Why I've Been Quiet

Hey guys,

Just wanted to explain a couple of things about my recent quietness online. (Relatively, that is. Yes, I know I still tweet more than 99% of people, but I don't think I've tweeted 50 times before breakfast for about two weeks, which is near-silent for me.)

I still really enjoy blogging when I do it, love talking to so many awesome people, and am thrilled to have got to know so many of you offline. (Thanks to everyone who came to #drinkYA last night, by the way!)

That said, I've been going through a massive reading slump recently which has really knocked me for six somewhat. I don't tend to finish books I'm not enjoying and, for whatever reason, I've given up on well over half of my reads over the last six weeks, which is really rare as I'm normally quite good at picking stuff out I'm fairly sure I'll like.

In addition, offline life has become fairly stressful. I've got more stuff to do at work this year than last year and, while I really enjoy my job, the start of a new term is always challenging.

Also, I'm trying to sell a flat I part-own with a housing trust. Part-ownership of this flat was fairly clearly the stupidest thing I've done in nearly 33 years of my life, and seeing them tweet asking people if money worries are causing them sleep problems makes me want to laugh and/or cry. (I won't bore you with the details, but basically I asked them in January if I could buy the rest of the property so I could rent it out; they told me they may consider selling their share so someone could own 100% of the property then when I confirmed I'd like to do this took until June to let me know that their rules wouldn't let them do this. Apparently information hadn't been to hand in January and it had taken them over four months to find it!)

I may be around more in the next few weeks - hopefully at least - but wanted to reassure people that everything was okay, apart from my general annoyance at the housing trust's ineptitude. Also, in between all the not-so-good stuff, there are a bunch of books I've read recently that I really want to do full reviews for but just can't find the energy, so brief thoughts coming later today, with luck.