December Snapshots
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| Not my dogs. |
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| Christmas night. |
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| Attempting the #Bookstagram thing. Am I one of the cool kids now? |
1. Christmas trash guilt. The garbage men got me a Christmas card, and then I felt bad because I only got them garbage, and I give them that every week, so it wasn’t very special. Next year, I will be prepared.
2. I thought you were my friends! I think I mentioned before how much I love my space heater? Well, my beloved space heater tried to murder me in December. First, the heater started making weird crackling sounds. Then it was suddenly on fire. While I was trying to deal with the space heater fire, my dog climbed on the table and ate my Christmas cookies. It was like the dog and the heater conspired against me. Basically, it wasn’t one of my more-successful days.
3. Things that happened on Twitter. So, I’m really bad at commenting back on blogs, even though I try. I’ve also noticed that some bloggers never comment back. Like, I’ve left a hundred comments on their blogs over the years, but they’ve never commented on mine. I wondered how the blogosphere felt about this, so I turned to that rubbish heap of human opinions, Twitter. Here are the results:
4. Google translating my bed. My parents got me a new phone and a new blanket for Christmas. The blanket has French words on it, so I used the phone to Google translate the blanket. Then I used the phone to take a bunch of photos of stuff on the blanket. I think I’ve used the phone for everything except making phone calls. It’s brilliant.
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| Stuff on blanket. |
Also, the phone needs a name. Anyone have suggestions for good phone names?
5. Shameless plug. Since I have a phone now, I can use Instagram! Follow my account for high-quality content, such as:
- Photos of random dogs I petted.
- Some nature.
- Some nature with books.
- Anthropomorphic Christmas decorations with unfortunate backstories.
Wayward Googlers
Cait @ Paper Fury does this thing where she posts the amusing Google searches that led people to her blog. The searches that bring people here aren’t nearly as hilarious as the ones that bring people to Paper Fury, but I have gotten some strange searches recently. Here are a few people who probably didn’t find what they were Googling for.
“Is my asexual friend in love with me?” Maybe you should ask your friend? It would be really creepy if my blog knew that information.
“Do I have to read diversely?” You don’t have to do anything, but I recommend giving it a shot. It (probably) won’t kill you. You might even learn something.
“One must educate oneself.” YES! Exactly! Please tell that to the Googler upstairs.
Books I read
I read 7 books in December. Not my best reading month, but I was busy putting out (literal and metaphorical) fires. Also, I was distracted by holiday food, so . . .
The Penelopiad – Margaret Atwood
The Psychopath Test: A Journey through The Madness Industry – Jon Ronson
Agents of Dreamland – Caitlín R. Kiernan
A Darker Shade of Magic – V.E. Schwab (reread)
A Gathering of Shadows – V.E. Schwab (reread)
A Conjuring of Light – V.E. Schwab
The Wolf Road – Beth Lewis
Best Books of December
Basically, this whole series:
A Darker Shade of Magic – V.E. Schwab (reread)
A Gathering of Shadows – V.E. Schwab (reread)
A Conjuring of Light – V.E. Schwab
Most-Viewed December Reviews
Most-Viewed December Non-Reviews
All The Things!
All The Things! (AKA number of books on my TBR shelf) = 63 books.
I’m currently reading Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey, and The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night by Jen Campbell.
What did you do in December?
I want to read the Shades of Magic in January, I`m so happy you`ve enjoyed them so much. I had so much fun reading the google searches, especially the first one. As for the blog commenting thing, I don`t stop commenting on purpose, but I follow so many blogs. It`s easier to keep in touch with the people I exchange comments with.
ReplyDeleteCarmen`s Reading Corner
I hope you love Shades of Magic! I *try* to comment back, so I agree that it is easier to keep in touch with people who comment frequently.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Pretty pictures! Sometimes I think it's weird that some people just never comment back on my blog, but I just assume they're too busy or whatever. It doesn't really stop me from commenting on their stuff, though.
ReplyDeleteNot commenting back doesn’t stop me from commenting either. I know that blogging is a hobby, and not everybody has time to do EVERYTHING. I guess not commenting back is a turn-off for some people, though.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Love the pictures! That was nice of your garbage men. I am glad your space heater did not succeed in killing you, Ha to those good searches. As far as blogs that never comment back - I will probably still comment on them but just not as often or I won't make them a priority.
ReplyDeleteI’m glad the space heater didn’t succeed. It did kill itself, though. It’s broken. :(
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I try to comment, but you review a lot of books that aren't my type.
ReplyDeleteThat’s understandable. I was mostly wondering about people who have never commented on anything on my blog. If I leave tons of comments on their blog, then we must have something in common. Not commenting back doesn’t bother me, but I wondered if it bothered other bloggers.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I thought about getting into bookstagram but it just seems like so much work setting up the shots! I'm a bit too busy/lazy for that ;)
ReplyDeletethat's crazy about your space heater catching on fire! Space heaters are marvelous things but every now and then they can turn murderous.
Yeah, I don’t know if bookstagram is my thing. My books are ugly, and I don’t have patience for all that fiddly set-up stuff.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I've read Darker Shade of Magic but I NEED to read the last two. I tried to buy the first two in the store when I got the first but they only had the first....and that's my reasoning for not having read on. lol Plus, I'm bad with series, even if I really love them. Ooh I really liked The Psycopath Test. What did you think?
ReplyDeleteAh! Sorry about the space heater. And your dog then eating your cookies. It was totally planned.
-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
I’m bad with series, too. I’m impressed that I finished a whole trilogy. That hardly ever happens. I really liked The Psychopath Test. I will definitely be reading more books by the author.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I'm glad you liked the Darker Shade of Magic books! I really liked them, but for some reason I think I enjoyed the middle book most? And that doesn't often happen with me and trilogies. Usually I like the first or last book best! :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm sorry to hear about the dog/space heater conspiracy! You'll have to keep your eye on them and make sure they don't team up again! :)
The middle book was my favorite, too! The space heater died, so I guess this was a one-time team up. (Also, I’m out of cookies.)
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Our binmen get nothing! We are at top of a cul-de-sac and everyone lines up bins either side of our path and gates. When this mob empty the bins they just throw them back all across the driveway upright or on their sides. Doesn't matter how much we complain, they keep doing it so no bonus for them!
ReplyDeleteI had another following cull this winter. If I leave comments on blogs and get no responses after a month or two I unfollow. There's no point following if they show no interest in talking to me at all. Funny how I often find that when I unfollow them, they suddenly appear with an enthusiastic comment to try and change my mind, which doesn't work. I think too many people are only interested in number of followers for Netgalley purposes and don't much care about interaction!
Schwab! Schwab! Schwab! Other than homicidal heaters and thieving mongrels, is sounds like a great month. (No offense to your dog, but if you steal cookies, you have to put up with some push-back.)
ReplyDeleteLove all the dog pics.
One advantage to my haphazard approach to blogging is that i am completely ignorant about stats and numbers, so I basically read and comment on blogs I find interesting and don't worry much about reciprocity. There are a few people who comment regularly on my blog that don't seem to have blogs of their owns. I hope I'm right, or they probably think I'm kind of a jerk for never commenting back. But I do try to interact with them on my blog, because I do enjoy interacting with them.
Looks like you had a pretty good December - fires & vanished cookies excepted!
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to make more of an effort to comment back and have started following my favourite blogs by email now so I can actually see when they post. Previously everything got lost in bloglovin because I can't make the lists dooberry work.
And yay for Elizabeth Is Missing! Good book. I'm (finally) reading Uprooted by Naomi Novik. It's really really good - but then I think you already knew that!
Stephanie Jane @ Literary Flits
You have the NICEST garbage man ever, I would have never thought to get a card for anyone which makes me feel bad now.
ReplyDeleteAnd that blanket is BEAUTIFUL.
I'm hoping to read A Conjuring of Light soon(ish)!
I was just laughing out loud. Real laughter over this post. Those poor garbage men. I am wondering if your dog could have caused the heater to catch fire so that he could get the cookies? Sounds possible to me. It looks like you had a good December.
ReplyDeleteThe cover for The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night is goals. I feel bad about the garbage men too- but they come at such random times that there is no way I could even get a card to them! Sorry your space heater betrayed you. That's a pretty severe betrayal, tbh. It may or may not be a sociopath. Your picture of Christmas night is gorgeous! And I love the blanket!
ReplyDeleteI answered your poll and am I awful for saying "yes"? I mean- not like, if they don't always, or even haven't for awhile, but I think if I never, ever got ANY indication that they cared if I was there? Yeah, I'm tagging out. Too many blogs, too little time! Also, how on earth do you only have 63 books on your TBR!? You need to share your strategies with the rest of the class...
Oh man, I am a horrible commenter! I even wrote a post on why I don't comment. And I feel bad because you {and others} comment on my blog ALL THE TIME and I am so terrible about also commenting... I'm trying to do better!
ReplyDeleteSo glad the space heater was unsuccessful in its plot to kill you. It's so bad when inanimate objects team up with the dog with nefarious plans. You have cool garbage men. Mine didn't leave me a card, but they did break the lid of my garbage bin so there's that. I'm a mixed bag on the no commenting thing. I totally get not being able to comment every. single. time. We all have lives. But if there's never a single acknowledgment, ever.... yeah, it kind of makes me wonder if my comments even matter. In some cases I have stopped commenting and put my energies into other blogs that do comment back.
ReplyDeleteYay, Shades of Magic! And BOOO to the things we love conspiring against us - glad to hear the main casualties were the cookies, not you! I'll admit to being mildly surprised (but rather delighted) that the Interwebs doesn't see commenting as a form of socially-obliged gift exchange, and has a healthy population happy to keep reading and interacting regardless of whether the visits get returned - it reassures me that we do all actually like reading one another's content, we're not just doing it as some sort of clickfarm exercise ;) (as to all those people who voted No, BOOOO to them. BOOOOOOOO).
ReplyDeleteOh no! I'm so sorry about the space heater BUT you have such a smart dog since they took advantage of the situation and ate your cookies while you were distracted. I'm sure that would have made a fabulous video although I would have probably needed a glass of wine after that. So *hugs* for the death of your space heater and for the disappearance of the cookies!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love your Wayward Googlers! We have received a few of those and they always make me laugh or gasp lol! But I've never shared them. I'll have to remember to do this, thank you so much for posting about this! They are so fun to read!
Here's hoping you're having a fabulous and fire free January. :)