January in Review

Hello lovelies,

So I’ve been MIA the past two weeks now and I’m sorry for that. I work full time and the past two weeks at work have been super busy. Plus, I had two family birthdays to attend and buy presents for. Excuses aside, I’ve been neglecting my reading. I’m not sure if I fell into a reading slump or if my emotions were just all over the place that I didn’t have the energy to pick up a book. I’ve started about four books that I haven’t finished yet, but I’m hoping to push through and complete them. I know I’m behind on some reviews that owe people so I’m hoping to get those up sometime this week and have a good start to February.

I’ve also decide to take a break from ARCs. I went a bit request crazy on NetGalley and have about 10 ebooks that I need to read and review. Luckily some of them are spaced out timing wise. I won’t be requesting more or accepting any requests unless I really want to read the book. Lately, ARCs have just been stressing me out because I feel like I’m glued to this immovable schedule sometimes. Plus, it’s hard when I end up not liking the book to push through and finish. I’m currently in that position with 2 of the books I mentioned starting above. So for now, ARCs and me are on a break. Plus my TBR books I own pile has gotten so large that I need to start focusing on that anyway. 🙂

With that said, I am planning on going to BEA for the first time this year and I’m also going to ApollyCon in February. So I may or may not be coming back with some physical ARCs. In which case, I’ll hopefully have de-stressed somewhat and will be ready to take on more ARCs. Book Blogging was also a hobby for me. Something I did to connect with other readers as I don’t have many friends who read. I also blog to feed my writing habit. I love to write so what could be better than to write about something I love?! Bringing ARCs into my life has been a little bit stressful this year, so I need to take that step back and get back to enjoying what I started here and reading in general. Maybe once I balance my life out more this year, I’ll be able to take on more reading 🙂

Now to reflect back on this past January!

1. My 2015 Reading Challenges
2. The Muse by Jessica Evans – * * * * *
3. Sleigh Bells in the Snow by Sarah Morgan * * * * *
4. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven – * * * * *
5. Wrecked by Priscilla West – * *

Who doesn’t love a good book haul? If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve already seen all the books I’ve gathered this month. If you don’t, then feast your eyes on these bookish beauties 😉

I also was lucky enough to get a box full of books from my friend Ardenis. She’s amazing and sent me these from her current internship 🙂

Lastly, here’s a look back at my time spent during this past month 🙂 I spent a day in NYC with my friend A catching up and dreaming of one day working back at Hearst or somewhere in the Big Apple. NYC is a city that breathes life and I want to be a part of it very badly. With that said, dreams change. While I had my mind set on writing for a magazine or jumping into the publishing world any way I could, I’m now seriously considering going back for my Masters in Library and Information Science. I think being a librarian is something that I would not only love to do day in and out, but also something I feel like I could really excel at. NYC is still my main dream, but now I just might be doing something different in that city 😉

While visiting with A, we got to chat over the most delicious chicken quesadillas I’ve ever had! Just yum!!

This past month I also got to attend a book signing with Holly Black, one of my favorite paranormal writers!! She was so funny and down to earth and most importantly honest. Her Q & A session was so great! She was nice enough to get a picture with me too 🙂

The last two week of January were crazy, like I mentioned above. I was however able to squeeze in a trip to see comedian, John Oliver. He’s my favorite comedian and I am so grateful and ecstatic that I was able to catch his stand-up show. He was just (if not more) wonderful as I knew he would be. It was snowing that night and it actually took my friends and I almost 3 hours to get home! It was a bad storm and the road (of course) were not plowed…soo….yeah that happened. It was a little scary, but we obviously survived 🙂

Lastly, this past week I helped celebrate my brother’s 30th birthday at a home Flyers game. I’m a big hockey fan, so this was almost like a present to me as well 😉

Here are some of my favorite things this month and another epic food shot! I’m only slightly obsessed with taking photos of food. Okay maybe like a lot obsessed lol. I just can’t help it when it looks so pretty and yummy! I just have to share 🙂

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading! This past month has been crazy, but I think it’s been a pretty okay start to 2015. I know things can only get better from here and I cannot wait for February!

What have you read, done, seen, ate this past January?! Let me know in the comments below!! 

Happy Reading!

Later BookNerds!

xo,