November is here and we’re about to go back into lockdown, so it’s kind of like it March again. Supposedly for a month but we’ll see how that goes. If I do get furloughed, at least I can use my time getting on top of my TBR. I’m currently reading my 71st book of the year. That’s 21 above my original target of 50. I doubt I’ll be able to double it but I’ll get bloody close.
Number of books read: 7
Number of rereads: 6
Number of physical books: 4
Number of ebooks: 2
Number of audiobooks: 2
It’s October which can only mean one thing: Autumnal vibes abound. Yep, I’ve already pulled out my fake leaves, pine cones and other suitable props for my Instagram feed. I can’t wait. Autumn is my favourite aesthetic. I should probably jus embrace it all year around. Although, I’m also looking forward to the spooky Halloween posts. I bought so much fake blood spray last year that I really need to do some fun things with it. But now isn’t the time to look ahead. Now is a time for looking back on what turns out to be a fairly average month.
Number of books read: 6
Number of rereads: 3
Number of physical books: 3
Number of ebooks: 1
Number of audiobooks: 1
So, thanks to a localised lockdown in my area, I’ve spent August inside again. That’s 5 months of not really going out. I’ve seen family occasionally and seen a couple of friends since March but it’s not much. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to socialise. Thankfully, my isolation has finally seen an increase in the number of books I’ve read. It’s so large that I’m not entirely convinced that I haven’t made a mistake. It feels as though I haven’t read anything this month but, according to Goodreads, I’ve done pretty well. Better than I’d normally do anyway.
Number of books read: 9/10
Number of books on hold: 1
Number of physical books: 5
Number of ebooks: 4/5
Number of audiobooks: 0
Another month is done and, as of late on Thursday evening, I’m back to shielding again. At least it means I’m not being forced back to work but it does mean I’m not going to be getting out of the house for a few more weeks. Time really has become meaningless this year. Do you remember back to January? January always feels so slow but that’s nothing compared to the last few months. We’ve only just got to August and it feels both too soon and too late. I’ve barely seen anyone beyond my family since March. I’ve gone nowhere but the doctors in the last few weeks. Yet, I still haven’t achieved anything that I thought I would at the start of lockdown. I’m managing to just about keep my reading pace but I’m not reading more. I’ve got loads of unfinished puzzles to do and I’ve not been using the time to apply for jobs. All I’ve done it watch the same old shows over and over again. Can we just pretend 2020 doesn’t count towards our individual achievements?
June went by in a bit of a whirlwind, didn’t it? What should have been a great month where I celebrated the work of LGBTQ writers and stories, became something else entirely. The death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests made a huge impact all over the world. It’s something we’ve all experienced before but something feels different this time. Although, I say that in July when it’s apparent that the media are already changing the narrative. I hope we don’t get to the end of the month and find that we’re all back to how we were before. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Today is for looking back on the past 30 days.
It feels like ages since I last posted something on here. Given how everything has gone in the last week or so, I’m glad that I made the decision to stop posting here. It would have felt weird trying to act as if everything is normal when so many people are fighting for their basic human rights. I’ve always considered myself to be anti-racist but I’ve realised that I’ve been doing the bare minimum. So, I’ve taken the last few days to think about who I am and what I can do to help. That includes reading and learning as much as I can. Meaning my June wrap-up may have a bit of a theme to it. For now, one week late, it’s time to look back on my last month.
Remember how March was the longest month in the history of time? Well, April was definitely the shortest. It just flew by, which I guess is no bad thing considering that we’re all stuck inside. Speaking of being stuck inside, I’m still not doing a great deal of reading considering I don’t have anywhere to go. This lockdown was meant to be my time to get on top of my reading but my TBR is probably bigger now than it was at the start. Plus, I’ve joined my friends virtual book club. Not only do I need to buy more books but I have to definitely get the book read in time. How is my life more stressful nowadays?
Remembering back to my February wrap-up and the hope that I had for how many books I’d finish. Oh, how the world has changed in that time. We’re living in a contagion movie and none of us knows what’s going to happen. We’re all stuck inside and I expected to be using all of my spare time reading. Instead, I’ve lost all motivation. I mean, who can concentrate on a book when the word is very quickly going to shit. So, it’s not a big shock that I haven’t finished many books. It’s not my worst month ever but it’s my worst month for a while. I knew it was going to be tough around the time of my birthday but then Corona went and fucked everything. Thankfully, I’m still working at the moment but who knows how long that will last for.
Where the hell did February go? I know it’s a short month but this is ridiculous. The fact that I’m so late posting this today is evidence of how caught off guard I’ve been. I only just realised I need to post something. Then when I eventually sat down to write this rundown but I realised that I had no memory of what I read this month. It’s like I haven’t read anything. Although, I did. Not as much as last month. I’m gonna blame the fact that February has fewer days. If this month were a normal length, I’d have got one more and matched my number for January. Wait, does this mean that I’ll be one up in March? Depends on how distracted I get by my birthday I guess. It feels like I’m already way behind where I need to be but let’s not worry about that yet. What did I read over the last 29 days?
Another month and another reading wrap-up. We seem to be getting better by the month. September saw me get through 5 books. In October I managed 6. This month? A ground-breaking (for me) 7 books. Of course, one of the Bookstagrammers that I follow called her wrap-up of 7 “respectable”. Something that, in the bookish world at least, means rubbish. Still, some people’s respectable is another person’s triumph. I don’t remember the last time I managed to get through 7 books a month. It was definitely not since I graduated and I graduated way back in 2011. So I’ll take it.
