Baba > Status Update

I believe I have delayed the inevitable enough now. Personally, I'm not at a terribly good place at the moment. Falling in love with someone who is, for the next few months, 2000 thousand kilometers away from me and still mentally working through an enormously long relationship that did not end well for him, is quite the burden to deal with, to say the least. I have no clue how this is going to work out in the end, yet I remain hopeful. Life never offers any guarantees, I'm aware of that little important detail. Funny thing is, my actual situation provided ample inspiration for doing something that I wanted to explore for a while now: writing. I have no ambitions whatsoever to get published, I just honestly enjoy to write down my (mostly erotic) outpourings and have received encouraging feedback. If ever I'll be back, then as a reader, but not as an author.

It saddens me to admit that I have no motivation to read and review. Since November 2016, I have only beta read one full-length book. I also read a short Christmas story written by one of my favorite authors, otherwise I did not feel like reading and/or reviewing at all. I feel estranged from Goodreads for various reasons. When I signed up, the purpose of this site seemed to be different. It was about the book itself, about having fun, and if you lucked out, you could even find true friendship. Over the last couple years, GR has changed fundamentally - unfortunately not for the better. The tough competition among readers (ranking system), and the fangirling promotion of authors and books became too overwhelming for me, and, more importantly, too redundant and shallow. I refuse to support that trend.

My account remains open. Never say never, right? Maybe I'll be back someday, but I can't say when and how that will happen. Thank you to my friends, the real ones, and thank you to my followers - they are close to 3,000 now. Thank you for appreciating my often candid, not very complimentary, and sometimes brutally honest reviews. And last but not least, when I'm talking about true friendship, I would love to give a shout out to you, Kels. Thank you a million times for our longstanding friendship. It has and will always mean the world to me.

I'm wishing all of you a successful and healthy New Year! May your wishes come true.

Best,
Baba

I hope everything changing for the best for you in the year 2017 Baba so we can see you again in the near future here, as a reader or author! Have plenty fun with your writing:)

Lady B!!! Congrats on the new love & writing! I 100% understand where you're coming from regarding GR vs. RL. Why force yourself when your hearts not in it?

I wish you much succes and a happy, healthy new year to you & family. Thanks for sharing yourself with us!

Good luck in both the writing and being in love! Life teaches us that it may take you on many paths and each could be hard but we learn from them.
I will miss seeing your reviews and reading your recoomendations ( the reason I use goodreads). I wish you all the best

I always enjoyed following your reviews and will miss your particular brand of humor (which is much like my own) but I understand where you are coming from and wish you much success in both your relationship and your writing endeavors!

Oh geez! I noticed I didn't see updates from you as often. Best wishes on what's ahead and I do hope to see you back someday. Most of all I hope you can regain the love of reading, for yourself.

I wish you the best for 2017, and hope you'll find your way back to the love of reading. :)

Happy writing times! And hapy New Year of curse, what will be will be <3

I hope you feel better. I say go for it and write as freely and as true as you dare. There are no limitations when you put words on paper. Wishing you only the best. May you gain what you have lost.

Michelle

Hope it all works out for you, Baba!

Whatever the future holds for you, Baba, I pray it will bring happiness and peace to you and your boys!!

I wish you all the best Baba! I absolutely loved all your reviews (whether I agreed with you or not :P) and I really hope to see you back at one point! Good luck sweetie with everything!!
XXX

All the best Baba! Will miss your openness and warmth to me when I joined GR. Happy 2017 and hope everything works out!

I wish you the best of luck Baba. I'm very sorry to see you go, but do wish you have a great New Years!

I'm so sorry to hear you won't be around on here,darling,but i totally understand your feelings.I've only been on here for a few years but do get a bit disillusioned from time to time over certain things.
I've really enjoyed following your reviews which have drawn me to some great books and Authors...so,thank you!
Wishing you and your lovely boys a great 2017 and i truly hope things work out personally for you,xx

Follow your heart Baba...and do what feels right for you! Here's hoping your wishes and dreams collide...all the best to you now and in the future! ;) xx

I'm sorry to hear that your leaving but I wish you the best and I hope 2017 is a good year for you. I have enjoyed following your reviews and I hope someday you will come back.

Baba I hope 2017 brings you happiness and just know you'll be missed. I've not 'known' you very long but I've read some of your reviews and they're brilliant and honest and who can ask for more an that? Xx

BABA say it isn't so! I will miss your candidly honest and heartfelt reviews. Too many GR peeps are over the top and not entirely honest, you'll be missed. I wish you success in your long distance romance and if you do write a book of your experiences, I would be honored to be an ARC reader. XOXO. Happy New Year and much health and success in the new year!

I will miss your reviews. Though we have quite different favorite genres, I always found your reviews to be thoughtful and honest. And, often, incredibly humorous. Good luck in whatever comes your way in 2017, hope to see you back around in time. Happy New Year :)

Ira wrote: "I hope everything changing for the best for you in the year 2017 Baba so we can see you again in the near future here, as a reader or author! Have plenty fun with your writing:)"

Thank you, Ira! All the best to you too! :)

SheReadsALot wrote: "Lady B!!! Congrats on the new love & writing! I 100% understand where you're coming from regarding GR vs. RL. Why force yourself when your hearts not in it?

I wish you much succes and a happy, hea..."

Thank you, Lady S! Glad you understand how I feel. :)
I always enjoyed interacting with you. Take care and all the best to your and your loved ones! <3

Katrin wrote: "Good luck in both the writing and being in love! Life teaches us that it may take you on many paths and each could be hard but we learn from them.
I will miss seeing your reviews and reading your r..."

Thank you for your kinds words, Katrin! Life always offers so many different paths to each one of us. We just have to take the right ones. :)

Nikki wrote: "I always enjoyed following your reviews and will miss your particular brand of humor (which is much like my own) but I understand where you are coming from and wish you much success in both your re..."

Thank you, Nikki! I also enjoyed reading your reviews. I'm really going to miss some people on here. Take care and all the best to you and your family! :)

Mercedes wrote: "Oh geez! I noticed I didn't see updates from you as often. Best wishes on what's ahead and I do hope to see you back someday. Most of all I hope you can regain the love of reading, for yourself."

Thank you, Mercedes! I hope so too, but I honestly don't know when that will be, or if ever... :)

Zaza wrote: "I wish you the best for 2017, and hope you'll find your way back to the love of reading. :)"

Thanks, Zaza! We shall see. :)

Manda wrote: "Happy writing times! And hapy New Year of curse, what will be will be <3"

Thank you, Manda! Happy New Year to you too! :)

Michelle wrote: "I hope you feel better. I say go for it and write as freely and as true as you dare. There are no limitations when you put words on paper. Wishing you only the best. May you gain what you have lost..."

Thank you for your beautiful words, Michelle! Wishing you much success with your writing! :)

Katerina wrote: "I wish you all the best, Baba. And I miss you. Your great reviews were that what brought me to GR. The books ... with which everything began.
But I can understand all your reasons very well. Still,..."

Thanks so much for your understanding and kind words, Katerina!
I miss some people, but GR itself - the book site - I do not miss at all. And that makes me very sad, given the fact how everything began. All the best to you, lovely lady! xoxox

Beanbag wrote: "Hope it all works out for you, Baba!"

I hope so too! Thanks, Beanbag!

Shari Kay wrote: "All the best Baba!"

Thank you, Shari Kay! Right back at you. :)

Ragus wrote: "Whatever the future holds for you, Baba, I pray it will bring happiness and peace to you and your boys!!"

Thank you, Ragus! I'm going to miss you! :)

Denisa wrote: "I wish you all the best Baba! I absolutely loved all your reviews (whether I agreed with you or not :P) and I really hope to see you back at one point! Good luck sweetie with everything!!
XXX"

Thank you, lovely! I enjoyed reading your reviews. I hope you'll be reading many great books in 2017! All the best to you and take care! :) xxx

Camille wrote: "All the best Baba! Will miss your openness and warmth to me when I joined GR. Happy 2017 and hope everything works out!"

Thank you, Camille! All the best to you and happy reading! :)

J. wrote: "I wish you the best of luck Baba. I'm very sorry to see you go, but do wish you have a great New Years!"

Thank you, J! All the best to you and your loved ones! And much success with your writing! :)

Judith wrote: "I'm so sorry to hear you won't be around on here,darling,but i totally understand your feelings.I've only been on here for a few years but do get a bit disillusioned from time to time over certain ..."

Thanks so much, dearie! I'm going to miss you. I have always enjoyed interacting with you. Thanks for everything and take care! xxx

⚡️Charlotte⚡️ wrote: "Follow your heart Baba...and do what feels right for you! Here's hoping your wishes and dreams collide...all the best to you now and in the future! ;) xx"

Yes, that's what I'm doing. :) Thank you, Charlotte, and all the best to you! xxx

Leigh wrote: "I'm sorry to hear that your leaving but I wish you the best and I hope 2017 is a good year for you. I have enjoyed following your reviews and I hope someday you will come back."

Thanks for your kinds words, Leigh! Take care and all the best! :)

Deborah wrote: "Baba I hope 2017 brings you happiness and just know you'll be missed. I've not 'known' you very long but I've read some of your reviews and they're brilliant and honest and who can ask for more an ..."

I appreciate your comment, Deborah! Thank you. Wishing you only the best for the future and take care! :) xxx

Lisa wrote: "Wishing you all the best, Baba! Hope to see you back here when you are ready once again. :)"

Thank you, Lisa! Hope the new year will be kind to you and your loved ones! Take care. :)

Hms wrote: "BABA say it isn't so! I will miss your candidly honest and heartfelt reviews. Too many GR peeps are over the top and not entirely honest, you'll be missed. I wish you success in your long distance ..."

Thanks so much for your kind words, Hms! Unfortunately it is so. Though I'm glad that you feel the same about those who hype every book they're reading.
Well, like I said, I do not have any ambitions to get published and I'm only writing short texts and/or longer scenes. I'm not interested to write a book. All the best to you and take care! xxx

Sarah(All The Book Blog Names Are Taken) wrote: "I will miss your reviews. Though we have quite different favorite genres, I always found your reviews to be thoughtful and honest. And, often, incredibly humorous. Good luck in whatever comes your ..."

Thank you, Sarah! Glad that humorous part came through in my reviews. I often enjoyed reviewing more than reading the books, certainly when a book was terribly subpar. ;-)

Good luck, Baba :) May luck, love, happiness always be with you not only in 2017 but also forever :) Hope to see you in GR universe again ;)

Orient wrote: "Good luck, Baba :) May luck, love, happiness always be with you not only in 2017 but also forever :) Hope to see you in GR universe again ;)"

Thank you, Orient! I hope the new year will be filled with plenty of happiness for you too! Take care. :)

I hope 2017 treats you better. I miss your reviews. Take care of you.

Saddens me that'll not gonna see you around here. And I'm gonna awfully miss your brutally honest and humorous reviews! GR is not gonna be the same without you (at least for me). But that's not what we really need to focus on. I want and wish this break with a new beginning of year to be a good start. Filled with happiness, success in your writing journey. And patience, for the loved one, To be with you. x
Be whole and be well, sweetheart. :) kisses xo

Karéz wrote: "Saddens me that'll not gonna see you around here. And I'm gonna awfully miss your brutally honest and humorous reviews! GR is not gonna be the same without you (at least for me). But that's not wha..."

Thanks, sweets! I'm already getting teary-eyed. Will miss you terribly. But like we said, we're going to stay in touch. Much love and happiness to you and your loved ones! May life treat you well. Hugs & kisses, xoxox

Olivia wrote: "I hope 2017 treats you better. I miss your reviews. Take care of you."

Thank you, Olivia! All the best to you!

Good luck in your writing Baba! Would love to read some of it!

J. wrote: "Good luck in your writing Baba! Would love to read some of it!"

Thanks, J! Eh, it's not intended for public consumption. I'm pretty sure it will be something very private. I'm driving "L" bloody crazy with those texts. A horny guy is not a bad thing. Lol
But never say never, right?