I was going to talk about Collaborations this week as it’s something I’m working on with my Writing Group. As we haven’t quite finished it yet, I thought it was prudent to wait until we have completed this project – so i can talk about the whole process.
So, this weeks blog… I’ve had a few conversations lately about the all important ‘To Be Read’ pile of books. It got me thinking ((Oh dear, thinking again – we all know where that gets you!)) The pic is my TBR pile. Feel free to share yours! ((Come on, show us your piles)) Brackets, I think you should rephrase that…
How do you feel about your TBR pile? Do you feel anxious because you have a pile of books waiting for you, or is it a comfort that you have stories and characters ready and waiting to be discovered. There really is nothing like reading. I read e-books and listen via audible. But, I still prefer the excitement of opening a physical book and the pleasure of starting on a new adventure.
Reading for me is so therapeutic and something I’ve always loved to do. At school, we used to get credits for doing good work ((Swot!)), which we could use towards getting a book from the school-book shop. For me, it was an incentive to work harder. As soon as I had enough credits, I would browse the shelves; hand over my credits and walk away with a shiny new book. When I moved to ‘big school’ it was a turbulent time for me as we moved to a new house just as it was time to choose our GCSE’s. Due to the time of year, it resulted in me not having a choice and fitting into whichever classes were free.
Consequently, l decided to drop as many classes as I could, and only signed up for the compulsory ones, English, Maths, Sciences, and I think I chose woodwork as well, but the old memory is vague on this one. ((it’s not ‘this is your life’ you know!))
It was a tough time moving at the age of fourteen, leaving friends, meeting new people and changing schools, but the one benefit to this change was I ended up with a lot of spare lessons. I, of course, spent this time in the School Library. It was my lifeline at school. I would devour books in-between lessons. I’m pretty sure I learned as much from reading as I did in my classes.
Anyway, I digress. I was going to just chat about my TBR pile. But, I find it interesting how people have become passionate about reading and writing, or in fact, anything that involves being creative. So, I thought I would share a bit about my reading journey.
On the reading front, I think a book group is important if you have one in your area. One of the reasons I joined a book group was to read genres I wouldn’t usually pick up. I think you can get a totally different opinion of a book when you discuss it. With some books, I appreciated them even more after discussing them and often changed my ‘score’ to reflect this.
I would love for you all to share the reasons why you love reading, and of course, a pic of your all-important TBR pile on Twitter or Instagram!
I’m thinking of setting a deadline to get through my TBR pile – anyone interested in joining me?
With regards to writing, it’s been a funny old few weeks. I’ve had time off work waiting for my next temp job to start, and I thought I would have so much time to write, but it just hasn’t worked out. I managed one full day of working on my Travel Journal and children’s fantasy story making good progress on both, but also ended up with a flat arse! I not used to sitting and typing all day.
Every time I decided I was going to sit down and send some submissions ‘something came up’ ((Were you cleaning the skirting boards??)) No, I wasn’t. Mainly it was due to filling in job applications and dealing with agencies. Unfortunately, finding paid employment has to come first. The future aim is to get paid work from writing – but bills still need to be paid, so that has to take priority. I have however managed to submit to some publishers/agents, so that’s a start.
Have a great few weeks. Catch you all in a couple of weeks.
C.L. Peache 