Welcome to 2017. Wow, it feels weird writing that, doesn’t it? I can’t believe it’s the New Year already!
For me, 2016 was a really tough year. Both of my kids have chronic medical conditions, and, for my older son, things got much, much worse. Thankfully, he is on the mend now, but I spent a lot of time in hospital waiting rooms reading books. Books were a lifesaver for me as they would allow me to escape the stress and worry that comes with having a child with a serious medical condition, especially when there isn’t much you can do to ease their pain. Thankfully, he is on the mend now.
For the first time, I joined the PopSugar Reading Challenge in an aim to expand the books I was reading. I was getting in a reading rut, reading books by the same authors or in the same genre. I also wasn’t making reading a priority in my life.
I half-heartedly started a reading blog to share my observations about reading, but it ended up being a copy and paste from my GoodReads reviews… not really what I wanted to do. Meanwhile, nothing was being updated here, apart from the odd post when my second book was published!
Over the Christmas break, I got the idea to rebrand myself – Melissa Gijsbers, author, speaker, book lover – but wasn’t sure how to go about it. After a week away last week, reading four books, and listening to two audio books, I was asked a lot of questions about reading… and the idea of rebranding this site as a place I can share my love of books – both the ones I’m reading and the ones I’ve written – seemed to be a good idea.
I also have a newsletter list that I rarely send emails to, mostly because I have no idea what to say to people. By rebranding this site, I can also rebrand my list, and I will have something to share regularly.
So, over the next little while, I will be giving this site a facelift, adding new content, and, hopefully, some of my favourite authors will stop by to share their love of books and reading.
Watch this space, exciting things are coming! To keep up to date, you can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and sign up for my newsletter.
I hope you enjoy my new look site and enjoy sharing my love of books with me.
