January Wrap Up & February Plans

February has been so dumb.

It’s been so busy and everything has fallen apart a bunch of times and work has been stressful and friends have been stressful and sleep has been stressful and it’s been so dang cold. So I’m really glad that March is basically here and it’s not February anymore. I’m ready for spring.

I haven’t read as much as I wanted to. I’ve listened to some great music though. Let’s break it down, shall we?

Books I Read:

Pen & Xander by Laekan Zea Kemp 4/5
This book was so good! It was such a sweet love story, and the characters were amazing, and I loved how the whole things came together. If you’re even a little into contemporary, this is one book you should definitely check out.

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton 2/5
This book is so hyped, and it just didn’t do it for me. I found it to be vain, vapid, and just… silly. I wanted this to be about so much more than just appearances and how people looked, and it just never happened. Which makes sense for the book, but it’s just not my thing.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik 3/5
I think I would have enjoyed this book so much more if I hadn’t taken so dang long to actually read it. I loved the forest being the enemy in the story, and the main characters was a lot of fun. It was a little slow, but one I want to tackle again in future to see if I enjoy it more.

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw 5/5
This book was so simple, so brilliant, and so good! It’s a great twist on the old story we know about witches and about curses, and I absolutely loved the whole thing. If you’re at all a fantasy/witches/curses/the sea fan, you need to check this one out.

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows 4/5
If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you drank a bottle (or a few) of wine and decided to rewrite history, you need to read this book. It was so bizarre and confusing and hilarious and brilliant. I like this version of history better, because people turn into animals.

If Your Knew Her by Emily Elgar 4/5
I really enjoyed this book, even if I hated the ending (not because it’s bad, just because one part of it broke my heart). It’s a great mystery, if a little bit predictable if you’re paying attention, and the three perspectives actually works really well.

Books I Acquired:

I haven’t gotten too many books this month, mostly thanks to the fact that I haven’t had time to get many books this month. But that’s okay, since I also haven’t read much this month.

From Publishers/Authors/Etc.

Furyborn by Claire Legrand (from NetGalley)
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell (from NetGalley)
Smith by Sam B. Miller (from author)

Books I Bought Myself

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
If You Knew Her by Emily Elgar

Music I Listened To

So I made the decision switch from Apple Music to Spotify this month, since many other music therapists use it and it’s so much easier to share music on that than on Apple Music. And if I’m doing this properly, I can do this!

 

 

Fingers crossed that works. It looks like it works on my end. My main goal has been to make sure my work stuff is together and no visible to the public, so I haven’t had as much time to play with my own stuff aside from just putting a playlist together for my car. I also don’t know if that list will change when I change things on my end. Yay learning things!

Things That Happened in My Day to Day Life

Switching to Spotify has been a fun adventure. It’s been slow to figure it out and learn all the features, but it’s been fun.

Work has been crazy and stressful, but that’s nothing new. One new client, one old one that keeps messing me around, trying to figure out advertising and how to actually do that. But one of my programs told me that I can basically have as many hours whenever I want through the summer, which means I won’t be broke this summer, which is also super exciting.

I spent a good two weeks figuring out why my power steering in my car locked up one morning, getting it fixed, and then making up for the hours and sessions and social stuff I missed while dealing with that. On the plus side, my warranty covered the cost. On the down side, it took two weeks to get everything sorted.

I also started watching Grey’s Anatomy again. It’s great background noise for doing other things, and it’s mindless enough that I can follow it when I’m only half awake.

Plans for March

The top three are review copies that I have on my list for this month, and I have high hopes for all of them. The lower two are ones I have on my shelf and I’m excited to get around to them, since I’ve heard such good things.

What are you planning to read in March? Let me know in the comments below!