Updates: Reading, Running, and Redheadedness

Hello, friends!  I know, things have been largely silent around these parts lately.  So, I figured it's time for some updating, as well as some new plans for the future format of the blog.

I have three categories of updates to share, so let's start with:

1. The New and Improved Redheadedness of the Well-Read Redhead

I cut ALL my hair off, y'all.  Well, almost all.  It FELT like all.

Ignore my laundry on the chair.  Why does my nose look so big?  I hate selfies.  Also, yes, my hair is darker, but I promise still red.

I needed a haircut badly, and was feeling completely frustrated and out-of-love with my long hair.  I'd been debating a pixie cut for 5 years or so, but never had the confidence to pull the trigger.  However, my disdain for my long hair (the blow drying!  the straightening!  the wrangling while running!  the constant put-it-in-a-hat on bad hair days!) reached a peak, and it was time.  I sent pixie cut ideas to my stylist-friend Mandy, brought some wine over her house, and The Cut was made.

Final verdict: why didn't I do this sooner???  I am in love with my newly shorn hair.  Yes, I have to style it each morning (pixie cut bedhead is a serious thing), but the styling time is minimal and very easy.  I thought I was going to want it a bit longer/messier, but soon after the cut realized that I prefer it a bit shorter and sleeker (my husband referred to Claire Underwood in her brunette phase...haha).  Yes, I will be keeping this style up for some time!

2. Running (Or Lack Thereof)

I had a big thing written here with my running updates (it's been a little rocky lately), but it was making this post too long, so I'm saving it for a Well-Read Runner post later this week.  Check back soon!

3. Reading (Or Lack Thereof)

Obviously, not a lot of book talk has been happening around here.  I've been struggling with two things: one, finding adequate reading time, and two, finding the motivation to blog about it.  I actually finished a book at the end of September that I have yet to find the energy to write an entire post about--a first for me since I started blogging 3 years ago.  That said, I don't want to give up this space, as I still love to recommend books to others, and this is my favorite vehicle for doing so.  What's a girl to do?

I've decided that, for now, the best thing is for me to read low-pressure (meaning, no deadlines).  So, I will be taking a hiatus from blog tour reviews for a while (yes, even for TLC, and you know I love TLC tours).  I will finish out the last two books I'm doing for TLC with full reviews, and then it's all free-range reading for the forseeable future.

With that, I will be making the blogging-about-books more low-pressure as well, by switching to mini reviews for a while.  My current plan is to do one post at the end of each month with mini reviews of everything I've read (and at the rate I'm currently reading, it won't be that long of a post!).  While this does mean less posting overall, I have a lot more enthusiasm for that format right now, and I think it's more important for me to have energy behind my posts vs. a larger number of posts.

Even though I haven't had a lot of time for reading, I am actually loving my current read: Dracula by Bram Stoker.  I've been saving this as a spooky October read for a long time now, and it is perfect for the season!!  Can't wait to share a bit about it here next week.

Alrighty, that's all for now.  I know things haven't been nearly so active around here as they were in the past, but thank you to all that are sticking with me as I figure out the blog's next stages!