Happy New Year, bookwyrms and friends! (Look, every day feels the same and the days blur together. The other day, I thought I was off on Saturday, but I was off on Tuesday and Saturday. And then another day, I kept circling back to “have a great day” even after I said, “you too” for a good three hours. So my year is starting off fantastic.)
I hope everyone is drinking water and taking care of themselves.
This Month’s Posts
- [3 Jan] Bookwyrm Breakdown: Adios 2020
- [6 Jan] The Road to Procrastination: 2020 Highlights + 2021 Goals
- [13 Jan] The Year That Just Kept on Giving: 2020 Highlights + 2021 Goals
- [27 Jan] How to Save an Undead Life by Hailey Edwards ★★★½
Books Hoarded
Sophia
I’ve been making good use of Hoopla and listening to a lot of short audiobooks. (There would be more books because all my library holds decided now was a good time to break free but I’ve pushed them off.)
- Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
- Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
- Influence by Sara Shepard and Lilia Buckingham
- The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa (renew because no one else is wanting it)
- Okay, technically I got the rest of the series too other than The Lost Prince, which I had to resort to Scribd.
- The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee
- Shadow’s Legacy by Julie Kagawa
- Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
I’m pretty sure I forgot a few others, too…
Lupe
Personally, it was a rough first month into the year. How did I cope? By buying way too many books.
- From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Been wanting to get this for a while.)
- The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary
- The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez
- This Vicious Cure By Emily Suvada (Finally got the paperback to complete my paperback collection)
- How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams
- These Violent Delights By Chloe Gong (I caved and just bought it)
RELATED: Sophia’s review for These Violent Delights
Books Devoured
Sophia
According to Goodreads I somehow read 22* books in January, which I think is partially due to the fact at least half of those were rereads (which is generally quick for me) and a half of the remaining half being graphic novels or quick reads. (But I’d say it’s a vast improvement from the past few months, though.) Just to keep it short though, I won’t list all the books I read.
*Technically, it was 21. But book 22 was finished within an hour of February 1 so…
- The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig – I finally finished this audiobook! Do I remember what went on? I mean… kind of? I think I’ll probably come back to this in a year or two and reread because I remember maybe two things happening.
- Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
- Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo – So uh… remember what I said about not needing to reread in the December Bookwyrm Breakdown? Yeah, no, I definitely don’t remember the little details from Six of Crows, oops.
- The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee – reread in audiobook form so I can prepare myself to read book two (also I had an ARC and I’m trying to clear that out).
- Shadow’s Legacy by Julie Kagawa
- Influence by Sara Shepard and Lilia Buckingham – I just… was not a fan and DNFed this at 25%
- The rest of The Iron Fey series
Lupe
Unlike Sophia, I have not read at all this month. I am halfway through The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa. Still can’t seem to pick up a book right now. Definitely failed my goal of reading at least one book a month this year.
Fandom Assemble
Media we’ve consumed and enjoyed, or what we’re looking forward to that’s been announced lately.
Sophia
I know I said in my 2020 highlights and 2021 goals post I would try to watch a movie a week as a form of self-care, but LOL guess who already failed at that? But here’s a bit of what I’ve been listening to lately (outside of audiobooks):
- GOT7’s Breath of Love: Last Piece album – I wasn’t a fan of Breath when it first came out, but I think the song’s growing on me. Meanwhile… I have a soft spot for Last Piece
- Taylor Swift’s evermore album – I started this, and then I stopped, because I honestly don’t think I’m in the right mindset. But I really liked Willow which was all I listened to before stopping…
- (G)I-DLE’s I burn Mini Album
- TWICE’s Cry for Me
- Pentagon’s Eternal Flame
- U-KNOW’s NOIR Mini Album
- VICTON’s VOICE: The Future is Now Album
- Dreamcatcher’s [Dystopia: Road to Utopia] Mini Album
One thing I’m excited about: SHINEE IS MAKING A COMEBACK IN FEBRUARY!!! I think it’s safe to say my wrap up for next month is going to be bouncing off the walls about SHINee because that’s all I’m going to talk about. (Lupe’s going to kill me when she reads this section.)
Lupe
There is only one thing I’ve been looking forward to every week since mid January. Have you been watching WandaVision on Disney+? If not, please do so! It’s so good! I highly recommend it to every Marvel fan out there. The Easter eggs in each episode are just phenomenal. I could go on and on about this show. It’s THAT GOOD.
The Breakdown
What catastrophes have the universe handed us throughout the month? Let’s find out. 🧐
Sophia
I DID THE THING! After deleting the remaining posts (except for a select few), I went through and cleaned up tags, categories, media – friends, after three years, I think I’m officially done. I’m sure there’s like a random post I probably broke, but I’ll get to it when I find it. I think I’m going to take a nap from all this blog cleanup.
I also got the Fairyloot special edition of The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa! This is probably my only expense book-wise for a while, but I’m honestly super happy I’m going to be getting the signed editions. 😭 (Logically speaking, I’m saying this is my gift to myself as a very late graduation and birthday gift.)
Lupe
As I’ve mentioned, January was a rough start to the year for me. Currently, I don’t work from home and must come into work every day. My coworker decided to travel out of the country (don’t ask me why, very irresponsible) for three weeks over the holidays and came back to work. Assuming you know what’s going on in the world, they tested positive. Guess who had to go and get a COVID test? This chick. I was EXTREMELY furious. Everyone in the workplace were ENRAGED. Long story short, I tested negative. In case you were wondering, the test wasn’t as bad as people made it out to be.
After that shit show, I was too mad to do anything else and decided to pick up embroidery. I had to quarantine myself for a few days until I got my results back. Taking up a new hobby seemed like a logical choice while I was cooped up in my room. I totally respect those who can do this. Embroidery is harder than it looks.
On a personal note, my family and I were notified of my grandfather’s health. He has cancer and his health has been declining. Let’s just say, I have been focused on spending time with my family and being there for my father. This might be the first I lose a close family member soon. I am unprepared as to how my father and I will handle it once we lose him.
Greatly sorry for ending this post on a sad note. How ‘bout those Chiefs?
Roberta R. says
22 books…and…maybe half a book? Lupe, I hope you’ll get back into the reading groove soon – especially since you BOUGHT a few LOL. Also, I would have been furious as well, if I had such an irresponsible coworker. For goodness’ sake, what does it take for people to get it? I’m sad to hear about your grandfather – I hope you do get a lot of quality time with him while you can.
Sophia…yay for finishing your blogging cleanup after three years! and for those 22 books (rereads or not. I endorse rereads).
Have a nice month girls!
Sophia says
I don’t know, I’m surprised too about the 22 books. 😂 I generally don’t go through that many books so imagine that happening. Hope you’ll have a great month as well, Roberta!
Shruti says
Yasss put hoopla to good use, Soph! It’s honestly the only reason I’m reading way more than before. xD
ShootingStarsMag says
Lupe – I am so sorry to hear about your grandfather!
I’m sorry you had to get the Covid test too. I’ve had it a fair few times at this point.
Sophia: Woah, lots of reading last month. That’s awesome.
-Lauren
Jayati says
Yay for reading 22 books Soph!!! I’ve also been listening to a lot of audiobooks and reading a lot.
And wow, cleaning up the blog is a task and I’m glad you’re finally done with it.
Oh no, Lupe, please tale care of yourself!
Sophia says
Me too! I can finally put all that reformatting stress behind me (and the urge to just delete the blog multiple times) 😭
Gayathri says
Whoa that is quite a number of books for a month. I am sure you had a great reading month! I will definitely take a look at your other posts next.
Carole @ Carole's Random Life in Books says
Sophia, you had a great reading month! The blog clean up sounds like a lot of work. Congrats on getting it done!
Lupe, I have had times where reading was hard, and with the Covid scare and your grandfather, that is very understandable.
Sophia says
Thank you! It was a lot of work and stress but I’m so glad I’m done with it because now I don’t feel like ripping the blog and throwing it out the window into a black hole.
Sam@wlabb says
Sophia – I cannot wait to see what you think of the Genie Lo conclusion. I loved it. I felt like Yee went further than I expected (though I felt like there were more stories to tell than just two books).
Lupe – I hope you get to read some of your new books. I see one I really loved (How to Fail at Flirting). I am sorry to hear about your grandfather. Sending thoughts and love to you and your family.
RO says
There’s no better feeling than when you can clean-up the blog, right? (lol) I need to take a page from your book! Hugs, RO
Sophia says
For sure! Good luck if you clean up the blog! It’s a lot of work, but definitely worth it.