Month: December 2022

“This Is Your Story” – Book Tag!

Kat Impossible17 Comments

This Is Your Story - Book Tag

I haven’t done a book tag in ages, but you know, what better time than this very December – since I decided to try and blog every single day of the month. So, thank you very much to the Orang-utan Librarian for delivering me content for my blog on a silver platter! Also, I love imagining myself in stories, so this is absolutely perfect.

The Rules

  • Link back to the creator @ReadBetwixtWords
  • Answer each question by using your favorite (or TBR) book covers, characters, and stories
  • Tag a friend or two
  • And have fun with it!

Questions

AUTHOR – WHO’S WRITING YOUR STORY?

With where my mind is at right now, I’d 100% love to see Olivie Blake take up that job. We’d all be complex and multi-dimensional characters with deep yet relatable conversations.

The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake book cover

WORLD – WHAT LITERARY WORLD IS YOUR STORY PART OF?

This is honestly so tough for me. I want it to be a world with magic, but there’s still SO many options and I’m not sure how high Fantasy I actually want to go. What about The Night Circus!? There’s magic for sure, the system isn’t entirely strict and logical though and it has all the whimsy!

ROMANCE – WHO WILL BE YOUR LOVE-INTEREST?

I’ve had many a bookish husband over the years. There was Dawsey from the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Max from the Book Thief, Mark Watney from The Martian … As of late, I tend to rather want to adopt characters though, it seems.
Well, that’s not the question/prompt though, is it? I want Benji Andor from The Dead Romantics! He basically looks like Lee Pace and works as a book editor. Dream job and dream guy anyone?

Lee Pace entering the room with one hand on the door frame looking tall and sexy while doing absolutely nothing.

APPEARANCE – WHAT WILL YOUR CHARACTER LOOK LIKE?

So far, I didn’t pick anything unhinged with my answers, but let’s go off-road for this one. I pick my own character, Viola, from my current Fantasy WIP, who is actually inspired by my very own Dungeons & Dragons character. With that skin color, I’d definitely stand out.

A girl with pointy ears, light blue skin, almost white hair with faint traces of pink in a lilac dress looking off into the distance, holding a book tight to her chest.
I once showed this to my aunt and she said, “oh, that looks like you!”

SIDEKICK – WHAT CHARACTER/CREATURE WOULD YOU HAVE BY YOUR SIDE?

I bet I’d be so annoyed by him after a very short while, but can I get my boy Sevro from the Red Rising saga by my side? He’s a maniac, but I adore him with all my heart. He’d be my bestie (and fierce protector) for sure.

I made this character aesthetic a while ago and I’ve used every chance since to include it in posts.

GOOD, EVIL, OR GRAY – WHERE DOES YOUR CHARACTER STAND?

I’d sure pretend I was a little Ms. Goodie-Two-Shoes, but it will be so much more interesting if that’s just an outward facade and there’s a really more of a gray-scale personality behind it. Actually, I’ve always loved the idea of the main character giving in to the proposal of the villain and burning down the world together. It would be something I’d love to read about.

DESIGNATION – WHAT WILL YOU BE? (HUMAN, FAIRY, PIRATE, PRINCESS, ETC..)

Since we’re not talking about D&D classifications (although my character is a wizard Air Genasi), I’d just go with elemental magic-y creature? I’ve always loved the idea of playing with the elements. I’ve even written a story back in school about “elementals” before Avatar: The Last Airbender became a thing.

OPPOSITION – WHO WILL BE YOUR NEMESIS?

Do I have to have one? Uhm … the ghosts of my past? Is that a cop-out? I was thinking kind of like Watch Over Me?

Watch Over Me

THE ENDING – HOW DOES YOUR STORY END? *SPOILER ALERT!*

I like a romantic, yet absolutely devastatingly tragic and emotional ending. I’m really thinking along the lines of Soulswift here. If you’ve read that book, you know exactly what I’m talking about!

I TAG THEE

If this seems like a fun idea to you, go wild and consider yourself tagged! I’d love to see Anoushka and Sophie give it a try, but please don’t feel obliged!

What did you think of my answers? Can you sort of maybe picture a story with those elements? Would you read it? Let’s talk!

November 2022 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible9 Comments

November Wrap-Up

So, I really dropped the ball in terms of blogging in November. I don’t know if it was some preemptive winter blues getting more or something else, but I neither had the time nor motivation to do anything creative on here. I also didn’t manage to read a whole lot, but what else is new? Check it out:

  • Swimming Lessons: Poems by Lili Reinhart (2 stars)
    Yeah, I’m sorry, friends, but there was a reason people dunked on this when it came out.
  • The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake (5 stars)
  • Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman (5 stars)
    While it’s really hard to read about the pandemic – especially in ways that suggest it’s over completely – this book was so emotional, relatable and vulnerable. Amanda Gorman has honed her craft and it shows.

Swimming Lessons: Poems  The Atlas Paradox (The Atlas, #2)  Call Us What We Carry

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! OR find me on Storygraph, where I have become more active this year. My own reviews you’re able to find by clicking on the titles in the list above, if there are posts for them.

I’m sort of still on track with my reading goal in terms of books (I can read four more books in a month, right?), but there is absolutely no way I will read 4K+ pages in December. It’s sad to see that I aimed too high, but sometimes you have to push yourself. I’m still happily reading Babel at the moment and have added Alone With You in the Ether to my currently reading pile, because why stop at three books by Olivie Blake in one year. I can up that number at least.

 

In Other News

November was an odd month for me. Loads to do in general, I barely registered the month flying by. I distinctly remember wanting to do more, but somehow you just blink and *poof* no more time left. I initially was really determined to get back into writing and then did exactly none of that, so we will see how my resolve to blog every day of December will go (watch me break my streak after four days). Let’s break down the month again!

Twitter Went Into Titanic Mode

Twitter is my favorite and most used social media platform. I can’t handle all the images and videos on short livedness (that’s not a word, is it?) of instagram and TikTok (although zero offense if you like these platforms, they just overwhelm me). When everyone started jumping ship, I really panicked. I don’t want to loose contact to so many people I love having in my life, getting information on things I care about and just being able to communicate in a simple way.

Ultimately, I’m still on Twitter, I won’t go anywhere for now and I even made a proposition to my friends. If you consider yourself one of them, feel free to DM or email me:

The Atlas Paradox Released

THIS was my most anticipated sequel of the year! I went to the bookstore on release day and was really excited to get a physical copy to make notes and annotations in. I just adore Olivie Blake’s writing and was so, so giddy to just get started on reading it. Sequels are dangerous and many books suffer from second book syndrome, so I wrote a whole post about it.

Does the Atlas Paradox suffer from second book syndrome?

I Accidentally Played a Game for 15 Hours Straight

I’m not a gamer, you know this about me! So, I have no explanation for what happened to me when I started playing I Was a Teenage Exocolonist and suddenly it was 5AM and I hadn’t gotten up or eaten or slept at all in the past 15 hours. After I got over the fact that that was some disconcerting behavior and I now had to readjust my entire sleep schedule (it took a while) I moderated the time I spent on the game and fell in love with it even more. Would you guys be interested in me making a post about the game and talking about why I love it so much?

I Got a New Show to Obsess Over

Don’t I always obsess over some show or movie? It sure feels like it on my end. And there’s many contenders for content I adored – Wakanda Forever, Walker Independence, The Sex Lives of College Girls, … to name a few – but there’s one in particular that left me wanting more: 1899. Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar created one of my favorite German shows ever (Dark, hope you knew that) and have now reeled me in again with 1899. It’s a far more international undertaking and includes languages such as German, English, French, Spanish, Cantonese, Danish, Polish and maybe some more. The cast has been assembled in part from previous Netflix projects and together they made the most expensive German TV show to date. I hope they get to continue. I’ll be so upset if they don’t. If you’re curious about the show, please don’t wait too long to watch it – viewing hours in the first couple of weeks are most crucial for Netflix.

My Weightloss Journey Continues Some More

Again, feel free to skip this portion of the wrap-up. I know it’s a difficult topic for many and I get it, put yourself first!

I started going to the free gym at my work about twice a week, which includes some weight training. Going into it with the knowledge that I wouldn’t loose as much weight since I was building muscles and getting stronger, I’m happy that I still got to further reduce my weight by 1.5kg/3lbs. I have to say that my motivation still took a dip during the past month, because there were times that I just felt physically exhausted and didn’t see any progress, which made me want to not continue at times. The thing is, I factually know that I now fit into pants comfortably that I could barely zip up a couple months ago, but my brain couldn’t see a difference while looking at my body. We’re weird creatures, us humans.

Anyway, point being, when people tell you to take progress pics, they really mean well. Your brain might not want to register the difference, but when you put images side by side, you’ll notice it clear as day.

If you want another fun at-home-workout, I got you covered:

MOST POPULAR POSTS OF NOVEMBER 2022

I know you’ve read this before, but I’m going to keep saying it – thank you for showing up to my old posts even when my blogging motivation is lacking. I appreciate it so much!!

  1. Should YOU Read “The Atlas Six”? (What I learned from my reread!)
    (originally posted March 2022)
    That just made sense with the sequel coming out, I guess people were wondering if they should jump on the bandwagon.
  2. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (Book Review)
    (originally posted in December 2020)
    Not a month goes by that this post isn’t doing numbers.
  3. Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily by Rachel Cohn/David Levithan (Book Review)
    (originally posted November 2020)
    Did not expect that review to make a comeback!? But Dash and Lily are basically bookish Christmas, so that makes sense.
  4. Something Different: Duskwood (Game Review)
    (originally posted June 2020)
    Glad people are interested in the game. I loved playing it.
  5. Does The Atlas Paradox Suffer From Second Book Syndrome?
    A new post made it onto the list! Wohooo!

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOGOSPHERE

Apologies for not doing better and blog hopping more. I did the bare minimum of everything and anything in November.

MY OTHER POSTS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

TRAILER POSTS

I hope you all will have a great last month of the year. I hope the holiday season won’t be too stressful and you’ll all finish your reading goals with ease! Let’s talk soon!

Kat’s Weekly TV & Movie Recap #45

Kat Impossible11 Comments

Today we’re wrapping up what I’ve been watching this past week, tomorrow we shall wrap-up the entirety of last month. I have some blogging plans for December, so … fingers crossed it’s going to go down better.

FINISHED TV SHOWS/SEASONS

1899 (Season 1)

How do I describe or talk about a show that is best experienced knowing as little as possible about it? 1899 is the latest project by the creative minds behind one of my favorite German TV shows – Dark. Just like with their previous brain child, you are in for a wild ride again. However, this one is far more international, including cast members from several different countries, all speaking their own languages. It’s fascinating to watch people interact and understand each other without comprehending a single word they’re uttering. The connections forged are all the more curious because of it and mirroring our own very global world.

There were definitely some excellent twists in there, although I pride myself on guessing at least a couple of them. I’m in love with so many of the cast members and I sincerely hope we get more seasons. There’s so much yet to discover and I can only hope that they get to tell this story in full, as they did with Dark.

Casual reminder: If you haven’t watched Dark yet, do it! And please, for the love of good TV, watch it in German with subtitles if you don’t speak the language. Just like you should watch 1899 in its original mix of languages instead of a dubbed version, which literally wouldn’t make sense.

WEEKLY TV SHOWS

Gossip Girl (Season 2)

I know that the OG Gossip Girl is nothing but cringe if you watch it now, but the reboot still isn’t quite on the same level as GG used to be. I hope I’ll like the season, but I never seem to be interested in the main power struggle, I always just want to know about some “random” side ship.

White Lotus (Season 2)

They better not be related for real. If you’ve watched it, you know what I mean.

The Sex Lives of College Girls (Season 2)

BELA!? WTF??? If this show ruins Bela and Eric for me, I’m going to be so upset. Eric was a douche too, but this was a bad ending. Really starting to dig Kimberley and Jackson though. And I KNEW Whitney would fall for bio chem guy eventually. Whenever I talk about the show, it sounds like it’s all about ships, when in reality, the friendship between the girls is the best part of it. I mean Leighton taking care of Kimberley – the bestest!!

Mythic Quest (Season 3)

Unfortunately, not my favorite season so far.

9-1-1 (Season 6/Fall Finale)

Almost all my shows are on winter break now and I hate it here. Buck was so excited about the baby, he has to realize that he’s not actually going to be that kid’s father. I really don’t think he gets that yet.

MOVIES

As always, don’t forget to add me on Letterboxd if you want to be up to date on all my movie experiences! 

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

I’m not going to play it down, I knew fully well that this movie would hit me hard emotionally and I think I cried through the entire opening sequence, Marvel logo and whatever came next as well as some more in between and at the end of the movie. If you can get me with an emotional hook, your movie will have my whole heart. I’m so appreciative of the cast and crew who made this movie and who made it this relatable yet fantastic.

Just like Killmonger, who has made some fair claims in the last movie, Namor has made some points as well. I’m really enjoying the nuance and the inclusion of more indigenous storytelling in big franchises. I was once more mesmerized by the soundtrack – such amazing choices were made – and loved the chemistry between the characters. I know that a lot of people didn’t love it as much as the first Black Panther movie, but seeing it as the tribute that it is, it was everything I hoped it would be and cinematically beautiful on top of that.

Did you watch anything I’ve watched? Are there some movies/shows I should check out? Let’s talk about that!