I can’t believe April is over already. I’ve had all these plans and ideas for the year, but once again, little of that is going according to said plans. Anyway, I managed to read/listen to three books and that’s what we will start this post with. It’s not a huge amount of reads, but my motivation in the reading department is a continuous flow and ebb.
- Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin (4 stars)
- The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
This book not having a rating has nothing to do with the quality of the writing, but simply with my decision not to rate and review books by friends and people I know. Elena is an old blogging buddy and I was so happy to see her dream of releasing her own romance novel come true. I HAD to support that and had a really good time reading The Spanish Love Deception. Romance isn’t my usual genre, so I don’t feel super qualified to comment on it anyway, but the banter between Lina and Aaron was so much fun. - The Sandman by Neil Gaiman/audiobook (3 stars)
I still don’t know how people sit through audiobooks, because I’m apparently a very visual reader and completely space out after a while. The fact that The Sandman had a fantastic voice cast (with the likes of James McAvoy, Kat Dennings, Michael Sheen, Riz Ahmed and many more) and thus making it more of an audioplay than audiobook helped immensely. Still, I struggled with paying attention a lot … I keep trying this medium, but apparently it’s just not for me (as I’ve talked about before in this post)
As per usual, click on the covers to get re-directed to Goodreads, where you are always welcome to add me as a reading buddy! My own reviews (where there is one) you’re able to find by clicking on the titles in the list above if there are posts for them.
At the end of April, I took a little social media break and I’m basically still on it and it feels quite nice. It’s not that anything in particular happened that drove me away, but I did not enjoy being constantly glued to my phone and putting my entire energy into that thing. After a while, it also spiked my anxiety to voice my opinions, despite no one ever coming for me and I just decided to dip out for a while. I’m not completely gone and if anyone needs me, it’s fairly easy to contact me, but I just thought I’d let you know why my timeline is a little bit more quiet. It definitely helped in eliminating one of the many excuses I had created for myself in order to not pursue any of my creative ideas (be that writing, drawing or something else entirely).
For those of you who are interested in the status of my Canada-move, it’s still very much looking grim. I have decided to apply for another extension of the visa once that is possible (you can only do so 30 days before yours expires), but that I cannot put my life on hold for this any longer. I’m currently taking steps to figure out what I might be able to do instead and how I could move on, but it’s all a process. This really still is my biggest dream and giving up on it is soul crushing to even contemplate.
My creativity still isn’t at a peak, but I can feel some of it returning. I may or may not have splurged on some new materials that I’m excited to work with, even though I still have to get acquainted with a lot of them. I don’t think I will post any portraits or other drawings in the near future, but rather just try to get a feel back for myself without having to put anything of it out into the world yet.
MY FAVORITE THINGS
As much as I struggled with the fact that the finale of the Falcon and the Winter Soldier premiered on the same day and at the same time as Shadow and Bone, I loved doing those weekly reviews. They may not have sparked as much engagement and views as some of the WandaVision content, but it was nice to dig deep on content I feel so passionate about. I’m still unsure whether to go through the trouble for Loki, but at the same time, I felt a big hole this past Friday without anything to review. Please, let me know in the comments which other shows (besides Loki) you could imagine me doing weekly or in depth seasonal reviews for! I obviously can’t promise anything, because I don’t know if I will always have the time for it, but I enjoyed the routine and if you *want* me to talk about something in particular, I’d really like to know what, so I can at least think about it!
MY OTHER POSTS
THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER REVIEWS/CONTENT
- Episode 3 “Power Broker”
- Episode 4 “The Whole World Is Watching”
- Episode 5 “Truth”
- Episode 6 “One World, One People”
TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED
- My Thoughts on the Shadow & Bone Netflix Adaptation
- What I’ve Been (Binge-)Watching #57
- What I’ve Been (Binge-)Watching #58
THURSDAY MOVIE PICKS
- Oscar Winner Edition: Best Supporting Actor/Actress
- Amateur Sleuths
- Female Cinematographers
- Psychological Thrillers
- TV Edition: Score and/or Theme
Life and Other Disasters 
I loved seeing your TFATWS reviews in my feed every week! It’s so fun to have some other media content besides bookish stuff to read every once in a while. also I’m soooo excited for the Loki show, it looks so good 😭
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Loki and Wanda were my favorite MCU characters for the longest time, so this Marvel TV roll out is the biggest serve for me haha I’m also excited because Loki is already confirmed for 2 seasons, which is the first of the shows, I think … and it hasn’t even aired yet!?!?!
I think my blog is 80% TV and 20% books at this point, but I’ve stopped caring so long ago haha thanks so much for your support!!! It really means the world to me ❤
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Loki is awesome! And as soon as I heard Kevin Feige describe his show as kind of a crime show I was in, I mean: time travel shenanigans with big heist vibes?? Sign me up! I’m also just so glad Tom Hiddleston gets to continue bringing this character to live in all his versions, I love watching him as Loki. So I already know that Loki is gonna ruin me…and then the Black Widow film drops which I am so scared but so excited for, I’ve been waiting for years because Nat is my favourite haha. They better not ruin this or I’ll riot 😤
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I really like Nat, but I have some issues with ScarJo. Not gonna lie, that has tainted my perception of the character a bit, but I’m glad that long time fans of hers are getting a movie. That thing should have released like 5+ years ago, but still … the timeline in the MCU is confusing af anyway.
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Man, April went by so fast, and so much happened in it. I got my COVID shots, edited and submitted two novels, and a whole lot more! And May’s going to be busy too, with a convention and other stuff going on. I hope it all goes well.
And if it makes you feel any better, sometimes I have trouble with audio books as well. Sometimes I don’t like the story, and other times the narrators just don’t work for me. In fact, the audio book I’m listening to now, I can only listen to the story while doing something else like driving or cooking, or I get bored. And the one before that, the narrator made me sleepy (which is why I tried to avoid listening to it in the car, lol).
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Congrats on getting your Covid shots! We are still slow with the roll out here. Neither of my parents has it so far, and one of them is 60+ while the other one has an auto-immune sickness. Maybe this month?
I don’t feel bad about not liking audiobooks, but people keep suggesting them to me and I have not liked a single one.
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Some things just aren’t for everyone.
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I’m glad you took steps to disconnect from social media activities just so you could be at peace from any form of pressure. I honestly think that you should only get into this whole thing when you feel inspired to write down your thoughts, like some kind of digital journal. That way, any interaction you get from what you say from your heart will be received with just as much enthusiasm and love for you and your content! I hope May will prove to be a hopeful month with more good news for you. Keep your head up and always remember why you do the things you do, Kat! Stay safe, and most importantly, happy! 😉
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Thanks so much for your kind words, Lashaan! You somehow always find the right thing to say ❤
I’ve been feeling much better stepping away form things and really trying to only engage in activities I want to. It’s often still a process, but I’m getting there!
Stay safe, healthy and happy as well! I hope May will treat you well.
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i’m glad that you read this month!! 3 books is still a great number, and i also have two of them on my tbr!! hana khan sounds amazing (i love the cover a lot) and i’m so glad you enjoyed it :’) also, i’ve heard so many things about a spanish love deception aaaaaa and it’s so cool that you know the author personally ❤
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I’m happy with 3 books! It was more than I thought for a while there haha I hope you will enjoy Hana Khan and The Spanish Love Deception when you get a chance to read them. I had a good time with both 😀
It seems when you’re in the blogosphere long enough, a lot of your friends make that dream of releasing their own books come true. It’s always such a joy to witness honestly! ❤
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Ahh I love banter! I will definitely be checking out the Spanish love deception and also, I just found your blog! It’s amazing 🤩
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Awe, thank you so much! Makes me really happy to hear 😀 ❤
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I was so happy for Elena when I found out about The Spanish Love Deception. That book is on my tbr list and I’m so excited to read it.
Taking a break from social media is needed sometimes. It’s just nice to be able to recharge the batteries away from the screen and dedicate more time to things that make you happy without feeling that pressure to splash it out on social medias.
I love that you treated yourself to those art supplies and hopefully, they’ll help get those creative juices flowing. 😀
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Right!? She’s been such a staple in the romance book community for a while, it made be so happy for her to now have her own book out and have it so well received by the public. It’s the dream ❤
And thanks so much, Lois! Not being glued to the Twitter timeline has been good for me, but as you know, I’m still lurking in the DMs all the time haha
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I’m so sorry to hear that things are looking grim for your Canada move and that you might need to look for alternatives! Wishing you the best luck that you find something that makes you happy ❤ I would love to see some Loki reviews! I sadly don’t have Disney+ but I’d love to watch the show someday 🙏
I hope you’re having a good May 🥰
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Loki is currently the only thing i’m really looking forward to, so chances are high that I will want to just ramble about it all the time and therefore do the reviews haha He’s one of my favorite Marvel characters.
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