Hello there, strangers! If you look out your window, there’s a good chance that pigs are flying high in the sky because I’m actually posting an update. I have my reasons – several of them – and before I slide back into a routine of book blogging, I want to give a bit of an update as to why I’ve been fairly MIA these past couple of months. I hope you’re all doing well and staying safe among your TBR stacks as this pandemic continues.
Where to begin? I’ve acquired a laundry list of life happenings and have been on auto pilot for so long that even in planning this post, I can’t help but feel scattered. I also haven’t written in a very long time, so let’s see if I remember what words are and how to do this – please bear with!
Family health “hiccups” continue, mostly for my dad with his CKD, and while I think there’s finally an end in sight, there have been never-ending obstacles that delay him crossing the finish line. We’d all like to move on to the next chapter as a family with health in tact, so send good vibes that it comes soon. I won’t go into too much detail here, but the stress of it all from everything he’s going through sure takes its mental and emotional toll on all of us as his support system.
Christmas and Covid didn’t ignore us either. The holiday season brought its usual hectic insanity as well as a few doses of Omicron which only compounded the chaos already happening as we wrapped up our year.
Two days into 2022, I aged a year. I’m one more year closer to 40. It was a laid back day and I look forward to what 37 brings.
The biggest change I was forced to address is my anemia. I hadn’t been feeling well on-and-off for a long time (around my birthday last year) and finally developed symptoms that prompted me to go to urgent care as well as my primary physician this past fall. Long story short, my asthma and allergies weren’t in control which was causing acid reflux, and my hemoglobin dropped low enough that my doctor urged me to see a hematologist ASAP. I was diagnosed with anemia back in 2011 but was never educated properly on the condition. I was also a terrible advocate for my own health and didn’t do as much research as I do now. From November up until about 2 weeks ago, I spent most of my time either in bed or on my couch. I’ve had very little energy to do much of anything except sleep. I’ve missed out on a lot – time catching up with friends and family, new writing projects, editing my novel, working on the blog, running errands, work, and other mundane, everyday tasks I took for granted. The guilt that has settled in at being a bad friend, daughter, sister, and even employee left me in a funk and added to my chronic level fatigue. Thankfully, I think I got my bloodwork results at the perfect time and didn’t need a transfusion, but along with other vitamins, supplements, and medications I was put on, I had to take a 5 week course of iron infusion therapy. I finished my last treatment today and I feel like I’m starting to bounce back from weeks of being too tired to pick my head up off the pillow. I meet with my hematologist in a few weeks to follow up and determine a course of action for the future so that my levels don’t drop so badly. Until then, I have to work on my insomnia and fatigue so that the fog can continue to lift. Fingers crossed!
All that being said, the time off from most (but not all) of my obligations was refreshing and it caused me to do a lot of thinking as to how I want to approach 2022. While I will be keeping my blog and my social media accounts, I’m going to handle them at my own pace. I’ve spent years trying to market my little corner of the web. I paid for advertising and sponsored ads, I spent time designing and formatting this space, I’ve spent countless hours researching enhanced content and optimizing engagement or ways to make the algorithm work for me and it’s become too time consuming. When I started my literary social accounts and this blog almost a decade ago, content wasn’t driven purely by algorithms. Book bloggers and readers were actually able to engage and create friendships and we marketed each other by sharing and re-blogging each others posts. Nowadays, various aesthetics and the algorithms drive everything which has caused a major disconnect in our community. Video content has taken over and there’s a rhyme and reason regarding what to post, how to post it, and what time of day to post in order to be seen. I’ve always posted because I wanted to and because I loved talking with other readers about our favorite stories, but my priorities have changed over the years and I don’t have the time or energy to market and advertise my space the way I did at the beginning. Rather than continue to jump through hoops at an attempt to spotlight my efforts (and the hours put into all accounts), I’m going to pump the brakes and work at my leisure the way I used to when this little blog was created. I’m so far behind on blog posts that I don’t even know where to begin with reviews. I don’t have the enthusiasm for existing social platforms, let alone newer ones (I’m looking at you, Tik Tok). I’ve suspended my Facebook page as well as the Facebook Book Club Group and Twitter account. However, you can still find me over on Instagram, Goodreads, Tumblr, Pinterest, Wattpad, and right here at E. Antoinette Reading – all links are on the home page.
I’m also currently not accepting review requests. I’ve been meaning to address this for awhile, but it slips my mind until I have to answer an e-mail or Instagram DM and decline a request. This is NOT personal. I accepted book review requests for a long time, but not only does my schedule currently not allow the time I’d like to dedicate to discover new authors upon request, but it’s also not fair to said authors to accept their request and not put my full attention into their story. I haven’t had a quick turn-around time on books I read for a long time and I don’t want to leave anyone hanging because I’m not getting a book or review posted in a timely manner to give authors their deserved exposure or promotion. Maybe one day that will change, but until further notice, please know that I appreciate you reaching out and thinking of me to review your work. As an aspiring author myself, I wish you all the best!
I might not be here all the time or churning out content on a weekly basis like I once did in years past, but I’m still here to read and love fantastic books with all of you. I’ve loved blogging for so long, but with the pressures of an ever-changing social scape, I lost the zest for it – but I promise I’ll find it again and continue posting bookish content and keep this little community going. I hope you’ve had a great holiday and send my best wishes for a Happy New Year! Thanks for sticking with me and being so understanding among the continued shenanigans. Until next time – Happy reading! xx
