A little while ago I was invited to review books. Which is to say, a website who facilitates this (Speakeasy) who doesn’t require me to like or dislike the books I read is going to give me free books on topics I’d like to read anyway before they’re even published, provided that I read and review in a timely fashion. They’ve even offered me opportunities to interview the authors of said books.

Really, the only thing wrong with this deal is the ‘timely fashion’ part, because you can just ask anyone who’s book I may have borrowed in the past, and unless the planets are in a very particular alignment, ‘timely fashion’ really is not a factor in my book-reading life.

However, I have a kindle, now. (Thanks, Logan!)

You might imagine that this wouldn’t actually be a deal changer, but for some reason I can consume books digitally much faster than I typically do in print. I think it has to do with years of training with fanfiction – I’d read about fifty books a year of my own choice in the physical universe, but the equivalent amount of fanfiction I’d read (which was about the only volume of digital prose I’d consume) would easily be eight times that. And since I’ve nearly gone cold turkey where fanfiction is concerned (a void which has been filled by having a new husband, a new job and a new home and a whole host of new friends), it’s still stupidly easy for me to sit down, lose time and read all those lovely, lovely digital words without thinking, when I still feel guilty for reading an actual book. (The point is that both are still guilty pleasures for me, but the guilt doesn’t stop the digital reading. Obviously this is an issue that I need to work on.)

All this is to say that there are going to be some book reviews coming up. I’ve read 1.5 of the four I have so far, and my husband just picked up the physical copy (the other three are digital) I was just sent from Speakeasy in the mail yesterday, but he’s got at least 10 days before I need to pry it out of his clutches, at which point he’ll probably be finished with it. All of the books I anticipate reading revolve around different aspects of living the spiritual life… which is really then different aspects of life, which covers… essentially all books that have ever been written.

So, things are changing – still. And part of that is I’m now reading books faster. (Also, procrastination in general is on the decline in my life. Yay.) And soon and very soon, I’ll be out with my first Speakeasy review – on author Aaron D. Taylor’s book Alone with a Jihadist: An Evangelical Missionary is Born Again. And more than that? I’ve already secured an interview with the author. :) Color me thrilled.

Stay tuned…