Happy Sunday, bibliophiles, and happy new year!! I hope this last week of the year treated you well. 🎇
It’s been a nice, relaxing end to this year, I would say. After Christmas, I went to Barnes & Noble and got some amazing-looking books with my gift card, and I’ve had lots of time to draw, read, blog, and decompress overall. With all of the snow that’s still here, Ringo’s been swimming in the snow with his little legs…corgis are so funny lol
I finally feel like I’ve broken out of my reading slump from this month! I really enjoyed Gleanings, and the one book I finished from the B & N haul (House of Hollow) was fantastic, and all of the others look similarly so! I finished 2022’s reading challenge, beating my goal of 200 books and reading 224 books in 2022! I didn’t want to make that drastic of a leap this year, so my goal for 2023 is 215 books!
Other than that, I’ve just been drawing, playing guitar, watching Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (emotionally destroyed me, but leave it to him to make the creation of Pinocchio look like something out of Frankenstein) and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (the SWEETEST), and rewatching Isle of Dogs. Certainly a nice start to the year, I think. Here’s to a happy 2023!
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)PFFFFFFFF ROCKY HORROR MADE THE CUTDo 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!
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!
Happy Sunday, bibliophiles, and a very merry Christmas to those who celebrate! I hope this week has treated you well. 🎄❄️
It’s been a peaceful week, if not a ridiculously freezing one. It got to a balmy -14 degrees on Wednesday, so we stayed inside that day (and most of the week). The weather’s been somewhat normal after that, luckily. I’ve just been relaxing around the house for most of the week and doing some baking and cooking for Christmas.
As far as reading goes, I’m still in a slight bit of a slump; I’ve read a few good books, but I haven’t read anything that’s really wowed me in a couple of weeks. It’s been a slow reading month as is, what with finals earlier in the month, but hopefully I’ll strike gold soon. Luckily, I got Gleanings and Women Don’t Owe You Pretty for Christmas, and my brother, while on his noble quest to reorganize my dad’s comic shelves, found an older Hellboy paperback and a few other things, so I have plenty to read soon. (because nothing says Christmas like Hellboy, right?)
Other than that, I’ve just been drawing, playing guitar, baking for Christmas (and subsequently eating said baking), watching Andor (I’M SO CLOSE TO FINISHING IT’S SO GOOD) and Glass Onion (the whole film is basically a giant middle finger to Elon Musk and I loved it), and staying warm in the way-too-wintry weather.
Happy Sunday, everyone! Hope this week has treated you well.
I’m back now!! Again, sorry that I disappeared without warning there, finals just snuck up on me. But they’re over now, and so is my first semester of college!! It doesn’t feel like I’ve already finished a whole semester, but I’m so proud of myself for how far I’ve come—it was scary, but I managed to make good grades and make some friends too! I’m hoping next semester will be fun too—I have a whole class on science fiction (!!!!!!) on my roster, and now that I have stats out of the way, I don’t need any more math classes!
Most of this week has been studying and subsequently packing up my dorm and going back home, so I haven’t been able to do much reading. I’ve been in a slump for a week or two—it’s been punctuated by some great books, but I’ve had a string of mediocre to bad books as of late. It’s starting to look up a little, though, and winter break will definitely give me loads more time to read. (You’ll probably see them pop up in the wrap-up in a few weeks…)
Also, this was last week, but I wanted to share some pictures—I had the AMAZING opportunity of seeing The Smile live!! Easily one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to—the collective talents of Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner just poured off the stage, and I just felt like I was levitating the whole time, absolutely ecstatic. Since that was all during the muck of finals, I really needed that pick-me-up. So grateful to have seen them! Now I can’t wait for all of those new songs they played to come out…
THOM YORKE!!!!! yes that is Jonny Greenwood playing the bass with a cello bow, and yes it was incredible
Other than that, I’ve just been packing up for home, sleeping in, watching Andor (liking it so far!! doesn’t feel like Disney which is VERY good lol) and VERY much enjoying having home-cooked food and going out to dinner with my family. Love you guys 💗
The last week of 2021 was a peaceful one for me; mostly just staying inside and doing nothing, which is nice for a change. We saw Spiderman: No Way Home on Sunday night, and it was AMAZING. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day were quiet, and I watched Wes Anderson movies (The French Dispatch, Isle of Dogs, and Fantastic Mr. Fox) with my family until midnight.
I’ve had a lot more time to read over break, which I’ve been so grateful for! Unfortunately, all of my usual volunteer days at the library have fallen on days when the library’s closed for the holidays, so I’ve finished the last of my library holds. For now, I’m scouring the Kindle library until I can go back to the library, but I have two books that I preordered that both come out in two days, so… 😳
I kind of hit a wall with editing my WIP—I just felt unsatisfied with a lot of it and just went and played Minecraft for several days instead of looking at it. I looked back over some of it yesterday and tried to come up with solutions, but it’s gonna be a long editing period…
Other than that, I’ve just been drawing, petting my cats, watching Get Back (how is it that the MINUTE George leaves, EVERYTHING devolves into chaos?), and doing my best to stay warm.
(uncertain—since I’m reading off the Kindle library, I don’t know exactly what I’m reading next, so I’ll slip in the two books I preordered that come out on the 4th)
Sorcery of Thorns – Margaret Rogerson
The Kindred – Alechia Dow
Anthem – Noah Hawley
Today’s song:
I feel like I’ve posted this song at least twice on here before but it came on shuffle today and DANG
That’s it for this week in blogging! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!
Whew. It’s hard to believe that 2022 starts tomorrow, but I’m more than ready to start over. It’s been a Year™️.
GENERAL THOUGHTS:
December was rough at times, but I’m glad I got through it. What with that big AP Gov project and finals, I was exhausted by the time winter break rolled around, but I’m so glad to have some time off to myself. And we didn’t get the snow we wanted on Christmas, but we got…one or two snows here in Colorado, so at least there’s a little moisture. We’re supposed to get a big storm…right about now, though, so…
I took some time off from writing after finishing NaNoWriMo up so I could a) get some rest and b) focus on schoolwork, but after finals ended, I started looking back through the second draft of my main sci-fi WIP! It’s so strange how different the experience has already become from when I did this for draft 1; I’m relieved to say that I’ve improved a whole lot as a writer since then.
Other than that, I’ve been listening to the Beatles and Blur (well…more than usual), playing Minecraft, watching Hawkeye (eh, probably my least favorite Marvel show but the disability rep is nice to see), and going to see Nightmare Alley (is it really a Guillermo del Toro movie without babies in jars?)and Spiderman: No Way Home (AAAAAAAAAA). Christmas was lovely too, and I had a wonderful time spending a day with my family.
I lost it at this scene even though I’d seen the trailer skdjhfskjhf
READING AND BLOGGING
I read 21 books this month! I probably only got there because I re-read Madman all over again—most of the month leading up to break felt a lot slower, reading-wise. However, I passed my Goodreads goal of 250 and read 258 books this year!
no idea how I hadn’t listened to this whole album until now but here we are…fantastic
I haven’t heard the original, but this is such a beautiful cover!
HI WHAT NEW GIRLPOOL
this is one of those songs that (almost) makes me regret quitting piano
THIS ALBUM
DID I FOLLOW THROUGH ON MY DECEMBER GOALS?
Read 20 books: 21!
Survive that AP Gov project [heavy breathing]: I DID IT! Got a great grade, too!
End 2021 on a good note: well, I’m sitting comfortably and watching snow fall outside my window right now, so I’ll call that good.
JANUARY 2022 (!) GOALS:
Set a reasonable Goodreads goal
Start 2022 on a good note!
2021 was a tough year for me. Online learning, grieving, the pandemic, applying to college…all of it got to me. But what matters is that I’m still here, all in one piece. And that’s what matters most for all of us. I imagine that 2021 was tough for each and every one of us on some level, but what matters most is thatwe all got through it. We’re beaten-up and bruised, but we’re here. And that, to me, is the purest form of resilience, of resistance. And if we got through 2020 and 2021, we can get through next year too.
There were good things about 2021 for me too—I went to Glacier National Park, I got straight A’s for the first time in high school, I had a super fun birthday, and I discovered some great books, music, and movies! This is the light that always burns in the darkness—the little things that make us happy. And as long as we have each other, the light will never go out.
And with that, there are only hours left to go in 2021. Good riddance.
Wear your masks, get vaccinated (and get that booster!), don’t spread hate and fear, love each other.
Today’s song:
That’s it for this month—and this year—in blogging! Have a wonderful last day of the year, and take care of yourselves.
Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope this week has treated you well.
And Merry Christmas (one day belated) for those of you who celebrate! I had a lovely Christmas—I got some cool shirts, lots of chocolate, a guitar pedal, a Ray Bradbury book, and lots of other goodies! It was so great to be able to spend time with family and just be together. We got a little snow on Christmas Eve, but Christmas Day was…weirdly warmish, but at least there was snow from the day before on the ground.
I had my last two days of school this week, and I’m glad to say that my finals are over! I’m relieved that I did well on them too. And now I’m on break, and I’m so glad to have a few weeks of rest.
My reading’s been slightly slowed down because of final, but now that finals are over, I have a lot more time. On a whim, I decided to re-read most of the Madman trades we own, and it was so fun to revisit one of my favorite comics! I also completed my Goodreads challenge of 250 books! I’m at 254 now!
art by Mike Allred
Other than that, I’ve just been sleeping in, drawing a bit, beginning to edit my main sci-fi WIP, enjoying my Christmas gifts, playing Minecraft, listening to Parklife, and baking with my mom. Oh, and I’m seeing Spiderman: No Way Home this afternoon—NO SPOILERS, PLEASE!
Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope this week has treated you well.
I got my AP Gov project done (FINALLY), but I got so caught up in thinking about it that I completely forgot that next week is my last full week of school…good news because of winter break coming soon, but bad news because, y’know, finals.
That project consumed my Monday, but other than that, it’s been an okay week. I read some decent books; Most of the ones I read were in the 3-3.5 star range, but Ace of Spades was the best of the bunch. I picked up two books that I’ve been meaning to read for ages at my school library, and I have two more from the public library that look good. Been on a bit of a mystery kick lately; I don’t read a whole lot of it, but all of my holds that have been coming in have been mystery, so…
Other than that, I’ve been beginning to study for finals, playing Minecraft, drawing, and almost watching the new episode of Hawkeye but having no will to. Chances are, I’ll be less active next week because of finals, so I’ll probably be posting less than usual.
Oh, and we finally got a good snow on Friday!! Better late than never, I suppose.
Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope this week has treated you well.
This week has been…tiring, to say the least. The week after Thanksgiving Break is always a slog, but I got through to the weekend, at least. On the upside, we got our Christmas tree on Friday and I went to the Nutcracker ballet with my mom on Saturday!
As far as reading, my Thanksgiving break reading slump stretched out a little into this week, but reading some good old Star Wars books made things better. I wasn’t able to go to the library this week, but I picked up all my books early, and they look promising too!
AND I FINISHED NANOWRIMO!! I beat my 45,000 word count goal with 45,176!! After Tuesday night, I took a break from writing, and I’ll probably keep it that way until I have finals over with. But I want to edit draft 2 of my main sci-fi WIP that’s been gathering a little dust since…August? September? I don’t remember, but I need to dig it out and polish it up.
Other than that, I’ve just been getting through my homework, watching the new episode of Hawkeye (still just decent for me, but THE HANZEE CAMEO??? that was fun), listening to Abbey Road, and putting up Christmas decorations.
Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope these first few days of 2021 have treated you all well.
My last reading week of the year was definitely a surprisingly good one–almost all of what I read, I ended up rating in the 4-5 star range! I never really plan out my monthly TBRs, but I have some great reads in my cart from the gift card I got to my local bookstore, as well as a bunch of holds from the library that have started to trickle in. I don’t want to jinx it, but January seems like it’ll be great for reading.
I also finished my 2020 reading challenge with 279 books! I put my goal at 275 this year, so we’ll see how it goes.
And I forgot to mention this in my 2020 post (linked below under “posts and such”), but I have one more resolution: Read more books from marginalized voices! I feel like I’ve tried to do that for a few years, at least, but this year, I definitely want to make more of an effort.
Other than that, New Year’s Eve/Day were both fun; my family always does a movie marathon for NYE, and we did some Christopher Nolan movies this year. Of course, since both of them were pretty lengthy, we only ended up watching two movies. Interstellar was depressing but beautiful, and it was a lot of fun to rewatch Tenet. Even if the latter still confuses me to no end. We also watched Wonder Woman 1984 on New Year’s Day, which was…disappointing, to say the least. It’s honestly shocking to me that it’s the same director that made the triumph of a movie that Wonder Woman (2017) was. Sigh…
I’ve also been listening to a bunch of music–I downloaded Julien Baker’s Turn Out the Lights and The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds; I haven’t listened to the latter in full yet, but the former was decent. Not as good as Sprained Ankle for me, but still good. And then there’s the matter of the Fargo and Legion scores…[cries]
The Bookish Mutant 