Hi everyone!

As you may have noticed over the better part of the last year that this site has become nearly dormant. Ever since I started a new job last summer, I just haven’t had that much time to bake and then write about it.

At first I thought that as I settled more into my new role, things would change. It would become easier to find a rhythm that worked. But eventually, I realized that I think I’d just rather be doing other things. So, the baking went to the back-burner. I even stopped collecting cookbooks in the same capacity as I had earlier.

I noticed the same thing happen with my theater-life. I agreed to work on a show but then shortly after the process began, I finally admitted to myself that I don’t want to do this anymore. I finished out my committment to that production, but turned down two additional offers for shows this June. I remember telling my partner that I want to give myself a chance to miss doing theater. Not just go from show to show with only a month or two in between.

Hobbies Change

On a personal note, there’s been many changes in my life over the last 10 months. I started full-time work for the first time in my life, I eventually moved out of my parents’ house and in with my partner. I now have more responsibilities than I ever had before. Both professionally, socially, and relationship-wise. I’m realizing how difficult it actually is to keep and maintain a household week after week.

All of this leads me to having less free time. And the free time I do have I realized I don’t want to put all that effort into baking and then cleaning up. Plus always making baked goods isn’t great for my waistline or the wallet.

For a while I was trying to get back into crocheting, but as we now turn the corner to the warmer months, the desire for crochet just isn’t there. Quilting? It’s practically non-existent; even though I spent all that money on fabric for that lovely quilt I wanted to make. Perhaps I will one day. Honestly, I don’t miss the expensive hobbies like quilting and crocheting. At least not yet.

So what am I doing with my free time if I’m not baking, crocheting, quilting, or blogging?

As I’ve alluded to in earlier posts this year, I started spending a lot of my time reading. I work in a library so I’m constantly around books. All day, every day. I’m also a book collector. Mostly fantasy titles, but sometimes a cookbook or other interesting find.

As of writing this post, I’ve read nearly 12 books this year. That’s a lot for me. But what I’ve found is that I actually do enjoy spending my free time this way. Now, I’m not one of those people who all they do is read. I still watch TV, exercise, go out with friends, etc. In fact this coming weekend I’ll be spending the better part of the weekend in NYC and probably won’t even pick up a book for the first time in a long time. Like a really long time.

Books I’ve Been Reading

As I talked about in an earlier post, I tend to read fantasy titles. You can read about some of the titles I’ve read so far this year here. Throw in a couple Discworld novels, a dark mystery, and the first Throne of Glass book and you’re caught up.

While I do enjoy reading, I’ve discovered that I actually honestly miss the blogging part too. My site has never been super popular, but I do check the stats once a day and get a little excited when I break 100 views that day. (It used to happen a lot more often, not so much anymore. Probably due to the drop in posting.) Still, I enjoy sharing what I have to say and I like having a teeny tiny corner of the internet all for myself.

So I’ve decided to start a new project. One that I do think I will complete at some point. Mostly because it’s overall a lot more cost-effective and less of a time committment each day. Plus next to no cleaning required! Goodbye dirty whisk and batter bowl. Your days are numbered!

Danielle Steel! Really?

For the last couple of years, I’ve had this “itch” to read a Danielle Steel novel. This was very strange. She is pretty much the complete opposite of what I read. In every way. I read high fantasy books with well-developed magic systems that take place in different lands. I don’t read romance books, or “women’s fiction” as BISAC and Amazon like to call it.

But still, I was intrigued. So I checked out a title and I read it. Was it the best thing I’ve ever read? No. Was I expecting it to be? Also no. I thought it was terrible. Her writing style is so different from what I usually read. But it was fun. It was light. It was still an escape. And looking back on it, the book wasn’t that bad. I hate to say it, but I think I caught the Danielle Steel bug. After finishing fantasy novel after fantasy novel, I was craving a book that I could read where I wouldn’t have to think too much. One that was light and wasn’t the end of the world if you ended up skipping a paragraph or two.

I realized that I found this in a Danielle Steel novel. So I hurried over to the stacks at work where her books live and pulled off one from a few years back. The choice was hard. There were so, so, so many books. I grabbed one with a bright cover and a blurb that seemed even remotely interesting.

I checked it out and took it home. But this time, I started taking notes about the book and her writing style.

A few days later I finished the book and looked over my notes. That’s when the idea hit me.

Shelves of Steel

What if I started a blog where I reviewed Danielle Steel books and wrote about her as an author? Her work now spans decades and she has penned well over 150 novels! While the books aren’t “literature” in the fancy, high-brow sense, maybe there is something there.

So I’m basically developing a fan site for Danielle Steel’s books. I’m calling it Shelves of Steel, a clever play on the bookshelves being made from Danielle’s books. It’s cheesy, I know. And a little inaccurate but I thought it was a catchy name nonetheless.

Shelves of Steel will be book reviews and my thoughts on the books I read of hers. I plan to keep running tabs on a few things such as tropes, locations, characters, etc. Basically a repository for everything Danielle Steel. A data haven, if you will.

In fact, I alread started the site. You can visit http://www.shelvesofsteel.wordpress.com to check out how it’s going so far.

What About the Journal?

Ryan’s Kitchen Journal will be slowly phased out. And probably by the end of 2025, I’ll allow the site to revert back to a free WordPress plan. I may still make an occasion post about my baking ventures, but probably few and far between. Baking just isn’t bringing the joy it once did.

Moving forward, most of the posts here will be from the Shelves of Steel site. And that will become my major focus for the time being. My goal is to read all of her novels and write a review of them. Even if I read one book per week, we’re looking at over 3 years worth of reviews. Now I can tell you that that won’t be happening. While I probably could read one book a week and get a review out, I don’t want to hold that kind of pressure on myself. Plus I want the reviews to be quality.

I want the site to take time to develop and really become a detailed place for fans of her works. I don’t know. Maybe I’m crazy. But I think it’ll be fun nonetheless.

If you are interested in following along on this new venture, you can sign up now on the new site.

I hope to see you there.

Thank you for supporting me over the last few years. It’s been a really fun ride.

See you on Shelves of Steel…

~Ryan