books · monthly wrap up

January Wrap-Up!

January

Hello everyone!

Usually here is where I say, “Wow!! Is it the end of January already!?? Time flies!!” However January actually did not fly by for me. It’s been pretty crazy :’)

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Crazy how? Here is what I’ve been up to this month:

  1. Read 6 books (including a graphic novel!)
  2. Installed a pole in my living room!
  3. Hosted a moving sale and a clothing swap! Donated my furniture! Packed remaining belongings into two suitcases! Flew across the country with my dog!
  4. Started a new job!
  5. Figured out recycling and composting! Trying to not use plastic bags (it’s hard…)

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And wrote…………. absolutely nothing! However I forgive myself given the circumstances :’)

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My Lady Jane was the first historical fiction book that I read in a long, long time. Although I wasn’t fond of the character development or the slow pacing, it was a fun and entertaining read. ★★★/5 (Check out my review here!)

Strange the Dreamer didn’t disappoint! Amazing world building and characters, which was as expected of a Laini Taylor novel!! ★★★★/5 (Check out my review here!)

I absolutely LOVED this series!! To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before got me hooked right away. Such lovable characters! Loved the adorable and humorous scenes and the witty dialogue! ★★★★/5

P.S. I Still Love You was a good segue to the final book, although there was a bit of the second-book syndrome going on I think. ★★★/5

And I LOVED Always and Forever, Lara Jean, which I think was the PERFECT ending to this series. This is one of those series that I enjoyed so much that I was sad to finish reading. ★★★★★/5

(Series review coming up!)

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This was my second time reading Clover, a manga (Japanese graphic novel) by an artist group named CLAMP who I used to fangirl night and day (ten years ago!) This time around, I was not too impressed by the dialogue or the characters, however, I still ADORED the artwork very much 🙂 ★★★/5

(Not too sure if I should review this one. Are you guys interested in manga / graphic novel reviews!?)

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Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books talks about how to blog hop! My favourite take-away point from this post is to set aside some time each day/week to blog hop. Thank you Marie for this wonderful advice!

The Orangutan Librarian raises an interesting question about politics in fiction. Do they add value to the book, or does it get annoying from time to time!?

If you are interested in a bit of political humor: Phil @ The Phil Factor highlights some of Donald Trump’s tweets (which are hilarious).

Melanie @ MN Bernard Books talks about professional appearance in the work place. How strict should the dress code be when it comes to hair dye and tattoos?

Pia @ Joie de Vivre and Cupcakes shares some insights about positive body image in the age of perfection (and some amazing pole dancing photos!)

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How was your January? Are you a manga / graphic novel fan? Have you ever hosted a garage sale / moving sale / clothing swap? (Or do you want/plan to host one?!) What are your favourite books this month?

55 thoughts on “January Wrap-Up!

  1. Well done Sophie! You achieved a lot of things in just one month! It must have been difficult but you made it and you keep smiling!
    We struggle with the plastic bag thing too but it seems manageable.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Michael! It was a difficult and crazy month however I am glad that everything worked out in the end! 🙂
      Yes plastic bags are hard to avoid! However I now have a few reusable shopping bags, which are helping with things 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi JW! Haha yes… we as writers tend to be hard on ourselves when it comes to not writing. However I think when we taken into consideration all the other stuff we have to do (day jobs! bills! other crazy stuff in life!) we should cut ourselves some slack 🙂 That being said, it is time to go back to writing on a regular basis for me lol…

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello Phil! You’re welcome! I read a bit about Time To Lie on Goodreads- it sounds like an interesting book and I will be happy to read it. I can’t promise that I will get to it by February though 🙂 A kindle copy would be great!

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Wow, you had such a busy month, Sophie, but congrats on, well, doing ALL THE THINGS you needed to do and still be there and not sleeping on your couch or bed for a couple days now, haha 🙂 I can’t imagine you able to make time to write this month, with all of that. I hope you’ll get back to it next month though 😀
    I loved the Lara Jean series, can’t wait to read your series review 🙂
    Have a lovely month! xx

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you for your lovely comment Marie ❤ 🙂 Haha yes it's been crazy and I barely had time to think about my novel at all. However I did start writing a bit yesterday. I don't have the feel of it yet but I imagine it will take some time for my characters to come back to me 🙂
      The Lara Jean series is one of my favourites so far ❤ I am glad to hear that you loved it too!!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I do feel like I’m getting a bit back into the groove with each day 🙂 I am not sure when the snippets will be back, since I am not quite confident with the manuscript right now haha. But we will see 🙂 Thank you Marie for your encouragement ❤

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Wow you’ve been really busy!! But well done on doing so much!! So so glad you enjoyed Lara Jean (especially the last one, cos I’ve been meaning to read that for ages and I’m so glad to hear it wrapped up the series well!) Thank you so much for sharing my post!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Ooooh please do a review for Clover! I haven’t read manga in such a long time, and I think reading a manga review would be a great segue into doing that again in the midst of chapter books and foreign language books. 😊 I finished reading My Lady Jane recently too, and yessss it was very, very sloooow. 😐 It still was a fun read though! 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Zoie! Glad to hear from another manga fan! I will see if I can fit in a review of Clover some time 🙂 Haha yes My Lady Jane was very slow! I was surprised by how long the novel ended up being. Glad that you enjoyed it though 🙂 Hope you had a wonderful month ❤

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Aww thank you Dani, you are so sweet! I am glad that I am part of the blogging community, which is one of the few things that stayed the same since I moved over :’)
      That’s great to hear that you are interested in manga reviews! I might do a mini-review compilation after reading another series 🙂 And yes I love the Lara Jean series so much!

      Liked by 1 person

  5. It definitely seems like you had a great January Sophie! 😀 You got through some incredible books that’s for sure; I’m really glad you enjoyed Strange the Dreamer and oh hearing you though Forever and Ever, Lara Jean is the perfect ending to the series makes me want to pick it up that little bit sooner as well. 🙂
    I hope your new job is going well, and it seems like overall you had a very productive month. I can’t believe January has already passed, but I’m kind of glad it has because that means warmer spring weather is around the corner! 😀
    Again great post, and I hope you have an incredible February as well! Happy reading. 🙂 ❤

    Liked by 1 person

  6. I don’t read a lot of graphic novels, but I’m slowly getting into them. This month I’ve learned that if a graphic novel has good art, there’s a great chance that I will love it (even if the story is meh)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. That’s great that you are getting into graphic novels! It is a genre that I don’t read as much now as before. Let me know if and when you discover some favourites 🙂 Yes the art aspect is very important for me too!

      Liked by 1 person

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