Apple Music Replay – The Bookish Mutant

Happy Thursday, bibliophiles!

Here we are, and once again, the year is nearly over…at least we have season 5 of Fargo to distract us from the inevitable passage of time.

Let’s begin, shall we?

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

Break aside, November has been on the busier side, but it’s been a productive one for me. It’s been chaos as far as my workload has gone, but part of that chaos was the editing that led me to send off two of my short stories for consideration to be published in some school literary journals! I won’t hear back for several months, but I’m so excited!! The initial impostor syndrome has faded (it’ll probably come back in a few months, mark my words…I’ve got my NyQuil ready), but either way, I’m really proud for taking this first step. Now, the workload chaos is in the form of looming final projects, which is not nearly as fun, but at least I don’t have to take a stats final at the crack of dawn like last year.

My reading has been a bit slower this month (see above), but as far as enjoyment goes, I’ve had a much more successful month! I had another 5-star read in the form of Ceremony (me when mixed-race experience and themes of storytelling), and I only had one book in the 2-star range for this whole month! I ended up reading a ton of literary and literary-leaning fiction for no particular reason, but the ones I read this month were almost all hits. I’ve had some more time to blog, what with break and whatnot, so it’s been fun to write more frequently before finals hits me like a train.

Other than that, I’ve just been trying to draw and play guitar (when I can), watching Taskmaster and The Great British Bakeoff (hEY NOW NO SPOILERS US AMERICANS HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL FRIDAY FOR THE FINAL), trying to ignore how cold the weather is, and rejoicing the return of Fargo! FARGO! I FEEL ALIVE AGAIN!

…say, are we gonna talk about how utterly insane episode 3 was? Just me?

Also, for your casual amusement, here’s the mess that is my Apple Music Replay for this year:

READING AND BLOGGING:

I read 15 books this month! Again, slower than normal, but it’s impressive to me, given how much editing and pre-finals chaos has consumed me this month.

2 – 2.75 stars:

*Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone*

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone – Benjamin Stevenson (⭐️⭐️.5)

3 – 3.75 stars:

Player Piano – Kurt Vonnegut (for school) (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Appleseed – Matt Bell (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Give Me a Sign – Anna Sortino (⭐️⭐️⭐️.25)
Eternally Yours – edited by Patrice Caldwell (anthology) (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
Where Peace Is Lost – Valerie Valdes (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
A Crooked Mark – Linda Kao (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
Hunger Makes the Wolf (Ghost Wolves, #1) – Alex Wells (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

4 – 4.75 stars:

The Deep Sky – Yume Kitasei (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
The Crane Husband – Kelly Barnhill (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Family Lore – Elizabeth Acevedo (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
This Place: 150 Years Retold – Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm et. al. (anthology) (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
A Desolation Called Peace (Teixcalaan, #2) – Arkady Martine (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25)
Our Wives Under the Sea – Julia Armfield (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

5 stars:

Ceremony – Leslie Marmon Silko (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

POSTS I’M PROUD OF:

I had fun reviewing The Deep Sky, The Crane Husband, A Crooked Mark, and Hunger Makes the Wolf!
Music rambling! Here are my Sunday Songs from 11/5, 11/12, 11/19, and 11/26.
I made a list of books for Native American Heritage Month!
I had fun with the Wasted Potential Book Tag!

POSTS FROM OTHER WONDERFUL PEOPLE THAT I’VE ENJOYED:

SONGS/ALBUMS THAT I’VE BEEN ENJOYING:

NEW IDLES IN FEBRUARY LET’S GO

finally got through the rest of Peter Gabriel’s non-soundtrack albums WOO

my first Arlo Parks album!! wonderful, summery stuff

DOI-OI-OI-OI-OING

so whimsically creepy

NEW SMILE IN JANUARY I’M GONNA PASS OUT

Today’s song:

hnnnnnngh 70’s guitars

That’s it for this month in blogging! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Happy Saturday, bibliophiles, and happy New Year’s Eve!

Whew. This strange, chaotic year is coming to a close, but what matters most is that despite everything, we’re still here. Whoever you are, I’m proud of you for making it through another year. You did it!

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

December was certainly a little stressful at the beginning, what with my first finals season in college. Most of my classes were fine, seeing as all of my English *finals* were mostly essays and portfolios, but stats and bio anth were a little tougher. But in the end, I got out with good grades, and I won’t have to take a math class again in my college career. You have no idea how happy I am about that.

The great thing about being in college (in my case, at least) is that we have a really long winter break! After the chaos of finals, I’ve had a lot of time to settle down, relax, and spend the holidays with family. I’ve been in a major reading slump since finals, but the combination of some finds from my dad’s comic shelf, some Christmas gifts, and the haul from my Barnes & Noble gift card, I’m back into my regular reading rhythm! I’m so excited to read the rest of my haul!!

Other than that, I’ve been drawing more, putting together a puzzle (of David Bowie, who else would it be), watching Andor (SO GOOD), Glass Onion (I cannot stress enough how wonderful this movie is), and Decision to Leave (I still don’t completely know how I feel about this one), seeing The Smile live (CRYING CRYING CRYING), and enjoying spending time at home with my family over the break.

And yes, I know it’s New Year’s Eve, but there is a MUCH more important holiday going on today, and that’s Ringo’s first birthday!! My boy turns 1 today!! Everybody say happy birthday to Ringo

Also, I figured it might be fun to share some highlights from my apple music ~~wrapped~~, sorry, replay—I’ve always wished that apple music had a wrapped equivalent, so, uh, Christmas miracle, I guess?

unsurprising, given that I spent a 2-hour plane flight listening to “Metal Guru” on repeat and nothing else 🥴

I am nothing if not predictable (David Bowie was #6 and Radiohead was #7 lol)

Do I get Welsh street cred for this one?

READING AND BLOGGING:

I read 15 books this month! It was my worst reading month as far as reading goes, but it was also finals week, so it’s all fine. I completed my reading challenge of 200 books and read 224 books in all this year!

2 – 2.75 stars:

We Light Up the Sky – Lilliam Rivera (⭐️⭐️)
A House Between Earth and the Moon – Rebecca Scherm (⭐️⭐️)
Deep in Providence – Riss M. Neilson (⭐️⭐️)
Aces Wild: A Heist – Amanda DeWitt (⭐️⭐️.5)

3 – 3.75 stars:

Women Don’t Owe You Pretty – Florence Given (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries, #2) – Martha Wells (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
A Venom Dark and Sweet (The Book of Tea, #2) – Judy I. Lin (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
The Genesis of Misery – Neon Yang (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
Last Night at the Telegraph Club – Malinda Lo (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
Hellboy: On Earth as it is in Hell – Brian Hodge (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75)

4 – 4.75 stars:

Vengeful (Villains, #2) – V.E. Schwab (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
City of Spells (Into the Crooked Place, #2) – Alexandra Christo (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Gleanings: Stories from the Arc of a Scythe – Neal Shusterman et. al. (anthology) (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
DC: The New Frontier, vol. 1 – Darwyn Cooke (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
House of Hollow – Krystal Sutherland (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

FAVORITE BOOK OF THE MONTH: Gleanings: Stories from the Arc of a Scythe – 4 stars

POSTS I’M PROUD OF:

I had fun reviewing A Venom Dark and Sweet and Gleanings!
I had fun doing the Winter is Coming Book Tag and the Random Number Book Tag!
I compiled all of my 5-star reads of this year!

POSTS FROM OTHER WONDERFUL PEOPLE THAT I ENJOYED:

SONGS/ALBUMS THAT I ENJOYED:

fantastic on its own, but it was incredible to hear live with The Smile!!

unpopular opinion—this is my least favorite Blur album that I’ve listened to so far, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. this is certainly the best track

I never thought I’d say this in my lifetime, but new Sparklehorse just dropped?? and it’s not sad??????

again, this was so much fun live, but it’s great to finally hear the album version!!

I stumbled upon this one while trying to cite On a Sunbeam for my final comics paper—according to Tillie Walden, this is the song that inspired the title! fits the vibe of the comic for sure

SUCH a creative cover, wildly different from the original but in the best way possible

a great album to end the year on!

It’s been a scary and jarring year, but it’s been wonderful too. I graduated high school and started college, and I pushed myself out of my comfort zone more than I have in ages. I made new friends, I went to so many amazing concerts and read so many fantastic books. It’s been weird and uncertain (and I cried a lot), but in the end, what matters is that we got through it. No matter how good or bad of a year you had, I hope 2023 brings hope, love, and good things to each and every one of you. We got this.

Have a wonderful new year. Spread love, be kind to each other.

— madeline

Today’s song:

came for the Gorillaz, stayed for the Suzuki flashbacks

That’s it for this month in blogging! Have a wonderful rest of your day, take care of yourselves, and have a happy new year!

Tag: Apple Music Replay

November 2023 Wrap-Up 🍲

December 2022 Wrap-Up 🧣