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!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!  Let's talk about...

Winter.
Here in Rochester, we continue to endure this winter.  There is no enjoying at this point, not when it's -26 degrees outside and when you walk to the mailbox the inner walls of your nostrils freeze together so that you are forced to breathe through your mouth (true thing that happened).  Just enduring.

However, we are having a bit of a heat wave (highs in the 20s yesterday and today!), so I celebrated by going for my first outdoor run in about 2 weeks.  The roads were completely unplowed, and I was trudging through snow drifts with every step, BUT GODDAMN IT I WAS OUTSIDE.  It was glorious.

Hair.
Anyway, in order to spice up this winter, I did an exciting thing on Friday (at least, for me).  I've never colored my hair before--nope, this redhead was au naturel.  However, The Grays started to invade a few years ago (kids will do that), and I finally took drastic measures to do away with them.  Thus, we now have the new-and-improved Well-Read Redhead:

Awkward closeup selfie because it's the only one I did that didn't seem completely awful.  I take horrific selfies.  This one makes me look like I have a huge nose, but we're going to roll with it.  This picture actually makes the color look a little lighter than it is in real life. This is a long caption.

(Did you think I'd go blonde or brunette or something?  Heck no.  Then I need a new blog name.  PRIORITIES!)

I am loving my new darker shade.  Something fun to keep things interesting during this loooong winter.

Reading.
As for what's new on the reading front: I have a tiny lull between tour books, so I'm smooshing in some library reads right now.  Just started Burial Rites by Hannah Kent this week, and I am intrigued.  I've also go Summer House With Swimming Pool by Herman Koch on my nightstand.  And yes, I plan to finish Moby Dick sometime...soon-ish.

Confession: the way I have been choosing my library reads lately is to pull up the "Best/Favorites of 2014" lists from some of my favorite bloggers (like Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall, Words for Worms, The Relentless Reader, Book Hooked, River City Reading, and Books Speak Volumes, to name just a few) and check out the ones they recommend the most from last year.  This method rarely fails me.  Rock on, bloggers!

What are you up to this week, reading pals?