Sunday, January 8, 2023

The Sunday Post #320

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The Sunday Post is a chance to recap the past week, talk about next week, tell you what I’m reading, and share news. It’s hosted by The Caffeinated Book ReviewerReaderbuzz, and Book Date.




The Sunday Post #320





Public Service Announcement


I'm a week late, but I finally decided which reading and blogging challenges I want to do this year.

I'm signing up for the 2023 Discussion Challenge hosted by Feed Your Fiction Addiction and It Starts At Midnight.

I'm going to attempt the Nonfiction Reader Challenge hosted by Book'd Out and the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge hosted by Intrepid Reader.

If any of these challenges sound interesting to you, please click the links and join me!





On The Blog Recently









In My Reading Life





I wanted to start 2023 in a positive way, so I reread a book I knew I'd love. It was Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. This fantasy novel is ridiculous in the most epic ways possible. I love it because it shows how overused (and kind of stupid) a lot of fantasy tropes are.

The plot follows Simon Snow, a teenage wizard in his final year of wizard school. He has a lot of problems. He's a terrible student and an even worse boyfriend. Also, he's the Chosen One who is supposed to save the entire wizard world.

The author does hilarious things with tropes. Simon is an incompetent Chosen One. The villain is loveable. The magic system is stupid. Simon's girlfriend breaks up with him because she doesn't want to be his sidekick or his happily ever after. Best of all, the characters act like modern teenagers. They drive crappy cars and use Google to solve their problems. It's a unique spin on a magical boarding school novel. And, it's laugh-out-loud funny.

I got the sequel for Christmas and am very excited to see what happens next.







In The Rest Of My Life


Five things that made me happy last week:

  1. I hope everyone had an awesome New Year! I stayed up until midnight and read books. It was perfect.
  2. Working on my 2022 reading statistics blog post. I'm having way too much fun making graphics. The post will be up on Tuesday, if I can finish it.
  3. I deep cleaned my bedroom, bathroom, and office. I hate cleaning, but I'm happier after it's done.
  4. Watching outdoor ice hockey. Outdoor hockey is the best hockey.
  5. Being outside. It's been painfully cold lately, which means I get the whole outdoors to myself. I'm the only human who's stupid enough to be out there. I get to see some nice stuff.












Join My Chilly Adventures











Take care of yourselves and be kind to each other. See you around the blogosphere!










23 comments:

  1. Good you are into cleaning for the new year. I hate it too but have resolved to do it starting now, lol.

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  2. Well done and getting started on the deep cleaning! I'm terrible for putting off deep cleaning, so I do a list of the worst things and promise to do one a day on top of the normal cleaning. It gets done but it takes forever!

    I hope you enjoy the challenges. I had a gander and they look very good! :)

    Have a great week x

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  3. I have not been outside as much this winter, and I can't even blame it on snow or cold. New Resolution: get moving in 2023.

    I tried doing the Discussion Challenge, one a month, last year, but I only made it as far as March. Maybe I should try again.

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  4. Pretty pictures. Glad you are enjoying the great outdoors so much (all by yourself). I thought people in your neck of the woods did outdoors all the time. I have a love/hate relationship with cleaning. I feel good when I can tell I worked hard and was able to get it looking awesome, but then there is cleaning where it looks the same. No satisfaction.

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  5. Good for you for getting that deep cleaning done. I need to do the same. Lovely photos too! I am a statistics nerd so I’m looking forward to your blog stats! Have a wonderful week ahead AJ!

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  6. I loved that you stayed all night and read books. I was up driving for ride-share and then called my dad at midnight as I could hear the fireworks. It was one of the most magical moments I felt in a while.

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  7. The Non-fiction reading challenges sounds interesting but as my first post of the year shows, I don't have a problem reading non-fiction books--as most everything I read falls into that category. I need to read more fiction.

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  8. Happy New Year! I am also doing the nonfiction reading challenge so look forward to seeing how you fulfill the mini challenges.

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  9. I always love seeing peoples graphics for their statistics. I wish I knew how to do that! I'm doing the discussion challenge too. Hope you have a great week!
    Lisa Loves Literature

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  10. Beautiful pics! Happy New Year! I took a break so it's like yesterday feels like but we're 8 days in. I watched Miley Cyrus' New Years Show and it was not bad.

    Great challenge picks.

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  11. Nice photos! Enjoy your reading challenges. Carry On sounds good.

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  12. Hopefully if it is painfully cold you have some decent clothes for that kind of weather. Sounds like good challenges but too serious for me. I want more fun challenges, although I would like to do more discussion posts. I only managed one last year.

    Anne - Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post

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  13. Good luck with your reading challenges! It sounds like you brought the new year in in just the perfect way. I hope you enjoy your week and stay warm!

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  14. Your reading challenges sound great! I'm also doing the Nonfiction and the Historical. I love the cold weather photos!

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  15. Beautiful pictures! The book sounds awesome, hope sequel will match up to your expectations

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  16. We all definitely went to bed early on New Year's, but staying up and reading sounds heavenly!

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  17. I prefer looking at outside from my living room window! There's a sequel to Carry On? I'll have to look for it. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  18. Those are some great pictures! I hope you enjoy reading this week.

    Majanka @ I Heart Reading

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  19. Happy new year AJ. And I’m pleased you are joining the 2023 Nonfiction Reader Challenge.

    Wishing you a great reading week

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  20. I had fun watching the Winter Classic Game. I didn't really have a favorite but was kind of pulling for the Penguins (I'm not much of a Bruins fan). Didn't happen but it was still fun to watch. My book is originally from Boston and is a huge Bruins fan. He was going to get tickets for the Winter Classic but changed his mind when he saw the prices. He decided to stay in FL and watch it while being warm. lol

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  21. I get outside more in the winter because of the dog but I'm not a fan of cold! You've signed up for some great challenges and it sounds like you ended the year and started the new year on the perfect notes! Have a great week!

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  22. Beautiful pics. Stay unstoppable! My first review of the year is up. Happy reading.
    http://www.lyndonperrywriter.com/2023/01/first-review-of-year-mystery.html

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