My brain and I love to read- but sometimes it can't let go....

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I *love* reading, and so does my brain. 'Book crazy' is scarily close to a good description at times...

Yes, I love reading in that crazy zombie/daydreaming/psych-eval needing half-awake/half-in the world of the book kind of reality- and I like it that way. Sometimes, however, this leads to 'reading'  because despite having physically put the book down, my mind is still 'reading' the story.

By 'reading', you'll note that I'm referring to the way my brain cannot process the fact that the book is gone and so it makes up it's own continuation of the plot as a kind of soothing balm to cover this strange mental 'wound' caused by the sudden removal of a world that it was kind of into. Sometimes this can last five seconds. Sometimes, this leads to me writing fanfiction. Sometimes it hovers in the background until I can pick up the book again and finish it.

I've used this as a measure before, to evaluate a good writer/author/novel/series. The authors that have sent me deepest down the rabbit hole have often become favorites, and gone on to sell thousands (or more!) copies. Conversely, when I hear that someone 'can't put a book down', I have been known to ask if they have thought about the plot once they have been forced to put the book down- if yes, then I'm much more likely to take the recommendation seriously.

I love my mini-escapes into fictional worlds, and that books can give us this opportunity to expand the imagination. I also like the perspectives this can force us to consider, as we relate more closely to characters and gain deeper understanding of their motives, and within this, our own lives. Perhaps the brain is the key link between books and movies; providing a middle ground or personal cinema service that a good book can work with in order to motivate further consideration and visualization, and an even deeper 'reading' and learning experience. All I know is, my brain can take a good story and run with it- as far as I need us to go.

Social Media Adventures... I have officially dipped my toes in the deep end of the pool...

So, no updates for a while- and you can blame twitter, tumblr and facebook for that!

I have been working hard recently on coming out of my luddite shell, and embracing technology. It's so important that I dedicated whole evenings to it! Between the Publishing Industry's Digital Evolution/Revolution, and my own interests in networking, keeping up with the times, and staying connected with fabulous online communities, I thoroughly believe taking time to build a good online presence is something everyone should do.

I've really enjoyed it, and am quietly proud of my small Twitter following, and that I've been working on building followers for our Society of Young Publisher's Facebook group. I've very much enjoyed looking at and sharing in the relaxed social atmosphere of Tumblr, and all the great gifs and links that are passed around. I now think that I really truly am starting to understand and embrace the reason that these sites are called social media, as I've made some great friends who have similar interests and send me all the best articles, links and cat pictures out there...

My next goal is to post regularly here, and keep everything ticking over. Life, as always, for everyone, is busy. However, a short post from time to time, on issues that really interest me, will keep the creativity flowing and encourage me to write other things that I'm interested in. Ideally, I'd like to also start regularly reviewing books and films on here, and maybe start up a private writing project that might one day actually be published!

There have also been some important lessons- Tumblr is mainly for pictures, it seems, and I can't get the hang of Pinterest at all- ironically, I seem to have no 'pinterest' in it despite having friends/colleagues who swear by it. I've also learned that it's increasingly important to pay attention to privacy settings, and to control what is shared where/when. Personally I've also decided that it is useful to try to clearly separate out your 'work' persona and your personal life online, so that accidental crossovers are minimal/not an issue when or if they occur.

So wish me luck, and I send you all my best with your own social media endeavours! Please do share tips/tricks/suggestions in the comments if you have any :)