January Wrap-Up | i actually stuck to a schedule? shocking

Hey, everyone! I hope you’re all doing well. We are officially a month into 2024, which I find extremely hard to believe. But I say that pretty much every time I do a monthly wrap-up, so what else is new?

I am back with my regular wrap-up for the month, minus the goals category. I’m going to stop doing those for a little while; I always set the same goals, and more often than not, I wouldn’t complete them. I may bring them back later, but I’m stopping them for now.

BOOKS READ

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley|🎧|★★★★★
First book of the year, and it’s a five-star read! I would say that promises a good reading year. I learned so much from this book; it was a brutal and honest look into how people have mistreated Native Americans and their items. More of my thoughts are in my review, linked below.

Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong|📖|★★★★.5
I’m so glad I got back into this world! I loved following Rosalind and getting to follow her along with her mission. I didn’t see that twist at the end coming, but I surprisingly guessed what was going to happen at the very end (like, the last line).

Last Violent Call by Chloe Gong|📱|★★★★.5
I loved both of the stories! Revisiting characters from These Violent Delights was so much fun; I couldn’t believe the ending in Our Violent Ends, so I’m glad we got to see where the characters went.

The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan|📖|★★★★
This book was pure nostalgia! And that’s funny, considering one of the major scenes in the story. I loved being back in this world; I still have images of what the trio looks like according to Riordan’s descriptions, but I also have the image of the actors from the show.

CURRENTLY READING

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I am not usually one for horror, but I got this book from my brother for Christmas, so I’m going to give it a try. I’ve read Coraline before, and I didn’t have a problem with it. I just don’t usually read horror because I have such a vivid imagination. It’s the same reason I don’t watch horror movies. My brain will just make up even scarier things. But I’m enjoyed The Graveyard Book so far, and I like the pictures that are in it.

MY POSTS

I stuck to a schedule this month! Yay!! I’m going to continue with this once-a-week schedule, plus any Let’s Talk Bookish posts I do. When I do an LTB post, the post on the Monday right after will probably be a shorter one. Here are my posts for the month:

• I’m Back!!|Life Update/2023 Wrap-Up
• My Favorite Reads of 2023
• Review: Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley
• Let’s Talk Bookish: Seeing the Real World Through Books
• Photography Dump|chicago, nature, and skies

AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

• Kaya @ A Fictional Bookworm: what do fourth wing, love theoretically, and divine rivals have in common? // ft. my 15 faves of 2023
• Annemieke @ A Dance With Books: All the Quotes I Wrote Down in my 2023 Reading Journal
• Line @ First Line Reader: 2023 in Review – Stats and Goals
• 24hryabookblog: 2024 YA Books by Authors of Color to Add To Your TBR
• Charvi @ Not Just Fiction: A Beginner’s Guide to Falling in Love with Audiobooks

Well, I would’ve liked to do some writing on my WIP; it’s been so long since I’ve worked on it. I have done some other writing, though: poetry! I’m on my school’s Slam Team, and we’ve been working on poems for competition. I’ve never considered myself a poet; I always thought that poetry was just verse and figurative language. Slam poetry includes that, but it also has room for prose, which is what I typically write. At some point, I would like to return to my WIP. I’ve learned a lot about how teenagers interact with each other, so I’m hoping I can make my characters seem more realistic.

🎬 TV Shows and Movies: I finished Goods Omen season 2, and I am heartbroken. What was that ending?! 😭 I need season 3 NOW. On a happier note, Percy Jackson and the Olympians is so good! I also started watching American Born Chinese, which I’m enjoying so far.

🧶 Temperature Blanket Update: I am severely behind. What a shocker. I kept up with it for a week, and then school started, and I fell behind. Also, I didn’t realize granny squares took up so much yarn.

🏫 School is back in full swing, and I am surprisingly not drowning in work. This semester is less busy, and I’m able to devote some time to hobbies. I’m also able to focus on the clubs I’m in. Last semester, I didn’t put a lot of my attention to anything except band. But now I have more time for the newspaper, slam, and crochet.

🎤 I participated in a slam poetry competition and made it through to the next round! I was shocked that I made it through because there were so many good poets there that night. There were free books there, and I couldn’t resist. I took home four books: A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow, There There by Tommy Orange, Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi, and Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman.

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How was your January? Did you read any good books?
Do you have any fun plans for February?