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I agree with Melissa Wiley's comment about books reviews. It's more fun to discuss a book you're reading than one you've already read.

About my blog's origins, in the beginning, I started it to connect with other writers and book lovers like myself. Over time, it began to feel more like homework and although I gained a community I wasn't happy.

Now, I'm writing for my readers and myself. I lost a few followers along the way, but I'm okay with this. Blogging has become fun again.

Christine, thanks for coming by and commenting! It's great to hear others say they've reconnected with the enjoyment of blogging.

I do think I need to seriously think about what it is that I want to do in writing for myself and readers--what I can offer, I suppose, that is different and unique. Not in a marketing sense, but in more of a personal way.

I started my blog (almost nine years ago now!) because I thought it sounded like a fun idea. I wasn't terribly serious about it. I was thinking that I could write short pieces about the types of things I might not seek to publish anywhere, but I had no expectation that anyone would read them. I approached blogging like a daily writing assignment, and I enjoyed it. It was a HUGE surprise to me when people started reading, and then I got connected with the Kidlitosphere through Jen Robinson, who emailed me out of the blue one day, and I learned that there were other people who were blogging about children's books (which I was doing along with topics like What I Had for Lunch) and found some great community there. Any time I ever thought about blogging as anything besides fun, it really stressed me out.

I've been taking a blog break the last couple months, partly because I started asking myself a lot of the WHY questions. I decided that I wanted to focus some energy on writing longer things for a while and also reading more and doing stuff out in life. I think I'll circle back around to blogging, but I imagine I might approach it in a new way. TBD.

I find that one of my biggest struggles is being realistic about what I can accomplish and about letting go of what I can't do so I can enjoy what I am doing. It's a gift to have so many interests and options, I know, but sometimes I have a difficult time keeping that perspective. If you figure out any tricks for that, let me know.

I don't remember emailing you, Adrienne, but I do remember that yours was one of the very first blogs I read. And Finding Wonderland, too, for that matter, and Original Content.

Anyway, what motivated me at the beginning, as this person with no kids who wasn't a children's book writer or anything, was this passion that I have for encouraging kids to love books. Not sure WHY I feel so strongly about that (besides the obvious wanting other people to share in the joy that I got from books, and the opportunities that came from being a strong reader). But the blog was an effort to "do something" instead of just thinking that it was important.

And I guess these days, I find I'm more motivated to skim other blog posts and newsletters to find the good stuff that helps with that (growing bookworms) than I am to write reviews of individual books. But a bunch of Twitter and Facebook links doesn't really make for an exciting blog...

I need to get back to writing book reviews, but it is starting to feel like an unpaid job (I mean, I appreciate the books, but they don't pay the rent). And the reviews only help indirectly with the goal of helping to grow bookworms. So I'm at a little bit of a standstill. I've been reading mostly adult books lately, because I don't feel guilty about not reviewing them.

Ah, Sarah, we should get together. Sorry for the long comment!

Thanks for the heads up!

Thanks for the shout out, guys!

Ooh, SOOOO excited about this one. You know I'll be requesting a review copy.

Reading this brought to mind a random memory of when we visited China (jeez, in 2003 already) and were brought by a park in Shanghai that used to have a sign reading "No dogs or Chinese allowed." So, yeah, some resentment of foreign influence...

Love me some Gene Yang. This is going on my list!

Your new cover is beautiful!

Thank you!! :)

Great stuff!!!

Such a fantastic group of people...

I really enjoyed meeting you, Sarah! And am moving your book to the top of my TBR pile. You've nailed some reasons as to why KidLitCon is so fantastic.

Sarah, I concur with many of the bullet-points in this post, but you were (and are) JUST as cool as Justina Chen, Brent Hartinger, Sara Ryan, and Lee Wind. I love it that Lee Wind exclaimed in delight when he found out you were aquafortis. I am glad that Anne had a sneak attack book plug for you, too. What are friends for?

I look forward to seeing you in Seattle, again! Let me know what you think of the bacon jam.

It was SUCH a pleasure to meet you, Sarah!

Every time I see your book in my library's teen collection, I smile. But I don't see it often, because it's practically always checked out. So cool to meet the person behind the book!

Hope to see you again at a future KidLitCon or other conference. :)

Sondy and Allison, it was great meeting you, too, and maybe I'll see you at next year's Kidlitcon if I can make it. (And the news about my book being checked out of the library is always fab to hear!!)

Farida, the bacon jam is as yummy as I remembered. I still need to test it out on Rob, though!

This is different than a reading, but last month, I had just one baby and his mom show up to one of my baby storytimes, which was really pretty awkward. How it's supposed to work is that we do fifteen minutes of songs and rhymes where all the adults sing and chant together--which makes a big impression on the younger-than-18-month crowd--and then we play. This all falls pretty flat when there's just one mom and one baby. Also the mom was a relatively new immigrant who does not have a great grasp of English and had never been to storytime before. I think she thought I was crazy. And not in the good way, either.

Oh, yikes, Adrienne! That had to be awful. I bet the baby still enjoyed it, though. :)

What a cool idea! We have lamp posts outside the library windows and I have taken some shots that are very Narnia. One of the things I will miss from this job. I love Gaiman's post. Thanks for sharing your dream!

After reading your post and then Neil Gaiman's, I truly hope you get a lamp post. It looks like such fun to have one, cold but fun.

I wanted to live in a tree house a la The Swiss Family Robinson. Unfortunately, I live in a 2-story condo instead, but perhaps one day! Keep the dream alive!

I love this post. It has inspired me to start reclaiming some of the things I always wanted and seeing if I might make them real. It is, unfortunately, too late to install a secret passageway or hidden chamber in my house, but were it not, I would do it. I always wanted one.

And, like Carin S., I wanted to live in a Swiss Family Robinson tree house. An elegant one, of course.

OOH! Swiss Family Robinson!!

I also wanted to ride the ostrich they had in the movie.

...it's probably too late for that, too.

Definitely, guys. Keep dreaming. Thanks for sharing your whimsy with me.

Speaking of Swiss Family Robinson (and other stuff), did you see that crazy hotel that Leila posted about? They have Swiss Family rooms and Twilight-themed rooms.

Not sure what I think of that. I DO remember being sad when they took out the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse at Disneyland, even if it was ancient and cruddy by the time I was a kid. :)

Oh, I remember the Swiss Family Treehouse in Disney World! I loved it (and I'm so old that it was new when I walked in it!!).

As soon as I saw that post at Neil Gaiman's I knew I had to have a lamp post. It will happen - it's totally in my 5 year plan.

I would love to have a lamp-post, too, a proper one. The house does have a door into another universe, though. It's on the back of our house in the attic space (such as it is) in lieu of a window. No one has ever traveled through it.... no one that we know.

P.S. By "a proper one," I mean not the one in our alley.

Just filled out the survey even though I'm not going.

Thanks, Josi! All feedback is welcome, even if you aren't going to make it this year. :)

I had a great time at ALA, too, and loved signing at the Flux booth. I did take a few photos, so if you email me privately at [email protected] I can share some with you. Your book looks great! Kicking myself that I missed your signing and didn't get a copy. Great to meet you!

I so need to purge all my books too. They're taking over the house!!!

I am one of those people who has notebooks in which she writes quotes from various things. It's one of the ways I indulge my inner librarian.

Oh, that first line. I am wracking my brain for one right now. For me, that is my starting buzzer. Once the first line comes out, I am off and running. Until then, no matter what is running around my head, there is no clear vision of the story. Weird, huh?

Adrienne: I used to do that--put favorite book and song quotes in a notebook. Haven't in a long time, but maybe I should start again!

Kathy: Having a good first line can really provide momentum. I can relate! Sadly, sometimes what I think is the first line ends up NOT being the first line in later drafts...

Thanks for the link to my blog, and thanks for the link to the new blog. Will go over and check it out.

Great links. Thank you for sharing them. As always never disappointed by what I find right here.