Happy New Year!!! Let's Welcome 2011 With Some Change.....

Each New Year always brings such hope and promise of a year better than the last. It brings not only hope of new things, but also allows us to reflect on the past year and thank God for the blessings he bestowed upon us, as well as the grace and love he gave us to get through the rough spots.

This year brings change in our lives here as well as a bit of a change to this blog. When I started blogging about my reads, it was an outlet to voice my thoughts about what I was reading to a journal that would listen much better than my husband. Instead, this blog became something I never expected - a review blog with more offers of books to review than I could ever possibly read. This opportunity was amazing and beyond my wildest dreams and a huge blessing. It occupied my time after the passing of my father and saw me through many difficult times over the past year. I was able to escape reality through the pages of a book and all I needed to do was write a review.

At first reviewing was very easy, as all the material was new and unusual to me. I was pretty much a non-fiction reader that didn't splurge much in fiction for myself. I was thrilled to be able to read all the new books and dive into genre that I wasn't familiar with. Then the reviews became harder as I struggled with trying to write about books that were once exciting but soon came to feel like many of the genres were all using the same template. It's strange writing this, because I'm not saying that the quality of the books were different than the first one that I read, it's more that they just became alike. The thrill seemed to be gone and as I read, I would find myself thinking this is just like.... That made it harder to write and original review and I starting feeling stale and not enjoying certain genres as much. I really didn't want my love of reading to become a chore, but it seemed that was the road I was heading down.

I needed to step back a bit and look at what I really wanted. This blog is my hobby - not a paid job, and all my time here is volunteered. It has taken down some interesting roads... I've met some of the most awesome authors and PR professionals. I've made some amazing friends through this blog, and it has been with their suggestions and input that I've come to the conclusion that this blog needs to change. Goodbye stale and hello something different....

No, the book discussions and reviews will not disappear - but I have decided to follow the suggestion to add a little of my life content here. I have had many ask about me personally, but I thought a straight review blog was the way to go. Yet, here I am, feeling inadequate, stale and boring. I guess it's time to take advice from those who have more experience and insight.

So, in the coming months, you'll see a little bit about my life, my loves and hobbies along with our changing life here. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Wishing you all a fantastic new year and may you find yourself richly blessed beyond your wildest dreams...