Hello friends, happy Wednesday! Happy New Year! I hope the start of the new year has been good to all of you! Today I’m going to be wrapping up the first month of 2024!

Currently Reading:

The Talisman by: Stephen King & Peter Straub. I’m in the middle of part 3 (of 4) and it’s taken me this long to start warming up to the story. There’s just something about it I haven’t cared for, but when the werewolf got introduced, things started to become interesting. I also noticed that this has felt like it’s in the same world as his Dark Towers series, which I think is pretty cool, since I really liked that series (and I look forward to rereading the rest of the series as I make my way through this project). I hope that this continues to look up and it doesn’t take a dip!

The Divine Comedy – Paradise by: Dante. I’m nearing the end, and what a journey it’s been! I have 2 more cantos to go, and it’s just been really interesting. I’ve enjoyed the concepts and the journey on our way to enlightenment, basically. I liked this one over Purgatory, but I think Inferno is probably the inferior volume of the three, but this one had a lot of good moments too. I look forward to actually finishing it (hopefully by the end of this week)!

Chain of Thorns by: Cassandra Clare. The last book in the Shadowhunter world! I can’t believe we’ve actually made it here. I was hoping to have this finished by the time this post went up… but nope. I’m so close, so I hope to finish it this evening. I feel like I’ve read three books in this one novel, holy, so much is going on! I’m enjoying it but woof, lots to take in. I will also say, I didn’t bother rereading any of the previous novels before this one so I had to take a minute to reacquaint myself with all the characters… because there are so many. I’m curious to see how it’s all going to end!

What I’ve Read:

6/100

Blood Like Fate by: Liselle Sambury. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed the final novel in this duology; it had such fun vibes and felt like home, with such cool magic.

As She Ascends by: Jodi Meadows. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I probably rated this higher than I enjoyed it, but it did pique my interest and I’ll be reading the final novel in this trilogy. The dragon game got better in this one.

Broken Beautiful Hearts by: Kamia Garcia. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a slow start for me to warm up to it; I liked the way this was resolved more than any of the conflicts or the characters that were in this.

Woke Up Like This by: Amy Lea. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My first Canada Reads of the year! This was a 13 Going on 30 plot and I loved it. The only problem I had was the main character and her stubbornness.

Bad Cree by: Jessica Johns. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was my second Canada Reads of the year! This was slow going for me, but I really appreciated the folklore mixed with the way this looked at grief, it was so well done.

American War by: Omar El Akkad. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ This wasn’t my cup of tea, there were parts I enjoyed, but for the most part I didn’t care for the futuristic war. I really did like the writing and the characters were really interesting.

Links to my my blog posts this past month:

Links to posts I enjoyed around the blogosphere:

Briana @Pages Unbound talked about trends she thinks we’ll see in book blogging in 2024

Dee @Her Never-Ending Adventures posted about 5 ways to romanticize Mondays

Lucy @Elsie LMC started a new venture on bookstagram

The Orangutan Librarian made a list of the best book beginnings

This month has felt super busy… yet it’s gone on for what feels like a year! I feel like every weekend I was doing something, which is good! But on top of that I feel like my brain hasn’t stopped. I have all these plans floating around. I’ve also been extremely stressed with life and people – but I think the month is going to end on the upswing and that’s all I can really be happy about.

Highlights:

✨Started the year with my best friends by celebrating the New Year together

✨Went to dinner with friends… and had a pretty good martini espresso!

✨Made donuts (not from scratch) for the first time, I thoroughly enjoyed it!

✨Started to book & make plans for 2024! – officially going to Boston this year! 😄

✨Went on an IKEA date with two friends, good times, but I’m still on the hunt for a new bookshelf

✨Went for a massage – definitely needed!

✨Made apple white cake from scratch, twice! I think the first time came out better than the second 😅

✨Celebrated a friend’s birthday, chilling, eating, playing games

✨Finally developed my film camera photos and loving taking film photos

✨Attended a surprise birthday party for my friend’s boyfriend, loads of fun!

✨Bought a new carry on travel case… vacations here I come!

✨Bought a new mattress… I feel so adult! 😂 And the experience was a lot of fun!

✨Had a family breakfast, it was yummy!

What I’ve watched:

Angel; season 1. I finally decided, 2024 is going to be the year I watch Angel. After not caring for Buffy (sorry!) I still knew I wanted to watch the spin-off. You know what I learned, I think the reason I liked the first few seasons of Buffy was because of Angel because I am loving this show! It’s witty, it’s dramatic in all the right places and I’m just having fun watching it! As soon as he stepped off Buffy, that’s where the show lost interest for me and it took watching this to figure it out. I like seeing Cordelia again, even though she can be extremely annoying, the relationship she and Angel have is great; they are truly best friends. I hated that once we finally got used to Doyle, they (spoiler) went and killed him off. I literally Googled it once the episode was over because I’m like they can’t kill a main character off this early… but they can and they did! I think it didn’t help that the actor had a drug problem and he died not long afterwards, which is really sad. So who do they bring in as his replacement… Wesley, I laughed at that, but it’s been a pretty good fit so far. I also like Angel’s thing he has with the detective Kate, I’m interested to see where that goes in season 2!

Star Trek: Voyager; season 5. This season felt like it went by really quickly. Where the first 4 seasons felt like a drag, this one really picked up. They’ve had a few chances to get closer to Earth and closer to home, but so far they’re still in the delta quadrant on route home. I honestly feel like they won’t make it back until the final season, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was near the end of the season, too. I guess I’ll find out soon. This season we’ve gotten to explore more alien species and I feel like they’ve come across so many that haven’t been friendly, which is so sad to watch because they always seem to have to be fighting something. I did like that we got to explore Seven more. Her and the only child on board Voyager, Naomi, have become quite the pair and I love that for Seven as she learns more about humanity. I think it reminds her of herself as a child, the only time she was human. It’s a really unique pairing. I look forward to where season 6 will take us!

The Simpsons; season 13. Again, another solid season. There are a few stand-out episodes to me. The first was when they took classic works of fiction and basically Simpsonized it (yes I’m making it a word 😂). They told the classic stories, (like the Iliad and the Odyssey) but it felt like for dummies and I really loved that. I hope they decide to do it again in a future season because it was so well done. The other is the clip show… even though I’m not a fan of them… and I feel most people aren’t, I liked that they apologized in a song for it, but they also gave a bit of a snapshot of the stories they plan to tell coming up, and it looked really intriguing. It’ll be fun to watch them embrace even more technology. Also, as I watched this and we saw Apu with his kids… why do his kids grow, but no one else does? I thought that was so strange, but then it led me to a thought, I wonder if they’ll ever do an episode where they’re their actual age. That would be something to watch. Lastly, the season finale where Homer starts his own police force with Spring Shield was hilarious, and how it was Maggie with her gun that saved the day. There’s something about the running plotline, baby with a gun, that puts a sick twisted look at reality, but I also like it? All I can say is, they do it well.

Love on the Spectrum U.S.; season 2. A new season came out earlier this month and I knew I had to watch it when it did. Not only did I love season 1 but I also loved the Australian (and original) one, too. This season we saw a few new faces, but I feel like we spent a lot of time on returning faces. This show really just sparks my love for love; it’s so hopeful and wholesome. Yes, it can be a bit cringy to watch at times because the social interaction can be very clunky, but they really go for what they want (here’s looking at Dani, bringing a cupcake on her date to show him how to kiss with tongue – you go girl!) and it’s inspiring. I find I can’t read them, so I never know if they’re enjoying themselves or not, but I’m always pleasantly surprised when they say they had fun on their dates. I also like that it’s not like a typical reality dating show (which I don’t watch), because there’s no drama it’s really what you see is what you get and I love that. It’s a really cute, fun and light show to dig into.

List of Movies:

• Disney Movies
  • The Barefoot Executive – another movie with a chimp that I ended up finding endearing
  • Scandalous John – I couldn’t stand this film about an old man who was being run off his property
  • The Million Dollar Duck – this was such a strange movie, slightly entertaining, but a wild ride
  • Bedknobs and Broomsticks – I’ve heard of this movie, I’ve just never seen it, and my gosh was it ever charming!
  • The Biscuit Eater – this was a strange Disney movie, but one I didn’t hate because it was endearing to watch two boys train a dog.
  • Napoleon and Samantha – This was strange on many levels… how many times can I use that to describe movies from the 70s. We had 2 kids, a lion and a young Michael Douglas who had a motorcycle chase to save the day.

What I’m watching:

Boy Meets World; season 4. I’m only a few episodes into this, but I’ve been enjoying them. The epiosdes are all ones I remember bits and pieces from – so clearly I watched more than just the first 2 seasons. I love seeing Feeney and Eric’s relationship blossom; I still don’t care all that much for Corey, although the episode I watched yesterday had Corey being really sweet and I actually really liked him… so maybe it’ll turn around. Also, the introduction of the sporting goods store, I do remember scenes from there!

Bear in the Big Blue House; season 1. Don’t laugh, but I’m 100% playing into my child side here with this rewatch. The first episode was nostalgic to watch, then I watched the second episode and I questioned if I was even going to like the show as an adult. The verdict is yes, yes I do love it as an adult. After the first few epiosdes I really got back into it. I love how Bear is the adult of the house and the way he talks to everyone is like a parent. Sometimes you can tell he’s like ‘what are you doing?!’ with the inflection of his voice that kids wouldn’t get, but watching it as an adult is hilarious because it’s like ‘yeah what are they doing?’. It’s been a really good decision to watch this. Super entertaining and the songs are SO catchy… I didn’t remember Bear singing all the time, but gosh does he sing about everything!

Star Trek: Voyager; season 6. I’m making my way through one of the last seasons of the show – I can’t believe! When I started it, I never thought it would end, but I’m coming close. So far, like last season, it’s been very fast-paced and plots are moving; I’m liking the characters more. I’m glad this has started to pick up. The Doctor has really gotten to do a lot and it’s been fun and funny to watch.

The Simpsons; season 14. I’m all of 2 epiosdes into the next season, and I’m liking it. I like that we’ve started with a Treehouse of Horror episode, those are always really fun!

Shadowhunters; season 2. I’ve literally seen the first episode and it’s felt like an extension of the first season, I’m looking to enjoy this as much as the first.

Instagram & YouTube videos from the month:

How was your January? Read, watch, do anything interesting? Let me know! Happy New Year!