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Tuesday, January 09, 2018
TTT: Distractions and Detractions
8:51 AM
I discovered all kinds of new book blogs last year thanks to Top Ten Tuesday—just one of the many reasons I love participating in this weekly meme so much. One of my finds was Reading is My SuperPower, written by the lovely Carrie. I love her twist on this week's TTT topic, so I'm going to steal it. Hopefully she doesn't mind 😬
Before I get to that, though, I want to give a shout out to the lovely ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish. They created TTT and have been hosting it for a looonnnggg time. They'll be passing the duties on to Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl starting next week. So, I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you to all of our hostesses. I appreciate your hard work in running this super fun meme.
This week's topic is Top Ten Books We Meant to Read in 2017 But Didn't Get To. I feel like I've already talked incessantly about what I want to read this year, so I'm going to channel my inner Carrie and go with this instead (thanks again, Carrie, for the fabulous idea):
Top Ten Excuses Reasons I Didn't Read As Many Books As I Wanted to Last Year
1. Words With Friends—It's embarrassing to admit, but this is definitely one of the top distractions that got in the way of my reading last year. I've never cared for video games, but it's tough for me to resist word games. If you play, hit me up—I'm sjwordnerd.
2. Word Streak (formerly Scramble With Friends)—This is Zynga's version of Boggle and it's actually more fun than WWF. Since you only get a limited number of free tokens to use for play, I can't waste endless time on it; thank goodness because otherwise I totally would! I'm sjwordnerd on Word Streak as well.
3. Family History—Much less embarrassing and a much more noble pursuit is genealogy. Like many LDS people, I'm obsessed with tracing my roots. It's fun and it's addicting. Because it's my church "calling" as well as my hobby, I spend lots of time indexing historical records, exploring my own family tree, and helping others do the same. If you're interested in family history, I highly recommend checking out familysearch.org. It's a free, user-friendly site that allows you to search millions of historical records and use them to build a collaborative family tree. Watch out, though, or you might find yourself becoming as obsessed with it as I am!
4. Housework—I live in a 5000 square foot home that I clean myself. 'Nuf said about me and my first-world problems.
5. Family—My husband and kids wouldn't recognize me if I didn't have a book in my hands. Occasionally, I do have to come back to Earth and pay them a *little* attention.
6. Lack of Speed Reading Skills—Every year I set the goal of reading 200 books. Every year I fail. I'm a fast reader, but I can't speed read unless I want to suck all the enjoyment out of the experience. No thanks.
7. Writing Reviews—I read books faster than I review them, so I'm always—always—behind on reviews. I review every book I read and I try to do so in a thoughtful manner, considering both what worked for me and what didn't. As a writer, I've always been a bleeder so composing a satisfactory review takes some time. Especially when you're still working on books you read back in July!
8. Book Blogger Relations—I love the book blogging community. I've been a part of it for a long time because I enjoy it so much. That being said, it takes time to visit blogs, make comments, participate in memes/community events, etc. It's fun but it definitely gets in the way of my reading—and that's okay.
9. Social Media—Scrolling through Facebook and Instagram eats up way too much of my time. I love keeping up with far-flung friends and family, but it's definitely a time suck.
10. Volunteering—I love to volunteer in my community and should probably do more of it. Still, I manage to put in time at my daughter's elementary school, at church, and with the FamilySearch Indexing program. Go, me!
Do any of these things get in the way of your reading? What other distractions take your attention away from the books? What books did you plan to read in 2017 that you just didn't get around to? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment and I'll gladly return the favor.
Happy TTT!
*Generic photos/graphics from Google Images. Family photo by Sidney Ulrich Photography.
Labels:New Year,Top Ten Tuesday
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Ok, I LOVE your post! Especially #3. I love looking back through my family history and finding new connections. I used to use MyHeritage but the free version is pretty limiting so I recently switched over to Family History and have found so many more ancestors! I get so excited everytime I uncover another generation in the past.
ReplyDeleteI've used MyHeritage, Ancestry, and others, but I always come back to FamilySearch. It has so many great tools and it's FREE. I know how you feel -- I'm thrilled each time I connect another person to my family tree. It's so exciting and fun!
DeleteOh what fun! I love your take on this topic-twist, Susan :) Thanks for the shoutout! And oh my goodness - I forgot to mention iphone games... they are my biggest distraction LOL
ReplyDeleteRight? Ironically enough, I play them on my Kindle -- an e-READER. Gah.
DeleteI love your take on this week’s topic! And we definitely share some of the same distractions! I don’t play Words with Friends but I watch more than my fair share of tv which definitely cuts into my reading time. I love genealogy too and love putting the people in historical context which adds to the research time. It’s definitely a hole I fall into periodically!
ReplyDeleteI can -- and have -- spent whole days working on my genealogy. Research is so fun, especially when it helps me understand my ancestors better. T.v. is something I've pretty much given up, except when I'm folding laundry. Other than that, I really don't watch much which definitely boosts my reading time.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
I had to take both of those games off of my phone!!! Way too distracting!
ReplyDeleteYeah, don't think I didn't notice you disappearing off WWF!
DeleteI actually read many more books this year than I have in previous years. Now I'm wondering what I should have been doing instead. Probably housework...
ReplyDeleteBwahahahaha! Me, too :) Housework NEVER ends.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
What a great take on this week!! Yes so many things take me away from reading the books I want. My main one is Netflix. Lovely picture of your family <3
ReplyDeleteI really don't watch tv/movies, but I used to. I think getting rid of live tv had a lot to do with it, although Netflix is definitely addicting in its own right.
DeleteThanks for coming by!
I think this is hilarious since you nearly read 200 books last year, lol. It still boggles my mind. But, I know we all march to the beat of a different drum, so you read a lot and I read a little (even though I feel like it's a lot, lol).
ReplyDeleteHa ha. That's true. But imagine how many more I could have read if I'd stayed away from word games and social media!
DeleteLove your twist on the topic! We share quite a few of the same distractions. I think games are probably my biggest issue though, lol.
ReplyDeleteI only play these two, but I play them a lot. Ha ha.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
Love this idea! Reviews take up so much time for me too because I want to be thoughtful and thorough, especially if it is a book I did not really enjoy, I want to be able to explain what did not work for me. Plus I am writing a book of my own now and yeah, it all takes so much time when all we want to do is READ!
ReplyDeleteExactly! I want to give each book I review a fair shake and that just takes time. I enjoy writing fiction, but that takes time, too! Plus, I'm such a bleeder/perfectionist that it takes me an hour to write a paragraph. Ugh.
DeleteGood luck with your novel. Thanks so much for coming by!
Great post idea!! I few of these tripped me up - especially getting behind on reviews! I also discovered The Bachlor this year - WHERE HAS THAT SHOW BEEN ALL MY LFIE!?! Really, I'm addicted. Totally going to check out that family tree site you suggested!
ReplyDeleteI'm always lost when people talk about current tv shows. I watch Netflix when I'm folding laundry and that's it.
DeleteFamilySearch is a great site! Enjoy.
I love this idea! I have many distractions too.
ReplyDeleteYep. We all do. I wish some of mine were more noble, but there ya go.
DeleteGames in general are pretty much doom for me! I keep switching between Pokémon, Sims and Animal Crossing. One is bound to have my attention once every while and then it lasts for weeks or months... Sometimes it's just so tempting to do that instead of read!
ReplyDeleteHousework: yes! Especially since my boyfriend often lacks the motivation to do things himself unless I'm pretty much breathing down his neck. Not to mention all the family dinners, parties and overall social activities.
Maybe we bookworms need our own cleaning service; solely for bookworms so we can read that bit more? I'd definitely be up for that. I think. :D
Nice twist to this week's TTT!
I know they're engineered to be addictive and I'm a little ashamed of myself for falling for it! If only they weren't so dang fun. Grr.
DeleteI should hire a housekeeper, but that would make me feel even lazier. Ha ha.
Thanks so much for coming by!
I know how time consuming and addicting games can be. In my case it's either strategy or a simulation game. I play obsessively for some weeks and lose track of everything else.
ReplyDeleteThe first book I read this year was about a forensic genealogist. You have a fascinating hobby.
Cool! Which book was it? I love genealogy in all its facets. It's totally fascinating to me.
DeleteThanks for commenting!
I LOVE what you did with this week's TTT! <3 Same with my family! They're super used to me always carrying a book around and are amazed when I don't. ;) Same with the speed reading as well--I'm actually a very slow reader compared to other book bloggers. I've only ever finished ONE book in a single sitting. Never happened again.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I hope these don't hinder you too much from your 200 goal this year! (Except for family and volunteering, of course!)
- Aimee @ Aimee, Always
Some of my *distractions* are definitely worth it :) I make a point to always put down my book when one of my children is talking to me and look them in the eyes so they know I'm listening. I don't want them to ever think what I'm reading is more important than what they're saying.
DeleteThanks for stopping by, Aimee!
It's so true that blogging and writing reviews can eat away at your reading time. It's a bit of a catch 22.
ReplyDeleteYep, definitely a catch 22. It's all about balance and I'm really bad at balance apparently.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
Yeah, blogging and housework and family... pesky things when I want to be reading, but I wouldn't really trade them for anything. (Yes, even the housework. I like having a house that I have to keep clean. I don't wan the alternative of not having a house to clean.)
ReplyDeleteExcellent point, Nicole!
DeleteWhat a creative spin on the theme for the week! I really enjoyed reading this, and I am sooo with you on #6 and #7. Writing reviews can be such a daunting process, sometimes.
ReplyDeleteIt really can. I enjoy writing reviews, but it takes me a long time.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
Those are all excellent reasons for not reading; each one is nourishing in it's own way. No guilt!
ReplyDeleteWords, Family History, Family, Blogging, Social Media, Volunteering ... tick, tick, tick. We all have so much in commong but I'm not surprised the two of us have sooooo much in common.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my TTT earlier.