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Saturday, January 2, 2021

9 Year Blogiversary!

Babbling Books is nine years old today! This anniversary brings a mini – crisis in my blogging activities but optimism for the future. The mini – crisis that I refer to will be evident to anyone who has been following this blog, that is, I have not been posting much.

The reason that I have not put up a lot of entries in the past few months in twofold. The reasons are also related. The first is that I have been working more and more hours at my job. These hours have been escalating. I have been working more in the past few weeks then I have worked since my blog started. In fact, I remember that 9 years ago, I started my blog shortly after a work project ended that was taking up a lot of time. At the time, I figured that the extra hours could be devoted to blogging. 

 

The second reason is something that happens from time to time. I have been stuck in a period of what I will describe as lower motivation. Much of this low motivation is part of the natural cycles of ups and downs. However, another related factor is the fact that about two months ago the keyboard on my desktop  computer died. I replaced it with something that I had lying around, but something that I thought would be a good choice. It was a Macally keyboard that was a large piece of hardware. I thought that its size and apparent sturdiness would be good for writing. However, in retrospect it it turns out that using it was an unpleasant experience.  Among other things it led to a lot of typos and missed key strokes.  I have replaced it with an Apple Magic Keyboard which is ironically much smaller but much easier and pleasant to write with. I did not realize that this poor keyboard experience was keeping me away from writing, but once I replaced it, writing blog posts became a positive experience again.    


I must admit that had my busyness at work coincided with a period of higher motivation for blogging, that I would have still managed to post more. I am naturally a very slow writer, so the combination of these two factors has really slowed down my posting.  

 

The really good news is that, while the long hours at work were caused by several factors, the biggest driver of time at work was a project that was just concluded on January 31st. I should be working a lot less now. I am hoping that this freeing of my time will be also help spur more motivation to write blogs.

 

Thus, I am optimistic that I will be posting more frequently going forward and that 2021 will be a good year for blogging. I am looking forward to the future. Have no fear, Babbling Books should still be around for a while. 

 

As I do every year, I want to thank all my wonderful commenters. I am grateful to everyone who has taken the time to comment and engage in my comments section. Interaction with other bloggers in our comments sections is one of the main reasons to blog in the first place. 


Happy reading and blogging in 2021 everybody!

67 comments:

Kathy's Corner said...

Hi Brian, Happy 9th Blogiversary and so glad that you will be continuing with your blog for years to come. I first discovered your blog through twitter and I have been grateful ever since. You are an excellent writer and I always look forward to your posts and what books you will be choosing next and what you will be saying about those books. I know what you mean about work and finding the right keyboard getting in the way of blogging. I know for myself I used to be able to write with pen and paper but now to compose anything I must have a computer. I wish you and your family a very Happy New Year and can't wait to see your book choices for 2021.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks so much Kathy.

The right writing tools are so important, at least for me. The keyboard thing shows that.

Happy New Year to you and your family!

Judy Krueger said...

Huge congrats on 9 years! I think anyone who has blogged for many years has experienced slumps for various reasons. I know I have. Hardware is a huge factor. I had to change keyboards this year too and it was shockingly awful. I had to go back to the basics I learned in typing class way back in high school. Those muscle memories don't like change. I have also had this problem when playing an unfamiliar to me guitar. I am happy you got that solved.
Commenters are surely the sugar that helps the medicine go down! I live for the comments.
Best wishes for a good year ahead.

Lark said...

Happy Blogiversary! Nine years...wow. That's awesome. And I'm glad you'll be sticking around for awhile longer. I may have only recently happened onto your blog, but I really enjoy reading your posts. Happy blogging! :D

CyberKitten said...

Happy anniversary! Many happy returns... [grin] As always I look forward to your future posts - no matter how many or how few. Looking forward to 2021 and the reading it will bring.

Kirk said...

Happy blogiversary! May you find time, and the desire, to do more posts.

Dorothy Borders said...

Congratulations on the ninth anniversary of your blog. That is a significant accomplishment, especially while working at a day job full-time.

The equipment that one uses certainly makes a big difference in writing, I find. I depend on my iMac and "magic" keyboard. They make life so much simpler, even when one suffers a slump!

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Judy - Hopefully I will be heading into an up period of blogging now.

Before this I would never had imagined that a keyboard could make such a difference.

I live your comment about blog commentators.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Lark. I am glad that I found your blog too.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks CyberKitten - Hopefully many more posts coming up.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Kirk. More posts are coming.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Dorothy - If I did not work so much, I would really blog a lot more.

Brian Joseph said...

PS Dorothy - It is amazing just how good the Apple Magic Keyboard is.

thecuecard said...

Hey Brian : Happy 9 years! I'm glad your blog is around and that you will keep posting in the future. All of us go through blogging slumps so don't be discouraged. Just keep reading & exploring. I always like to hear your thoughts on various books. Best wishes for 2021!

mudpuddle said...

it's great to hear that you're still here; i was worried that you'd maybe caught the plague! i know about slow spots in reality: they have something to do with sunspots(don't believe a word of it, haha)... i'm just glad you'll be around to show me how to do it... best of luck!

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Happy Blogoversary, Brian, and wishing you many more! Yes, why does damn work have to interfere with blogging, LOL?

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Susan - I should be around more going forward.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks so much Muddpuddle - I have been healthy, just working a lot.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Debra - If only we could eliminate this pesky thing called work!

Sharon Wilfong said...

Hi Brian!

Happy blogversary! I know what you mean about keyboards. I have gone through a couple thanks to a feathered friend who likes to pop the keys off. I have an old keyboard on my Mac, and it has taken some getting used to. The new one on my lap top is good, although not as convenient as when the lap top keyboard worked.

Glad your work is going well. Here's to a great new year!

Debby said...

Happy blogoversary, happy New Year, and say...is that CAKE?

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Sharon - That is funny about the birds and the keyboards. The keyboards do make such a difference.

Have a great week!

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Debby.

That is a Nutella cake that my wife made. On too it has Roche chocolate, regular chocolate chips and white chocolate chips on top.It was awesome!

Lory said...

Congrats on this landmark Brian, and I hope we will be seeing you more in the coming months!

I totally understand about the keyboard - that's an important part of the writing experience. I'm glad it's more pleasant with your new hardware.

Cheers to the new year!

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Port.

I never thought a keyboard could such a difference.

James said...

Congratulations on reaching this blogging milestone! I understand some of what you are going through. My blogging has waned over recent years, but I continue to read and blog when I am inspired to do so. I love what I learn about different kinds of books on your blog and appreciate your ability to tackle challenging books.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks James. Hopefully there will be an upswing in my posts.

Stephen said...

Congratulations on the anniversary! I can understand why not having the usual tools would slow you down -- I sometimes compose reviews at work, when it's slow, but there's nothing like one's own keyboard.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Stephen. The keyboard thing surprised me. I realized it when I switched to the better one.

Marian H said...

Happy blogiversary, Brian! Your reviews are always worth the wait. :) I hope this year brings you more time to read/blog and spend with loved ones.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Marian - Some time should open up for me now.

Laurie @ RelevantObscurity.com said...

Hey, happy blogversary! I can relate to having difficulty blogging, though for different reasons. Here's to a better 2021👍

Carol said...

Happy Anniversary, Brian. Did you make that cake?? Impressive. :) Have a great reading year in 2021. I appreciate your writing and the books you post about and you're a very faithful commentator and blogging friend!

Sue Bursztynski said...

Happy Blogiversary, Brian! And I’m so glad you overcame your keyboard problems. When I’m not writing on my iPad, I have a laptop, so not a problem for me.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to more of your posts this year.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Laurie - Indeed. Lets hoe that we all have a good blogging year.

Brian Joseph said...

That's so much Carol. The cake was my wife's Nutella cake.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Sue - I use a laptop for work. It is better then what I was using but not as good as my Magic keyboard.



Captivated Reader said...

Happy blogiversary to you!! Happy New Year to you as well!!

Emma said...

Happy blog anniversary ! Nine years already! I don't comment as much as I'd like to because blogger isn't always user friendly.
Congrats on these nine years of sharing your thoughts with us and yes, interacting with other readers is the best part of blogging. (And then chatting on twitter!)

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Captivated Reader!

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Emma. Comment system s can be so difficult to deal with. I now canned comment on either Blogger or WordPress with my phone.

You know you were one of my first commenters 9 years ago.

Susan Kane said...

I started blogging about the same time. My writer daughter said that I would have an outlet for my own writing.

The blogging world has given me some great relationships with others, such a you! I will continue to engage in intellectual recourse, love your work.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks so much Susan - May 2021 be a good year for us all.

Rachel said...

Hi Brian! Good to know you think you'll be higher motivation. I've been missing all of your in-depth comments on books.

Paula Vince said...

Happy Blogiversary, Brian!
I do understand where you're coming from, regarding the past few months. There are only a certain number of hours in each day, and book blogging takes up a huge portion of time. Sometimes it's a huge ask to put it aside when work commitments are great.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Paula - I wish that I had more free time. Work takes up a lot.

baili said...

thank you for much needed update dear Brain

i visited your blog many times and got bit concerned when found no new entry ,so thank you so much for deciding to keeping up with your amazing ,insightful and beautiful blog .
i am not expert with words with my tiny wisdom yet i want to say that your blog fulfills a certain thirst of my mind for Reading and Literary Knowledge and i admire it a lot!!!!!

this is good news that you will have more time for blogging this year :)
Wishing you a Happy new year filled with peace ,health ,joy and prosperity ,amen!

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks so much Bali.

I think that it is safe to say that we are both curious about Simon things. Hopefully we will both have a great blogging year in 2021.

Susan Kane said...

I found that a good quality computer is essential. When mine almost exploded (faulty power source), we bought a desktop computer for me and it makes me so happy.

I am looking forward to your next post. What book has caught you??

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Susan - I have always used a Mac desktop to write.


I.am.currently working on a post for Henry James's The Golden Bowl.

JacquiWine said...

Happy anniversary, Brian. Nine years, that's a great achievement! Hopefully there will be many more in the future, especially as some of your work pressures are starting to ease up.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Jacqui - Hopefully there will be many more years!

Fanda Classiclit said...

Happy belated anniversary, Brian!
I understand that blogging can be time consuming and takes a lot of our free time. But, don't let it discourage you. Taking a break is okay, then after several months, you'll miss your blog so much you'd find time to blog again. :)

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Fanda - Instead of a break, I have just been posting slowly.

bookertalk said...

Completely understandable that if you're working flat out, you have little energy left for blogging, especially when the little time you have available to write is frustrated by technology issues.

Hope the blogging mojo returns for you

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Karen. In the past I tried to do a little blogging work everyday. I have to get back to that.

Whispering Gums said...

Congratulations Brian on your 9th blogiversary. I must say that I had noticed that your posting had slowed down significantly in recent months, which helped me because my life has been been excessively demanding too (in a different way) over the last year, so keeping up with my favourite bloggers has been a difficult task. I really appreciate that you have managed to keep visiting me.

I'm sorry it took a while for me to get to this post - my brother (from Tasmania) was staying with us, and then my husband and I manage to go away from 5 to 12 January - while my brother visited my Dad.

Finally, I understand completely what you mean my the keyboard making a difference. I do a volunteer job (or did until COVID!) at my old workplace and the computer keyboards they give my little team are so clunky. They are not much fun to use at all, whereas a good keyboard is almost fun!

Anyhow, all the best for your 10th year of blogging, and I do hope you are keeping well.

Whispering Gums said...

PS I use a MacBook Pro for all my blogging and have for the whole life of my blog (though am on my third one now since I started.)

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks WG - It is never a rush to comment. Life really gets too busy. I wish that I had a little less to do.
I have been blogging in iMac desktop s from the beginning.

Happy reading and blogging.

Stefanie said...

I am late to the congratulations, but I send them to you anyway! Sorry to hear you have had to work so much but I am glad that things should be getting better. Hopefully you also got a new keyboard too! :)

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Stefanie - There is never a rush to comment. I am working a little less.

My new keyboard is also good!

Emma at Words And Peace / France Book Tours said...

I am late, but happy blogiversary, and to many more! So good to have you around, talking about great books

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Emma - There is never a rush to comment!

Ruth @ with freedom and books said...

I believe this is my first time reading your blog, though I've seen you around. We share the same blog age...9 years for me since January 1, 2012.

Anyway, I really enjoyed your post on Madame Bovary. I read MB back in 2012, and it has stayed with me since. I think it even made me blush! You remind me that I hope to read it again soon.



Brian Joseph said...

Thanks for stopping by Ruth and congratulations on 9 years yourself. Madam Bovary was such an interesting book.

the bookworm said...

Happy Belated 9th Blogiversary Brian! Your well written and interesting blog is one of my favorites.

I've not been posting as much either and took a hiatus from blogging for the same reason, I work very long hours at my computer from home still. I don't even want to look at my computer anymore at the end of the workday. That's good you will be working less now and have more free time.

Happy reading this week!

Chris Farnell Lawyer said...

Yay!! Cheers to more years of blogging!