April should be easy I thought. I’ve already got a few options for most of the letters. It’s really nothing to worry about. To be fair, it wasn’t. At least it wasn’t until I got to “i”. I’m pretty sure that I don’t own any books that start with that letter but I also know that I owned a copy of I Capture the Castle at some point. I never thought I’d find something that I wanted to read but, with no time to spare, I managed another month. Here’s how I did it.
Boy, April was a complete washout for me. I’ve still managed to finish 6 books but there’s definitely been a dip in energy during the pas 30 days. Of course, it doesn’t help that I’ve had my second Covid vaccine and gone back to working in the office. These two things have caused nothing but exhaustion. Hopefully, a 3 day weekend is going to get me back in line.
Number of books read: 6
Number of rereads: 0
Number of physical books: 4
Number of ebooks: 0
Number of audiobooks: 1
Number of 5* reviews: 1
Number of 4.5* reviews: 0
Number of 4* reviews: 2
My monthly reading challenges to Spell the Month in book titles has been a great way to approach my reading. However, it isn’t always easy coming up with titles for each of the letters. Especially as I’m trying to avoid buying too many books. I’ve already bought way more than I should have done. At the start of this month, I figured that April would be an easy task but I hadn’t thought about “i”. When it came down to it, I couldn’t think of an obvious choice for this letter that I already had a copy of. I don’t even know if I still have my childhood copy of I Capture the Castle. So, I decided to get myself a copy of this book because I’ve been wanting to read it for so long. The only problem was that I wasn’t a fan of the paperback cover that I found. So, I spent far too long trying to find a cheap copy of the cover I actually wanted. It’s beautiful, obviously, but I do hate how much of an issue I make things like this.
So, after just over a year of being in lockdown and shielding as much as I can, I’m heading back into the office on Monday. It’s not that I didn’t know this day was coming, I just wasn’t expecting it to be so soon. Especially as there’s nothing that I can do in the office that I can’t do at home. On the other hand, I’ve had my first vaccine and have my second one of Tuesday. That means in a few weeks, I’ll be as protected as I’m going to be. It’s probably time to get back to as normal an existence as possible. I mean, I won’t be rushing out to shops or pubs yet but it might be nice to be around other people for a bit. Although, I started my current job in April 2019 and I realise that I’ve spent more time at home than I have in the workplace. Just something to think about.
It’s National Tea Day in the UK and I wanted to do something to celebrate. I first wanted to write this post years ago when I worked in a tearoom. I was part of a group aiming to help their social media presence and I thought a book/tea pairing post would be great. Obviously, I never wrote it but it’s been on my mind ever since. So, why not write it now? I admit, writing this post has taught me that I know less about tea than I first thought but never mind. I think I did okay.
For the first time in a while, we’re starting off on a positive note. Work seems to have been less stressful this week. I’ve also spent some proper time reading. Not as much as I’d have liked but some. I spent some of yesterday finishing my last read and it feels like a huge relief. Hopefully, I can make a good start on my new read today. Although, in terms of my Spell the Month Challenge, I officially only have 2 letter left to go. I don’t either of my picks for those will take too long, so I shouldn’t need to worry too much. Of course, this is exactly the point when dramatic irony would normally kick in and they turn out to be quite intense and long reads. But we’ll see.
I find myself in a bit of a pickle today. The last book that I read didn’t really require a full review and the book that I’m currently reading is taking longer than I expected. Of course, it doesn’t help that I’ve been more bothered about my Switch in the last few days to even think about reading. Whatever the reason, I find myself without a book to review and in need of a subject to write about.
I don’t understand how January and February could be so easy to complete yet March nearly ruined me. I don’t know if it’s because it’s my birthday month or because I’ve just found myself in a bit of a rut. Whatever it is, I was sure that I’d never be able to spell out this simple 5 letter month. It’s not as if the letters are that bad. I had plenty of options for each but that didn’t make it easier. Still, I finished it. Let’s take a look a how.
I always knew that I could never maintain my pace of reading 10 books each month but I didn’t expect things to turn around so abruptly. It took me ages to get into the books I was reading this month. Even the ones I was most excited about. I was worried about finishing my monthly reading challenge but, thankfully, I got there. Hopefully, April will be a bit less of a struggle.
Number of books read: 7
Number of rereads: 0
Number of physical books: 2
Number of ebooks: 1
Number of audiobooks: 4
Number of 5* reviews: 2
Number of 4.5* reviews: 1
Number of 4* reviews: 2
March hasn’t been the month that I thought it would be. I expected to read way more than I have. The fact that I’m falling behind my target it starting to get me stressed, which is also making it harder to concentrate on reading. It’s a shame. I didn’t manage to finish any of the novels that I’m currently reading for today but, thankfully, I can post a couple of super quick reads. One of them was something I read at the start of the month haven’t been able to get out of my head. The other was one I read on a whim this evening. That’s just how it goes I guess.
