January was pretty quiet, which I'm completely happy about because it's rare for that to happen! Compared to all the events in November and December, it was nice to just be at home and not worry about much. For the past couple of months, Joe and I have been looking for a new church to attend (the one we were previously part of is too far from us now) and we've finally found a good fit. This one just started a women's bible study on Saturday mornings, so I've been going to that. It's been really good so far, different than what I'm used to but not in a bad way. Around the same time, I started my masters program! I'm studying library and information science so I can be a librarian one day. I'd love to work in teen services!
BOOKS I READ THIS MONTH
Best book of January: Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills
Books read in January: 7*/100
Pages read in January: 2,267 pages
I was going to participate in the Buzzword Readathon, which I did for the first two days ... and then I realized I just really wanted to finish Siege and Storm and Famous in a Small Town. I kind of knew this would happen, so I just went with it. I'm a big mood reader, and one of the quickest ways for me to get in a reading slump is when I force myself to read something I don't feel like reading right then. And especially with school starting, I want to maximize my reading time.
*Note: I'll be tracking comics and graphic novels separately, so this number will not be the same as the one on my Goodreads page!
BLOG POSTS FROM JANUARY
- Bookish + Blogging Goals for 2019 — I posted this a couple of days before January started, but it's an appropriate start to this year!
- January TBR + New Releases — this was also written in December, but it's related to this month so I thought I'd add it on here anyway :)
- Week Notes #7 — in which I talk about new additions to my Goodreads TBR, Bandersnatch, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
- Most Anticipated Releases of 2019
- Book Reviews: To Read or Not to Read? — this was a discussion post about reading/not reading book reviews and how that impacts the way I write my reviews!
- Reading Statistics of 2018
Also wanted to throw in something I wrote in January four years ago, Explaining YA to the Non-Bookish, and how it's still somewhat relevant? At least with people still turning their noses up at YA, thinking they're better than it SMH ... like this one patron I had a conversation with, who gave me a stink face after I told him it's what I mostly read.
GOALS CHECK-IN ✅
I was serious about checking in every month! As I mentioned above, I got a good start during the first month of this year reading seven books. I've separated some books (this was before 2019 though) but I haven't brought them to Half Price Books yet ... I think I'll bring one bag every time I visit, so I don't have to carry so much in one go. No series completed yet, but I'm hoping to finish Ruin and Rising this month. I haven't tweeted about a single book I read yet, and I only posted about my first book on Instagram. Might have to change this one ... I'll think about it this month. Posts are looking good, yay! I predict this won't be the case with the rest of this year because of school, but I'm going to try my best. No blog work done yet, in terms of fixing older posts. If you're confused about this paragraph, you can check out my bookish and blogging goals here.
One goal I'm adding = read through my most anticipated releases list! For this month, I finished two: Cold Day in the Sun by Sara Biren (thank you for the early e-ARC, Amulet Books!) and Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills. Twenty-two to go! Well, it's actually 21 instead because I found out The Map from Here to There by Emery Lord isn't coming out until 2020 😢
MOVIES WATCHED
SMALLFOOT (2018)
Definitely a movie created for young children, but my husband and I still thought it was cute and funny. We're not hard to please, to be completely honest, and we were just looking for something recent to watch while we ate dinner. I didn't know it was a musical, so that was a happy surprise! No matter how cheesy it is, I love it when characters burst out in song. Of course, only when it's appropriate ... well, it was okay in this one and we knew what we were getting ourselves into. Fun fact: Common does an EXCELLENT rap in this 🔥
TAYLOR SWIFT: REPUTATION STADIUM TOUR (2018)
I finally took some time to watch this and I'm really happy it has been memorialized. I was lucky enough to attend one of her stops in May last year, and it should come as no surprise to anyone that I think Taylor is an excellent songwriter and performer. She's very personal at her tours and it's one of the reasons why I enjoy being there so much. I wish there was more of that added into this concert recording, but it doesn't change the fact that I'll be coming back to this over and over again. Now I want to watch/re-watch her older shows!
I talked about Bandersnatch and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in my Week Notes post from earlier this month, so check that out if you want my thoughts :)
FAVORITE MUSIC FROM JANUARY 🎵
Psycho (cover) - Danielle Bradbery
when the party's over - Billie Eilish
Speechless - Dan + Shay
Dancing with a Stranger - Sam Smith and Normani
Nights Like This (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)
You Say - Lauren Daigle
i'm so tired ... - Lauv and Troye Sivan
Nobody Else - Backstreet Boys
Ruin My Life - Zara Larsson
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