Category: Sunday Post

Sunday Post | Things I Do When I’m Stuck Indoors

Posted January 20, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 36 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

Things I Do When I’m Stuck Indoors

The weather this week isn’t as bad as it was last week, thank goodness! But it was still cold and I did not want to go out at all. We had planned to visit the zoo again if the weather gets better, but it didn’t so we didn’t. Hopefully next week will be better.

Since I was mostly stuck at home, I made the best out of it and spent my free time reading, crocheting, and binge-watching Veronica Mars.

To be more precise, I was re-watching Veronica Mars. I used to love the series back when it first came out and it has been a long time, so I wanted to revisit it again. I feel like some of the drama didn’t age very well, but the nostalgia is stronger than my “wokeness”, so I’m still loving the show.

I’m only in the middle of Season 2 right now, but I never finished Season 4 – I never wanted to at the time. Season 1-3 came out from 2004 to 2007, and Season 4 came out years later in 2019. There was a movie in between, in 2014, and I think I watched that, but I never watched Season 4. I read reviews that made me not want to, so I don’t think that I’ll watch Season 4 this time around either. If you’ve watched it and you liked it, you could try to change my mind. Maybe I should watch it just for posterity’s sake, I don’t know.

I also spent a lot of time crocheting, but I am very unhappy to say the project ended up ugly so I had to frog and now I have nothing to show for it and have to redo the whole thing. Ah well.

As for books, I managed to finish Light Bringer by Pierce Brown, The Switch by Beth O’Leary, and Don’t Call It A Cult by Sarah Berman. I’m going to take advantage of homebound days to read more, because I’m sure that once I get my freedom, I may not have as much time to read. I must admit, cozy reading days are the best things about winter.

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I am still working on The Dance of Anger. I haven’t made any progress, but I’m not ready to give up on it yet. I’ll try again this week.

I was supposed to read Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries right after The Switch, but I just got The Rook by Daniel O’Malley on audiobook, and Emily Wilde is a physical copy. It’s just easier to listen to audiobooks and do chores and/or crochet. I’ll make an effort though, because I really want to read Emily Wilde!

How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Sunday Post | Cold, Cats, Cookies

Posted January 13, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 30 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

Cold, Cats, Cookies

I was in a funk this week. I didn’t have my usual energy this week and spent a couple of days being moody and just laying in bed reading (might be I was just using the moodiness as an excuse to stay in bed and read, but you have no proof).

To be fair, it was a really cold week, with temperatures going down to -36 Celcius, so it’s just much more comfy to hide under the covers than try to do anything else. Even the cats were so cold, all three cuddled up together, which they very rarely do! Also, to be clear, I didn’t have a cold. It was just really cold, and I had a mood.

I did bake some cookies though, which took a lot of time because I made 4x the recipe, but it was yummy and totally worth it! And we got some heat from the oven too, so win-win!

On the reading front, I finished The September House and The Librarian Spy, so yay! I also posted my notes and reactions for The September House that I wrote in my e-reader as I was reading. It’s password-protected and spoiler-filled, but if you’ve read it and are interested in my notes, password is “SPOILME0002”.

I also finally got Light Bringer by Pierce Brown on audiobook. It’s the sixth book in the Red Rising series, and I’ve been so anxious reading about characters that I’ve loved since the first book. Things haven’t been going their way for a while, and I’m just really afraid for them. If this was the final book, I would be expecting a good resolution, but there’s going to be a seventh book, so I’m not sure if we’re going to be left hanging again.

For nonfiction, I’ve started reading The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner and it’s really kicking my ass, to be honest. I’m reading it very slowly, and it’s bringing up a lot of difficult topics. I’m sure it’s good for me to work through them, but I’m not sure if I’m ready for it right now.

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I’m pretty sure I can finish Light Bringer this week. I’m not so sure about The Dance of Anger, I’m contemplating if I want to leave it for another time, but even if I decide to continue, I will be going slow, so it’s going to take me a while.

I also just got The Switch by Beth O’ Leary on audiobook, and I got a physical copy of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries from the library, so they are on the list right after Light Bringer. I’m feeling pretty happy because I’m doing well with actually reading the books I listed on my Winter TBR a few weeks ago. Let’s hope I keep it up!

How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Sunday Post | A Very Book Blog-ish Week

Posted January 6, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 32 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

A Very Book Blog-ish Week

Happy New Year!

I hope the first week of 2024 went well for everyone. My first week was pretty slow, I haven’t gotten back into the groove of work yet, but I did manage to read some books and write some reviews. I also posted a few book tags which I thought were fun, and I hope if you’re so inclined, you’ll do some of them too. Let me know if you do! Or if you already did!

The Spotify Wrapped Book Tag 2023 is for matching 3-5 songs you listened to in 2023 to the books you read in 2023, in any way that makes sense to you.

My Life in Books 2023 Tag is for matching some fun prompts with book titles that fit the prompts.

The 2023 End of Year Book Survey helps you look back on your stats and best books of the year. There are some very thoughtful questions and I had fun thinking back to the books that fit the questions.

About password-protected posts for spoiler-y discussions

I also wanted to find a way to discuss spoilers in books without spoiling it for those who haven’t read them, because I just finished reading Holly by Stephen King, and I have to talk about the ending. I ended up posting it as a password-protected post, so if you’ve read the book and are interested in reading my post, go to Notes & Discussion for Holly by Stephen King, password is “SPOILME0001”.

I’m happy with the set up, I think. It’s too early to tell.

But I do like feeling like I can be free to talk about all the spoiler-y stuff with abandon on password-protected posts. I hope to add more spoiler-y discussions posts as I go, and I hope you will join me for some of them if you’ve read the books. Each of the posts have to have unique passwords, but it’s going to be the same formula for all of them, and it’s posted at the top of my blog so anyone who wants to can access them.

As for the upcoming week, my intentions are to read books that count towards all the reading challenges I signed up for!

The book tags and memes haven’t been good for me, I keep adding new books to the TBR, and reading some of them before reading the ones that had been on my TBR for ages and are the reasons I signed up for those challenges in the first place! Book gods, give me the strength to resist new books!

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I believe I can finish The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin this week, and The September House by Carissa Orlando. Both are new additions to my TBR. Sigh.

I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Sunday Post | An Ice-Skating Christmas Day

Posted December 30, 2023 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 24 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

An Ice-Skating Christmas Day

The week started out wonderful with Christmas Day and a small ice-skating gathering in the morning. We made some new friends and had a lot of fun even though it was outdoors and really cold! We didn’t do much the rest of the day but we did have some really yummy leftovers.

I’m also happy because I did quite well this last week with finishing and reviewing three books. And I got out of my comfort zone and signed up for three more reading challenges for 2024!! That means that I’m currently signed up for nine reading challenges in 2024. NINE!

To be fair, Finishing the Series and Series Enders are complementary, and the Library Love and Audiobook challenges would have a lot of overlap since I get all my audiobooks from the library! Also, the Classics challenge is technically a five-year challenge, so if I don’t do well in 2024, I can catch up in the next years!

I really hope I don’t regret this! Have you signed up for any reading challenges? How many reading challenges are the sweet spot for you?

I also managed to get A Christmas Carol finished! Holy description, Dickens has got a way with words! I’m familiar with his works in pop culture and adaptations, but I haven’t actually finished any of his books. This is my first, and will definitely not be the last.

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I will probably be writing the review for A Christmas Carol this week, but also, it’s the first week of 2024 and I can finally get started on all the books that fit the challenges I signed up for!

  • Holly by Stephen King – for the Finishing the Series and Series Enders challenges
  • Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson – for the Nonfiction challenge
  • The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin – for the Bookish Books challenge
  • Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson – for the Bookish Books challenge

These are books already on my digital bookshelf, and will count for the Library Love and Audiobook challenges too! I don’t know if I can finish them all this week, but they’re the first ones on my list.


I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Sunday Post | Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Posted December 23, 2023 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 30 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

It’s a festive weekend and I hope you have a great time with friends and family, no matter what you celebrate (or not).

Last week was a pretty chill week and we didn’t do much, but we did go ice skating for the first time in Canada! Woot!!

I haven’t skated in about 20 years (a long, long time!) and I’m so rusty and clumsy on the ice now, but it was fun anyway. My husband has never skated before and I couldn’t teach him since I’ve forgotten everything, but there was a kind stranger at the rink helping him, and he did so well for his first time!

As for reading; I started reading The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks, but haven’t finished it because I was listening on audiobook and I couldn’t make out what the narrator was saying when she did the low voices. I decided to put it aside until I can get a print copy so I can read it instead. I did manage to finish If It Bleeds by Stephen King, and I’m reading A Christmas Carol for the first time!

I’m trying to finish A Christmas Carol before Christmas is over, but I’m not sure I can because of how busy the next couple of days will be. It’s not a long book though, so I’ll try. I wouldn’t rush it except it feels weird to be reading A Christmas Carol once Christmas is over, but I might not care and just do it anyway! What do you think? Is it weird to read A Christmas Carol after Christmas?

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I’m still trying to read a couple of first in a series books, if I can. It’s the last week of the year, a holiday week, and we have a couple of plans, but I believe I’ll have time to read a bit.

It’s weird because almost every year end I’m usually pushing myself to read a little more so I can get more books read for the year, but this time, I’m hoarding my books so I can read them for challenges I signed up for next year.

Are you pushing yourself to finish more books before the end of the year, or are you hoarding them for next year?


I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Sunday Post | Zoolights

Posted December 16, 2023 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 35 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

Zoolights

As promised, we went back to the zoo last week for the Zoolights!

It was amazing and far exceeded our expectations! It’s our first time going to the Zoolights, but I’m quite sure it won’t be the last. It might have to be an annual thing from now on. The lights were gorgeous, there was so much to see, everyone there were in good spirits and we bonded a little with other people there helping each other take pictures, and as luck would have it, the weather was perfect. It was cold enough to feel Christmassy, but not so cold that we felt uncomfortable.

We took a lot more pictures than these, because there was so much to see, but I’ll spare you the photo album tour. Wherever you are in the world, I hope you’re enjoying this holiday season (or if you’re not celebrating anything, I hope you’re just enjoying life in general!)!

As for my reading plans last week, I didn’t read the books I originally intended, and I had a couple of false starts (books I started but couldn’t get into), but I ended up getting sucked into Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi and absolutely loving it! So I call that a win!

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I’m having a hard time deciding what to read because a lot of the books on my TBR are books that fit the 2024 reading challenges I signed up for, and I want to save them for the new year. However, it seems that the Finishing the Series challenge requires that you started the series before 2024, so I’m reading the first books in series I think I might want to finish for the challenge. I might end up not liking them and not wanting to continue them, and I’ve already got lots of series on the list to be finished, but at least I’m giving myself more options!

So this is just a list of books I have on my TBR that are first in a series. Obviously I won’t be able to read them all by the end of the year, but they’re here to motivate me and I’ll do my best to read a couple!

  • Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
  • Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
  • Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
  • Stolen Heir by Holly Black
  • Dune by Frank Herbert
  • Storm Front by Jim Butcher
  • Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
  • Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
  • A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
  • Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews


I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Sunday Post | Birthday Celebrations

Posted December 9, 2023 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 20 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

Birthday Celebrations

I didn’t get a lot of reading done this past week because it was my husband’s birthday and we did several activities to celebrate, but I did manage to finish one book. We had a nice Sichuan meal. The food was so good, but honestly, not nearly spicy enough. It was our first time at this restaurant and we had the fish, prawns, and pork, but they’ve got lots of other great stuff on the menu and we’re definitely going back for more.

Our local zoo is very good and mindful about wildlife conservation, and the animals always seem happy and well taken care of. There are both indoor and outdoor spaces for the animals that need them and they can easily move between the two when they want depending on the weather.

It was my first time seeing the polar bears, but the otters were the stars of the show this trip. They were very active and frolicking around in the water, playing with seashells and each other. It was so fun to watch. It hadn’t been snowing when we went to the zoo so it looked nice and balmy in the pictures, but it was quite cold and I’m sensitive to the cold so I’m all nice and bundled up.

There were lots of other animals at the zoo too, of course, but we only visited the North American animals section of the zoo this time because it was closed the last times we went and we had already seen the other sections. We are definitely going back as often as we can though, because it’s always such a joy to see the animals playing, or just doing their own thing, and some of them even like performing for the crowd. We’ll be going back again for the Zoolights when it snows, because my husband wants to see them in the snow.

It did snow later in the week, and we went out to see Christmas lights last night. I love how beautiful they all look. My favorites are the peacock, and the big Christmas tree. There are lots of places in Calgary going all out on Christmas lights decoration, and we’re going back for the Zoolights, but we’re going to see if we can visit some other ones too. The Christmas lights are some of the best things about the winter season.

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I don’t have much planned this week because I was too busy to think, but I do plan to do the weekly memes, and hopefully start reading the books I intended to read last week – Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree, and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Sunday Post | My First Sunday Post

Posted December 3, 2023 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 12 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

This past week was my first week book blogging again, so there’s that! There’s nothing much to show on my blog just yet, but I wanted to do a post anyway to commemorate my first week. Plus, although I haven’t posted much yet, I did spend a lot of time browsing other book blogs and book memes, and even signed up for a couple of reading challenges which I’m really excited for!

Last Week

This Week

  • I will be posting my first weekly book memes!
  • Planning to get started on The Classics Club challenge by
  • Reading Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
  • Reading Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree
  • Writing a review for The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin

Honestly, I’m still new to book blogging again so I don’t know if I can do all that I want to do, especially since the coming weeks are busy end-of-year ones, but I am excited to be here again and I’m going to keep reminding myself that even if I can’t do it all, I’m happy just to be blogging again!

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