TGIF (13) and Follow Friday (12)

TGIF is hosted by Ginger at Greads! This week's discussion is about

Reading Blues

We all get them from time to time. What helps you overcome those reading slumps when nothing seems to grab your attention.

Two solutions for me:

1) Stop reading entirely. Just for a day or two (usually that's all I can handle before I want to read again!). It gives me a chance to breathe, to not feel so pressured to meet a pub date or get some sort of valuable content on the blog and remember that hey...I love reading, and it should never stress me out.

2) Re-read something I love. There are thankfully those books that you know will always make you feel better--even if they're sad books. Those well-worn, well-read stories that make your heart flutter. The Jessica Darling series. Anna and the French Kiss. The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight. The Sky is Everywhere. Maybe that super cheesy adult romance novel (Susan Elizabeth Phillips is my go-to author for that). Reading slumps happen to me when I've read a ton of books in a row that either don't do anything for me, are outside my usual genre (contemporary), or are too similar (I went through an alarming week where every book was about cancer and death). Reading something I know I love reminds me of how beautiful books are and rejuvenates my interest in discovering more.

How do you cure the reading blues?

Leave me your link and I'll come check it out!

Follow Friday is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee's View, meant to spotlight two blogs and allows bloggers to link up and meet other fabulous bookish friends and share the Following love!

This week's spotlight blogs are: Little Read Riding Hood & Book That Thing

And the question of the week is:

Have you had a character that disappointed you? One that you fell in love with and then "broke up" with later on in either series or a stand-alone book? Tell us about him or her.

Fun question! Difficult, too, because I don't really remember the ones I don't like unless it's a character I have a strong, immediate aversion to.  I think Keith from 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson would have to be the answer...I really, really loved him during most of the book, but towards the end I just wasn't feeling him for some reason. And then when I read Last Little Blue Envelope...40 pages in and I was questioning what I ever saw in him (gosh it was like a real relationship...haha).  No spoilers if you haven't read Last Little Blue Envelope...but he fell flat and I definitely broke up with him.

Can I put an unpopular opinion out there? First and foremost, I love Harry Potter -- the books and the character. I adore him, always. But I have to say, in The Order of the Phoenix, it was definitely a rough patch in the relationship. I just wanted him to stop whining! Everything was about him and how he was being ignored and woe is he and he was being SUCH a baby.  Like I said, I love him, adore him for always...I just needed some time apart after that haha.

What character did you break up with?

Leave me your link and I'll hop by!

And of course I'd love to return a follow if you are kind enough to follow me :)

PS. Have you entered my giveaway to win a signed copy of In Honor by Jessi Kirby? US only, ends 5/1 since I hope to get the book to the winner before or on its official release!