Happy May, everyone!
April felt weird honestly. It felt both slow but also fast at the same time. I’m not sure how that’s possible exactly, but I’m not keen on questioning this either.
This Month’s Posts
- [2 Apr] A Forgery of Roses by Jessica S. Olson ★★★½
- [8 Apr] K-Pop Revolution by Stephan Lee ★★★★
- [12 Apr] Bookwyrm Breakdown: March 2022, the Month of Scrambling Around
- [22 Apr] Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl by Julie Kagawa ★★★★
- [26 Apr] How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland ★★★★★
Books Hoarded
Sophia
One day, when I actually move, I’m going to regret getting books on sale. But since this year’s plans have fallen through, I suppose I’ll cross that bridge when the time comes.
- When the Sky Fell on Splendor by Emily Henry
- The Crow Rider by Kalyn Josephson
- A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy – Honestly, this might have been my best catch at my local Dollar Tree
- Cold Day in the Sun by Sara Biren
- Scared Little Rabbits by A.V. Geiger
- Stealing Infinity by Alyson Noël (eARC)
- The Lies We Tell by Katie Zhao (eARC)
Books Devoured
Sophia
If I didn’t have my reading tracker app, I think I would have a harder time remembering exactly which books I read throughout April. Mostly because I seemed to have a habit of starting books and not actually finishing them, so at one point I looked like I was juggling ten books again.
(Right now I’m reading around 7 if we’re counting some of the ongoing webtoons I’ve been reading on Manta, so it’s not any better, but I mean… I’m out of the double digits at least?)
Overall though, April was a solid reading month for me, all things considered.
- K-Pop Confidential and K-Pop Revolution by Stephan Lee
- Ace by Angela Chen
- Code Name: Mockingbird by Kristen Painter
- Beach Read by Emily Henry – This was a delightful read Kal from Reader Voracious brought into my life and it was a nice break from the other books I seem to struggle with lately.
- Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl by Julie Kagawa
- The Lost Hero and The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan (audiobook) – Way back before I started blogging I used to keep up with Riordan’s books really well (aka read them right when they came out or shortly after), but at some point, I abandoned the series after The Mark of Athena and never finished it.
- The Jade Setter of Janloon by Fonda Lee
- A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice by Rebecca Connolly
- Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao
Fandom Assemble
Media we’ve consumed and enjoyed, or what we’re looking forward to that’s been announced lately.
Sophia
This wrap-up would not be complete if I didn’t talk about how I casually slid Kingdom’s History of Kingdom: Part IV. Dann into Clo’s Discord DMs only to have her screaming approximately 5 minutes later:
EXCUSE ME KINGDOM WHAT DID YOU DO TO THIS ALBUM CAUSE YOUR PAST ALBUMS DIDN’T COME FOR ME LIKE THIS
I was actually a little surprised how many times I’ve had their recent album on repeat throughout April — both Part II and III were decent with a few b-sides that I come back to occasionally, but overall a little disappointing.
But beyond that, I think I spent the rest of April listening to maybe too many rock covers of Disney songs and audiobooks.
Everyone seems to be watching Heartstopper for the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time but meanwhile, I am by far one of the slowest TV show watchers on this planet Earth. I mean, I’m still on the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender — and I’m not even halfway through even though I started last month. Meanwhile, I started Squid Game a month after it was released and finished that in like three days, which is pretty much a record for me.
One day I’m going to finish a show within 24 hours and everyone I know will wonder if I’m okay or if I’ve been abducted.
The Breakdown
What catastrophes have the universe handed us throughout the month? Let’s find out. 🧐
Sophia
Like March, I pretty much pretended bullet journaling doesn’t exist and maybe had a few existential crises, but I think that seems to be a reoccurring theme in my life.
- Mostly been busy for the exact reasons as last month and trying not to let it drain me.
- Trying to take better care of my hair because I’ve been having issues that I’m pretty sure it’s just buildup from working in the food-service industry for so long or reactions from ingredients
- Wavy hair + all that oil = not a great time
- I honestly never really cared all that much about a hair care routine since I’m not much for styling my hair either. Just shampoo and go, really.
- I got back into Habitica again, mostly because I want to rewrite the post I originally wrote years ago but then deleted
- Rewriting a post from way back in the day and realizing I’m very wordy — who actually wants to read a 3.3K words blog post?
- I should take “Kill your darlings” more seriously here
Let’s talk: How was your April? What are you excited about in May?
Sophia started blogging in February 2012 for the hell of it and is surprisingly still around. She has a GIF for nearly everything, probably listens to too much K-Pop and is generally in an existential crisis of sorts (she's trying her best). More of her bookish reviews and K-Pop Roundups can be found at The Arts STL.
If you enjoy her posts or found them helpful, consider tipping on KoFi!
“Rewriting a post from way back in the day and realizing I’m very wordy — who actually wants to read a 3.3K words blog post?”
Same problem here LOL. I try to cut on the words and every time I realise I would probably need even more of them to get through…
“I’m out of the double digits at least?”
👀
April was my last month at work. Feeling pretty down right now because who wants to hire an ex radio host with zero experience in any other field? 😭
“I try to cut on the words and every time I realise I would probably need even more of them to get through…” This is EXACTLY what happens to me. Honestly the post started out as 500 words back in 2019 when I first wrote it and now it’s just a whopping 3.1K post. How’d I become to wordy?!
I hope you’ll find something new! Job searching is never fun, and I definitely have experience with the zero experience in any other field or so little experience, people just brush it aside a lot of the time. 🙁
For me personally, April has been one looooong month. I had double the workload due to the long Eid holidays coming up, and our team’s annual retreat to Nepal. I am exhausted but I feel like I have been productive, just maybe not in the blogosphere lol!
Oh noooo ‘m sorry you had double the workload – you’re doing your best and it’s okay to not be productive in the blogosphere!
i touch my bullet journal like once a month. i’m so useless it it!!
also, i feel that comment about a 3k post. i have to edit mine down so they fit into the instagram word limit — it’s very painful!
Once a month is definitely more than mine! I think one of my friends put it perfectly into words: your bullet journal is what you want to make of it, even if it’s just touching it once a month.
I love how we both had the same exact perception of april ahaha man, I can’t wait to get some warmer weather to hit.. Spring is canada is mostly rain & cold- then a random warm day.. and back to cold xP I hate it, ahah
I’m so late too.. still haven’t touched heartstopper on Netflix, but the graphic novels either 🤣🤷🏽♀️ Eventually I might get to it..
Happy May, hoping this month go smoother for you xx
Oh, I’ll trade your weather I like a little cold and the occasional warm day not this mess with Missouri.
I’ve yet to read the Heartstopper graphic novels as well, but I feel like I’ll watch the show first.
April moved both fast and slow….YES! I feel this lol
My reading was also really bad this month. I’ve been reading the same 2-3 books for weeks now. They’re actually good but my brain has no focus at the moment.
Karen @For What It’s Worth
Oh no, I’m sorry your reading was bad; I definitely had that happen before (with my current read too, actually!) Hopefully May was better!
I am so slow when it comes to watching television. I never binge anything. My reviews used to be much longer but I am learning that shorter seems to work better in most cases. I hope that you have a great May!
Dying. Still confused as to what Kingdom put into this album because EXCUSE ME I was not expecting for it to attack me like that. I’ve had Blinder on several times over the past month along with Ascension. Blinder remains my favourite though.
I really want to try and prioritise reading again in the upcoming months but another part of me just like >.> I think I’ve gotten used to only reading a book a month now and then I spend most of my time on Genshin or falling down a drama hole. Speaking of which, if you ever finish a show in 3 days I’m going to march across the pond and check if you’re feeling ok 😂
I mean… I’ve definitely finished a show in 3 days, but they’re usually at most 5-10 episodes long or they’re short and sweet episodes. But I think considering my pace with ATLA that 3 day mark won’t be happening unless I take a nice vacation. 🤣
(I’m probably not okay. Something tragic probably happened, and I would likely be coping with dramas.)
Listen, I would gladly read a post of yours that’s over 3k words. I agree with taking notes and having that be the thing that reminds you of what books you read. I would probably forget which books I read this year if I weren’t writing them down. I also feel seen by your comment of juggling too many books at the same time. Here’s to hoping that May will be just as good as April, or more.
Ruby, I think you would read my shopping list sometimes. 😂 I appreciate you, though, and definitely thank you for helping look over it to make sure I’m not too rambly!