Tag: monthly

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!

October 2022 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible16 Comments

October was a complete disaster on the blog. Even though I posted my usual two posts per week, I really felt like I was on some sort of hiatus, doing the bare minimum. Somehow, I just didn’t find the time to read anything until the very end of the month (currently, I’m knee-deep into Babel and The Atlas Paradox and loving it!). So, here’s what I ended up finishing:

  • Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells (4 stars)
    This is the third installment in the Murderbot Diaries and while it wasn’t my favorite, the series is still excellent. I hope you won’t mind that I wait to review the books until I finish the series (up to the book it is out right now) and am able to do it in one go.
  • LVOE: Poems, Epigrams & Aphorisms by Atticus (4 stars)
    I first encountered poetry by Atticus while I was in Canada and I still enjoy it. It’s not always as deep as others, but it leaves me with a nice and warm feeling.

Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries, #3) LVOE: Poems, Epigrams & Aphorisms

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 had built up quite a comfortable buffer for my reading challenges, which has gone entirely to waste these past two months. I’m still sort of on track with the number of books, but I highly doubt I will reach my (for me, quite ambitious) page count goal. Even with Babel and The Atlas Paradox, it’s a stretch.

Two bars showing my reading progression this year so far until the end of October 2022. I have managed to stay on track for the number of books (45) I want to read and am currently at 84%. I am behind 2556 pages on my page count goal of 15000 pages for the year, which leaves me at 67%.

 

In Other News

October was once again a very busy month. We had presidential elections in my country, loads of my friends and family members had their birthdays and name days (yes, we “celebrate” those too) and in general, I feel like there was just always something going on. I’ve thought about this just recently, but I can’t even recall the last time I was bored. It legit doesn’t happen to me anymore. Once again, I’m sticking to the format of dividing up the month into segments and telling you about them separately.

Writing My Fantasy Novel

I have made ZERO progress. I’m not even sure I opened the document during October, if I’m being completely honest. It’s not that I lost interest in it, I just feel like I’m more in a reading rather than writing mood at the moment. However, having said that, it is NaNoWriMo. I have no intention of rushing through the novel, but maybe it will help me just work on it on a daily basis? That would be nice. But we all know I have the worst track record with sticking to NaNoWriMo …

I Still Have the Same Favorite Poet

Last month, I heavily teased that I fell in love with the writing of a certain poet, who kept his work out of the public eye. Funny story, the person is actually a former boxer now actor and while his Instagram is still private, he has decided to share some of his work on TikTok. Now, I quite enjoyed having his words all to myself (this is an exaggeration, he did share it with several hundred people before as well), but if you are curious and want to check out Kieron Moore’s poetry for yourself, you can do so here.

I Played Foretales

One of my favorite voice actors I share a birthday with (serious shout out to the legend that is Travis Willingham) promoted the latest game he did voice work for and I immediately wanted to check it out. I don’t have a proper gaming set up, I only have my laptop, that’s not really made for a lot of processing work. Regardless, Foretales is a really cool story-driven RPG card game. I enjoy games where my decisions have an impact on the story and certain paths are blocked or opened, depending on what I did prior. I have to admit that I sometimes got stuck on really silly things and was frustrated when I had to redo chapters, but overall, it was a lot of fun. You can find more info on it on Steam here.

My Weightloss Journey Continues

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!

As I keep at my regular cardio workouts and still haven’t gone on a diet – on the contrary, I think I’m eating more now than ever before and I notice it in my budget – I continue to slowly but steadily loose weight. The most important thing to me is that what I do remains something that is sustainable. There’s no use in starving yourself or overworking, just to go back to “normal” and reversing all that progress. I feel like what I’m doing does push me to go out more and definitely exercise and move more than I did previously, but I found the joy in moving and therefore it’s not so much of a chore, but rather something I feel incomplete without.

I’ve upped my workout time and often end up doing 30 to 45 minutes a day, but sometimes, when I just don’t feel like it, I end up only doing something for 10 to 20 minutes and that’s still enough. So, I’ve lost another 3 kg/6.6 lbs since the last wrap-up, which makes me feel confident that I can reach my desired goal by my 30th birthday.

Here’s the latest workout video I’ve been coming back to, especially with Taylor Swift’s release of Midnights:

This Spooky Season offered great Spooky TV!

There were so many great seasonal shows this last month! I loved the latest adaptations of Vampire Academy and Interview with the Vampire. Two very different shows, but both offering me everything I wanted from them. However, there is another adaptation that I feel got completely lost in the sheer amount of content that is being released as of late – The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself! The show is based on the book Half Bad by Sally Green, which I’ve read eons ago and can’t remember in detail, but still recognized in the show. It was fantastically paced, had super interesting character dynamics and would have been a perfect Halloween watch. I don’t see a lot of people talking about it, but I really wish more would watch it. It has some seriously f- up stuff happen it, but I would love to see what they do with another season.

MOST POPULAR POSTS OF OCTOBER 2022

I’ll never know how to express my utter love for everyone who keeps visiting this corner of the interwebs, even when I barely post any new content. I genuinely adore you! Here are the most popular posts of October.

  1. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (Book Review)
    (originally posted in December 2020)
    No surprise there, right?
  2. Should YOU Read “The Atlas Six”? (What I learned from my reread!)
    (originally posted March 2022)
    This actually makes a lot of sense, if you think about it being the release month for the sequel. I’m glad people find this post helpful!
  3. Something Different: Duskwood (Game Review)
    (originally posted June 2020)
    No clue what sparked the resurgence of this post.
  4. Are Chris Evans and I compatible (readers)?
    (originally posted July 2021)
    Yeah, why not? He’s always interesting I suppose.
  5. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover (Book Review)
    (originally posted October 2016)
    So, clearly I read this book way before it become a TikTok sensation and when I, myself, was still much younger. It’s the only Hoover book I’ve ever read and while I apparently enjoyed it back then, I’m not sure, I would still like it as much now? It’s wild to me that a post from 6 years ago is getting that much traffic.

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOGOSPHERE

This is only a fraction of all the great content that my fellow bloggers put out into the blogosphere in October. Still, I hope you’ll give them a visit and share the love!

MY OTHER POSTS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

TRAILER POSTS

I hope you had a wonderful spooky season and are now enjoying your November! Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? Any particular reading plans or otherwise? Let’s chat!

August 2022 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible10 Comments

I started August really motivated to blog, which, in hindsight, is not reflected at all in the content I provided. I don’t know what exactly happened, but I got busy? First things first though, let’s check out the books I read during August. I thought I wouldn’t have anything to show in this section, but there’s actually a lot – including some new favorites! I indulged in some poetry and audiobooks though, which is very unlike 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, 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 have no idea why this is so shocking to me, but I’m actually doing really well on my reading challenge still. I know I just showed how many books I read this past month, which was a sum that was actually a lot for me in general, but I always feel like I’m behind somehow. In reality, I’m ahead by 4-5 books (depending on whether you look at Goodreads or Storygraph for the info), but unfortunately, I’m behind several hundred pages on my page goal. Still, it could be worse. I just need to not read poetry and short stories.

A graph showing 76% (34 books out of 45 books) read. Brilliant! You are ahead by 4 books!

A graph showing 61% (34 books), 9,201 pages out of 15,000 pages read. 785 pages more until you're caught up! You've got this!

 

In Other News

As stated in the intro of this post, I was actually really motivated to get creative this month, but somehow I didn’t end up doing much on the blog. Still, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t a busy, busy gal! Here are some of my monthly highlights from August!

My birthday!

I “celebrated” my 29th birthday at the beginning of August. I’m not trying to say it in a weird way just to be weird, but I didn’t throw a party or anything like that. Instead, I took some time off work, had my parents visit with my grandmother – who saw my apartment for the first time since I moved in last October, donated to a local charity and relaxed. Creating a fuzz around a number isn’t my thing, but I guess I’m going to have to do something when I turn 30 next year. We’ll see …

I DMed my first DnD game!

I never thought that being a Dungeon Master (or Game Master, if you prefer that term) would be easy, but dang it was hard! I coerced my cousins into playing with me and I made miniatures for their characters as well as other NPCs and enemies, created maps (that were slightly off scale), tried to remember everyone’s powers, abilities and stats and did my best to explain rules that I didn’t always fully understand myself. It wasn’t necessarily chaotic, but there was 100% room for improvement. So, while I’m glad I did it, please, someone else be the Game Master next time, okay?

various miniature Dungeons and Dragons character made out of paper

I got a Fitbit!

Promise, this is not going to turn into a commercial and I’m pretty sure I gave away so many rights to my data when I signed up, but I’m super happy to have a Fitbit now. It’s a fitness bracelet that monitors and tracks various health and exercise data and I feel like that was a push I needed to get more active again. Working from home has taken its toll and while I was grateful for the safety measures that were implemented at my work, I feel so much better when I have a reason to get out of the house. Let’s see how long my fascination with it will last. The first 1.5 weeks have been great so far!

I finished the Outline for my Fantasy WIP!

THIS is something I’m super proud of! I’ve really put in the time and effort, despite being a very impatient person, to create an outline I can work with. Of course, there will be some fine tuning of certain elements as I go along, but I now have somewhat of a “character bible”, an explanation for my society, government, geographical make-up, magical system and religion of my world AND a super solid plot structure. I’m about to dive into the actual writing process and I hope to make progress with it at a steady pace as well.

I’m not yet ready to talk details, but here’s my main character (which I shared last month too) as a reminder:

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.
The main character vibes are strong with her.

Because this is already much longer than usual, I will forgo sharing the most popular posts of the month (you’ve heard about all of them before) as well as my favorites of the month (The Sandman) and posts from around the blogosphere. I hope you understand and vow to bring those back again next month, when I’ve hopefully had more time to blog hop and dive into what everyone else was up to!

MY OTHER POSTS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

TRAILER POSTS

I hope you all will have a great start into the month of September! I, for one, can’t wait to be able to wear layers more often again.

July 2022 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible14 Comments

July has come and gone and now we’re in my birthday month, which isn’t something I particularly celebrate, but still always feel the need to mention. Most of July, I was in a massive reading slump. All the books I did end up finishing (we’re going to ignore that I technically read the last pages of one of them on August 1), I read towards the final days of the month. It’s not a big haul, but here is what I read:

  • Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn by Matthew Mercer/Hannah Rose/James J. Haeck (5 stars)
    True to my Critical Role obsession, I couldn’t resist getting this book to further delve into the world of Exandria. It was an early birthday present from my parents, but I have like zero restraint and immediately checked it out instead of waiting. If you aren’t necessarily interested in running your own D&D campaign in Tal’Dorei, this is still a great tool for worldbuilding in my eyes.
  • Walking Gentry Home by Alora Young (5 stars)
  • Before Takeoff by Adi Alsaid (3 stars)

Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn  Walking Gentry Home: A Memoir of My Foremothers in Verse  Before Takeoff

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.

Surprisingly enough, I’m still doing well on my reading challenge. I’m two books ahead in order to reach my goal in terms of number of books. The challenge that I’m not doing so well on is the one for pages read. I’m more or less 1K pages behind, but weirdly I’m not worried about it. There’s still lots of books I want to read this year and some of them are quite chunky.
As for August, I don’t really have a plan or reading schedule, but I did get approved for an ARC for Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid, so that’s on the menu for sure.

Two graphs showing the progress on my reading challenges. One is for the number of books I want to read in 2022, where I'm currently at 28 out of 45 books read (62% complete). The other one is for pages read with a goal of 15000 pages and 7886 read at the moment (53% complete).

July wasn’t any less busy for me than June, if I’m being honest it was maybe even more busy. Part of it has to do with me taking on more hours at work until the end of the year, which didn’t seem like much of a change at first, but has turned out to have more of an effect on my energy levels than predicted. Still, I’m working on creating routines for myself to rest, relax and still get things done that I want to do.

Here’s a progress report on my summer plans:

  • I’m really, really bad at roller skating, but I have every intention of keeping at it. I honestly need to make more time for it, but doing it all by myself is just a bit boring at times.
  • My D&D session with my cousins is fast approaching, but I still have loads to prepare. I think I’m building it up in my head a bit more than necessary, but oh well, fingers crossed it’s just going to be fun in the end.
  • I binged Brandon Sanderson’s 2020 lectures on creative writing (which you can find here) and have now started outlining a standalone Fantasy novel I plan to write over the course of the rest of the year. I don’t really want to talk about specifics yet, maybe once I’m farther down the line. I’ve just kept thinking about Soulswift and D&D and how much I love Fantasy adventures. We’ll see if I can finally stick with something again. Here’s my main character (based on a D&D character I created for myself).

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.

MOST POPULAR POSTS OF JULY 2022

I know these lists look really similar every month, but I was actually surprised by how many reviews made it into the top 5 posts of July list!

  1. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (Book Review)
    (originally posted December 2021)
    There’s something ironic about me refusing to promote the book and movie ever since I learned about the author’s past (which I hadn’t mentioned in my review, because I didn’t know about it) and now the post is taking off regardless?
  2. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (Book Review)
    (originally posted in December 2020)
    It’s my most consistently visited post, I think.
  3. Are Chris Evans and I compatible (readers)?
    (originally posted July 2021)
    I’m assuming it has to do with the recent release of The Gray Man?
  4. The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston (ARC Review)
    (originally posted May 2022)
    It makes me beyond happy to see this post be so popular. It’s one of my most favorite reads of the year so far!
  5. Should YOU Read “The Atlas Six”? (What I learned from my reread!)
    (originally posted March 2022)
    Still going strong with my love for the Atlas Six!

MY FAVORITES OF THE MONTH

It’s still Critical Role. I don’t know why you would expect it to be anything else, because it consumes almost all my waking thoughts. I wish I could have been at SDCC 2022, just to soak up the energy in the room with them.

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOGOSPHERE

Again, due to me being so busy, I was really bad at keeping up with what everyone else was doing. I hope to be able to take some more time for that this month.

MY OTHER POSTS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

VARIOUS TAGS AND POSTS

TRAILER POSTS

I wish you all a great start into the month of August! My birthday is tomorrow, so I have high hopes that we’re all going to have a good time. 

June 2022 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible17 Comments

I don’t know about you, but June was a stressful month for me. I went on a bit of a mini-hiatus, which feels pretty silly to say considering that I still posted 3-4 times a week, but none of it felt very original. I more or less went through the motions, even though I had ideas for … well, more. If you were looking for bookish content in particular, dang it, I was not delivering.

In all of June, I read ONE book, which was fantastic, but I still didn’t feel like picking up anything else. Honestly, I unintentionally read a series of books that dealt with grief and a parent being sick/dying and it was just A LOT. I needed a bit of a break. However, This Time Tomorrow by Emma Staub was amazing and I have no regrets in reading it. 4.5 out of 5 stars!

This Time Tomorrow

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.

Obviously, after such a barren reading month, I’m not all caught up on my reading goals anymore. Funnily enough, I’m still two books ahead of schedule, but the page count … not looking great. I’m not too worried, because I try not to let these challenges pressure me, but I hope I will actually get to read some more in July.

As I said, June was a busy, busy month for me. There was work, family and just personal stuff. It felt like there was always something happening, so I deliberately focused on simple joys and avoided being online too much. Can’t say that’s super easy when your literal job is working with social media, but I definitely turned it down in my private life. Now, I think I have a better handle on things and am looking forward to getting back into my routines or creating new ones.

Here’s a couple plans for the summer:

  • I finally bought my roller skates and while I can barely go more than a couple steps at a time, I’m determined to learn this skill. In my head it’s a really fun, outdoors-y activity and I need more of those.
  • As many of you have noticed, I got a bit obsessed with D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) and I’m actually going to host my own game – a one-shot based on the campaign the kiddos played in the first season of Stranger Things – sometime in August. I don’t have any maps or such, but I want to get crafty and make this a really memorable game for my cousins, who I’ve convinced to join me in this adventure. It’s kind of silly to DM a game first time you play it, but I’m gonna do it anyway.
  • Find a new go to bar/coffeeshop/hangout-place, because when I was Vancouver I loved being a regular at certain places. I need to learn more about the area I live in now and explore my options.

Something that also can’t stay unmentioned is the fact that Life and Other Disasters turned NINE YEARS OLD this past month! I still can’t quite believe that I’ve been doing this for so long (or that I pretty much forgot about the anniversary), but I’m proud of myself for sticking to this for so long. If you want to check out my celebratory post and a little Q&A click here.

MOST POPULAR POSTS OF JUNE 2022

I’m going to keep sharing this little insight into my stats until someone tells me to stop, which hasn’t happened yet. So, let’s take a peek at what was most popular in June:

  1. Should YOU Read “The Atlas Six”? (What I learned from my reread!)
    (originally posted March 2022)
    The ARCs for the sequel, The Atlas Paradox, are out in the world. I need to get my hands on one somehow, because I cannot wait to continue reading this story.
  2. Something Different: Duskwood (Game)
    (originally posted June 2020)
    With the game coming to a close, I guess people were looking it up more again, but I only reviewed the first couple chapters and not the whole thing.
  3. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (Book Review)
    (originally posted in December 2020)
    It’s always listed, kind of reassuring.
  4. Are Chris Evans and I compatible (readers)?
    (originally posted July 2021)
    I’m going to take a big guess and assume this is because of the release of Lightyear and the infamous puppy interview.
  5. Are Pedro Pascal and I compatible (readers)?
    (originally posted December 2021)
    I don’t actually know if there was a particular reason Pedro got searched more, but you won’t find me complaining.

MY FAVORITES OF THE MONTH

I’m going to say two words: Critical Role! Okay, I’m going to say more than that, but I don’t think you all realize that ever since I discovered CR mid-June, I’ve watched more than 100+ hours of their content on YouTube. I also went and splurged in the EU Critical Role store, which is stocked terribly compared to the others! Please, someone, anyone who might read this and has a say in the matter, restock the items I want to buy. I really wanted to have Caduceus’ cardigan and the Keyleth dice set. PLEASE!!!
I already have a bucket hat, water bottle, Vox Machina and Mighty Nine dice sets as well as a chibi pin of my best boy – Dorian Storm. I AM OBSESSED!

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOGOSPHERE

I’ve been absolutely terrible at blog hopping, I really didn’t do much. If there’s a post you’re particularly fond of (your own or someone else’s), please don’t hesitate to link me up in the comments.

MY OTHER POSTS

MS MARVEL REVIEWS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

VARIOUS TAGS AND POSTS

TRAILER POSTS

I wish you all a pleasant and stress-free July! I hope it’s a good one. Let’s chat!

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!

April 2022 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible27 Comments

April, true to its name, was a wild month for me. I really surprised myself with the amount of books I read, even though I’m still a couple books behind what I wanted to achieve. I’ve been working hard on getting ready for the next installment in the reading experiment series and I think hope you will all love it! Let’s take a look at some books I devoured:

  • One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid (4 stars)
  • In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan (1 star)
    Utter nonesense.
  • For Every One by Jason Reynolds (5 stars)
    So beautiful and timely for me, I broke out into tears.
  • Notes on Camp by Susan Sontag (3 stars)
    Not entirely applicable today anymore, but still interesting enough.
  • You Get So Alone at Times That It Just Makes Sense by Charles Bukowski (2 stars)
    A reread that didn’t work any better the second time around.
  • Essays in Love by Alain de Botton (2 stars)
    As much as I like de Botton’s style of writing, I do not vibe with his statements.
  • Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield (4 stars)
    A really beautiful tribute to a loved one.
  • My Policeman by Bethan Roberts (2.5 stars)
    Pretty iffy for the most part.

One True Loves In Watermelon Sugar For Every One Notes on Camp You Get So Alone at Times That it Just Makes Sense Essays In Love Love Is a Mix Tape: Life, Loss, and What I Listened To My Policeman

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’m 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 terms of stats, I’m really on top of my reading goals and even have some leeway. However, and this is my predicament, I’m quite on a time crunch with three more books, which I sort of have to finish by May 15. I don’t know if I took on too much, but I’m going to try my best to get it done. Maybe the above list partly gives away who the reading experiment will be about, but I just cannot wait to actually share it with you!

Reading stats taken from The Storygraph App for my progress on my yearly reading goals

 

I’ve complained a lot these past months and you know what? I just don’t wanna do that anymore. April was full of surprises – some good, some bad – and that’s just how life goes sometimes. It wasn’t my most creative month in terms of blogging, writing or drawing, but I can feel that hunger coming back. That need to write down a story or capture an image in my own style. I’d say that’s a good sign and maybe if things calm down a little over the summer, I’ll get a chance to do more again.

Speaking of summer – I’ve made quite the plans for myself. I want to teach myself how to rollerskate! I know how to iceskate … in theory. I haven’t done it in a really long time, but I need to get back into finding activities to do outside. And while I really enjoy my regular trips to the zoo, as soon as the weather gets better it’s just packed and I have no desire to be among the masses. So … now I just need to find a shop that sells rollerskates here (harder than you might think), because I don’t want to order them online and gamble on the size fitting.

MOST POPULAR POSTS OF APRIL 2022

I hope you won’t mind that I’m continuing to share the top posts of the month, but I just want to thank everyone for hyping up archive posts and giving my content some longevity.

  1. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (Book Review)
    (originally posted in December 2020)
    I’d really love to know what makes this such an evergreen review, but I’m alright with it either way.
  2. Should YOU Read “The Atlas Six”? (What I learned from my reread!)
    (originally posted March 2022)
    It brings me so much joy that this post helps people decide whether The Atlas Six is a good fit for them!
  3. Are Sebastian Stan and I compatible (readers)?
    (originally posted August 2021)
    I’m assuming this is still an aftereffect of all the press for Pam & Tommy and Fresh?
  4. Something Different: Duskwood (Game)
    (originally posted June 2020)
    We’re all just patiently waiting for the release of the final chapter
  5. Are Pedro Pascal and I compatible (readers)?
    (originally posted December 2021)
    I think every time an actor has a new project out (taking a wild guess at it being “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent“), it brings more people to these kind of posts.

MY FAVORITES OF THE MONTH

This VERY clearly has to go to Heartstopper! I cannot remember the last time I was so enarmored with a show and felt so happy watching it. At first, I was a bit worried that I might be too old for it and that it might hinder me from really getting into it, but I ended up just falling head over heels for the entire thing.

The main cast of the show Heartstopper
credit: Netflix

A lot of the time these days, queer representation in media is either super traumatic, dark and gritty or glorifies the coming out experience that is rare for most people in real life. With Hearstopper, it really felt like they balanced genuine struggles with wholesome and positive vibes. You knew not everything was going to be sunshine and rainbows all the time, but simultaneously, it had a precious and uplifting message. I’m glad kids growing up now get to see content like it. Also, I have officially adopted Nick Nelson as my fictional son. I’m sure his brother August Flynn will be happy to welcome him in the family.

Nick Nelson portrayed by Kit Connor
credit: Netflix, he’s just my fave!

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 all a lovely and not too wild April! Here’s to a brilliant May ahead of us!

March 2022 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible17 Comments

March didn’t really go according to plan. Not that I had an actual plan, but, you know … I thought it would go by with a couple less hiccups. For the most part, I was in a massive reading slump and only rereading one of my favorites from last year got me back into the mood to pick up more stories. Here’s what I ultimately got to:

  • The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake (5 stars, reread)
    While I’ve read the self-published version last year, I took it upon myself to annotate and highlight the traditionally published edition this past month to create a post telling YOU if the book is something you might enjoy. I hope you’ll find the post enlightening.
  • All the Horses of Iceland by Sarah Tolmie (2.5 stars)
    As far as novellas go, I’ve read better. It’s historical with elements of magic, but it just felt so clinical and detached.
  • Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen (3.5 stars)
    I’m going to review the book on here eventually, I just want to combine it with my thoughts on the movie, which will release on April 22.

The Atlas Six (The Atlas, #1) All the Horses of Iceland Along for the Ride

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’m 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.

For the most part of the last month, I was massively behind on all my reading goals, but I’m doing alright at the moment and have a mini-buffer even. I have not made much progress with The Ten Thousand Doors of January (still only about 24% into the story), but I’ve been flying through One True Loves (66%) and think I’ll finish it easily this weekend. After that I want to focus on a new reading experiment, which to the dismay of some, won’t be the Henry Cavill one just yet. You’ll see what I’ve chosen instead soon!

storygraph reading challenge progress update for March

 

I’m exhausted! I’ve had the worst couple of weeks of insomnia and constant headaches and I have no idea why (I say that like there hasn’t been an onslaught of things going on in my private life that have stressed me out). All of *that* has contributed to me not being at my blogging best and I downgraded from 3-4 posts per week to just 2 for most of March. It might not seem like it to you, but for me, that’s almost a mini-hiatus. I legit did the bare minimum.

On a more pleasant note, after months of not doing anything, I actually picked up a brush again did a couple drawings! I did a couple things, which you can check out on my art insta, but here’s a little taste of me drawing Jonathan Bailey (yes, the very Bridgerton one).

watercolor drawing by Kat Impossible of actor Jonathan Bailey

I also went ahead and got myself an annual pass for the local zoo and I’ve only gone twice so far, but I’m loving it. Truly, it’s the perfect way to go outside and spend some time wandering around in the fresh air and seeing some great animals. As always, I’m drawn to the jellyfish in the aquarium, but I also love visiting “my” bird.

MOST POPULAR POSTS OF FEBRUARY 2022

I’ve done it these past couple of months and I will continue to do it to show the longevity of blog posts. It never ceases to amaze me which posts people are drawn to even after such a long time.

  1. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (Book Review)
    (originally posted in December 2020)
    Are Sebastian Stan and I compatible (readers)?
    (originally posted August 2021)
    The two posts actually have the exact same amount of views. I will never quite understand what draws people to that specific book review, but I know VERY well why the Sebastian Stan post has blown up once again. There’s the release of Fresh, but also him mentioning Alain de Botton in many an interview for the movie and me having picked that author for the reading experiment with him.
  2. Something Different: Duskwood (Game)
    (originally posted June 2020)
    I genuinely hope that the last chapter will release soon, because I can see how many people click on the episode tracker when they visit.
  3. Should YOU Read “The Atlas Six”? (What I learned from my reread!)
    It’s the only new post and I’m glad it’s so well received. That book means a lot to me and I know it’s not for everyone, so I hope this post will help people figure out if it’s for them.
  4. Are Pedro Pascal and I compatible (readers)?
    (originally posted December 2021)
    Today his movie The Bubble released on Netflix, but I think the increase in popularity is due to the Nicholas Cage movie releasing this year. The trailers and interviews looked hilarious.
  5. The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake (Book Review)
    (originally posted September 2021)
    The traditionally published version of the book released this past month, so I guess people were just curious. I think it’s funny that my book reviews are performing so well, when those are notoriously the posts that are supposed to be the least traction gaining ones.

MY FAVORITES OF THE MONTH

Obviously, my love for The Atlas Six was reawakened big time, but I think it’s fair to say that my mind was mostly occupied by the anticipation for the new Bridgerton season and then actually getting to watch it. Surprisingly, I was also delighted at the new season of Sanditon. I’m very attached to Mr. Colbourne and think it’s hilarious that Theo James was replaced by someone who was also in the Divergent franchise (although with a much smaller part). It’s a true win for my regency love story yearning heart!

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOGOSPHERE

I was not as active this past month and apologize for that, but here are some posts I loved.

MY OTHER POSTS

MARVEL REVIEWS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

TRAILER POSTS

I hope you’ve had a better March than me. Let’s talk!

February 2022 Wrap-Up

Kat Impossible24 Comments

Despite February having been a lot and me choosing to repress some stuff that is happening in reality (I know, it’s a kind of privilege), it was actually a pretty decent reading month for me. I got to everything I had set my eyes on and even a little more. So, at least in that department, I genuinely can’t complain much right now, even if most of the books wer only mediocre. Here’s what I read:

Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Prosper's Demon by K.J. Parker

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’m 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 I’ve now said a lot, I’m using Storygraph really regularly now and it’s growing on me. I’m also low-key crushing my reading challenges and it’s making me happy. For a while there, I thought I had aimed too high with 15K words for this year, but it’s looking good. I’m now reading The Ten Thousand Doors of January (about 6% into the story) and even though it had mixed reviews, I’m enjoying it. I’m not even going to attempt to start a new reading experiment in March, I will try to alternate those.

I think it’s fairly understandable to say that I’m on edge right now. The Ukrainian border is closer to where I live than the other side of my own (very tiny) country. Geographically, this is probably one of the closest wars I have had to witness and I feel like I live in a 24/7 news cycle. At the same time, I’m confused and angered by some of the rhetoric used in media and by politicians alike, especially when it comes to refugees in comparison to coverage about previous countries that needed aid. I wish I could share some good resources here, but the ones I trust are all in German so … please, just be aware that there’s a lot of misinformation going around and be careful. Take care of yourselves!

Other than that, there’s things going on in my private life I want to talk about even less, BUT the weather is getting better. Yes, this is what it has come to. I’m talking about the weather … I can really feel it lift my spirits though and I’m hoping to get out more. I miss having places to go to, especially since I’ve been working from home in my one room apartment since mid-November now. So, this is honestly a good sign!

It also sort of started me imagining going on vacation for the first time in forever this year. I refuse to go on a plane or anywhere that is difficult to reach, but maybe a Berlin visit is due! I miss my second (or third or fourth) home. If I go, I want to go by train, because it’s such a nice deceleration to life and without the stress of how much luggage you can take in a carry on for a flight and such. I’m not sure when I’ll go, but I’m making all the plans for 2022.

MOST POPULAR POSTS OF FEBRUARY 2022

When I’m on other platforms and judging by my stats page, blogging has changed a lot over the years. I feel like it’s more of a second platform for many, next to video or image content on socials. Still, I’m dedicating this year to showing how valuable and kind of long term blogging as a medium is by sharing my top performing posts each month. (Hint: they are rarely ever the new ones!)

  1. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (Book Review)
    (originally posted in December 2020)
    Do I know why this is the most popular book review I’ve ever written? Heck no. I wish I did, but I’m glad it’s doing so well and finding an audience. Even if I wasn’t 100% convinced by the book …
  2. Something Different: Duskwood (Game)
    (originally posted June 2020)
    This game, I wish more people would play it so that I could talk about it with them. And also, that they’ll finally release the final chapter.
  3. Are Sebastian Stan and I compatible (readers)?
    (originally posted August 2021)
    Look, with Pam & Tommy releasing, I just think a lot of people are rediscovering Sebastian Stan.
  4. Are Chris Evans and I compatible (readers)?
    (originally posted July 2021)
    Interest for Chris always remains in waves.
  5. Are Tom Hiddleston and I compatible (readers)?
    (originally posted June 2021)
    He almost got beat by Pedro Pascal for 5th place. It as SO close. But the reading experiments are just a huge draw to the blog.

MY FAVORITES OF THE MONTH

Speaking of reading experiments, while I love doing them, I love publishing them even more! There’s just something so very satisfying about getting all the necessary reading done, comparing tastes and trying to find common ground with strangers based on nothing other than books. One of my favorite parts is also trying to find the thing that connects all the books, to dive into the psyche of the celebs a little and see what draws them to the material. It’s such a joy! I know I posted the latest installment with Lupita Nyong’o at an inopportune time, but I hope it doesn’t flop.

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOGOSPHERE

I love this community, so please share that love by also checking out the posts of fellow bloggers!

MY OTHER POSTS

VARIOUS TAGS AND POSTS

TV SHOW/MOVIE RELATED

WRITING LIFE

TRAILER POSTS

Hope February was kind to you and that March will treat you well! Let’s chat in the comments!