Tag: Life

May 2023 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible3 Comments

May Wrap-Up

It usually doesn’t take me THIS long to write a monthly wrap-up post, but I haven’t been my blogging best in May, so this actually feels on brand. While I wasn’t too happy with my output on the blog, I was quite content with other matters, e.g. reading. Let’s start with all the books again.

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, which I adore more and more as an alternative. My own reviews you’re able to find by clicking on the titles in the list above, if there are posts for them.

My reading spree is still alive and well. In fact, I’m currently somewhere over 90 days of continued reading – go me! I really think that it’s an ingrained routine at this point and I usually read a minimum of one chapter. Depending on the book the length can obviously vary, but I thought that kept me going at a nice pace.

A chart showing the dispersion of the 1280 pages I have read in May over the course of the month.

Now, I’m on track with the number of books, especially since my May reads were a little on the longer side, but I’m still hopelessly behind on my page count goal. At this rate, I doubt I will catch up, but never say never.

A chart showing that I have read 19 out of the 45 books I have set as my yearly goal. As well as me having read 5784 pages out of my 15000 page count goal for 2023.

 

In Other News

I got very lucky with my work schedule in May, which made the month fairly chill and I couldn’t be more grateful. I can see June and July being quite taxing, but unfortunately you can’t store relaxation in advance. Either way, I was outdoors a lot, I got my steps in (had 2 weeks straight up of walking 10K+ steps every day), I went to museums and even got back into the gym. All in all, a pretty well-rounded month, eh?

Am I back to being a F1 girlie?

So, growing up, my dad watched all sorts of sports and I know a fair amount of rules and regulations and players in certain sports. There’s very few that I’ve liked and there’s definitely been phases … however, I was always into racing movies (Michel Vaillant, Fast & Furious …) and F1 is truly something my country excels in in terms of sports. Meaning, I was always kind of into F1 – I still have my keychain from the GP in Canada 2017 – but I never lived that out loud. SO HOW DID TIKTOK KNOW??? The platform just one day started showing me videos and now 80% of my For You page is F1 videos … the memes have overtaken my life!

But if you’re not into the sport per se, maybe this will … pique your interest?

@paddockgirl

Boys 😍 #charlesleclerc #carlossainz #pierregasly #danielricciardo #landonorris #fernandoalonso #formula1 #f1edit #f1

♬ Boys – Charli XCX

Prepping for the upcoming TEN YEAR BLOGIVERSARY!

That’s right! Life and Other Disasters is turning 10 years old in June and I cannot believe I’ve been here this long. Blogging has changed a lot over the years, there’s no denying that, but I’ve also been around for so long that it’s hard to come up with ideas for celebrations. If you have any questions you’d like me to address, let me know! I plan on officially publishing the celebratory post later this week!

Watching all the Aussie TV!

ALL the Aussie TV is truly such a lie, but I did binge In Limbo (fantastic show that will make you cry) and am currently making my way through The Messenger (an adaptation of Markus Zusak’s novel of the same title). If you have any Australian TV recs, now’s your time to shine, because I’m all ears! Will also take shows and/or movies from New Zealand!

MY OTHER POSTS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

TRAILER POSTS

I hope you’ve had a chill May as well and a great start into the month of June. It’s already been close to a week. Time’s just flying by!

April 2023 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible10 Comments

April Wrap-Up

April – on the blog – didn’t really go as planned. It really took me a lot of time to get some content out, but towards the end, I managed to post a bunch of reviews. I’m pleased to still (sorta) be on track with my reading. Let’s dive into what I’ve read this past month! It’s quite the random collection, if I dare say so myself:

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, which I adore more and more as an alternative. My own reviews you’re able to find by clicking on the titles in the list above, if there are posts for them.

I think it’s fair to say that I have established a regular reading habit by keeping up my streak of reading at least one page per day for 57 DAYS now! It might not seem like the longest stretches of time, but we all have to start with the little steps to get there. I’m definitely not the fastest reader anymore, but I am consistent. Here’s what my April looked like in terms of pages:

A chart showing the daily pages read in April 2023

In terms of my reading goals, that means I’m right on track with the number of books and still wildly behind when it comes to the number of pages. Reading just 2-4 pages might keep my streak going, but it does not do much to help with my 15,000 page count goal. Maybe I did just aim too high … OR I will make it later this year.

 

In Other News

April came and went like so many other months. The year started out so slow, but now everything just keeps passing me by. While there were some really stereotypical April days, I think the spring-like weather helped with my mood and just generally spend more time outdoors. That, in turn, helped lower my stress levels and I feel like I ended the month much calmer and with a generally better attitude than in a long time. I just wanna believe that good things are happening.

I Went to Another Book Event

I don’t get to go to very many bookish events where I live, so this was another special one for me. Abla Alaoui is a successful German musical actress with Moroccan roots, who happened to publish her first novel. She currently playing Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame musical in Vienna and luckily also did her first ever reading there.

With about 70 people present, it still felt like a very intimate affair with loads of her friends from the musical business stopping by. She read quite a few parts of the book and all of them sounded funny and relatable. I’m really looking forward into diving in – which is a rare occasion with German books for me.

You can find more info on “Bissle Spätzle, Habibi?” here.

   

I (sorta) Participated in Camp NaNo

I signed up, I wrote the first couple of days and then I just forgot about it? I don’t know if you can call it participating or not, but I have 3,721 words more than I had before the month of April, so I will count it as a success. I’m eager to get the first three chapters done as I want to share those with a select few readers before diving further into the story. We shall see how that goes …

I Got a Bit Obsessed with TikTok

Yeah, I downloaded TikTok. Yeah, I now have an account (which you can find here) and it really sucked me in the way I always knew it would. Since I’m not really focused on creating content – I’m just messing about with that part a little bit and have already managed to have terrible timing with the videos I did make – I really like what the algorithm has put together for me. So far, it’s fun! I think, as long as I don’t let it take over my life, it should be fine!

I Fell in Love with Movies Again

This might sound weird, but I don’t know if any of you actually know what my job in Berlin was. Either way, to this day, it was my favorite job I ever had. I was part of the distribution chain for movies and I loved going to the cinema. I’ve lost that sense of wonder about movies a little in the past couple of years, but I got to watch an Austrian film and I just fell in love all over again. I found a trailer with subtitles and it’s a really quirky one, but I’m so glad I got to see it on the screen and see my city be utterly romanticized.

MY OTHER POSTS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

TRAILER POSTS

I hope you’ve had a fantastic and relaxed start into the month of May! Did the uptick in sunshine hours also help you get some motivation back? Let’s chat!

March 2023 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible11 Comments

March Wrap-Up

March really came and went like it was nothing. I found it to be quite the busy month, so I didn’t read as much as in previous months. I’m still doing alright though, I believe, seen as I finished the Lovelight series up to the latest installment.

   

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, which I adore more and more as an alternative. My own reviews you’re able to find by clicking on the titles in the list above, if there are posts for them.

My page count buffer, the one I so happily talked about last month, is gone in its entirety and then some. I’m still ahead or on track with the number of books I’ve read, I’m just massively behind in terms of pages. We are talking about something in the hundreds here …

I have been VERY consistent with my reading in March though, because The StoryGraph did me a solid and introduced the streak feature. You have to actively enable it on your profile, but it allows you to set a goal of how much you want to read per day and then help create a regular reading habit. I’ve read at least 3-4 pages every. single. day. in the past month and now have the stat sheet to prove it.

 

In Other News

I’m not sure I have all that much to tell you about life in general. I’m trying to use my leisure time for all the things that bring me joy without exhausting myself. It’s a delicate balance, but I’m trying to make plans and get out there – the sunnier weather sure helped! But what else is new …

I Got a New Phone

For others, this might seem like a not-so-special occasion, but I’ve had my previous phone for more than 7 years and it was still working fine! The only problem was that I couldn’t really take high quality pics with it or update certain apps, because the model was just too outdated. So, I sprung for a new phone and now use my old one as a music player still. Because, 1) transferring all my music would take up so much storage and 2) I like to listen with headphones that have cables and new phones don’t have no way to use an aux cable anymore???

Daisy Jones & The Six

I’m not joking when I say that this show dominated my month! I was listening to the album up and down for weeks and still have most of the songs stuck in my head. If I could have the cast go on tour as the band, you would 100% find me there and I’m not even usually a person that goes to concerts (except for a few select artists).

The book was always my least favorite TJR book and I’ve made no secret of that, but it really came alive for me getting to hear and experience the music. I don’t have the imagination to “hear” the songs when they are just described to me in a book and this helped me, personally, so much.

Also, look at me channeling my inner Camila!

Writing Sprints with Marie

Marie has been one of my closest friends for the longest of times and I’m so very proud of her constant endeavors and her passion for writing. She’s so consistent and I really admire that beyond anything, because I have been FAILING in the writing department myself. But, she was gracious enough to do some writing sprints with me in March and it has been such a great motivator!

I have no idea if you’ve been here long enough to remember BUB, but it was my first NaNoWriMo novel and I even finished it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s totally terrible and needs so much work, which is why I’m back to editing/completely rewriting it. Clearly, I can’t stick to one project at a time, so I’m just switching between them however I like …

MY OTHER POSTS

VARIOUS BOOKISH POSTS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

TRAILER POSTS

I hope you’ve already had a brilliant start into the month of April and that there are many happy things to come! Let’s chat!

February 2023 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible9 Comments

February Wrap-Up

Where January dragged on almost endlessly, February lasted merely the blink of an eye. I genuinely don’t know where the month went, but I’m pleased with what I did. Similar to last time, I can announce that I read 5 books again. I’ve really been on a stride this year so far and can only hope that it will last! I even wrote some actual reviews, look at me go!

  • Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (4.5 stars)
  • Was soll ich mir wünschen, wenn ich nicht weiß, was ich will by Thomas Brezina (2.75 stars)
    Translated, the title means “What am I supposed to wish for, when I don’t know what I want” and I found that to be a very relatable title. More on why I read this, later on!
  • The Buried and the Bound by Rochelle Hassan (4.25 stars)
  • Brother by David Chariandy (4.5 stars)
  • A Dead Djinn in Cairo byP. Djèlí Clark (3.75 stars)
    I allow myself to read one short story/novella per month and this one qualifies with 43 pages. It was intriguing and has me interested in the world the rest of the books are set in. Not sure it’s a high priority though.

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, which I adore more and more as an alternative. My own reviews you’re able to find by clicking on the titles in the list above, if there are posts for them.

I always like to build a bit of a buffer when it comes to my reading stats and I’m motivated. It’s not always going to be like that, so I need to make sure to get ahead or my slumps will eventually drag me down later this year. By the end of February, I was 3 books and 200+ pages though, so I’m very content.

I also find it interesting that Fantasy is so dominant in my reading in 2023 so far. I definitely fell of the wagon last year and focused more on general literature, but it’s coming back now and I’m also more motivated to work on my own Fantasy story again. It’s funny how my interests and activities ebb and flow.

 

In Other News

February continued my journey of trying to balance all the many things I want to do in my daily life and me failing miserably at it. I really had to take a step back, look at my life and just be okay with the fact that energy levels/money/time constraints/responsibilities won’t allow me to do it all. It’s gotten quite evident to me that working out was the thing I was willing to sacrifice the most, which in turn, makes me feel a little guilty. With the weather getting better, I hope I can remedy that soon … it’s all a work in progress.

I Went to a Book Event

I haven’t been to events or traveling or just in plain crowds (at least not when I could avoid it) since the beginning of the pandemic. It still makes me hella nervous to be around a lot of people, but I could not pass up the chance to hear Thomas Brezina speak and present his new book.

For those of you who don’t know who Thomas Brezina is – which I’m just going to go ahead an assume are the majority of my readers – I’d like to inform you that he is an Austrian icon! He turned 60 this year and has published his 600th book. Barely a child grew up in Austria in the past decades, not knowing at least one of his stories. He doesn’t just write books for children though, but also plenty of stories for adults as well as radio plays and TV shows. Most of his time is now spent with his husband and dog in London, but he’s a childhood legend, who I very specifically associate with my home country regardless. AND I GOT TO MEET HIM! 

The event was very well organized and I was super flustered. We didn’t exchange many words, but I now have a signed copy of his latest work. I finished the whole thing in a day and enjoyed it, it spoke to the part in me that always wants control and gets far too anxious, but it also made me realize I’ve outgrown his writing style a little. And that’s okay too.

Me and the author Thomas Brezina
On a whim, I decided to cut my own hair this month. Don’t judge, please.

I Worked on My Fantasy WIP

I’ve only (sort of) told one person (my mom) how this story is actually supposed to unfold. I haven’t made much progress on the actual writing, but I’ve gotten much closer to defining a vision and making sure it won’t be me just pantsing my way through this.

Still, I have to admit, getting myself to sit down and just write is hard. I’m working on getting the first three chapters done though, which I’ll then present to a few trusted people to get feedback. I don’t think I can continue without knowing if I info dumped or made things confusing in the beginning. If it doesn’t work in that stage of the story, it won’t work later on. If you’re interested in becoming a test audience, feel free to hit me up!

I Watched SO MUCH Good TV

I’m so obsessed with so many things I’ve watched recently, but also sad a lot of stuff is ending. I still very much hope that we’ll get another season of Lockwood & Co, was surprised to learn that Outer Banks was already renewed for a Season 4 (I enjoyed S3, but is another one necessary?). I’m currently completely taken by The Way Home though. Seen as it is a Hallmark show, I expected corny romance and little else, but it’s a whole freaking time travel show and I love it??? It just got renewed as well, so please, go ahead and check it out too?

MY OTHER POSTS

VARIOUS BOOKISH POSTS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

TRAILER POSTS

I hope you had a fantastic start to your March! Let’s chat!

January 2023 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible15 Comments

January Wrap-Up

I don’t know about you, but January seemed to take forever. I took the month to focus on getting back into things I used to love and semi-succeeded with it. At least in terms of reading, I’m happy to report that I’ve finished 5 books (well, 3 books, 1 novella and 1 short story). It might not have seemed like it, because I’ve not reviewed much of what I’ve read, but I truly had a fantastic time getting back into reading.

  • For the Wolf by Hannah F. Whitten (3.75 stars)
    While in theory, this book should have been everything to me, I didn’t find myself as invested as I would have liked to be. I’m not sure I will pick up the sequel, but I’m happy to see Red and the Wolf making it.
  • The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow (5 stars)
  • The Deep by Rivers Solomon (4.5 stars)
  • Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison (4.25 stars)
    I have the rest of the series already ready to go on my eReader and I plan to review the whole series once I’m done.
  • Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (5 stars)
    I 100% understand why this is a classic, it was so well written and gripped you from the first sentence. I’m looking forward to reviewing after I’ve watched the TV adaptation. I miss doing comparison posts, so it seems fitting to examine those two versions.

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, which I adore more and more as an alternative. My own reviews you’re able to find by clicking on the titles in the list above, if there are posts for them.

I think a big part of my success reading so much (at least in comparison to how much I usually tend to read in a month) in January was due to me participating in StoryGraph’s January Pages Challenge. In an attempt to get people to read at least one page per day (or listen to one minute of an audiobook per day), they set up their own reading challenge and sweetened the deal with possible prizes. While I didn’t win any of the challenge prizes, I feel like it set me up with a great habit for the year to come. Here’s a graph of how much I’ve been reading last month:

A graph showing that I completed the StoryGraph January Pages Reading Challenge

 

In Other News

Usually, I have a bunch of posts set up for January to really kick blogging off right, but I didn’t have the best of starts to the year and generally felt pretty exhausted. I wanted to prioritize things that actually brought me joy and while I consider blogging to be a vital part of myself, I’d much rather focus on other things when I’m tired. Like, there’s no point in churning out mid-posts just because, when I’m not feeling it. So, I started the year with re-evaluating my priorities.

There’s Only So Much Time in Day

I want to read, write, watch TV, catch up with the people I care about, work out and on top of that I still need to do my job and rest as well. I can’t do it all, no one can, and it has been a challenge to not get frustrated by that. I’ve slowly gotten back into working out more regularly – mostly I’ve just walked a lot – but it’s really the creative outlets I’m missing most in my life. I seem to have zero energy for them. I’d like to change that this year and deliberately make more time for creative tasks, which brings me to my next point.

I MISS writing SO MUCH

I’ve checked out some of my old, unfinished WIPs and … I hated my writing in all of them. There’s part of my brain that knows that I’m not terrible at everything. My narrative ideas are solid, even when the execution is lacking. I haven’t posted on my secret fan fic account (sorry, I just can’t reveal that one) for close to a year now and I still got a message saying “please come back!!!” the other day. The thing is, I WANT TO. I want to write and create and draw my own characters and really dive deep into these worlds. There’s not just a lack of motivation, but I think also confidence. I’ve read some fantastic books these past years and my brain just says that I could never do that. I need to do some soul searching to find my voice and point of view.

Nick Miller from New Girl sitting in front of his laptop and saying "I got nothing" as he attempts to write his novel.

Basking in all the good TV

TV, as so often, has been my escape in January. There’s just been so much good content out there again and I’m glad I kicked off the year with such fantastic shows. On the one hand, we have the return of The Legend of Vox Machina, which is getting released in batches of three episodes per week – offering the perfect mix between binging and a weekly schedule. I just keep falling in love with everyone at Critical Role all over again, the fact that we’re now also getting the Mighty Nein and a movie (*fingers crossed it’s a Calamity movie*) almost had me in tears.

Speaking of tears, basically the whole world is bawling their eyes out at the masterpiece that is The Last of Us! As someone who hasn’t played the game, but still knows a fair bit about it, I am in awe of this show. It’s so good and I love that Pedro Pascal just doesn’t miss with his roles. Having said that, episode 3 “Long, Long Time” will stay in my heart forever.

I Played Another Game – Rakuen

I don’t even know how I stumbled upon Rakuen, but it was a delight to play. The game mechanics are fairly simple, so are the graphics, but they are SO FREAKING CUTE. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some terrifying stuff and it will rip your heart out of your chest, but I like the balance with the sweet stuff.

I’ve found that “short” games with a good storyline are my jam and Rakuen definitely fits that category. It’s about a boy at a hospital, who escapes to a magical world – on the one hand, to escape his own life, but also to help the people around him. By the end, I was just a puddle of tears. Not sure it has a lot of replayability, but I had a good time!

RECAPPING 2022

A big part of this past month was taking the time to wrap-up 2022 and let go of the year. I did so in various posts, which you can check out here:

MY OTHER POSTS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

TRAILER POSTS

Hope you had a great start to the year and are now basking in a fantastic February! Let’s chat!

The Year in Review – 2022

Kat Impossible22 Comments

The year in review

So, with all my ranking concluded, there’s nothing more to do than look at the entirety of 2022 in review. There’s actually a lot to talk about and dissect, because 2022 was the first year I made some resolutions (which you can check out HERE, if you missed them). We’ll compare goals, check out the most popular features on the blog and talk about life in general. Let’s get started!

READING

I have a Goodreads and a StoryGraph account, although I’m really more of a fan of the statistics from the latter. They’re just so much more extensive, even if the page count is sometimes a little off. It’s tradition for me to share some of the stats, so let’s dive right in.

I finished 45 books with roughly 11,700 pages total. In comparison to last year, that is a lot less, but I also had a lot less time. I reached the reading goal I set in terms of the total amount of books on the final day of December 2022, but I unfortunately didn’t make it to the 15,000 pages I had set my eyes on.

A graph showing the books and amount of pages I read throughout the year 2022.

What I enjoy about the stats from the StoryGraph is that they show you so much more than just pages or minutes or number of books. They really focus on the mood of the stories, the pacing, the language and so much more. I would have never guessed that I mostly read books that involve romance for example, but I now have a detailed graphs showing me my most read genres.

I read 13 books from the romance genre, 10 contemporaries, 8 books from the Fantasy and Poetry genre each and 6 were general literature.

I ended up mostly reading medium-paced books (58%) and books with less than 300 pages (also 58%). I’m not surprised at that revelation at all, since it was the year of novellas for me. Something I’m really proud of is the fact that 29% of my reads were non-fiction. I wouldn’t say that I previously scoffed at non-fiction books, but I always found them harder to enjoy or connect to, but now I’m actively seeking them out. I can see that trend continue in 2023.

Ultimately my average rating is very similar to previous years. I once again ended up at 3.7 star-rating on average, which is the third year in a row.

Did I stick to my reading resolutions for 2022?

I didn’t have that many resolutions aside from the traditional Goodreads/StoryGraph reading goals, but I wanted to read more books in German and read more diversely. So, how did I do with that?

My plan was to read 1-3 books in German and I DID THAT! It was only one book, but I did read Stella by Takis Würger and even reviewed it on the blog (check out the post HERE). The book surprised me in that I basically flew through it and found reading it fairly easy, but it was still disappointing content … you can’t win them all.

The “read more diversely”-goal is harder to quantify and I can definitely still do better. 12 out of the 39 authors I’ve read books from in 2022 were non-white. That’s only a very slight improvement from the previous year and I know that this is going to remain a goal for future years. I can definitely tell that it helps when I don’t do reading experiments though …

For a complete list of my favorite books of 2022, click HERE!

WATCHING

There’s not really a good way to track all my media consumption, although I adore Letterboxd for movies. Since we all know that I watch more TV shows than movies though, their stats are welcome, but not nearly enough.

Either way, just for fun, I will share some Letterboxd stats as well! Apparently I watched 74 films, although I must admit that I maybe didn’t log all my rewatches … anyway, if we’re going by that number, these movies amounted to 132 hours of uninterrupted screen time. Since that only amounts to roughly 5.5 days, it actually doesn’t feel like all that much.

What came as a bit of surprise to me were my most watched actor and director. Dave Bautista starred in Glass Onion, Thor: Love and Thunder, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and Dune. We could surely debate about the legitimacy of these stats, because is the cameo in Love and Thunder noteworthy? Does the Guardians Holiday special count as a real movie? Either way, I like how invested Bautista is in just honing his craft. I’m very excited for Knock at the Cabin. Denis Villeneuve made it onto my list, because I watched Dune and rewatched Arrival. I guess that is fair.

Dave Bautista was my most watched actor and Denis Villeneuve my most watched director in 2022

You can find all my favorite movies of 2022 HERE and all my top TV shows HERE!

WRITING

I failed so hard at all the writing goals I set for myself. I plotted a whole Fantasy novel. I dug up all the material I had from that one finished Romantic Comedy draft, so I could finally edit it. I made aesthetics and playlists, but … I just didn’t write. Doing things in my head is easy, I love to fantasize about all that stuff. But as soon as I sit down to write? My mind goes blank, I have zero motivation and just literally want to do anything else. It makes me sad, because I used to love to write, now I can’t make it work. AND I TRIED! I even set up a dedicated time to write, just 30 minutes a day (and more if things were going well), but nothing came of it. So, I dropped it …

Tom Hanks in "You've Got Mail" wildly gesturing with his hands, because he got nothing to reply

BLOGGING

Life and Other Disasters has been such a huge part of my life for so long, it was strange to see it thrive in numbers, but for engagement to keep dwindling in 2022. I’ve heard similar from old and new blogging buddies alike, with a lot of discussion about “the death of blogging” swirling around the internet. Today, I don’t want to focus on the sad aspects though and rather celebrate the community we DO have.

First things first, I was really consistent again and don’t want to break with tradition. Here are some updated blog stats:

  • We’re less than 50 WordPress subscribers away from 3,000! I can’t believe that many people care about my ramblings.
  • I’ve written less posts (159 total) but had another 20% increase in views. I think I’m getting better at SEO, but I’m really just winging it. So, this is an unexpected delight.
  • I want to thank every single person who reads my posts, leaves a like or even takes the time to comment! You cannot imagine how much these interactions, however small, mean to me, because it’s my favorite part about blogging. It makes me feel less like screaming into a void, but rather sharing my thoughts and ideas with friends all over the world. A special shout out to my top-commentors Caro, Marie, Rami, Sophie, Deanna and Bruce.

MOST POPULAR POSTS OF 2022

These are all posts that I wrote in 2022 and that were popular with the internet. The archive posts (so everything I published prior to 2022) will be listed below without much comment.

Should YOU Read “The Atlas Six”? (What I learned from my reread!)/Does The Atlas Paradox suffer from Second Book Syndrome? – This was the year of Olivie Blake and I’ve personally read three of her books as well as the YA book she published under a different name. I get why the internet is so enamored with her writing, I like it too, but sometimes it’s difficult to navigate the hype and to manage expectations. I hope I helped with my posts!

Should You Read the Atlas Six?

Along for the Ride: Book vs. Movie – I think the only reason this comparison was successful was due to the fact that I posted it on the release day of the Netflix movie. Sometimes I just work ridiculously fast!

Movie poster of Along for the Ride with the text "book vs. movie"

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston (Book Review) – How cool is it that book reviews are doing so well? I remember times when reviews could not compete with tags and challenges or even simple TBR posts, but this year has proven me wrong. Reviews are still very much relevant!

Ranking All the Morgan Matson Books! – As I’ve slowly moved away from YA, I couldn’t help but highlight one of my favorite YA authors – Morgan Matson. I might grow out of that age range, but her books are cherished regardless.

Ranking All the Morgan Matson Books

Are Harry Styles and I compatible (readers)? – I don’t know if it’s because of the celebs I picked or the feature just not being that interesting anymore, but the celeb book club posts have not been doing particularly well this past year, which was part of the reason that I stopped doing them. I mean, it’s hard to never get to pick what you want to read and just have to rely on other people’s taste anyway, but I haven’t yet decided if I’m going to give it another go in 2023.

MOST POPULAR POSTS FROM THE ARCHIVES:

LIFE

I’m scared to wish for better for the new year, because life seems to take it as a challenge to make it worse somehow. Every year, I feel like I shouldn’t complain, because I know that a lot of people have it a lot worse than me. I have a steady job (even if I sometimes wish it would pay more), I have colleagues I adore and that make work fun, I have a loving family and friends all around the world I can turn to. And yet, life is hard and keeps throwing particularly difficult challenges my way.
There were a lot of health scares in my family in 2022 and I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was terrified for months and months. I found less joy in things I used to love to do – such as binging TV, drawing my portraits or doing other creative work. Instead, I turned to long walks by myself and working out. (Eeew, teen me would not recognize herself.) I guess health (mental and physical) has become much more important to me as I’ve gotten older and that’s something I’m going to continue to work on in the years to come.

I have no idea where 2023 will take me, but I’m trying to go in with an open mind, a positive attitude but low expectations. Life is gonna do whatever it wants, you can’t plan for it. You can put things out into the universe and set things in motion, but in the end, it feels like what’s going to happen is going to happen. I just hope to see us all come out happy on the other side.

So, from me to all of you – THANK YOU for another fabulous year here on Life and Other Disasters! I literally couldn’t do this without you and am forever grateful for the relationships forged and the bonds made.

December 2022 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible19 Comments

While I usually do a monthly and yearly wrap-up at the beginning of January, I’ve decided to change things up this year. We’ll have the regular wrap-up for December now, then the rest of the week will be dedicated to various rankings and looking at 2022 in review as well as what’s ahead on the blog. Seen as I’m heading towards my 10th blogging anniversary fast, there are some things I’m starting to consider for the future of Life and Other Disasters.

First things first though, I’m happy to report that I somehow managed to achieve my reading goal for 2022 and finished 45 books! It’s five less than I managed to read in the previous year, but I was far busier, so I’m happy with the result. Here are the reads that accompanied me in the final month of the year:

  • Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake (3.5 stars)
  • Stella by Takis Würger (2 stars)
  • Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins, Volume I by Matthew Mercer/Matthew Colville/Olivia Samson/Chris Northrop (5 stars)
    Massive shout out to my mate, Lois, who gifted this comic book to me for Christmas, because she knows my love for Critical Role knows no bounds. This was such a well-paced volume and a great backstory on top of things. I was beyond happy!
  • Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (5 stars)
    According to StoryGraph, I started this book 233 days ago, but I couldn’t have read it sooner. It was hitting way too close to home, but I did it. I finished it before the end of the year and I’m proud of that.

Alone With You in the Ether Stella Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins, Volume I Crying in H Mart

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.

In Other News

As I’ve mentioned in many posts, I’ve been sick for quite a large chunk of December. On top of that, Christmas with my family had to be cancelled due to other health issues. This was the first Christmas ever that I didn’t spend with my family, despite my many years of traveling and living abroad. It was kind of sad, but then I had to work anyway, so at least I had something to do …

Binging TV is my coping mechanism

Whenever I feel down or just plain don’t have the energy for anything, I start getting REALLY into a show. This is mostly the time when I pick a show that has several seasons or spin-off shows already, so that I can just fixate on it like there’s no tomorrow. Momentarily, that is the Yellowstone universe for me. Yellowstone, 1883, 1923 and the upcoming 6666 show have my brain thoroughly occupied. These shows are brutal and definitely don’t just show history’s pretty side. As much as I appreciate that Taylor Sheridan doesn’t sweettalk what was done to indigenous people, he is still just a white man? So, what these shows have really done is whet my appetite to check out content (movies, shows, books) by actual indigenous creators in 2023.

I will continue to watch these shows though. They have me in their grasp now …

My Weightloss Journey

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 always use this portion of the post for accountability, but my journey has come to a halt and I’ve even taken a couple steps back. With me getting sick and the holidays, I’ve not been able to work out at all and have gained back some of the weight that I had already lost. As frustrating a setback as this is, I also know that my body needed that time. I was not well and there was no point in going on a diet while sick just because I couldn’t do my regular workouts. Things like this happen and I try not to be too hard on myself, instead I want to get back into things as soon as I get rid of this persistent cough. (No, it’s not the ‘rona.)

Still, I couldn’t deprive you of another fun dance workout. It’s just one song, but oh so timely considering last month’s release of Wednesday.

MOST POPULAR POSTS OF DECEMBER 2022

This list is literally identical, except that the first and last spot have swapped. Wild!

  1. Does The Atlas Paradox Suffer From Second Book Syndrome?
    (originally posted November 2022)
    Love that this post is gaining traction. I put a lot of thought into the review.
  2. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (Book Review)
    (originally posted in December 2020)
    This is the staple review post of my blog by now.
  3. Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily by Rachel Cohn/David Levithan (Book Review)
    (originally posted November 2020)
    I still attribute the popularity of this post to the holidays.
  4. Something Different: Duskwood (Game Review)
    (originally posted June 2020)
    Curious that this game is still sparking new interest almost daily.
  5. Should YOU Read “The Atlas Six”? (What I learned from my reread!)
    (originally posted March 2022)
    Well, if they read about the sequel, they probably also want to read about the first book.

MY OTHER POSTS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

ALL KINDS OF TAGS AND POSTS

TRAILER POSTS

I hope you had a brilliant start into the new year! I wish you nothing but health, luck, love and happiness for the months to come!

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!

September 2022 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible14 Comments

So, I’ve made no secret out of the fact that I was very busy in September and things (on the blog and elsewhere) didn’t exactly always go according to “plan”. I did, however, start reading the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells and I love them. Their short format was ideal for my schedule and even though I didn’t get super far, I’m happy to be in the middle of the third book by now. I’ll write a whole post on them, once I’ve finished reading the books that are out so far!

  • All Systems Red by Martha Wells (5 stars)
  • Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (5 stars)

 

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.

Now, with me only having read novellas all of September, and not many at that either, my reading challenges have suffered a little. I’m still ahead in terms of the total book goal I set for myself, just because I’ve accrued a nice buffer in previous months. The page count goal though? Not looking great …

A graph showing that I have read 36 out of my 45 book reading goal and 9503 pages out of 15000 pages. This means I am two books ahead of schedule but 1839 pages behind on my page goal.

 

In Other News

As I’ve now mentioned a lot, I was booked and busy in September. A lot of it had to do with work, because I’ve had quite a lot of hours scheduled and will continue to work a bit more than usual until the end of the year. That in itself is a bit tiring, but I made some other lifestyle changes and they just really took up a lot of my time in addition to that. I quite enjoyed the format of last month’s wrap-up (where I definitely had more to talk about, check it out here, if you missed it), so I’m going to stick to it.

If you don’t want to read about my weight loss journey, you should probably skip this portion of the wrap-up. I get it, put yourself first!

Lifestyle Changes

With working from home and just not having taken the best care of myself, I’ve gained quite a lot of weight over the past year. Every body looks different and needs different things, but I just didn’t feel comfortable in mine anymore. As I’ve mentioned last month, I got a Fitbit and that was the start of my weight loss journey.

I wanted to make sure that whatever changes I made, they would be sustainable and that I wouldn’t be miserable. I really found joy in movement again and could still (mostly) eat whatever I wanted, as long as it was in moderation. I’ve definitely become the boring friend who talks about calories and workouts and how many steps I got in too much, but this takes up so much of my time that I think it makes sense that it occupies so much of my mind.

In my mind, I’m kind of still stuck pre-pandemic at being 27 years old, but in reality I will turn 30 in less than a year. I’m now working out six times a week for about 30 minutes each and have lost 2 kg/4.4 pounds in a month, which doesn’t seem like an unhealthy or rapid weight loss. I’ve decided I will make sure I’m the hottest and most comfortable I’ve ever been once I turn 30. It’s a ridiculous goal, but mostly I just want to keep having fun with this journey, because right now, it IS fun.

This is one of the videos that got me started, as it is very beginner friendly and I personally just also really like Harry Styles’ music:

Writing My Fantasy Novel

I think I’ve been dreaming more about writing this book than actually sitting down and writing it. Still, I’m going to keep including my WIP in the monthly-wrap ups for accountability. I’ve worked so hard on the outline, there’s no way I’m just going to let it disappear in a drawer somewhere, never to be seen again. I’m currently at 1,131 words, which isn’t great, but it’s something.

This is legit the slowest I’ve ever written anything and somehow I don’t feel like I’ve really found the right voice for it yet, which is why this is taking so long. BUT I’m not giving up. It’s just hard to find the time and mental capacity to sit down and write after work and work outs.

Nick Miller from New Girl sitting in front of his laptop and saying "I got nothing" as he attempts to write his novel.

I Found a New Favorite Poet

I don’t know if you’ve ever fallen in love with someone you don’t know through their writing, but it has happened to me. I got so obsessed with some of the poems, I transcribes them into one of my gazillion notebooks, just to have them with me whenever I want to revisit them. You cannot imagine how much I would love to share some of this person’s writing with you, but I can’t. Some of you I might have confided in with his identity, but I don’t feel comfortable sharing it on here, because I’m really not entirely certain how he feels about his poetry getting out, despite him being in the public eye quite a bit.

He’s brilliant, vulnerable, poignant and relatable, but he doesn’t wish to share his stuff with the broad public right now. He might secretly be working on a poetry collection that I’m pretty sure will eventually get published AND WHEN THAT DAY COMES – YOU WON’T HEAR ME SHUT UP ABOUT IT!

I really wish I knew how to write poetry, but that’s a skill that has always escaped me.

I Watched All the Gen Z Content

We’ve established earlier on that time stops for no one and I’m approaching 30 fast. I’m a millennial through and through, but somehow I still got entranced by Gen Z content. In terms of movies, I thought Do Revenge was formidable and so much fun (even if the last quarter of the movie was a bit rushed) and I also completely got sucked in the world of Heartbreak High. Netflix’ hold on me was strong this past month! Please, give me more!!

the cast of Heartbreak High sitting on rocks by the ocean
credit: Netflix

MOST POPULAR POSTS OF SEPTEMBER 2022

Since I wasn’t very active this month, views definitely dropped by quite a lot. Here are the top visited posts of September though:

  1. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (Book Review)
    (originally posted in December 2020)
    I still have no clue why this one is so popular. I’ve tried searching for it on google, but didn’t actually find anything.
  2. Should YOU Read “The Atlas Six”? (What I learned from my reread!)
    (originally posted March 2022)
    The sequel releases this month and I CANNOT WAIT!
  3. Are Chris Evans and I compatible (readers)?
    (originally posted July 2021)
    Interest for him comes and goes in waves.
  4. Are Pedro Pascal and I compatible (readers)?
    (originally posted December 2021)
    I imagine it might have something to do with The Last of Us trailer release.
  5. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (Book Review)
    (originally posted December 2021)
    More people watched the movie so they might have wanted to know what the book was about? I definitely didn’t promote it anymore.

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOGOSPHERE

I’m terribly sorry, but I’ve not gotten any better at blog-hopping. If you have a post you would like me to check out, make sure to link it in the comments!

MY OTHER POSTS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

TRAILER POSTS

I hope you’ll have a productive yet chill October! I’m really looking forward to the spooky season, despite not having a costume yet …

May 2022 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible24 Comments

a header image in blue and green tones with blurry book covers and the writing "May Wrap-Up"

It kind of feels surreal to me that May has already come and gone. I don’t know why, but mentally, I’m probably still stuck in April? Anyway, it was a pretty decent month for me? Nothing too out of the ordinary, but let’s start with the usual – the books I’ve read!

Norwegian Wood Conversations with Friends The Dead Romantics My Mechanical Romance

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.

As far as my reading goals go, I have to say that I’m very pleased with myself. I’m still ahead in terms of books and pages, similarly to last month. I enjoy not really feeling pressured by a looming backlog or anything like that. It has been such a solid year for me so far.

An image showing a reading goal for 2022 of 45 books with a current track record of 53%/24 books completed. Also, a pages goal for 2022 of 15,000 pages, with 45%/6,752 pages already read.

A blurry background of book spines with the writing "In Other News" over it.

I’d love to tell you something exciting about the past month, but there wasn’t that much happening. I did, however, end up meeting up with one of my closest friends from my time in Canada (who is coincidentally from Germany, a neighboring country of mine). It has been FIVE whole years, but I couldn’t be happier for having seen her again after all this time! It still felt the same, as if we had just talked the day before. I really do be missing people and social contacts …

Some of you may also remember that I moved into an apartment by myself by the end of last year. Well, now, like half a year later, I finally have some plates and cutlery with more than two matching pieces. I could, technically, host up to six people. I doubt I’m gonna do it, but I feel like I’m nailing this adulting stuff by just having the option now.

MOST POPULAR POSTS OF MAY 2022

As every month, I’d like to take the time to spotlight which posts drew the biggest crowd to the blog. It was a surprise to me how different the top 5 looked to previous months.

  1. Should YOU Read “The Atlas Six”? (What I learned from my reread!)
    (originally posted March 2022)
    I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy that this post was thriving. First of all, I love this book, but secondly, I like seeing posts I put a lot of time in be succesful.
  2. Along for the Ride Book vs. Movie
    This is a new post where I compare Sarah Dessen’s story and its Netflix’ adaptation. Pleased it found an audience!
  3. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (Book Review)
    (originally posted in December 2020)
    It’s not number 1 this time, but it’s still here!
  4. Are Harry Styles and I compatible (readers)?
    This post took forever, so I’m glad it wasn’t a waste of time. I did think, with the album release, it might be even more interesting to people, but I’m pleased with what I got.
  5. Are Pedro Pascal and I compatible (readers)?
    (originally posted December 2021)
    While this was a reading experiment that wasn’t performing particularly well for a long time, it sure is gaining momentum now.

MY FAVORITES OF THE MONTH

WHERE DO I EVEN START!? Most of you probably already noticed that I went down a bit of a rabbit hole in terms of new Star Trek content and I absolutely fell in love with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds! Is my crush on Anson Mount as the very charismatic but also kind of funny Captain Pike involved in this development? Well … yeah, very likely. But I’ve really come to love this whole universe.

Secondly, we got to see Vol. 1 of Season 4 of Stranger Things and I binged it all after work on release day. I literally didn’t think there were enough hours in the day to finish it, but somehow I couldn’t be stopped and earned myself a massive headache – totally worth it though! A season that is much more horror than before, but that had me completely spellbound. Now, if my favorite characters (new additions included) could all survive, I’d be very grateful!

I finally, finally, finally finished my Harry Styles reading experiment. It’s always so satisfying when you get done with one of these and this one in particular took ages. I don’t know why I decided to read almost double the books I usually do, but I did … it was a wild ride.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention The Dead Romantics! That book was on my most anticipated books of 2022 list for the longest time and I’m so happy to report that it didn’t disappoint. There’s nothing better than a book being exactly what you need at a certain moment and The Dead Romantics certainly filled that role.

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOGOSPHERE

Please also visit some fellow bloggers and share the love! Here are some posts I enjoyed in the past month:

MY OTHER POSTS

MOON KNIGHT REVIEWS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

TRAILER POSTS

I hope you had a great May and that June will be kind to you! Did you do something special last month? Any plans for the summer? Let’s chat!