Jen’s Book Nook

How’s everyone doing after that long Thanksgiving weekend? Think I’m beat tf up 😂 Almost the whole weekend I slept before 10pm, like what did I do? Maybe I was getting a cold…

Anyway, we’re in the last month of the year. Isn’t that crazy? I’ve definitely been looking at the long list of books I still need to review. And then, of course, the TRB. Ever growing. Everlasting. One day will just take me out when I least expect it 🙄 So I’d been thinking about how I’d enter 2026 with regards to my Bookstagram and signups. I’m on several teams already and like a few PRs that I really love. So I think I will stop with the extensive signups and stick to the teams/ PRs I’m good with and the books outside those I still have to review.

When I got into all this, I thought I could handle everything I took on. Very famous last words worthy. Not only myself, but my close bookish friends were also like “we only have our self to blame!” And that’s so true. I’ve had 2 big burnouts and just had to step back, regardless of what was owed that week. I just couldn’t read anything I was responsible for. It shouldn’t feel like work and I learned the hard way. I was raised to have good work ethics and hold myself accountable for what I did at any job I took on. Book reviewing should be fun and I know some people do do this as a means of earning some kind of income with brand sponsoring. Not sure if I could ever go that far with all this, but I get it. I also know I am not a young person. Youngish, maybe, by millennial standards. Needless to say, I feel as if this is the right move to go on.

Also, borrowing more from the library via Libby if I can’t get a book on KU is going to be another thing I set forth in 2026. I love owning my own so I can get to it whenever I can. But supporting doesn’t mean going broke so, if I can borrow it, I’ll do that. I have to since the cost of living is going up and that sucks. I won’t go into politics, but if you follow anything on the news, you’ll know it won’t be any cheaper come the new year. So we do what we must.

Am I going to stop buying books like special editions? Honestly, no 😝 Like the idea of owning pretty books is to look at them. To feel special that I own a pretty edition of a book. And then I can borrow the ebook because, down the road, I may want to sell them off because I need money back or don’t want. People collect all sorts of things, from shoes to figurines. Books are my drug of choice 🤷‍♀️

And yes, I failed in posting daily here just to have something. But, just like my Bookstagram, I won’t force myself. I was kind of appalled to see I hadn’t posted in almost a week, but that’s just how things worked out. I was more focused on my family and, quite frankly, the disconnect of social media. It felt good. Maybe that’s why I crashed so early over the holiday weekend 🤔

Moving forward, I do want to try and review books I own, books I borrow, and still keep up with the arcs I do want to stay on teams for. I am not the fastest reader, but if I can get to do what I love AND enjoy it, that’s what matters most.