September has been a bit of a blur – I’ve felt like I’m running to try and catch an accelerating bus in most aspects of my life, and it’s not my favourite. Add in the endless uncertainty of the world at the moment, and I could really do with some quiet time a long way away from everywhere. But first, October.
Category Archive: Redux
September is here, and 20 Books of Summer is officially over (even if I’m hoping summer itself may linger a few more weeks). So, how did I get on?
I started the dog days of August as a grizzly old timer with much growling and then switched track to happy dappy Labrador thanks to a wonderful first Worldcon. My reading has been dented, but my enthusiasm for genre and books is on fire!
July has been wall to wall work, with interludes of Oh My Word It’s Hot, emergency furniture shopping, and a long weekend splashing about with my nieces and nephews out-law. I’m looking forward to my August interlude: my first Worldcon! But first: more work.
Recent months have been dominated by work, and June was sadly no different (so much for this being an ‘easy’ job, what was I thinking?). Blogging has taken a back seat to documentation, with reading a much-needed diversion and a chance to take a break from trying to craft words myself. Before I knew it, I’d had a little unplanned hiatus – and I have no regrets.
The best thing to do when drowning on an intense project with lots of travel is co-host a month-long blogstravaganza celebrating all things fantasy across as many channels as possible. …I’m not actually kidding. Wyrd and Wonder was AMAZING and cheered up what could have been a miserable May.
The new job has remained incredibly intense and has added trips to Denmark every other week to its roster of unexpected demands. Now I’m a bit more settled, I am actually mostly enjoying it (and I love Denmark), but gosh I’m feeling the pressure. Easter was a godsend – four much-needed days off to decompress.
Well March has been a month. With Brexit looming, I knew this month would take quite a toll, but then I started a new job and that has also been rather bruising! Fair to say I have been mostly overwhelmed. This isn’t likely to change next month, so I suspect it will remain quiet around here on the blog until May.
February has been a big book haul month for me, but it’s been a dreadful reading month. I got distracted by some unplanned work re-insulating the house and a sudden flurry of work opportunities. So it’s been dashes to the DIY store and big decisions about my future; punctuated by a much-needed and rather extravagant weekend retreat to Scotland for my birthday.
I’ve had a slow start to 2019 as I’m still sorting out where I’ll be working this year, and UK politics is a shambles so who knows what context I’ll be working in. Instead, I’m having fun in the kitchen and allowing a little Marie Kondo into my life. I’m not watching the show, but I like asking whether things ‘spark joy’, although nowhere near my bookshelf (SO MUCH JOY SPARKING RIGHT THERE, EVERY TIME).
I’ve been on an unplanned blogging hiatus over the past month. I was travelling in Australia and found myself with less time to blog than I expected. It was an epic trip (expect a post and photos in due course) – but now it’s time to regroup, consider 2019 and decide what I want to do with it here at There’s Always Room For One More…
I’ve been travelling for most of December, which put a dent in my reading and has resulted in a semi-hiatus as I’ve been short on both quiet minutes and wifi! Expect to be regaled with stories of my adventures in a week or two when I get round to writing them up; in the meantime, a quick recap of my December reads.
November is SciFiMonth and this year has been EPIC. My heartfelt thanks and love to everyone who took part – it’s been an absolute blast from start to finish! I read fewer books than I hoped; I was having too much fun scanning the SciFiMonth feeds – and the life admin I put off last month demanded a fair bit of my attention. I’m still not done. But I’m still alive, so I guess it can take a bit longer? And first I better start drafting the final Mission Status of the year. Sniff.
Three years ago, I decided it was time to put a bit more structure around my reviewing – and stole the promise that ‘There’s always room for one more…‘ as the name of my new blog. When it comes to books (and reviews. And cake) there really, truly always is. Three years later, I remain very happy with my little corner of the bookblogosphere. I’m celebrating with a new look and a look back at what I’ve learnt…
No, no, nothing has gone wrong – it’s just Hallowe’en! I finished work at the start of the month, so I had a couple of weeks quietly freaking out over all the life admin I haven’t done in two years until I realised: it’s been two years. It can take a bit longer, right? RIGHT. So the past two weeks have been much more fun: a bread-making course, Bristolcon and now I’m on holiday in Italy drinking excellent hot chocolate. Feeling pampered? You bet.
