Monday, November 5, 2012

A note on procrastination

I consider myself a very efficient person.  But there are some tasks that I just have a really hard time tackling, and one of them came back to bite me this week.

Nope, it's not housework.  That gets done no problem.  I still have major trouble with yard work.  It just gives me no pleasure what so ever.  For some people gardening is a relaxing experience with fresh produce and pretty flowers as the reward.  For me, it's an annoying chore full of weeds and thorns.  (We have several rose bushes lovingly left for us by the previous owner that I want to die).

The task that I am talking about is writing my book reviews.  Not the reviews for you, but for Children's Literature Comprehensive Database, or CLCD to be brief.  I get a batch of five books and I'm supposed to turn them around in a month.  Ooops.

Since the CLCD strives to review EVERY book published for children in a given year, I typically get quickly published series non-fiction books about sports teams, crafts, science (yikes!) and I do get my fair share of book and CD kits, which is pretty cool.  Every now and then I get rewarded for my hard work with a chapter book, and I was "rewarded" in my last batch, but things didn't turn out that great.

See, I HATED this book.  Did not like it at all, and since I'm doing this review for a company, I can't in good faith tell you which book it is, but I can't stop you from guessing.  Let's just say that this book was published by a HUGE children's publishing house, and it pretty well a direct rip-off of a wildly successful series with a number in the title.  That's all I can give you.

Anyway, since I was a fan of the previously mentioned wildly-successful-series-with-a-number-in-the-title, I thought this book would be cool.  Wrong.  Not cool, not cool at all.  So, instead of writing my review right away, I procrastinated.  And I waited so long to write the review that I completely forgot everything about the book except that I didn't like it.  At all.

So, I read it again last night.  I found several other things in it the second time through that made me like it even less.  But I had learned my lesson.  I sat right down and wrote that review.  Then I rewarded myself with milk and cookies.  I also wrote two other reviews last night, and I'm ready to write a fourth tonight, so I know that I will get this batch out this week, albeit quite late.  Boring series non-fiction here I come!  They'll never trust me with a chapter book again.

And another thing-do you know how hard it is to write a 150 word review of a Rookie Reader that doesn't have 150 words total?  It's really hard!  Then try writing five reviews about five books all from the same early reader series about baseball teams.  That will drive you crazy because you have to find five ways to say the exact same thing.  Ugh.

But I'm really lucky to review for CLCD.  I actually love it, although it doesn't show very well.  Getting that box in the mail is like Christmas morning.  Is it going to be great-like a pair of Kate Spade earrings, or awful, like Cucumber Melon body spray (thanks, cause I don't have like nine other bottles of this, and I just end up regifting it to some unsuspecting friend-BTW, if you're my friend and I've ever given you Cucumber Melon body spray, I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about that other friend we have.  And my aversion is really just to body spray in general.  I'm down with the body wash and lotion-those are fine.)

Anyway, I'm making this resolution, if the CLCD ever trusts me with books again (please!) I will read and review the shortest book first to get my momentum going.  Help me out by keeping me accountable.  I'll let you know when I get a shipment, and you cheer me on.  Is it a deal?  I'll help you keep your resolutions, like working out, cleaning more, or just not letting your reading get away from  you.

Happy Reading!


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