It has been quite a while since I did an update, the last one was before the summer really kicked off in June! So this is a well overdue post… The post was about the books I was planning to read while I was having a blog tour break. I didn’t read that many from the lists I had because I kept buying new books and reading them instead… no stock rotation going on there haha.
I managed to read some of the books in the picture above, and then quite a few on my kindle. In total over July, August and first half of September I managed a total of 46 books. A few of these were some overdue from NetGalley, other were for pre-agreed to Blog Tours.
So by the end of the summer holidays, I was shattered, working in a tourist-based industry during the crazy months is hard and also good fun. I had worked there for 12 years and it was with a heavy heart that I made the decision to leave. I was amazed at the leaving presents I was given by the owners and my colleagues. A fabulous leaving do followed with laughs, memories and some alcohol left me feeling less than bright eyed the following morning… definitely worth it 🙂
The end of September was when I began my new job, with a complete change of direction, lots of coursework to get me up to speed and a lot to learn. In the New Year, I will begin a course with them that will mean working toward a diploma. And if one course wasn’t enough…
The beginning of this month (October) saw me start the 2nd year of my History Degree with the Open University. I am so glad I am doing this on a part-time basis as I don’t think I would have coped otherwise.
So as I move forward I have quite a lot going on in my brain, a new job with loads to remember and courses as well, continuing my History degree, blogging, reading and having time for myself, I am finding I feel a little frazzled and occasionally discombobulated (I love this word). My husband keeps telling me “to quieten my brain down”, he actually says some sensible things some of the time :). I find that some days I just do not have the time to share or comment on Social Media. I know this is something a lot of Book Bloggers deal with all the time and it is all about finding a balance, something I am still trying to do 🙂 It is nice some days to take the odd break from Social Media, and occasionally, if I don’t have a post to share I have what I call “A Quiet Day”… something I will be doing this weekend and try to get into the garden to have a tidy up, depending on the notorious British weather of course.
Blog Tours are something that I enjoy doing and being part of and I found myself doing more and more of them. The break I had over the summer months was something I also enjoyed, going through my own books, reading a few from my TBR to stop it from toppling over and burying me…
If you are still here and reading at this point… I’m impressed and also wondering why you haven’t got better things to do 🙂
Anyway, I have gradually started to reduce the Blog Tour commitments I am making. This brings up another thing that I know other Book Bloggers go through and that is over-committing. In life, I never know what is around the corner so I am being a little cautious over the next few months as I know I am going to be a little busy.
It is still, just, October, Christmas and New Year are just around the corner, the clocks are due to change on Sunday. Makes you wonder where does the time go…
Some valuable things have I have realised over the past few months…
- I can’t do everything and still have time to read so prioritise
- It is okay to have “Quiet Days” and its sometimes necessary
- I am only 10 books away from my Goodreads Target for the year of 200…
- I am never, ever, ever in a million years (this may be a slight exaggeration) going to read all the books I have bought but I will keep buying more 🙂
- I like using “…” in my posts… 🙂
Right then, I am going to leave it at that and say thank you for taking the time to read my post. I wish you a wonderful day xxx

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
What a beautiful, heartfelt post, Yvonne. I know so many of us can relate to what you said. Tomorrow is going to be a quiet day for me, and I desperately need one. Congrats on all those books read, on starting your new job and working on your history courses, and inching closer to completing your reading challenge. Sending you so many best wishes in the coming months as you continue your courses. I love that you are studying history (I would have loved to have studied that even more). ♥️
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Thank you Jennifer. I did hope that people would relate to what I was saying. We all have busy lives and trying to fit everything in is difficult at times xx
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Love the post! I also was taking a bit of a blog tour break to read some of my own books!
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Thank you Holly, happy reading lovely xx
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OMG Yvonne how do you find time to sleep! Good luck with the new job, the courses and everything! I hope you find time for some ‘me time’ too x
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Thank you Karen 😘 what is this sleep thing I keep hearing about 😂😂
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I can relate to most of what you say….and I don’t work! I don’t know how you do it all…but the best of luck with your new job, course work and degree…yikes! 😲
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Thank you Cathy 😘
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Thanks for the update. It sounds like you got quite a lot of new things going on, I hope you enjoy them all!
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Thank you Nicki, I am enjoying them all so far 😁
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I love this post, it has so much heart. I wish you well with your new adventures Yvonne. Thank you for letting us have a little glimpse into your world. Much love, Kelly x
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Thank you Kelly 😘
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Balances hard! And I agree we all need a quiet day here and there! Best of luck with your new job!
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Thank you Berit 😘
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Congratulations on your new job and good luck with all your studies and the reading and the blogging and….so on and so on. Lovely post, Yvonne.
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Thank you Nicola 😘
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Firstly, I love the work ‘discombobulated’ too! And secondly, wow, you have a busy schedule! It’s seems a few of us bloggers are reevaluating at the moment, which is not a bad thing. I find that I’m sharing less and I’m okay with it. I think as long as you engage/comment/share when you can, there’s no need to stress. I’d much rather you read 1 out of 6 of my posts, maybe comment, than share all 6 without reading one 🙂
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Thank you Janel, i hadn’t realised how busy I had become, and how quickly it had happened 😕😀
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