I fully realise that my focus has been on short fiction more than anything else of late, but there is a good reason for this. You see I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump for a while now, and the only way I’ve been able to pull myself out of it is by concentrating on short stories. Short fiction is undoubtedly the form I love the most. I’m never more driven or as thrilled as when I’m reading short stories, and when I focus on them exclusively my brain zings with adoration for the form, and I feel alive (yep, a bit like Frankenstein’s monster getting zapped with electricity I suppose ) . Thing is though, I love the other literary forms that I focus on too, so therefore I have no intention of giving up any of them, any time soon. So please be assured dear reader that RobAroundBooks will continue to concentrate as evenly as possible on the same five literary areas that I’ve always been determined to concentrate on i.e. translated fiction, short fiction, literary nonfiction, essays, and general fiction (with a particular onus on debut novels).

In fact I’d be a fool to turn my back on anything but short stories right now, because it’s an exciting time for all that I focus on at RobAroundBooks, and with my reading slump firmly behind me (thank God), I’ve never been more motivated to bring you as much ‘across the board’ coverage as I can. In general fiction – and especially with regards to debuts – there’s the recently announced Waterstones 11 which has brought to light eleven fine and deserving (I hope) debut novelists, for all of us ‘eager beavers’ to work our way through. In translated fiction there’s the upcoming Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. The longlist is announced in just over a month, and regulars know how excited I get over this *grins*.

With regards to essays and literary nonfiction on RobAroundBooks, well I’m still feeling my way around the early stages of exploring these forms with serious conviction, and I’ll continue to do so, and with as much energy and vibrancy as I can muster. In February I’m running a week long special in literary nonfiction, in celebration of one of the pioneers of a form closely linked to it, so look out for that. And with regards to essays, I want to continue to show people just how alive and buzzing the form really is, and particularly how far away from the dusty and dry academic essay, the personal essay is.

I will say after all this, that it may still look on occasion as though my focus is more on short fiction than it is on anything else – especially with the 2012 Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award winner announcement coming up in March – but it has to be remembered that I file individual reviews for EVERY short story that I read, and I can post a good number of these in a single week. I did consider dropping my individual reviews for anthologies or collections, in favour of just summarising each story in a final ‘afterthoughts’ post, but I decided not to do that because every story is a sperate entity and it deserves to be treated as such.

So be assured once more dear reader, that RobAroundBooks definitely isn’t going short fiction only. I have a deep-rooted passion the all of literary forms that I focus on, and I will continue to focus on all of them. In the coming weeks and months I hope to demonstrate my resolve and commitment to all that I do, by bringing you as much widespread and varied content as one busy little bookworm can possibly bring. My apologies for not having done so during the past few weeks.

OK, I’ve rambled enough (sorry). I’ll leave you in peace.

Dedicated subsections
You’ll have seen already (I hope) that RobAroundBooks now has five distinct subsections – Translated Fiction, Short Fiction, Essays, Literary Nonfiction and General Fiction. Since the launch of RobAroundBooks in the summer of 2008, it has always been my intention to make it absolutely clear about the areas of literature I focus on. Trouble is I never got around to doing that before and it was really only through word-of-mouth that people had any real inkling about what I tended to focus on at RobAroundBooks. Now, with the presence of these five distinct areas, I hope that it’s crystal clear to everyone, what RobAroundBooks is all about.

Dedicated content
Going into each subsection you will see that the content is unique to the theme. So going into the translated fiction subsection will only give you translated fiction content, going into the short fiction section will only give you short fiction content, and so on. I should point out that because some of these subsections are new to RobAroundBooks, or some features are new to the categories, that they are rather sparsely populated. But please bear with me. As the site grows and I keep adding more content, these areas should quickly fill up. For now though, if you don’t mind turning a bit of a blind eye I’d be most grateful.

New Reading Journal subsection
What else? Well, my Reading Journal feature also has a subsection of its own, now. I had toyed at one point with dispensing with the feature altogether (you may remember me discussing it), but it is such an integral part of RobAroundBooks, and the way I read, that I’ve decided elevated its presence somewhat. Granted I’ve got to get on with the job of posting journal entries again (from tomorrow), but the functionality is there, and ready to go. Yehaww!

Rob Reports
I’ve also introduced a new Rob Reports section to RobAroundBooks. One of my biggest aims with the revamped site is to go out of my front door more and bring something of the spirit of local events, public readings etc. directly to your front door (well not exactly your front door, but you know what I mean). I begin this lofty ambition with this year’s EdBookFest (gulp!), and you can read a bit about that, in this post.

Added functionality & extra features
Talking of functionality, as I did in the paragraph before last, that’s something that you can’t really see on this new site, but I can tell you that I’ve put a heck of a lot of work into putting more ummphh in my engine (the site engine, not my full tank of a gut). In doing so I think I’ve given myself extra room to breath and a lot more flexibility, which is really important to me as I move forwards with RobAroundBooks.

Evidence of that extra functionality will be seen as I continue to launch the extra features I have planned for v2.0 of RobAroundBooks. I was hoping at relaunch to have had most of these new features in place, but in order to at least get the website back up and running I had to delay on introducing a number of those new features. I’m being rather coy about what these new features actually are (for obvious reasons), but rest assured they are alive and they are getting worked on almost daily. As soon as any of these are ready for implementing, I’ll let you know.

Finally, an apology
As I’m almost done talking for now (you’ll be pleased), I wanted to make sure that the last thing I did in this reacquainting post was to apologise sincerely to you guys. I had no idea when I originally took RobAroundBooks offline that it was going to take so long to put back up. Originally the site was only meant to be down for a couple of days, but then a combination of Real Life and the colossal amount of work I had to do, has meant that the site has remained in maintenance mode for way longer than I would have wanted it too. I could go on about the suffering I’ve endured, and how much credibility I’ve lost in the interim, but I’m not going to do that. Instead I’m going to thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart for showing supreme patience in sticking by me over the past few months. If it wasn’t for the support you’ve shown me I probably would have never had the strength to be putting this site back up today. For that I’m eternally grateful.

Now, that’s get this crazy show back on the road (can I take this stupid serious head off now?)

Oh, and one last thing. Remember that a lot of this new site is untested on the masses, so there’s a good chance you’re going to stumble across things which are broken. If you do then please let me know, so I can stress a bit over fixing. Also if you have any thoughts or queries about the new site, then just drop them in the comments below. Thanks *grins*

Why the sudden decision? Well, there are two reasons mainly: 1. I made significant progress in my coding of v2.0 yesterday, and I managed to break through on one of the major headaches that’s been holding up my progress for weeks now. The way forward is clear and I’m so excited to have got over the hump that I want to implement a few new changes asap. 2. I know in my heart of hearts that I’m NEVER going to get back to a reliable and regular reviewing schedule until I have all of the functionality and features in place, that I want to have in place. I’m unsettled massively because my vision for RobAroundBooks doesn’t match the reality, and I’m never going to be settled, either in myself or in my work, until I can get things a lot closer to the way that I want them.

So, please bear with me over these next few days dear people as RobAroundBooks goes up and down like a fiddler’s elbow . As someone famous no doubt once said – it’ll all be worth it in the end (I hope!).

Thanks for your patience
Rob

Now, as much as I adore Harper Perennial’s Fifty-Two Stories portal I’m ashamed to admit that I pretty much ignored Cal’s delicious short story offerings last year (a complete contrast to 2009 when I read every single one), and that disappoints me massively. Why? Well, if it were not for this short story portal then I would never have discovered the eloquent and poetic world of Simon Van Booy, the imaginative world of Alex Burrett, or indeed the ‘punch in the guts’ world of Barb Johnson. In other words Fifty-Two Stories has been a veritable gold mine of short fiction discovery for me in the past, and I need to get myself back into the routine of excavating from it.

So to make amends for my lethargic attitude in 2010, and to make sure I don’t make the same mistake again this year, I’m designating Fridays from now on as ‘Fifty-Two Friday’; the day on which I take the time to read and review the short story served up by Cal Morgan on Fifty-Two Stories on each given week.

But that’s not all I’m going to be doing, folks. Because I missed out on all of those great story offerings last year, I’m also going to make a point of also reading and reviewing every corresponding story that was offered up at the same time during 2010.

So that means from this Friday onwards I’m going to be ‘pigging out’ on two Fifty-Two Stories offerings per week, and in doing so I hope that I can encourage some of you guys to follow my lead, and pick up one or two of these stories yourself. Fifty-Two Stories is one of the finest gifts that any publisher has ever given its readers, and we owe it to Cal Morgan et al. to show as much appreciation and support as we can. I hope you agree. See you Friday!

This new ‘engine’ is more powerful and a lot easier to customise, and its installation was needed if I’m ever to realise the ambitions I have for RobAroundBooks. I’ve got a ton of new installations and features planned for RobAroundBooks v2.0 in the coming weeks/months (including a couple of separate blogs dedicated solely to a single bookish theme – so exciting), and I hope you’ll stay with me on this incredibly thrilling (for me) journey of evolution.

I should add, as excited as I am, that this ‘journey of evolution’ will not be a speedy one. Getting back to a regular routine of reading, writing and blogging is my top priority, so any steps towards evolution will only be taken as and when time permits.

Oh, and I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’ve performed a few minor cosmetic tweaks on the site. I’m not 100% happy with them (when am I ever? ), but I need to stop fiddling and get the show back on the road. I’m sure in tweaking, a few mistakes have crept in, so if you spot anything odd or untoward (and no I don’t mean the author himself ), then I’d be eternally grateful for the ‘heads up’ (I do have one issue with display on the iPad which I’m trying to resolve).

Anyway, thank you for your patience all, but please take comfort in knowing that it will all be worth it in the end (famous last words, eh? ).
Now, on to the real business. Where did I put that book?
With warm affection
Rob

That’s right folks I’ve decided that RobAroundBooks is here to stay, and I’ve got you guys to thank for making me come to that decision. When I first wrote my ‘I can’t be bothered with this crap anymore’ post last week I truly believed that I couldn’t be bothered with the crap any more. I won’t go back into all the reasons why again, but I’ll simply tell you that you guys have completely reversed my feelings. Your touching words of support have affected me massively over these past few days, and you’ve made me realise without a shadow of a doubt that most people know that I’m the real deal; that my only motive for blogging is to share my passion for books and reading. So I thank you all a million times over dear friends for letting me know that you see me for what I really am.

And so I return to full-time blogging, but under new conditions:

Firstly, I return with the ambition of getting my blogging reliability back up to the level it previously was, and then some. Lately my blogging has been lethargic at best – somewhat ‘stop and start’ – and I’m determined to put an end to this. In order to do that I’ve set myself some lofty targets, which I hope I will hit within 12 months. To reveal those targets would make me look uber-pretentious so I’m not going to reveal them, but I will say that these targets should ensure that my focus stays laser-sharp, which in turn should ensure (I hope) that my blogging reliability is reinstated.

Secondly, I want to qualify myself in as many ways as I can. Sure, I have a good educational background for lit blogging (not essential of course, but important to me), but I have few skills in the areas that would benefit my blogging the most i.e. in journalism and writing craft. So I will also be focusing on honing those skills over the coming months in the hope that I can become a better example for others to follow.

Thirdly, it’s my intention to continue working towards launching the fabled v2.0 of RobAroundBooks you may have often heard me talking about. Behind the scenes I have been working incredibly hard on this, but looking at RobAroundBooks as it currently is you wouldn’t think it. It’s still my intention to focus more closely on four primary areas of literature – translated fiction, short stories, literary nonfiction, essays – and I want RobAroundBooks to wholly reflect this. So rest assured you will see a v2.0 of RobAroundBooks coming in the not too distant future. I just want to make sure that everything is 100% the way I want it before launching.

While I’m on the subject of what I intend to focus on, on RobAroundBooks, I should point out that I’ve decided to keep a single toe dipped in the world of general fiction too. I feel to point-blank omit anything that doesn’t fall within the afore-mentioned categories, is to cut oneself off from a wealth of beautiful and important literature. And given that RobAroundBooks is all about promoting a love for books and reading in general, I need to keep all my avenues somewhat open so to speak (and no, I draw the line at ‘opening my avenues’ to celebrity autobiographies and chick lit ).

Lastly, I return to full time lit blogging with the steely determination that I will never again allow myself to be steered away from my primary mission of spreading my love for books and reading. I will not allow those who’s goal it is in life to bring others down, affect me. I will look upon self-servers and those whose intentions are not pure with silence, taking comfort in the knowledge that morally I will always be a cut above them. Most of all though I will never forget those who have stood by me these past few days and shown me their support. To each and every one of you, I will always be eternally grateful.

Now, let’s get this show back on the road!!

And so here we are into the month of May, and If the reading schedule at RobAround Manor wasn’t packed enough already – with both my Independent Foreign Fiction Prize shortlist and Totally Knut reading projects running at full throttle at the moment – then things are set to get a whole lot busier around here, as I ‘shoehorn’ two important short story anthologies into my reading schedule during May, in order to meet specific review dates.

The first anthology is that wonderfully exciting Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio edited creation, Stories which I featured a couple of weeks ago in a Daily Bookshot (note: the cover shown left is the UK edition, while the shot above shows a US edition of the proof). Published in the UK on the 15th June by Headline Publishing (same date in the US but published by William Morrow), Stories not only contains close to 30 tales from some of the world’s top writers (including Joyce Carol Oates, Chuck Palahniuk, Jodi Picoult and Joe Hill), but it also comes with the lofty aspiration that the collected stories contained within, epitomise the art of imaginative storytelling.

Stories certainly does sounds imaginatively delicious, and on it’s own it would probably more than satisfy my short story hunger for the month. However there’s another feast of short story goodness waiting for me on my desk, and it’s one which couldn’t be more worlds apart than the Gaiman and Sarrantonio offering.

Published simultaneously in English and Arabic last month by Bloomsbury, and in conjunction with the Hay Festival, Beirut39 (Arabic edition HERE) is another anthology that I highlighted in a recent Daily Bookshot. And with the Hay Festival launching in a little over three weeks (May 27th-June 6th), this is an anthology that I want to have a full working knowledge of beforehand (Unfortunately I’m not going the Festival but some of the authors in the anthology are attending a number of events, both in English and Arabic).

Coming with the aim of showcasing the talent of Arab writers – along with offering a taste of their rich culture – Beirut39 features short stories, poetry and novel extracts from 39 authors around the Arab world. And talented writing is certainly what I’m expecting to get from Beirut39, given that the writers chosen to be included in this anthology – all of who are under the age of 39 – were hand-picked from an initial pool of over 450.

In terms of covering both of these anthologies on RobAroundBooks I’m not, on this occasion, going to be setting things off with a forethoughts post. I think I’ve said enough by way of introduction for both of the titles – both in in this post and in my Daily Bookshot post for each – so I’m just going to launch into the reading of one story entry from each anthology, per day, until complete. As I’ve done often in the past, I’ll be recording my thoughts, ratings etc. in the pages of my Reading Journal (which makes it’s welcome return from a short hiatus tomorrow), before collating all of those thoughts and ratings together, into a final afterthoughts post for each title. So look out for all of this, starting tomorrow.

Now, if I wasn’t giving myself enough short story reading to do throughout the month of May, then I’ve also decided that now is the best time to start reminding people once more that I don’t only read the short stories of classic authors i.e. Maupassant and Chekhov. You may remember last year that amongst other things I religiously feasted upon the weekly short stories offerings served up at Harper Perennial’s Fifty-Two Stories website, before regurgitating my opinion on each (you can find links to all of these short story reviews on my ‘Shots of Short’ hub page. Well, for one reason or another that routine fell by the wayside somewhat and I really want to get right back on board with it (mainly because Fifty-Two Stories really do serve up some amazing offerings).

Additionally, as RobAroundBooks continues towards concentrating more on short stories (along with the other three forms I’ve decided upon – translated fiction, literary nonfiction and essays (you can read more about that HERE)) I’m also adding the offerings of a couple of other short story portals into the mix. So from next week, aside from my ongoing scheduled short story reading days i.e. Maupassant Monday and Chekhov Tuesday, I’m designating a new day – Friday, as the day when I tick off my reading of these selected FREE short stories.

So, have I covered all of my short story reading bases now? Not quite . I also need to get back on board with my Trevor vs Moore Chekhovian reading project, and iPoe, my journey through the fictional writings of Edgar Allan Poe. So to cover these I’m now designating Wednesdays as iPoe day and reserving Thursdays for my Trevor vs. Moore reading.

So my short story reading is really cranking up a notch in May (and that’s even when ignoring a couple of major ‘in the pipeline’ short story projects that are in the works), and while I’m on the subject, now would probably be a good time to mention fellow blogger, Gavin Pugh aka NextRead. Not only is Gavin lucky enough to be reading the same aforementioned Gaiman & Sarrantonio anthology as me this month, but he is also dedicating the whole month of May on his blog, to the short story form.

Although Gavin is normally heavy on genre fiction i.e. sci-fi and fantasy, he is supporting his Short Story Month with a stockpile of 25+ short story anthologies/collections, which I presume to be wide-ranging in theme. So, I’m expecting (hoping) that his focus is going to be as equally wide-ranging, with a little something to suit all tastes. What’s more Gav has also scheduled a number of special guess posts throughout the month of May in celebration of the short story. So if you’re a real fan of short stories then NextRead’s website may well be one of the hottest places to visit during May.

You may also recall that I said, that in order to complete my more general reading commitments, that this change of focus would be gradual? Well it’s a real shame then that I don’t listen to my own words, because over these past few days there’s been a whirlwind of planning activity and Photoshopping at RobAround Manor, while my stubborn single-mindedness has driven me towards working on design solutions for this new ‘change of focus’, while ignoring everything else that I should be doing.

Finally however, I’ve realised the error of my ways, and I’ve manage to take my foot off the ‘behind the scenes’ gas. I said the change of focus was going to be gradual so I need to make sure that the change of focus is gradual, and that has to apply to every aspect, especially when it comes to the time-sapping aspect of planning and design.

I mean it’s all very well me going on these little ‘research and development’ forays, but where does that leave my most precious and wonderful readers, and the publishers/authors to whom I’ve given my word with regards to reviews? Heaven forbid I lose any of you, but alas I fear that I will assuredly lose all of you if I continue this single-minded madness.

So dear reader, publisher, friend, although I am excited at what the future may hold for RobAroundBooks, and although I am restless for change to the point of insanity, I will resolutely plant my feet firmly on the ground once again, and get back to the more immediate business in hand.

Profound and glorious change is coming to RobAroundBooks dear reader, that I do know! But it will be, and has to be, progressive. And it will not come at the expense of losing your confidence. This eccentric lit blogger apologies once again!

I won’t go into the ins and outs of everything – because frankly over the past few days my feelings have been all over the place – but I will say that I’ve gone from feeling utterly dejected at the amount of time and energy I put into my blogging – and feeling I’m not getting anything out of it (in a spiritual sense) – to finally realising where I’m tripping up and in which direction I want to proceed.

The ‘tripping up’ mystery is an easy one to solve. Quite simply I’m trying to juggle too many things at once. My passion for books and reading is so intense that I’m trying to cover as much ground as possible, dip into as many books as I can, and across as many genres as I have an interest in. But the fact is, this one man show can’t make it all work to the degree that his heart wants it to. And so he has pull back the reigns, hone in and get himself a bit more specialised.

That brings me nicely to the main point of this post – the direction I want to take RobAroundBooks in. First and foremost, I should clarify that every feature that I recently said that I was going to be moving forward with, I still am going to be. The only difference is things are going to get a lot more specific.

How so? Well, firstly I should tell you that the catalyst that finally brought me to my senses was the post I put up yesterday on the subject of world literature. Soon after watching that amazing video promotion by Words Without Borders, it hit me like a lightening bolt that deep down in my heart of hearts my true reading passion lies in the wonderful world of translated fiction.

How do I know? Well, aside from my established passion for it, it surprised me yesterday at how upset I was at the general lack of focus and knowledge that surrounds world literature. It wasn’t exactly news to me – I was already well aware of the shortfalls that exist in the promotion of world literature – but after watching that video, reading your wonderful comments in relation to that video, and having a discussion with bookish friends on Twitter, something clicked firmly into place, and I was left with a firm resolution that I really want to do something about the situation; to pour my passion for reading foreign literature into raising awareness (albeit from a small insignificant voice) in what is a remarkable, yet severely under-appreciated area of reading.

In reality I’m already doing something to help ‘the cause’. If you take a general sweep of RobAroundBooks then you’ll see that my reading is probably more focused on works of translated literature, than anything else. Maupassant, Chekhov, Tolstoy, Endo, Ammaniti, Murakami, Camus – to name but a few – are already featured regularly (some more than others), but my focus on these non-English writers is mixed in with every other author that I struggle and strive to shoehorn in, and quite frankly, although it may be fun it certainly isn’t manageable.

So in a difficult move for me to make – because I have some truly wonderful English-speaking authors nested in my heart already (Steinbeck and Hemingway for instance), and there’s many more out there still to discover (now and in the future) – I’ve decided that I’m going to steer RobAroundBooks more in the direction of global literature (both classical and contemporary), while pretty much turning my back on any literature – old or new – that has been created in the English language.

I realise such a decision is drastic, and it may well alienate some of my most precious of readers (even God forbid, turn some of you away). But for my own peace and preservation I feel that this is something that I really want, and need to do.

So with a refocus on world literature does this mean that I’m turning my back on any reading commitments I’ve already made with publishers and fellow readers? Absolutely not. The change over will be gradual, so that I can ensure that I read all the books that I’ve committed myself to reading.

Does my decision to concentrate more on works-in-translation mean I’m going to be completely turning my back on works created in the English language? No! I still have a huge passion both for the short story form and for literary nonfiction and essays – literary forms which I also think are severely under-represented – so I will still be continuing to focus on these, and with as much vigour as I can muster up.

And so my good friends – publishers and readers alike – I think there is little more I can say for now. I very much hope you understand my reasons for taking this sudden change of direction, and that you won’t consider me fickle or indecisive either in life or in my reading. Sometimes something calls to you so loudly that you can do nothing to ignore it. And these past few days world literature has been screaming at me from the top of its voice, and I feel I need to answer its call, unconditionally. So I hope that you will stay around and join me on this new(ish) and exciting adventure – even take a long relaxing dip into the wonderful world of translated literature yourself – because my biggest fear is losing any of the beautiful minds I’m so acquainted with already.

On a final note I just want to add that another dear friend is choosing to take a similar direction with his reading. I’m sure many of you will already know Stu, who blogs at Winston’s Dad, but if you don’t then I urge you to get to know him. Stu is a voracious reader, who, like me, sees the true beauty in foreign literature. He’s moving his focus in a more international direction (to be fair he was largely focusing on this area anyway), and I predict great things coming from Stu over the coming months. I urge you to follow him.

On a final, final note thank you all for listening, and for reading another of Rob’s rambling posts.

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