Zombie Bites! Um, I mean Book Bites is back from the dead...

Book Bites is BACK!

For good this time. I have bought a new laptop, and while I am still spending a lot of time working, now I have a computer I'll be able to blog again.  I also have some giveaways planned for the new year. Some are reviewed books, while others were prizes and gifts that just didn't gel with my preferences. I'll organise those later (I still need to sort through my collection), but they will probably be limited to Australian entries because OS postage is expensive and any postage would have to come out of my closely guarded book buying budget ;-p

So, why have I returned? Well, because I missed you, and I missed blogging! A better question is why was I away? The answer to that is multi-layered. To start with, I didn't have access to a reliable computer. My old desktop died a horrible death, and it took me over a year to be able to afford to fix it. And when I did get it fixed, the WiFi no longer worked reliably. So, while I technically had a computer, I wasn't able to use it for the internet. It was basically a glorified CD player... I do have a great phone, but I am really particular with how blog posts appear and I was never really happy with the Blogger App for Android. By 'particular', I mean, where in the text does the image sit as opposed to the text it is associated with? Does the image overlap the second column? How does the code of the post look and does it work properly? Are the paragraphs too long (I have a habit or rambling) and are there any typos? I usually preview and proofread a few times before I let a post go live, and then I proofread it again. I couldn't do that satisfactorily with the Blogger app, because when I went to the post, it was parsed for the mobile version of the website. I am sure a normal person would have just streamlined their processes and kept posting, however I am a perfectionist and hated that lack of control. I bought a new laptop on Friday for blogging, tweeting, writing, and all the things that have been difficult in the past year and a half (exciting!!). I am not sure if I will return to blogging at Book Bites every few days, but I do plan to blog at least once a week, and I am committing myself to reviewing books frequently.

High Tea with Sarah Wendell from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.
Photo courtesy of Bookthingo.com.au

While I have been away I have guest posted at a few different blogs, I have met Charlaine Harris (and gushed over her Harper series), I've had tea with Sarah Wendell from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books at an event organised by Book Thingo (and been able to meet Sarah Mayberry, one of my favourite authors, both as a romance author, and Australian author; I kept my gushing to a minimum). I then had Sarah Wendell turn up to the paranormal book club I attend and we decided we want to adopt her (she held her own with the smut talk, the geek culture and the social contexts of themes in our books). I have also attended some less ground-shattering (yet interesting) events, met some fabulous people, and done a little networking. Fun times have been had by all! I just wish I had been able to share them at Book Bites. I have, however, shared the big joys and the small occurrences at the Book Bites Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/BookBites So if you don't already follow the Facebook page, it may be worth your while to do so! There is also a lot of book spam  and competions shared there if that is of interest to you.

As to my personal life in the last year and a half, I've quit my old job, been unemployed, found a new job, moved into a new house with close friends, been to Queensland a few billion times, and... read a LOT of books! I also broke my unofficial record. Or, at least, I think I did. In January of this year, I read 70 books! I don't think I have ever read that many books in one month before (I think it was 72 or 73, but 70 seems like a nice round number). I was unemployed at the time and within walking distance of my local library however, so that number of books was not read under normal circumstances. For the last six months or so, though, I have been working, and living with friends (with Game of Throne marathons and the like), so I usually do not read more than 10 books a week now. Lately it has just been one or two because I have been spending my commuting time writing rather than reading. My life seems to revolve around work, friends, family (I am now an auntie, and JM Barrie was right - a fairy is born every time that baby laughs!), reading, writing, and the Lady Lair and my awesome friends/housemates.

I am on holiday at the moment (I am back in Queensland for my friend's wedding), however, as of next week, I hope to have some sort of schedule up and running for Book Bites again. I am currently taking part in Nanowrimo, so posts may be light on the ground until the end of November.