2 R’s and T: Reading, ‘Riting, and Time (and not enough of any of them!) - Guest Post by Florinda from 3 R's

I was on a pretty good streak for a while. By the middle of July, I had posted 29 book reviews this year. Compared to some other book bloggers, I'm an utter slacker - but compared to myself in 2008, when I only reviewed 35 books for the entire year, I was feeling pretty good. And then I went for close to three weeks without even finishing a book. Can't review them if you don't get them read, can you? (Wait, that's not completely true; I did finish Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which I re-read after seeing the movie, but since it was a repeat, it's the rare book that won't be reviewed on the blog.)

There were some other things going on at that time, though, to be fair. I went to a conference, and when I came back, there was a lot to process - and to write about - which didn't have much to do with books. I hadn't brought books with me on my trip, but I did bring my new Kindle - it travels much more easily! But I didn't finish the book I started on the Kindle before I got home, and when I came home, there were already two books in progress waiting for me, and a third that I needed to start (and finish!) for an upcoming blog-tour post. All of this has just reinforced for me why I really do better when I read just one book at a time. I feel less pressure when I only have one book unfinished, as opposed to three.

I can't blame everything on the travel, though, because there's still the same Catch-22 I've experienced ever since I got into this almost two and a half years ago - writing about reading books takes time away from actually reading books, but if you're not reading the books, you can't write about them! And I write about other things besides books, too - someone recently described me as a "hybrid" blogger. (Does that make my blog a Prius?)

I hadn't thought in those terms before, but it fits. Book-related content is a big component of what's on my blog, but there are also posts about travel, popular culture, current events and issues, stuff my family does, and even stuff that other bloggers do. That reminds me that another reason that I have less time for books is that I read a lot of blogs - maybe not all of every post, every day, but the number I subscribe to is so large I'm embarrassed to tell you. For me, reading other blogs - book blogs, personal blogs, entertainment blogs, news blogs, just-for-fun blogs - is as big a part of being a blogger as writing my own posts is. They amuse, provoke, and inspire me. And sometimes, they keep me from hitting the books.

I do my best reading, and my most productive writing, when I have big chunks of time for it. Since I work full-time in a job that has nothing to do with either books or blogging and, for some reason, my family actually does want to have me around (and paying attention to them!) every now and then, I don't get those time chunks as often as I'd like. I suspect many of us could say that, though, so we all learn to seize our moments when we can. I read every morning at breakfast and every night in bed, and I always have a book (and/or my newly-acquired Kindle) with me so I can sneak in some pages whenever the opportunity comes along.

My husband likes to talk about what he'd do if he won the lottery; I already know what would be at the top of my list. Money would free me up from other responsibilities, and buy me time; time for the many books to be started - and finished - and written about! But assuming that doesn't happen, I've just got to get myself back on that reading-and-reviewing streak some other way. I liked it there.

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Many thanks to Florinda for visiting Musings of a Bookish Kitty. Be sure and drop visit Florinda at The 3 R's: Reading, 'Riting, and Randomness. If you don't already follow her blog regularly, you should! You can also find Florinda at the Los Angeles Moms Blog.