Hurray! Today marks the end of Bout of Books 15, and, despite my lack of updates these past few days, it was a rousing personal success. I read all four published books of the Keeper of the Lost Cities series—devoured, more like—and finished listening to the audiobook of Ready, Player One. Five books in one week? Not too shabby!

Using the hardcover stats, that comes to 2,768 pages read. *pats self on back*

So, I had a lovely flurry of reading and connecting with other Bout-of-Bookers on Twitter, but the rest of my life fell away a bit. It’s not surprising; when I get caught up in stories, I can’t stop until I gobble up all there is to uncover. I was doing really well with listening to Ready, Player One only at bedtime, until the rising action before the climax hit. Then, I spent all day Saturday sitting on the couch and listening to it, absorbed in every tense phrase and action. Since audiobooks are best listened to WHILE doing something else, this was not the best use of my time. But I was hooked, and therefore had to give its conclusion my full attention.

Keeper of the Lost Cities, I was done in from the start. If there were fifty books in the series, I would be in my reading cocoon until April. This is just how I work when I get really into something, so c’est la vie! I can’t wait for the fifth book to come out (an entire, painful year from now, since the fourth just published), but life will return to normal between now and then.

It’s time to get back to writing, which has definitely fallen away this past week. I have my own stories to tell. Future readers will hopefully devour mine with the same fervor that I do others. One can dream!

Reading is part of my job as a writer, though, and Bout of Books was a wonderful event to kickstart my new-year goal of incorporating reading more into my daily life. I LOVE reading, and before I was heavily focused on writing my novel, you couldn’t find me without a book if not in my hand then at least on my person. I’ve been too all-or-nothing about writing lately, and I need to remember that reading is essential to my development as a writer … and keeping my sanity as a person.

Here’s to a 2016 full of books!

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