Long Time, No Write

Hey guys...yes, I have returned from the dead. Alas, it has been too long. I apologize for my sudden departure from the book blogging world. It has been a rough year so far...actually, that's a lie because 2013 was also filled with many challenges. In the past, I have tried to keep this blog from getting too personal, but oh well, it's my blog so on with the bleeding heart and suffering!

First off, I want to say how much I appreciated the tweets from fellow book bloggers that were concerned about me. That meant a lot to me, and I am sorry that I did not even write a farewell post or anything whatsoever that explained my absence. 

I had to take a break from blogging because it seemed like everything that could possibly go wrong did go wrong in the past year or so. It was just a very vulnerable, painful time for me, and I needed a breather. I don't regret anything that happened or any of my choices. I was very depressed for quite some time, but I have finally made it through. I have grown stronger because of what I have been through. I learned who I could depend on and that I didn't really know some people as well as I thought I did. I guess I had some more growing up to do.

I have definitely missed blogging and sharing my thoughts and, most of all, interacting with other book bloggers! For awhile, my book blog acted as a escape from reality. Now, I want Courtney Reads A Lot to coexist with reality. I will be keeping myself busy with writing hopefully and just living life as I want to so the posts will not be coming as fast and furious as they did in the past. But I will still be making time for my book blog because I am passionate about both writing and reading. Plus, I really missed being a part of the book blogging world, and while I did need a break from it, I am happy to finally be back.

From now on, I will not stress myself out about how many books I'm reading or how fast I'm writing posts. I will also participate in less memes. I don't want blogging to feel like a chore. I'm doing this for fun, and I will be posting at my own pace. 

I look forward to future posts and to reading some of my favorite blogs again! I also can't wait to hear from fellow bloggers!