I’m not really great at the whole “keeping this blog up-to-date” thing.

I’ll admit that my spare time at the moment is usually being sunk into either a sheer depth of nothingness as I’m too tired after work to pick up my laptop, playing Elder Scrolls Online (a new addiction I have at the moment) or simply hanging out with Laura as our work schedules vastly differ and we don’t have that much time together as it is. Hence why this blog seems to have fallen at the wayside.

In the risk of this post also falling into the category of “I’m going to start this blog thing again” (sigh) I’m just going to get straight to the point with this one: Waterstones Derby YA Book Club.

So recently (lies, this was at least 4 months or so ago) I’ve joined a book club. Two in fact! Both of which are held at the local Derby Waterstones. The YA Book Club, in particular, is something I want to highlight for two main reasons:

1. My love for reading has been reignited – Before joining, it used to take me an age to get through a single book, I’m talking one book in three months… Like I said earlier, it was difficult to find the time (and by that I also mean motivation) to do just about anything. I used to get told that if you want to write then you have to read, that’s just part of the deal. How can you expect to get better in your writing if you’re not reading to fuel your own imagination? How can you figure out your own writing style and what works (or in some cases, doesn’t) for you if you don’t have your head buried in a book? I’ll admit it: reading had become a chore. Now something has changed. I think I’ve found a niche that I will always find exciting. YA books are not just for the young and there’s plenty of crossover into fantasy and my bookish world has gotten a little brighter and wider.

2. I’ve made some great new friends – The Waterstones YA book club is only small, four members at the moment, but we’re solid as a foundation and I certainly can’t see it dropping below that number. We all share a passion for similar books and we’ve grown close as a group that we can hang out outside of the book club too.

3. I’m writing much more passionately now – I mentioned above that about how reading fuels your writing and I don’t think it’s actually hit me before how on the nose this actually is. I’ve read a new book series called Red Queen and I have been so enamoured by the story and the writing style that I’ve been able to channel that energy into my own stories. The way Victoria Ayeyard wrote about her characters and the depth of their thoughts and views made me want to make sure I was bringing elements of that into my own characterisation.

Our current read is The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy. I’ve not started to read this just yet, but I will certainly be diving into it in the next couple of days! Audible has saved my life I tell you, when it comes to keeping on top of all the different books I’m reading for clubs and for pleasure. With just under two hours worth of commute every day, I’ve got to do something with my time right?