Thursday, February 7, 2019

January Wrap-Up






January Snapshots



Apparently, I was terrible at Instagram in January. This is what I posted. Go me.



1. Resolution regrets. January started with New Year’s resolutions (of course). I decided to give up caffeine and exercise more. I immediately regretted that decision. I felt pretty terrible for about two weeks. The withdrawals are over now, but I’m still having psychological symptoms. I used to start my day by drinking delicious caffeine, which made me happy and awake. Now I start the day with ice water and 10 minutes of vigorous exercise, which makes me pissed off and sore. I’m so bad at being healthy, guys! Also, I have rug burns on my elbows from tipping over while doing side planks. So, that’s fun.




2. Top secret reading. I spent January judging the Cybils Award, which meant that I couldn’t talk about the books I read. I’m still judging, so I still can’t talk about books. I can’t even tell you the best book I read in January. I’m about ready to explode with bookish thoughts. I’ve never been good at keeping my opinions to myself.


My Cybils stack. "Blindingly red" was a popular color for books in 2018.



3. Babies make life easier, right? If you’ve been around this blog lately, then you might know that my sister is pregnant. The baby is due soon. (It might already be born. I wrote this post last week and scheduled it.) Anyway, my sister and I live together, so there’s going to be a baby in the house. That’s probably going to change a few things about our lives. I apologize in advance if I force you to look at excessive numbers of baby photos. I’m excited to see the actual kid. Those 3D ultrasounds are nightmare-inducing.

I attempted to take some artsy black-and-white photos of my sister and rediscovered that I'm hopeless at photography. The baby's name is Brooke. If she actually comes on February 10th, it means that doctors are really good at predicting these things. She's pretty much the only event on our calendar for February.














Wayward Googlers



Here are a few amusing Google searches that led people to Read All The Things! last month. I’m sorry to the unfortunate souls who ended up here instead of finding what they were Googling for.


“I love to read and I love to do and d.” Um . . . yeah . . . same here. I think. 
 “recommendations of thigs fall part.” I’m impressed that you spelled “recommendations” correctly but not “things.” You should run for president. 
 “Top 50 villain the thing they do.” Actually, this is an epic idea for a blog post. Has anyone made a list of the 50 best villains in literature (and the things they do)? I’d read that list and share it on all the socials. 
 “The shooter says goodbye to his love.” Probably a solid plan. If you’re going to shoot someone, you might not see your love for a long time. 
 “Dystopia on TV blog.” Are dystopias still a thing? I hope so. I like them, but I haven’t seen many around lately. Well, except for the ones on the news.












Books I Read



In January, I read 11 books.




The Power by Naomi Alderman
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic
The Doughnut Fix by Jessie Janowitz
The Orphan Band of Springdale by Anne Nesbet
The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty
Front Desk by Kelly Yang
Skylark and Wallcreeper by Anne O’Brien Carelli
Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
Bodily Harm by Margaret Atwood












Most-Viewed January Reviews

















Most-Viewed January Non-Reviews

















All The Things!



Number of unread books on my TBR shelf = 45 books.

I’m currently reading = Arcadia by Iain Pears.















What did you do in January?










40 comments:

  1. Good luck with your New Year's resolutions. I don't think I could give up caffeine, but did switch to green tea a while back. Have a great February!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Giving up caffeine was tough, but I think the worst parts are over.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  2. I love your wayward Googlers so much! I'd read that villains post too! I'm curious to know what you thought of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I never made it to book two in that series.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Daughter of Smoke and Bone was okay. I hated the cheesy romance, but everything else was entertaining.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  3. I'm excited to hear about your Cybils reads. When do we get the results?

    I actually didn't realize that your sister lives with you. That makes your little niece all the more exciting. I hope little Brooke brings joy to your life! (And feel free to share gratuitous baby pictures. I'm all for it.)

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, my sister lives with me. I think all of the Cybils results will be posted on February 14.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  4. The withdrawal period hit me so hard it took two months to feel better. It was horrible!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven’t had caffeine in over a month, and I’m still tired all the time!

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  5. Love your wayward googlers. And good luck with your new year's goals! Exercise does kind of suck, doesn't it? If only there were an easier way to get in and then stay in shape. ;D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hate exercise so much. It’s supposed to make me feel better, but it really doesn’t.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  6. I'm so impressed you made it through the two weeks of withdrawal. Go you. Starting the morning with water and exercise sounds like punishment. I bet they do that in jail. I'm wondering if Brooke is already here. (Easy to remember since that's my only niece's name.) I always laugh at your Googlers. They are indeed a strange and wonderful group.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brooke’s not here yet. Her due date is tomorrow, but the doctors think she’ll be a few days late.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  7. Congratulations in regards to your sister's baby! That's so exciting. :) Good job on quitting caffeine--I've never really been able to drink caffeine, but my husband has tried to cut it out before and just can't seem to bring himself to do it, haha. Have a great month!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Giving up caffeine was hard! The headaches and sleepiness were bad. I was completely useless for a few days because I felt awful.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  8. I didn't know the baby would be living with you. It will definitely be a change, but babies are so wonderful. You read a lot of great MG books. I see a few faves of mine in that pile. I cannot wait to hear your thoughts. I am all for the exercise part of your resolution, but a morning without my coffee is like a dystopian nightmare.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, the baby will be living with me for a while. I did read a lot of great MG books last month. I always forget how much I love that genre.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  9. I hope we get to hear about the awards soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think they’ll be announced next week. I probably won’t post reviews of them until next month.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  10. your wayward googlers is so funny. i love the dystopia one. i am excited for you to have a baby in the house. and post away I love baby pics. great name. Love the name Brooke.

    ReplyDelete
  11. LOL! I love the wayward googlers part! It's amazing about the things that people look up on google! Great reading month you had!

    Here’s my January Monthly Wrap Up!

    Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a great reading month. I love seeing what people Google. A lot of it is very random.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  12. I hope the birth goes or has gone well and that you can enjoy having the baby around! I love babies and kids so much DD: I know you weren't a huge fan of The Power which is actually on my shelf :P I wonder what you thought of The Foxhole Court - it's one I got as a freebie on my kindle so I do want to try it at some point...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I got The Foxhole Court for free too, which is good because I really didn’t like it. I thought it was confusing and not realistic.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  13. Sounds like you read some good books - hope you can share soon. Congrats to your sister and you and I hope the birth goes as planned. Brooke is such a pretty name. I love "The shooter says goodbye to his love." I think that's a good plan as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That shooter Google search is so weird! I wonder what they were trying to find?

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

      Delete
  14. A baby is wonderfully exciting! I hope you get a good one.

    Oh, I enjoyed reading this post.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I don't remember what I did in January. 😂

    Photos of little bambino, Brooke, will be lovely! Bring 'em on. 👶✨

    ReplyDelete
  16. LOL at the instagram post. I'm trying to do better there but am failing terribly at actually posting books there. It's mostly cats and planner. Ah well. We'll do better in Feb, right? Hope it's a good one so far!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Aaaah I hope your sisters baby arrives on time! Photography I find, takes practice and well just keep taking photos AJ you'll surely get better :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Bring on the baby photos. :) You're lucky you get to meet her right away. Hoping we can make it out this summer.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Are you giving up caffine forever, or for a few months/weeks? I gave up soda for three months when I was in high school (so over 10 years ago), and I still can't drink it anymore. My body is confused by it!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I would also read the Top 50 and spread the love with it. I don't even know if I know 50 villains. How do you see how people look you up. I hope the mom and baby are doing good. Today is the 10th! I love babies and it goes so fast. Brooke is a great name.

    Mary

    ReplyDelete
  21. Sorry to hear the caffeine withdrawal has been rough! Being healthy does suck, but it is so important at the same time. Which makes it more sucky. Haha! You planning to quite caffeine entirely? Because balance is important too!

    Ah, I hope you're sister's baby has arrived! How lovely it'll be having a baby in the house. I love the name Brooke.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I've seen a blog post about their top 5 favorite villains, but that's the only one I've seen.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hugs to you for your New Years resolution! I loathe planks, but I hate burpees even more. Why can't exercise be fun?! Like why can't salad taste like chocolate. Sigh. Here's hoping your mornings get easier! And that is such a beautiful picture of your sister, congratulations on being an Aunt!
    Jen @ Star-Crossed Book Blog

    ReplyDelete
  24. You've read some great books in the last month, that's amazing! I don't read a lot of MG books, but Front Desk sounds lovely and I love that cover SO much. Hope you enjoyed it!
    Have a fantastic February! <3

    ReplyDelete
  25. Oooh, AJ is in incognito mode! Cue baseball cap and sunglasses, plus a park bench and a newspaper to hide behind! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  26. How much fun to be a Cybils judge! I see some books in your photo of blindingly red covers that are on my wish list and since no one bought them for my birthday, it's time to gift myself. I'm a caffeine addict and don't have plans to stop. Plus, my fitness forum says caffeine actually helps your workout go better and burn more calories. I believe this is due to a higher heart rate from the caffeine.

    ReplyDelete