Thursday, March 31, 2016

March Wrap Up

Book stuff first. As always, actual reviews can be found on my book blog.

Books read this month:
  • Worlds of Ink and Shadow by Lena Coakley. A twist on the story of the Brontë siblings.
  • The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman. A short twist on the Sleeping Beauty tale with lovely artwork by Chris Riddell.
  • Blackveil by Kristen Britian. Fourth book in the Green Rider series.
  • The Love that Split the World by Emily Henry. Feburary Owlcrate book that combines a love story and science fiction.
  • The Dream Thieves by Maggie Steifvater. The second in The Raven Cycle series. I didn't like it as much as the first. Which isn't saying much because I LOVED the first one. I am seriously enjoying this series.

Challenges completed:
  • A book released this year: Worlds of Ink and Shadow
  • A book with illustrations: The Sleeper and the Spindle
  • A book that made you cry: The Love That Split the World

Favorite book read this month:
Torn between The Dream Thieves and The Love That Split the World

Least favorite book read this month:
Blackveil

I participated in a March book photo challenge under the tag #KeepBookMarching on Instagram. I only missed a couple days. It was a fun little challenge. Made my first #BookishRainbow, it's not great, but it was fun:

And here was my reading goal photo and I almost made it. I barely started March, and I didn't quite finish Cress. But I also re-read A Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones because I love it and I really wanted to. And I started Blue Lily, Lily Blue. So I call it a success.
Reading Goals
March Wrap Up
And non-book related things.

My counselor has been trying to encourage me to do more social things. Working nights has a very detrimental effect on my social life (aka: I don't have a social life). I have been meaning to be more physically active, but can't bring myself to care to make it to a gym. So this was our compromise: get back into ballroom dancing.

I started ballroom when I turned 16 and kept at it for 3 solid years. I did it a little on and off again for the next few years and then stopped altogether. When I showed up to my instructor's studio that first night, his greeting was so warm and welcoming that I immediately knew that I had made a good decision. I didn't know any of the other students and had never been to my instructor's new studio, but part of me still felt like I came home to something. And despite the many blisters on my feet (at least three on each foot) from not wearing my shoes for soooo many years, I am looking forward to going back.

I have been back a few times since that first lesson and started to feel like maybe I was getting a little piece of myself back. I guess my counselor was right.

That's about it for this month. Thanks for reading!