Today, I’m headed to New York for book blogger’s Christmas: Book Expo America. I’m beyond excited to meet my fellow book bloggers, as well as publishers, authors, and others in the book business.

I’ll try to take careful notes and report back on everything I see. (I’m also trying to bring back only so many free books as I can carry… but we’ll see how well I do on that resolution.)

On my commute home recently, I saw a young man golfing in a public park.

When you gotta practice your swing, you gotta practice your swing. I just hope the people walking by knew when to duck.

“I no longer do for fun that which I do not enjoy.”

There are some things that are unavoidable. I need a job, at least at this point of my life; I need a place to live and nutritious meals and regular doctor’s visits.

But I have a tendency to overcommit my personal time, to view the things I’m choosing to do as duties rather than privileges.

Over the past few months, I’ve attended graduate writing classes, launched a freelance writing career, blogged sporadically, managed freelance editorial projects, and trained for ice skating. (Oh, and I had a full-time job and a loving relationship to nurture.)

I reached the point where all of the commitments I had on my free time—things that, individually, nourished me and brought me joy—were making me feel claustrophobic and unhappy. The time I spent with friends all but vanished, as my nights and weekends went up in smoke.

I’ve always known that I have workaholic tendencies. All through college I held jobs, up to three at a time. I really enjoy staying busy, particularly when it pays.

But I need to hold myself accountable to other needs as well—the need to have dinner with a friend spontaneously; the need to read a good book that’s not on The List; the need to watch silly TV with Jack, Tinker, and Kizmet.

When I overschedule my life, I turn the activities that bring me joy into work. And that only makes me unhappy.

So this summer, I’m making an effort—to stop trying so hard. No more freelance editing. No classes for a few months. Make the moments that are meant for fun, fun again. That way, I can enjoy all of the things that I do make time for.

So what does that have to do with my blog?

After thinking it over the past few months, I’ve decided to change the direction of this site. Don’t worry: I absolutely love writing about books, and my reviews and top-ten lists are not going anywhere.

But that’s not the only kind of writing I enjoy. As I experiment more and more with different kinds of freelance writing, I’d like to share those pieces with you. I want to write more about travel and food, and I’d also like to feature interviews of people I find interesting. I don’t know where this blog is going, but I sure am excited to feel like I’m growing as a writer.

I hope you have as much fun reading my pieces as I do writing them. But if you don’t… go do something else! After all, I no longer do for fun that which I do not enjoy. You shouldn’t either.

1. I have seen nearly every film made by the Coen brothers.
The ones I’ve seen:

• Blood Simple
• Raising Arizona
• Miller’s Crossing
• Barton Fink
• The Hudsucker Proxy
• Fargo
• The Big Lebowski
• O Brother, Where Art Thou?
• The Man Who Wasn’t There
• Intolerable Cruelty
• No Country for Old Men
• Burn After Reading
• True Grit

The ones I haven’t seen:

• The Ladykillers
• A Serious Man

2. Ethan Coen, one half of the duo responsible for these films, recently released a book of poems.
The Day the World Ends went on sale April 3, 2012. According to the publisher, who really ought to know, this collection of poems “offers humor and provides insight into an artist who has always pushed the boundaries of his craft. The Day the World Ends is a remarkable range of poems that are as funny, ribald, provocative, raw, and often touching as the brilliant films that have made the Coen brothers cult legends.”

3. April is National Poetry Month.
From the Academy of American Poets, who also ought to know: “Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets around the country band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events.”

4. I’m giving away one copy of Coen’s book in honor of National Poetry Month.
Just leave a comment on this entry and you’ll be entered to win! Sorry, this is for readers in the United States and Canada only. You have until midnight on May 20 to enter. (Why that day? Because I like even numbers–another fun fact–and I’ll be back from a vacation by then.)

5. I really need to go watch those final two movies now.
Otherwise, what will my claim to fame be? No one cares when you’re familiar with 13/15ths of a filmmaker’s oeuvre.

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot more writing and research than reading. I’ve got a list of books I’d promised to review already, and I feel terribly that I haven’t finished them yet. This weekend will change all that.

Today I’ll be finishing a few books I’m already in the middle of, like Girls Like Us by Rachel Lloyd and Losing Clementine by Ashley Ream. Both of these cover serious topics, which has made it difficult to fly through them, but they are both fascinating for completely different reasons.

Then I’m planning to get through several books on my Spring TBR List:

• Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
• Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty
• Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
• Butterfly’s Child by Angela Davis-Gardner

I’ve got to finish them in order to make room for more!

I’ll be updating my progress every few hours, so stay tuned.

D.C. ‘bronies’ feel the love and friendship of ‘My Little Pony’

Enjoy!

10. More Like Her by Liza Palmer
From the cover:

Sometimes the golden dream you fervently wish for turns out to be not at all what it seems–like Emma Dunham’s enviable suburban postcard life, which is about to be brutally cut short by a perfect husband turned killer. And in the shocking aftermath, three devastated friends, Frances, Lisa, and Jill, are going to have to come to terms with their own secrets . . . and somehow learn to move forward after their dream is exposed as a lie.

I’ve been wanting to read more female authors, and the premise of this book is fascinating. It sounds rather different from the standard chick-lit novel (if such a standard exists).

9. Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
The first book in C. S. Lewis’s acclaimed Space Trilogy, Out of the Silent Planet begins the adventures of Dr. Ransom, who is abducted via spaceship to the red planet of Malacandra. Out of the Silent Planet is not my typical kind of book, but I have a strange fascination with C.S. Lewis. Also, my brother received this trilogy for Christmas as a kid, and he still counts them among his favorite books.

8. Butterfly’s Child by Angela Davis-Gardner
From the cover:

When three-year-old Benji is plucked from the security of his home in Nagasaki to live with his American father, Lt. Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, and stepmother, Kate, on their farm in Illinois, the family conceals Benji’s true identity as a child born from a liaison between an officer and a geisha—and instead tells everyone that he is an orphan. When the truth surfaces, it will splinter this family’s fragile dynamic and send Benji on the journey of a lifetime from Illinois to the Japanese settlements in Denver and San Francisco, then across the ocean to Nagasaki, where he will uncover the truth about his mother’s tragic death.

Also, this book features a blurb from Jennifer Egan. ‘Nuff said.

7. Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Kamila Sidiqi’s life changed drastically when the Taliban seized control of the city of Kabul. Kamila, a teacher, was banned from school and confined to her home, but in the face of despair, she created a thriving dressmaking business. This is a true story of one extraordinary woman in Afghanistan who proves that Afghan women are not victims; they are the backbone and the heart of their nation.

6. Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty
From the cover:

After the death of Laura’s nine-year-old daughter, Betty, is ruled an accident in a hit-and-run, Laura decides to take revenge into her own hands, determined to track down the man responsible. All the while, her inner turmoil is reopening the old wounds of her passionate love affair with Betty’s father, David, and his abandonment of the family for another woman.

This book was a finalist for my beloved Orange Prize; need I say more?

5. Maui Revealed by Andrew Doughty
In case you missed it, I’ll be heading to Maui in a few short months. When I started doing research on where to go and what to see, this book was mentioned again and again. One Maui resident said that locals are authorized to shoot the author on sight for giving away all their secrets; sounds like a great guidebook to me! (Andrew Doughty is presumably of no relation to Louise Doughty, mentioned above; but it would be interesting if he were!)

4. Red Nails, Black Skates: Gender, Cash, and Pleasure on and Off the Ice by Erica Rand
Erica Rand was a forty-something art history professor when she bought a pair of figure skates to vary her workout routine. Within a few years, she was immersed in the world of adult figure skating. Rand, a queer femme, describes her mixed feelings about participating in a sport with heterosexual storylines and rigid standards about gender appropriate costumes and moves. Though this book is more academic than my usual read, I’m a huge fan of figure skating and can’t wait to read about Rand’s experiences and insight.

3. Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton
“No one is above suspicion when a cozy scenario of suburban family accord morphs into a full-throttle psychological thriller, ring-fenced by a mother’s love,” writes Kirkus Reviews. Lupton is the author of the New York Times bestseller Sister, and I’ve heard wonderful things about this book, now in paperback.

2. Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
I recently wrapped up the first Maisie Dobbs book by Jacqueline Winspear, and I loved it. Maisie is a brilliant but empathetic (and sympathetic) character, and I can’t wait to read the next books in the series, starting with Birds of a Feather.

1. Faces of the Gone by Brad Parks
I just discovered local author Brad Parks last night, and then I found out that he will soon be visiting some of my favorite local bookshops, including One More Page and Novel Books! I’ve got to make up for lost time by reading this series ASAP.

What about you–what are reading this lovely spring?

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish. Each Tuesday, bloggers create top ten lists about reading, writing, blogging, and more!

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Va. man hooked on guppy breeding

I’d like to thank Bill Carwile and Stan Shubel for their patience and willingness to talk to me. Guppy breeders are some of the most polite and generous guys I’ve ever met! And I’d like to thank the guppies–keep swimming!