October 2019 Recap

Wow! There's actually a recap this month because . . . there's some stuff to recap, lol!

Last week I got to see the touring production of Les Misérables at the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando. I first saw the show about 20 years ago on Broadway when I was living in New York. I'm a bit of a Les Miz nerd, lol; I've watched the anniversary concerts and the movie adaptation of the musical with Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway more than a few times. ;) When I found out that the current tour was making a stop in Orlando, I jumped at the opportunity to see the show again.

I admit that I got chills when the orchestra began playing the opening notes! This was a wonderful production; everything from the performances to the sets was amazing! If you're a Les Miz fan and have the chance to catch this tour, don't miss it!

On the bookish side, I read 2 books this month, and both were 4 star reads. I'm trying to keep that momentum going and am currently reading Neal Shusterman's Scythe, which has been very, very good so far.

Yesterday the temperature here in Florida was 90 and felt like 97. Um, hello? Tomorrow's November? We're hoping to finally experience some sweater weather when we head to Charleston next week for YALLFest.

How was your October?

Reviews Posted:

• Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
• To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

July 2019 Recap

Happy August, everyone! Hope you're all enjoying summer! It's been an extremely hot summer even for Florida, as evidenced by the monthly horror story I call my electric bill. :( Ah, well—at least we have air conditioning to stay cool.

I really slacked off in July, only reading 2 books and posting 1 review. :( I did finally get around to reading Victoria Schwab's Vengeful, which I was determined to cross off my 2019 TBR. Although I read consistently (I LOVE having a daily reading tracker in my bullet journal), most days I only got in a few pages either before work or late in the evening. Noticing this pattern has really made me think about how I spend my time and if there are any things in my daily routine that really aren't that high priority and which can be swapped out a few times a week for some extra reading and blogging.

I also lost the past week to a whopper of a cold that made it difficult to do very much other than sneeze, blow my nose, and sleep. I can usually fight this kind of thing off in a day or two, but I think I was really run down this time. I'm finally feeling like myself again and trying to get back on track with reading and blogging.

Have you read anything good lately? How has your summer been going?

Reviews Posted:

• The Place on Dalhousie by Melina Marchetta

June 2019 Recap

Can you believe that the year is already HALFWAY OVER?! I went to Michael's yesterday and they already had FALL DECORATIONS on sale, right next to the Fourth of July stuff, lol.

June was a pretty good reading and blogging month. I've been including reading in my bullet journal habit tracker, and being able to see how many reading days I've had in a month really does keep me motivated. I also have a general writing tracker, under which I include writing blog posts, and it's been equally helpful in staying consistent with blogging.

I hope everyone is enjoying summer and getting in some beach days!

Reviews Posted:

• On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
• Shadow Me by Tahereh Mafi
• Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi

Featured Posts:

• 2019 Mid-Year Rewind

May 2019 Recap

So it looks like I haven't done a monthly recap post since . . . September of 2018. Oof.

I feel like I found a good reading AND blogging groove in May, thanks in large part to ranting recapping the final season of Game of Thrones. I even read three books this month and reviewed two.

I'm finally, finally reading at a steady pace again. I've been tracking my reading in my bullet journal, and May was easily my best reading month so far this year. I've had this sort of block for months where the simple act of physically picking up a book seemed like an impossible chore. It was one of those situations where the longer I went without reading, the harder it was to get back into it. So I've been working on building myself back up; even if I read for five minutes, I still spent time reading, and I could still give myself credit for a reading day in my bullet journal. The satisfaction of seeing all of the days highlighted in purple seems to have done the trick.

Right now I'm reading Stephen King's On Writing, one of the many books that has been collecting dust on my shelves for years. Since I'm trying to return to steady blogging, too, I thought it would be a good time to pick up some writing tips as well. On Writing is bursting with them, and I can't believe it's taken me this long to read it. This is actually my first Stephen King book, and after reading about the origins of some of his most famous works, I want to check out his novels.

It has gotten ridiculously hot already here in Florida. Today I received an email from the electric company with a friendly head's up that due to record high temperatures, there's a good chance I'll see a significant increase in my next bill. Something to look forward to, indeed. :(

I hope that you're enjoying the start of summer and staying cool with some amazing summer reads!

Reviews Posted:

• The 5th Gender by G.L. Carriger
• The Reader by Traci Chee

September 2018 Recap

Hello, friends! Can you believe it's OCTOBER????? Like, where did this year go???

Although there's Halloween stuff everywhere (with the occasional sighting of Christmas stuff), it is still IN THE 90'S HERE. The humidity has gone down a bit, but really! With every year I've been in Florida, I've missed crisp fall air and the trees changing colors more and more.

I've been reading and blogging on and off lately. It just always seems like there are higher priority things going on, I'm too tired by the time I do have a few minutes to spare, etc. I should probably really give audiobooks a try because I could listen while doing things like cleaning, but as with any new thing, I have to get over my initial skepticism, which is no small challenge, lol.

I hope you all have a spook-tacular October! If I weren't such a wimp, lol, I'd read some scary books this month. Instead my contribution to Halloween 2018 will be eating lots of Reese's peanut butter pumpkins, bats, and the like. :D

July 2018 Recap

Goodbye July, hello August! I actually read 2 books and 1 novella in July! Woohoo! It's been quite a while since I got that much reading done in a month; it helped that the 2 books were both very enjoyable: Gail Carriger's Competence and Tahereh Mafi's Restore Me. The novella, however, was a bit of a different story. I was quite disappointed with Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Frost and Starlight. Sorta ranty review posting next week.

I also wrote my 300th review. When I started blogging 6 six years ago, I probably wouldn't have pictured myself having the dedication to write that number of reviews. Or still be blogging after 6 years, lol.

I hope you all enjoy the waning days of summer! The temps here in Florida won't get cooler for a while yet, but I'm totally ready for some sweater weather and fall Bath and Body Works scents! XD

Reviews Posted:

• Competence by Gail Carriger
• Defy the Worlds by Claudia Gray
• Restore Me by Tahereh Mafi

Featured Posts:

• 2018 Mid-Year Rewind

May 2018 Recap

Happy June, friends—ALREADY. I don't know about all of you, but 2018 is leaving me in the dust!

May was super busy with non-bookish stuff, which is what I feel I've said about every month for like the past 2 years, lol. I usually have 2 minutes before I need to get out of my car to walk into work, and I've been spending those 2 minutes reading. That's how desperate I am to squeeze in a page or two during the day.

At least May was a really good month for collectible popcorn tins going to the movies. I saw Avengers: Infinity War again and also saw Deadpool 2 and Solo: A Star Wars Story.

While I thought the first Deadpool film was OK, I absolutely loved the sequel! The theater we were in wasn't all that crowded, which was good because I howled with laughter throughout most of the movie.

I went into Solo kinda nervous because: it's Han Solo. Plus there were all of the headlines about the production woes, soooo . . . yeah. I didn't know what to expect from this film, but I tried to keep an open mind going in. I was a little worried when things started off slow, but I left the theater satisfied. I don't think any future Star Wars movie will ever touch the original trilogy because that's what I grew up with (and Harrison Ford will ALWAYS be my Han), but Solo was solid.

I also broke down at last in May and invested in a laptop to replace my 10-year-old desktop. I spent many hours working on this blog on that desktop, lol, but it was finally time, especially since I kept getting warning messages about Windows Vista (yes, Vista) not being supported for just about every app installed on the computer. XD

I hope everyone has a fantastic June—time to get out the summer reads!

Reviews Posted:

• Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen
• How to Marry a Werewolf by Gail Carriger
• The Smoke Thieves by Sally Green

April 2018 Recap

It's a double miracle—not only is this month's recap post on time for a change, but there are actually posts to include in the recap! LOL. I've been feeling kinda down about my lame efforts to blog this year, so I definitely needed this little morale boost.

This was also probably my best reading month of 2018 so far, as in I didn't go long stretches without reading. Before I'd been finding it so easy to finish a book and not pick up a new one.

April 11 was our 6th blogoversary. It's crazy to think that 6 years have gone by already. Also, I was 6 years younger back then, hahaha!

I saw Infinity War on opening night, and my brain is still trying to process everything. Way to mess with my head, Marvel Studios! XD

So farewell, April. Hope everyone has a fantastic May!

Reviews Posted:

• A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
• I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman
• Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Featured Posts:

• Six Years of Blogging

March 2018 Recap

To those celebrating today, Happy Easter! I'm trying to pace myself with the Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs. XD It's also April Fool's Day, and I wish this were an April Fool's joke: I posted once last month. :/ I wasn't going to bother with a March recap, but I did read 2 books and 1 short story last month, which is a lot more reading than I've been managing lately.

The short story was Maggie Stiefvater's "Opal," which is a segue between The Raven King and her forthcoming Ronan trilogy. Obviously, I highly, highly, highly recommend reading it. :)

I've got a couple of reviews backlogged, which should be posting soon-ish if I remember to type them up. I still do things old school, lol, preferring to write my reviews on paper first. It's an extra step, but in an ever-increasing digital world, I'm clinging to my paper!

Happy April reading and blogging, everyone!

February 2018 Recap

Oh February—where have you gone?! Wasn't it just Valentine's Day, AKA Lee-Eats-Lots-of-Reese's-Peanut-Butter-Hearts Day?

Work has been extremely busy, resulting in my inability to read more than five pages at night before falling asleep. I DNF'ed The Traitor's Game by Jennifer A. Nielsen because I just wasn't feeling it. I may try to go back to it one day.

I got to see Black Panther last week, and it was AWESOME. I'm trying to watch/re-watch all of the Marvel films before Infinity War comes out in May and have 6 checked off the list so far. Nerd much? XD

Reviews Posted:

• One for Sorrow by Mary Downing Hahn
• Ink by Alice Broadway

January 2018 Recap

When I caught sight of the date on my laptop, I couldn't believe that January was at an end already! I'm really happy that I actually read AND blogged this month—yeah! I started the new year determined to get back on track with both of those things.

It's also been lovely to have my cousin, Melissa, back on the blog! Look for some more posts from her soon.

As a planner geek, lol, I was thrilled to be able to finally begin using my 2018 planner. This is the first year I'm using the Passion Planner, and I'm absolutely LOVING it. The format is working really, really well for me, i.e. there's plenty of space to fill with washi tape, which I own way too many rolls of. XD

I don't watch much TV, but I'm totally into The Crown and recently binge watched Season 2. I also saw The Greatest Showman in theaters because after also watching Logan at the start of January, I needed to see Hugh Jackman in something a lot less depressing, LOL.

Unfortunately, I ended the month catching a cold that just won't quit. While it's mostly cleared up, it's like I can't shake the last bit of it, which is annoying. The weather's inability to make up its mind whether it should be in the high 70's or close to 40 probably isn't helping.

Happy February, everyone! Not gonna lie: I'm probably going to spend a good part of the month eating Reese's Peanut Butter Hearts. XD

Reviews Posted:

• S.T.A.G.S. by M.A. Bennett
• Avatar: The Last Airbender: Smoke and Shadow by Gene Luen Yang & Gurihiru
• Down and Across by Arvin Ahmadi

Featured Posts:

• Reading and Blogging Goals for 2018
• 2018 Releases I Need to Read

November 2017 Recap

Is it just me, or has this year absolutely flown by?! I can't believe we're almost at the end of 2017! I shudder to think of the current state of my Goodreads reading challenge, so I'll move along. XD

It was another quiet month on the blog, much like it's been all year. :/ November was actually a pretty busy travel month. Ally, Melissa, and I returned to Charleston for our third YALLFest, and it was a much needed break from real life. It was so, so nice to be surrounded by all things bookish all weekend.

I also went on a cruise for the first time ever. Instead of an office Christmas party, my bosses very generously took our team on a weekend cruise to the Bahamas. Everyone got to bring a guest, so Melissa got to witness me making multiple trips to the buffet. It was a good thing the cruise wasn't any longer because being able to eat dessert with every meal, and between every meal, was becoming dangerous. XD

Coffee + Reading + Ocean View = Bliss

Junkanoo Beach, The Bahamas

With only a couple of weeks left in 2017, I'm hoping to squeeze in a last minute read or two. If you're in the same boat as I am, good luck! If you've met your reading goal for this year, kudos! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season with lots and lots of bookish goodness! :D

Reviews Posted:

• Romancing the Werewolf by Gail Carriger

Featured Posts:

• Adventures at YALLFest 2017

October 2017 Recap

Oh dear. Can you even call a post a recap if there's nothing to recap? October was just about crickets around here. :( I blame the usual culprits: work, adulting, and real life in general.

I did get to read Gail Carriger's fantastic upcoming novella, Romancing the Werewolf:

I'll be posting my review in the next few days, but for now I'll say that this is a must-read for fans of the Parasolverse! If you haven't read any of those books, no worries; you can still read this standalone novella!

Ally, Melissa, and I are headed to Charleston next week for YALLFest! This will be our third year attending, and we always have so much fun at the event. Fingers crossed that I can spare a few moments to write some kind of recap post of our adventures there, LOL. Until then, happy November reading! :D

September 2017 Recap

Happy October, everyone! It certainly doesn't feel like fall yet here with temps still in the high 80's and lingering humidity. I just want a little bit of sweater weather! XD

I'm still clawing my way out of an abysmal reading/blogging slump. :( I've been reading V.E. Schwab's A Conjuring of Light since June. The book itself is fantastic; the problem is my complete and total lack of motivation to pick it up. Most nights when I sit down to read for a bit, I end up passing out on the couch within a few minutes. Sometimes within a few seconds, LOL.

And so this monthly recap is pretty light on . . . recapping. I hope to at least finish ACoL this month and maybe try reading a fairly short book to help ease back into a reading routine. Here's to happy reading for everyone, especially during these troubled and trying times when I know for me, reading fiction is a very, very welcome escape.

August 2017 Recap

It's another short and sweet monthly recap with zero books read, LOL. August was incredibly busy, so much so that I posted my Game of Thrones recaps super late every week. XD I also had some internet woes, culminating in two calls to tech support that got progressively worse in helpfulness and customer service quality. I had low expectations going in, but apparently they weren't low enough. My internet has been a bit more reliable, and fingers crossed that I don't have to call tech support again any time soon.

Here in Florida, we're preparing for the potential impact of Hurricane Irma. I went out tonight after work to see if I could grab a few extra supplies like bottled water and batteries, and all of the big name stores were already cleaned out, not only of those items but of canned and boxed foods as well. Both Lowe's and Home Depot were also significantly more crowded than usual for a Tuesday night. I live in an area in Central Florida that's hilly, but we're still bracing for the worst. I hope that everyone in the hurricane's path stays safe!

Game of Thrones Recaps:

• The Queen's Justice
• The Spoils of War
• Eastwatch
• Beyond the Wall
• The Dragon and the Wolf & Final Thoughts on Season 7

July 2017 Recap

Happy August, everyone! July flew by so fast that I'm still recapping it, LOL. Er, there's really not much to recap on the blog. XD Life outside of reading and blogging just continues to monopolize my time. I've been kinda MIA from the blogosphere lately and totally petered out at the end of this year's Harry Potter Month because there were too many adulting-related things going on. A big thank you to Melissa for picking up my slack and writing posts and replying to comments!

The one thing that I always find time for is watching Game of Thrones, LOL! I haven't been nearly as diligent in getting my episode recaps posted in a timely manner, but they do get written . . . eventually. XD This past Sunday's episode was INSANE!!! I can't wait to see what else this shortened season has in store!

Reviews Posted:

• The Sumage Solution by Gail Carriger
• The Apprentice Witch by James Nicol

Featured Posts:

• Melissa's Comeback Post

Harry Potter Month Posts:

• Melissa & Lee's Intro
• 20 Years of Harry Potter
• My Wand Experience at Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• My HP Bucket List

Game of Thrones Recaps:

• Dragonstone
• Stormborn

June 2017 Recap

Whoa! This year is flying by wayyyyy too fast, especially considering my advanced age. I turned the dreaded f-word a few weeks ago: forty. Maturity-wise, I'm much, much, much younger than that. XD

I had a really nice birthday; I took the day off from work and went to Disney Springs (which will always be Downtown Disney to me, LOL) with Melissa, Ally, and their brother, Denis. When I went back to work the next day, my lovely co-workers had decorated my desk and thoughtfully put a walker in front of it, LOL.

I didn't do much reading or blogging in June, which has pretty much been the norm for 2017 so far. I see the start of July as a clean slate, though, and I'm really going to try to set aside dedicated reading and blogging time. I hope everyone has an awesome July and a fantastic second half of 2017!

Reviews Posted:

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

Featured Posts:

• 2017 Mid-Year Rewind

May 2017 Recap

Hello, friends! Today is the last day of May—does that seem insane to anyone else? Now would be a fantastic time for a TARDIS or Time-Turner to appear!

May was mostly another meh reading month, although it ended on a very strong note with this:

Sacrificing some preciousssss sleep a couple of nights in order to read A Court of Wings and Ruin was totally worth it! I regret nothing, even I had to drag myself out of bed for work on less than the optimal amount of sleep. I also got in some rare quality reading time during the three day weekend.

I think this quote from the first chapter of ACoWaR gives you a good idea of all of the craziness to come:

I supposed that in the past weeks, I had crafted my demeanor as intricately as one of those paintings. I supposed that if I had also chosen to show myself as I truly wished, I would have been adorned with flesh-shredding talons, and hands that choked the life out of those now in my company. I would have left the gilded halls stained red.

You go, Feyre! XD Happy June, everyone!

Reviews Posted:

• Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh

April 2017 Recap

Happy May! I can't believe we're almost halfway through 2017! I seriously need a do over on some of the previous months. :/

April was pretty much the usual—lots of adulting (I think I'm stuck in a permanent adulting loop. Someone reprogram me, please!). The blog turned 5, which I'm quite proud of because I'm still at this 5 years later.

It was a very quiet reading month yet again, but I absolutely LOVED this book:

I'd been struggling so much with getting into books and finishing them before reading Defy the Stars. It's exactly the book I needed to remind me how much I love reading.

Abel, one of the protagonists, is a mech, which is essentially a robot. For me, the most fascinating aspect of the novel was watching his programming evolve. This quote made me laugh out loud:

At some point Abel will have to analyze whether he has developed the capacity for passive aggression.

Reviews Posted:

• Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves
• Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

Featured Posts:

• Five Years of Blogging

March 2017 Recap

Hello, friends! Happy April Fool's Day! I hope you haven't been pranked too much so far today, LOL. Shelf Awareness sent out a hilarious April Fool's e-newsletter that included a "release date" for George R.R. Martin's much anticipated The Winds of Winter. It actually had me tricked for a second until I realized what today was. Well done, Shelf Awareness. Well done, indeed.

Whenever I put together a monthly recap post, I like to look back at what I wrote for that month the previous year. I was a little dismayed to find that in March 2016, I was in a reading and blogging slump. That about sums up March 2017, except my current reading slump is really, really, really bad right now. Most of the books I've read so far this year have been duds; I'm still searching for what's proving to be the elusive slump-breaker. I'm not too far behind my Goodreads challenge (yet), which is surprising because it's been taking me forever to get through a single book.

On a much happier note, Game of Thrones Season 7 has a premiere date! My ass will be parked on the couch in front of the TV on July 16. And here's a rather chilling trailer for you:

Reviews Posted:

• Seven Days of You by Cecilia Vinesse
• The Valiant by Lesley Livingston