It's with a heavy heart that I'm making this announcement:
As from the beginning of June I am closing this blog.
This is surprisingly not due to me getting sick and tired of blogging, but rather due to personal family pressures which need to take precedence over my hobby. I feel terribly guilty for disappointing all the readers of Well Read, but sometimes real life stuff is more important.
During May I intend to review all the books which have been sent out to me by authors. I've also got a couple of other things planned such as an interview with the lovely Eden Winters and a great inter-blog project organised by Kassa. So please don't abandon me yet!
I'm also not going disappear from the web entirely. I shall still be visiting my favourite blogs and leaving comments. I'm also keeping up my reviewing commitment to Reviews by Jessewave and Three Dollar Bill Reviews. Those of you on Good Reads and Twitter will still find me there too.
I'm not deleting the blog, so all the reviews and posts I have written over the last 18 months will still be available to view.
Thanks to all my readers, regulars and lurkers for your support. I shall look forward to spending time with you this month.
Hi, Jen, I've been one of your regular lurkers, ha, ha! Real life stuff is definitely more important than the blogosphere, so please don't feel guilty, even slightly guilty. :) We're just glad we can still find you at Wave's blog, Goodreads, and Three Dollar Bill Reviews!
ReplyDeleteI'll miss you hugely, Jen! Thanks for all your book tips and indeed support - which has been very much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the real life stuff though - hugely important!! - and we'll not let you go while we have you at Wave, GR and TDB :))
Axxxxxxx
Thanks for your kind words, Val. I do feel better knowing that I'm not disappearing entirely.
ReplyDeleteAwwe I will miss your blog. I won't say I'll miss you since you're still around (yay!) but I will miss your blog. It's a great stop that I visit often.
ReplyDeleteReal life is more important as always so you can go out knowing your blog has been a huge success and will definitely be missed.
Take care and all the best.
Hi Anne
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to have given you some good tips for books. That's the best part of blogging - knowing that you've recommended a book to someone who has gone on to enjoy it themselves :).
Thanks, Kassa :).
ReplyDeleteI suppose I'm ending on a high note, which is nice to know.
:(
ReplyDeleteCan't really say anything else.
Sean: That's what I think too. :(
ReplyDeleteIt's completely understandable that RL needs to come first. Although I'll miss visiting your blog I'm happy that you'll still be around.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck!!
Jenre, you've made quite an impression on me, and I'm saddened by the planned loss of you blog, for it's one of the first sites I check each day when I arrive home from work. It's like a visit to a beloved friend's.
ReplyDeleteCherish every moment with your family, and don't forget to keep in touch. I'll be looking for your posts on other sites. You'll never know how much you've helped me.
Awwww. We will miss you muchly Hon, but yeah, sometimes real life interferes with our virtual lives. :-)
ReplyDeleteWe'll still see you around though and I'll look forward to your reviews at Wave's and TDB.
Who loves you baby.
ReplyDeleteYou know how when you meet someone on line and you just think HEY I LIKE HER?
Yeah. It's that way with us.
XXX
LB
I'll miss Well Read, but I'm glad you'll still be around the other blogs! Your reviews of my books always dig deep and show me facets of the story I didn't realize were there.
ReplyDeletexoxo
You're blog will be missed, but I am happy you will still be around.
ReplyDeleteMsM
You will be missed - RL sucks sometimes (I know), but it is what it is and you have to do what's best for you and the family..
ReplyDeleteGlad you'll still be around and on email ....
E.H>
Oh. Your blog will certainly be missed! I am glad that you won't be disappearing from the www entirely. I'll stick with you to the closing, and I'll see you in the other venues.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the lovely comments everyone. You're all making me quite tearful :).
ReplyDeleteLily: Thanks :). Sometime RL means making tough decisions and this was one of them.
Eden: That's such a wonderful thing to say. I'm glad I've been able to help you and I certainly will be keeping in touch :).
ReplyDeleteTam: Although I'll miss my friends coming here, I'll still be over at places like yours, Tam, making a nuisance of myself :).
ReplyDeleteLove ya too, LB. Your blog was the reason I started this one, and I'll always remember your support of me when I first started :).
ReplyDeleteHi Jordan
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind comments about my reviews :).
As a regular lurker I am really saddened to hear that you are closing your blog, yours was one of the first review sites I found when I started reading m/m romance, but I do get that real life does and should come first. It is good to know that you will continue to hang around and that I will still see reviews from you when I lurk over at Jessewave.
ReplyDelete*hug*
ReplyDeleteI will miss reading your posts here, Jen, because yours was one of the first m/m blogs I started to read. Your 'Excellent' and 'Very Good' reviews helped guide some of my earliest purchases and I'm so glad about that.
But I am happy you aren't vanishing entirely and that you'll still be reviewing at Wave's and Three Dollar Bill Reviews. And especially happy that we'll still get to converse in people's comment sections. :)
Jenre,
ReplyDeleteI always read your blog, even if I don't comment often. I will miss it.
Obviously, your family is more important than blogging. Like Chris, I'm glad that we will all still be able to keep up with you on Goodreads.
*hugs*
I certainly understand about RL commitments, but I'm really glad that we won;t have to do without you completely. Hugs, and will be keeping up with you on the other sites. Pam Singer
ReplyDeleteYou already know how I feel, Jen. I can only reiterate.
ReplyDeleteMy gratitude is boundless. You more than anyone else helped make me part of the m/m fiction community. Whenever I started feeling that nobody gave a shit, you were there.
I'll never forget, and I look forward to seeing you in other places.
Ballz! I really enjoy your reviews. Good luck with the other stuff.
ReplyDeleteI'll miss you, but I've been there on the Bad Case Of Life, and I know that sometimes there just isn't the time or energy for a blog. Good to see that you're not dropping out of sight altogether.
ReplyDeleteI'll miss your blog, Jen, but I console myself with the knowledge that you'll still be about.
ReplyDeleteReal life does tend to trump the virtual, just as it should, so... yeah. I'll definitely miss "Well Read" but look forward to seeing your comments and reviews at Wave's and TDB. :)
Thank you, by the way, for the wonderful reviews here. I've especially enjoyed that you take the time to say what does and doesn't work for you in my books and others. I've discovered new favourite reads because of you and expect that will continue since you'll still be about. *grins*
So, yes. I'll miss the blog. But I'm so happy to know you're not disappearing!
~Tis
I read this and literally gasped out loud with a "nooooooooooooooo!"
ReplyDeleteI heart your reviews Jenre and you will be sadly missed ::sniffs::, thank god you are still doing some reviews over at Jessewave :)
This is really sad news but everyone will understand that family takes precedence. I'll continue to follow you on Jessewave's Reviews!
ReplyDeleteNOOO!! sad le rawr :(
ReplyDeleteI'm a lurker. And sad to see this blog end. That said, I completely understand, and wish you the very best. Enjoy your life, enjoy your reading, and thank you for your contributions to the world of reviews!
ReplyDeleteI've already chatted to you privately about this, Jen, but wanted to say again how much I'll miss this regular part of my day and say thanks for being one of my first bloggy friends. :)
ReplyDeleteSAD to lose the Well Read blog :(.
ReplyDeleteGLAD to keep Jen the person, blogger, fab reviewer and friend! :)
I think you've handled all this very well and although I'll sorely miss activity here, it's been both a fabulous resource and a delight to visit, and that can't be taken away.
*HUGS*
:(
ReplyDeleteI'm going to miss your blog, Jen. I certainly understand that family issues come first, though. I'm glad you'll still be around at Wave's, Three Dollar Bill reviews, and GR.
MsM, EH & Wren
ReplyDeleteSorry to lump you ladies altogether :). Thanks for your kind comments. I shall still be keeping an eye on your blogs.
Hi Amanda
ReplyDeleteNot just a lurker, you have occasionally commented :).
Thanks, I shall look forward to meeting you over at Waves.
It's difficult to imagine the pressures that have gone along with carrying this blog, your guest reviews, family, a household, your job, and everything else under the sun. Congratulations on having done it all so successfully.
ReplyDeleteDespite more lurking than posting, this blog has been a favorite of mine. I'll miss your calm, clear, and thoughtful reviews which have often enticed me into a purchase when I had planned otherwise. I'll definitely look forward to them on other sites.
Best wishes going forward.
((Hugs))) Jen. I have expressed my sadness to see you leave your blog earlier. I will miss it :(
ReplyDeleteYou'll be missed by this blogger I can tell you that. I love your reviews but will just have to travel far and wide to view them. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you'll still be around, my friend.
{{big hug}}
(ok- my veri word is emogran. And Emo Granny huh, disturbing. lol)
Well I thought I posted but it doesn't look like it came through.
ReplyDeleteI'm sad that you won't be posting on your blog any more. Though I understand, my own bloggin has slowed down recently. But you're my goto gal for m/m reviews and I'll miss popping by every day. We have very similar reading tastes and if ever you want to drop me a mail with some recs. it would be very welcome. :)
But I'm happy I'll still be able to read your reviews on Wave's blog.
And I hope that one day in the future when real life is not so stressed that you'll be able to come back to it.
Oh, love, I'm sorry that you feel so overwhelmed.
ReplyDeleteI hope it gets better.
Hi Jen, I've been lurking here for quite some time now and visited your blog on a daily basis. To read now that you will close it down made me sad. :(
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you'll still be around. And I liked your reviews very much, they've always been a reliable source for good books to spend my money on. Seems we tend to have a similar reading taste. :)
Maybe you'll be able to come back to your blog sometime in the future. It would be nice. :)
Best wishes to you.
Just popping in to say that I'm not ignoring you all. It's just that every time I come to answer the comments left here I get all choked up and have to go away again :). My stiff upper lip is losing its stiffness.
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for your kind and supportive comments. My blog wouldn't have survived this long without your visits, comments or even lurkings.
Damn, Jen! I'm sorry that you won't keep writing this blog, which was one of the first I stated following and definitely one of the most trusted, but RL, and especially family, must have the precedence. It goes without saying.
ReplyDeleteAnd you won't disappear anyway :). Lots of hugs :).
Catching up after a busy week... I'm sorry to hear you're closing your blog here, but I totally get the whole balance of life and work thing. I'm glad you'll still be around TBD and jessewave's blogs!
ReplyDelete*hugs*
I'll miss your blog, Jen, but real life is more important than virtual. I'll still look forward to your reviews and comments online.
ReplyDeleteJenre: I'm way behind on reading all my blogs, but wanted to stop by and say I'm sorry to hear Well Read is closing. It was exciting for me to see my first work mentioned on a blog I've enjoyed as a reader. Good luck to you! I'm glad to hear you're still going to be posting at Jessewave's.
ReplyDelete