mine on RobAroundBooks, and I’ve decided that it’s going to make a most welcome return..Horray! Quite why I let it fall by the wayside I don’t know because when it comes to my fellow readers I’m incredibly voyeuristic. I love to know what they up to, what they’re reading and what makes them tick. And firing out the 10 questions that I do to each featured reader, I get to find all of this out legally (and so do you). More than that though I get to pay homage to fellow readers, and that to me is more precious than anything else. So I welcome its return with great relish. So keep an eye on your mailbox from this day forward fellow reader. You may well be getting an invitation to sit in the big reading chair.

OK that’s a quick rundown on the main features I’m keeping on RobAroundBooks. Here’s a quick rundown now on a couple of things I’m looking to change (goodness me I ramble on don’t I )

Refocusing on the Classics
Lately I’ve been enjoying discovering new writers and enjoying the experience immensely. However one very kind and very warm anonymous commenter reminded me that I seemed to be turning my back more and more on the classics, the very fuel that powered this blog in the early days. Pow! What an epiphany! She/he is absolutely correct, and lately – with the exception of my short story reading – my classics reading has indeed fallen by the wayside somewhat, and that upsets me. I know that the classics nuture my soul more than anything else – something which became wholly apparent when I dived into my first Stefan Zweig at the end of last week and came out the other end completely buzzing with excitement – so I need to refocus on getting back into the classics.

So does that mean I’m turning my back on shiny new releases? Good grief no! That’s way too much of a fun thing to miss out on. No, rather I’ll just be a lot more conscious of including the classics in my reading, which will hopefully get me back up to speed a bit more in this respect.

Weekend’s become ‘free reading’
One thing I’ve been doing with my reading during this short blogging break is dipping in and out of literature as and when the whim took me, and to be honest with you it’s been a remarkably liberating experience – just like the old days . While I still adore the more structured system I have to employ for the purposes of reviewing, I love the freedom that dipping in and out at will seems to bring with it, and moving forward this is a freedom I want to continue to enjoy. Therefore I’m designating weekends solely for ‘free reading’ where I read what I want, when I want and without any feelings of guilt that my TBR review pile is standing there staring at me discontentedly for a couple of days. In the long run I think this is going to be hugely beneficial. Not only will this freedom of reading at the weekends give me more of a variety of things to speak about post weekend, and I’ll have a renourished soul ready and raring to go first thing on a Monday morning.

The need for more feature articles
This is something I’m still mulling over at the moment, but I just wanted you to know that I’m aware of the need for more feature articles/essays on RobAroundBooks, and I’m on it .

Finally, the biggest change that’s occurred
Probably the biggest change that has come about in these two weeks however, is my own mental attitude towards what I do in a blogging sense and why I do it. Gone are the doubts and reservations that have accumulated over the past few months, and in their place is an unshakable desire to dedicate the rest of my life (which hopefully still amounts to a good half-century ) to spreading my passion for reading and books. I’ve always thought deep down that that’s what I wanted to do – it’s what motivated me to launch RobAroundBooks in the first place – but now I’m certain that it’s one of my primary life fuels. An overly dramatic declaration to make perhaps, but having done so much soul searching lately I know in my heart of hearts that my proclamation is pretty much bang-on.

So there we have it fellow readers and friends, you’ve laboured through close to 2000 words and now, finally, in that last statement is evidence of that “dawning of a new age” that I’ve been promising you from the start. But joking aside that is really how I feel about things as I move forward. Just as the nuclear reactor is at the very heart of the nuclear power station so I want to be RobAroundBooks to be at the heart of promoting a passion and fervency for everything books. I predict hugely exciting times ahead and I hope you will be there share them with me, and to offer more guidance and motivation than I could ever dream of in return.

I thank you for your patience and support over the past couple of weeks (although I probably thank you more for showing such patience and fortitude in getting through this post). I know this break was unexpected and largely unannounced, but I think it was a break that was much required. Time can only tell if that’s the case, but I’m determined to make it count.

Note: I will cover anything I have to say on my ongoing reading challenges in a separate post. You’ve suffered enough for one day