February Wrap Up

Alright! What did I read this month?

I finished:

• Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. It was a gift from a friend who always finds the best books.
• The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald. Read as an audiobook. Very charming. Plus I love the title.
• Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin. A book about a transgender teen. So good. Well written and clever.
• Raising My Rainbow: Adventures in Raising a Fabulous, Gender Creative Son by Lori Duron. Lovely read, very touching.
• Spindle's End by Robin McKinley. Re-telling of Sleeping Beauty. 
• Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. I like Cinder a bit better, but very good. I'm excited to read Cress next.
• 1984 by George Orwell. This was a re-read because my student was reading it for class and I wanted to help her out. Still a good dystopia.
• The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. There has been some hype surrounding this book and it definitely lived up to it.

As usual, my actual reviews are posted on my book blog, if you are interested in reading them.

I felt like I was slowing down on my reading, but for a while there I was reading up to 5 books at once, which is just too many. Once I finished Year of Wonders, I started to feel a little more in control, though 4 is still about 1 over my usual limit. After finishing 1984, I was able to bring it back down to three and I got back up to pace.

I had to rearrange which books I read at what time. I started Worlds of Ink and Shadow, but parts of it were eerie and spooky so I had to stop reading it before bed and switch it with Cress, my "daytime" book (I work nights, hence the quotations). Anyone else do that? Nothing creepy before bed; gives me nightmares.

Completed 2016 Reading Challenges:

• A book from a debut author: The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald.
• A book you received as a gift: Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.
• A book with LGBTQA+ lead character: Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin.
• A non-fiction book: Raising my Rainbow by Lori Duron
• A book with magic: Spindle's End by Robin McKinley 
• A book typically read in school: 1984 by George Orwell

Favorite Book Read This Month:
The Raven Boys followed closely by Symptoms of Being Human.

Least Favorite Book Read This Month:
Tough one, maybe 1984 because I had already read it so it was less interesting. Or Spindle's End. I like Robin McKinley, but this was not her best work.

Lastly, I am planning to participate in an Instagram Book Photo Challenge:

And please feel free to join and check out the hosts' accounts-they are all pretty awesome!

My photos will only be posted on my Instagram and book blog. Head there if you are interested in seeing my (mediocre) photos.

Dealing With Loneliness

Lately, I have been struggling with loneliness.

I felt that I had actually been doing OK up until about Wednesday. Wednesday was my night off and I decided to go out for some coffee. By myself, which is not so unusual. But it suddenly hit me that I am nearly always alone.

I am a person who likes my alone time, which has helped me during the break up. But I don't like being alone all the time. I went out, realizing that I was going out alone. Again. And for some reason, I couldn't shake it. (It was also a bit on the late side for most of my friends on a weekday).

I no longer have a standing dinner date, lunch date, coffee date, drink date. My friends all are very busy people and I haven't seen them often lately, which I know doesn't help my mood and mentality.

A couple of nights later, it seemed like everyone I had contact with (that being my mom and my coworkers mostly) had a date night this weekend or a fun get together planned. And I was so heartbroken that I don't have anyone to plan a date with. No one will grab lunch with me or make dinner for me, just to be nice. And I felt so left out. I go out and it's always dinner for one. Just one beer, please.

I don't have anyone to tell the details about my day, like I used to. And I have been sick and mopey because there isn't anyone who wants to help take care of me. Maybe that's selfish. It's just hard because I used to have that.

No one to talk to when I get home, to cuddle up and watch a movie with. I miss being hugged and held and I miss feeling that kind of love.

So I suppose that "dealing" with loneliness is misleading, since I don't seem to be dealing well at all. And as always, when I am feeling upset, I have dreams about my ex and about the break up which always make things worse.

I also got un-invited to a Super Bowl gathering because I'm sick. I get it, but that was disheartening. I felt too sick and tired to deal with a large crowd, so I didn't end up going anywhere else, either.

I guess I've just been so down and sad these last several days. I seriously hope that it will pass soon. I still hate the sad days the most. I will be attempting to drown my sorrows in my books if anyone needs me.

January Wrap Up

I thought I would start doing an end of the month wrap up mostly to get some more book stuff on to this blog. (I still have my book blog here if you want to follow book reviews and news and things of that nature. I post there fairly regularly.)

I may also include little or big things that have happened in the previous month. I'm not really sure yet what I want to do with these. So bear with me. Or share suggestions!

So I decided to participate in a general reading challenge posted by The Bookish Canuck:

 The original link can be found here.

I hope this will give me a change to finally get to books that have been on my to-read list forever because I will have to read more than just my usual stuff. Some of the categories have various possibilities, but I did manage to cross a few off this month.

Completed Challenges:
A book from the start of a series: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
A book you read in a day: Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
A biography/autobiography (I count memoirs): Are You There, God? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler.
And more are in the works.

My favorite book read this month: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. Seriously under-hyped book. I thought it was outstanding.
Least favorite book read this month: Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler.
(Head to my book blog to see reviews.)

Other happenings this month:
Death of David Bowie and Alan Rickman, both of which made me very sad. I still cry about David Bowie's death. Being a fan of his is part of my identity (which you see if you read my profiles anywhere and everywhere). But this did lead me to get my tattoo in his memory, which I love.

I bought a new (to me) car, which was a huge step.

Here is to a better February!

(And forgive the delay, I tried to post this last night, but our internet was out for a while.)