You achieved your first Cannonball in CBR3 and came back to Cannonball again for CBR10 (Congrats!). What happened in the lost years in between? Were you still reading and writing?
I signed up for CBR3 while riding on the high of having sent my kid off to kindergarten. Having free “me” time during the day, I decided to take the plunge. It was HARD. I let the reviews pile up and it was a struggle to get it completed. I thought about joining again eventually and when I realized the 10th anniversary was coming up, I just decided to go for it. I was reading all along, but not writing any reviews. In between CBRs, I was just trying to raise a decent and empathetic human being, I guess. It’s weird to me that my kid was in kindergarten during my first CBR and is in 8th grade this go around. Time flies!
How do you decide what’s next to read on your TBR list?
CBR Bingo was the only time that I really made a conscious decision on what to read next. Generally, it’s just chipping away at my stack of library books.
Which do you find easier to write, the 5 star or 1 star reviews?
1 star. No contest. Ranting is easier than raving for me. It’s easy to fan girl about a 5 star, but often not as easy to write about it. If hours of my life have been robbed by reading a 1 star, I have no problem getting that review done.
What three books would you take with you if you were about to be stranded on an island?
This is always so hard. There are TOO MANY books. I think that I would choose three very different books to appeal to whatever mood I am in as I am contemplating my mortality and dying of thirst.
1. A weighty Dickens, probably Little Dorrit.
2. An Austen for levity, Pride and Prejudice.
3. Outlander to transport my mind away from my dilemma.
When reality is too scary and depressing, what’s your comfort genre?
Tricky. I guess books that transport me to a different time or world. There is comfort in escape. At the same time, I think that even challenging books that hit closer to what is scary and depressing offer a kind of comfort as well. Recognizing your fears and concerns in a book can be cathartic.
Please tell us all about your love affair with Chewbacca (I am very intrigued by your profile picture).
What happens at Disney World, stays at Disney World. I will say that Chewey is an excellent hugger. Let’s leave it at that.
Anything else you’d like to share with the class?
For those CBR lurkers that are on the fence about signing up for next year, take the plunge. It really is a great community and no one is AT ALL judgy about what you write or how you express yourself.
Find Leedock’s reviews (and her Chewbacca profile pic) on her author page.
OH that Chewbacca pic just brought a bit of joy to my soul!
And I agree, I love CBR <3
That last point you made is so true! I’m still kicking myself for waiting so long out of anxiety over posting reviews. Nothing but positive experiences here.
Great desert island choices, too. I’ll have to make Little Dorrit my next Dickens.
I am with you on the scathing reviews, so easy to write, so cathartic.
Yes, it’s usually much easier to be angry and/or disappointed than really really excited about a book. My best reviews (certainly the ones that get the most likes on Goodreads from random strangers) are my really vitriolic ones.
Chewey is a gentle-Wookie so they aren’t telling either! :)