Tag: weekly updates

Sunday Post | 20 July 2025

Posted July 19, 2025 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 10 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. 

Unsleeping Grumpy

I haven’t been getting enough sleep this last week, and that means I’m not a Sleeping Beauty, but rather, an Unsleeping Grumpy. It’s no fun. I have been so irritable lately even though it’s been an objectively good week.

Ironically, I bought some new pillows and a duvet last week because the old ones were wearing out, and the cats have also started sleeping with us at night more regularly, which have given me a such a lovely sense of peace and coziness; so I should be sleeping better, but I’m not… Hmm…okay, maybe I should clarify. I have actually been sleeping better in terms of quality, but I haven’t been getting enough sleep in terms of quantity. And since we’re being honest, I have to admit it’s my own fault because I’ve been staying up late reading.

And therein lies the truth; I did it to myself. 😭

It’s hard to regret choosing reading over sleeping, but I’m not as young as I used to be and lack of sleep affects me a lot more than it used to. I have to be a responsible adult now. Ah, well.

On my watchlist:
I have been watching Building the Band on Netflix and I am so hooked! I’m loving SZN4 and Soulidified and I can’t get enough of them! I think no matter who wins, these two bands are going to do well post-show. 3Quency is really good too, but I don’t like them as much as the first two bands.

There’s also some drama with a couple of the other teams that are annoying to watch, but part of the draw of reality tv, I guess. I’m just impatiently waiting for the next episodes to be released this week, and then after the show, I want all the deets on what the bands have been doing since then! As I said, I’m pretty sure at least a couple of these bands are going to keep going strong no matter who wins the show, and I’m excited to see it!

The Books

Books I read last week:

  1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – It’s been on my TBR for ever and I finally finished it. I ended up getting quite sick of the characters, but I love how Tolstoy kept me interested in their drama. I just couldn’t stop reading!
  2. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid – This book played with my emotions like a cat plays with its prey. It gave 100% emotional damage and I was ugly crying at the end.

Books I’m reading:

  1. A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost – Listening to this on audio right now. I’m about 35% in. I love him on SNL and Pop Culture Jeopardy!
  2. The Love Haters by Katherine Center – I’m about 40% into this and really enjoying it! It’s funny and lighthearted and I’m loving the interactions between the two MCs.

Last Week on The Blog

So many posts the week before and only this one last week.

This Week

I want to finish up the two books I’m currently reading, and I also have If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino on the to-read list. I have to finish it before the week it out because our bookclub is meeting this weekend!

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 | 13 July 2025

Posted July 12, 2025 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 6 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. 

I’m Back Again!

My last Sunday Post was four months ago and I cannot understand how time passes by so quickly! I could’ve sworn it was only two months ago, max! It’s worse because I actually mentioned in my last Sunday Post that I really wanted to make an effort to do the Sunday Posts and to check in with everyone. How quickly I have forsaken my words. 😭

Well, I’m going to try again! Please forgive me!

I updated a little bit about what’s been going on with me in my last Monthly Wrap Up, but the quick recap is that we lost our beloved Loki last month, and I’m going back to school in the fall. Bad news, good news.

We’re still missing Loki. We’re okay most days, but sometimes when we come across a reminder we start crying again. My husband was cleaning yesterday and found Loki’s old collar and tag. He started crying and then I started crying. I know it’ll get better, it just sucks right now.

Going back to school for me is a good thing, an exciting thing! But I’ve also been a little anxious with the back to school prep, especially since I haven’t been in school for years! I’m still working on the paperwork, enrollment, and all the administrative stuff, which is keeping me busy but should be done really soon!

On my watchlist:
I just finished watching Season 1 of Murderbot and I loved it!!! I was surprised that there were ten episodes to Season 1 because the first book was so short, and I wondered if maybe they decided to merge a couple of books into this season, but nope, the first season is based on the first book and that’s it.

To be fair, each of the episodes are only 20-30 minutes long and they do flesh out the story a little bit. I thought they did a pretty great job of it. I don’t remember all the details of the book but I feel like they got the important details down. I’m very happy about it, and I’m excited to see what they do with the next seasons!

Has anyone else watched it and/or read the books? I’d love to know what you think!

The Books

Books I read last week:

  1. The Accidental Text by Becky Monson – I was in the mood for some romance and I stumbled upon this book while browsing by availability. It sounded fun and it was! I enjoyed it very much!
  2. The Wild Robot Protects (The Wild Robot #3) by Peter Brown – The third book in the series. I loved the movie and I was thrilled to find out there were books!
  3. Swept Away by Beth O’Leary – I’ve enjoyed the author’s previous works and was excited for this but it turned out a little disappointing.

Books I’m reading:

  1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – I am currently about 35% in and finding it all very dramatic and interesting!

Last Week on The Blog

Whoa, this is what catching up on all the book reviews I procrastinated on looks like! And I’m not even done yet! 😭

This Week

I’m hoping to finish Anna Karenina this week. I also want to read Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and hopefully get started on The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky. The Brothers Karamazov is a buddy read that I signed up for a year ago! The deadline is coming up and I have to read it soon if I wanna make it but it’s my own fault for leaving it to the last minute.

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 | 9 March 2025

Posted March 8, 2025 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 11 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. 

Missing You All

I don’t like that I haven’t been posting Sunday Posts. I just feel like I haven’t done very well with reading recently, and/or being organized, and taking the time to visit everyone’s blogs and replying comments. However, I’ve missed catching up with everyone and reading about what I’ve missed, and I really want to make an effort to check in with you all. And even if it’s only a couple of times a month instead of every week, I think it’s better than missing you all for months!

The weather has been warming up, which is great because I’ve been missing my runs outside but there have still been some snowy days and it looks like this week is mostly overcast. I’ll try to get it in whenever there’s a nice day. You have to take it when you can!

Crochet
One thing that I have been doing better at recently is crochet; I’ve made some wearables but not many and I haven’t really worn any of them much because they don’t fit right. I’ve started getting better (or just more stubborn) and made a few I really like. I redid them over and over until I got them right, I think I frogged the first one (on the left) three times! I’m not sure yet that I like the last one (on the right). It’s not the best fit so I might redo it.

I also learned that blocking makes a huge difference! It’s such a game changer! I used to be too lazy to block but I’m going to be better about blocking my projects in the future. Unfortunately, I’m still too lazy to swatch. If you’re a more experienced fiber artist, how important is swatching, really? Do I need to change my lazy ways? 😅

The Books

Books I read last week:

  1. Vengeful by V.E. Schwab
    I only finished one book last week, but it was pretty good. I enjoyed the first book in the series and I liked this one too especially towards the end. The jumping timelines were a little annoying and there were certainly some issues with convenient plotlines, but I still cared very much for the characters and was very invested in how things turned out.

Books I’m reading:

  1. Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson – A huge book I’m listening to whenever I get the chance. It’s 55 hours and I’m at 22 hours at the moment. Not sure if I’ll be done by this time next week, but I’ll try!
  2. Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao – Just started. Literally. Like, I’m on the first page. But it’s been on my TBR for ages and I really hope it lives up to the hype!

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I’m hoping to finish at least two books this week. It used to be no problem to read more than that even with the huge Brando Sando books, but it’s been a struggle recently so I’m just aiming for at least two now.

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 | 16 Feb 2025

Posted February 15, 2025 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 18 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. 

It’s been (more than) three whole months!

I cannot believe it’s been three whole months since I wrote a Sunday Post! I didn’t mean to be absent for so long! There had been a lot of changes in my routine that messed things up in regards to organizing my time and I’m still working things out in that area. Most of my routines that used to be consistent are now not as consistent because I’m trying to put them in new places and sometimes they don’t work out. I’ll keep trying.

I haven’t had a good time with reading recently either. It’s more than halfway through this (short) month, and I’ve only finished two books so far. I don’t know where my head is at. I did much better last month and I’ve still got time to catch up, but it’s been a struggle to get myself to focus. I’m also woefully behind on my book reviews and updating Goodreads. Hopefully, I’ll get it together sooner rather than later! I’m really rooting for me! 😂

The Books

Books I read last week:

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Yes, dear reader, I only finished one book last week and it’s a book I just recently read last August. It was a buddy read on my online bookclub and we’re doing the rest of the series as well, so I thought I’d reread to refresh my memory before going on to the next books. The good news is that I got a lot more out of it this time around, and I’m looking forward to continuing the series!

    Book(s) I’m reading:

    Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
    I recently reread the first and second books in the Wayfarer series as well; The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, and A Closed and Common Orbit. This is the third book in the series that I haven’t read, and I’m really enjoying it so far!

      Last Week on The Blog

      This Week

      I’m going to do my utmost to get just a tiny bit more organized this week than last!

      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 | Conquered

      Posted November 9, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 9 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. 

      The Conqueror Challenge

      I did it!! I finished my first challenge with The Conqueror Challenge with two days to spare!

      Honestly, ever since the weather started getting cooler, I’ve been having a harder time with motivating myself to run and the last few weeks were hard. The Conqueror Challenge helps to motivate me, but even then I was almost going to extend my time goal because I felt so demotivated last week.

      Posting about it here kept me accountable, and made me want to finish the challenge sooner so that I would be able to share on this Sunday Post that I did it!

      So yes! I did it! I finished the last 5.2km just this morning! And it may or may not be a big deal for anyone else – we are all on our own personal journeys – but it’s a big deal to me and I’m proud of myself!

      I just sent in for my medal and I’ll post a picture of it as soon as I receive it! Now on to the next challenge!

      And other things

      My project is coming along nicely. I have a little anxiety about not being able to make it in time, or that I won’t do a good job, but I keep reminding myself that finished is better than perfect. I’m sorry for being so mysterious about it but I promise that I’ll tell all once it’s done!

      I’ve also been busy crocheting Christmas gifts. I’m a little late starting, but I’ve got some time and I think I’ll be able to finish in time. It’s great because I get to listen to audiobooks while crocheting, doing two of my favorite things at the same time!

      As for books and reading; I only finished a single book last week. I’m still working through my 60-hour audiobook, Super Powereds: Year 4 by Drew Hayes, so I have an excuse!!

      The Books

      Books I read last week:

      1. Dear Enemy by Jean Webster – It’s unfair to compare it with Daddy-Long-Legs because they’re totally different stories but it’s hard not to compare them either. I love Daddy-Long-Legs too much and the first time I read Dear Enemy, I didn’t like it much at all. I loved it more this time around because I was able to manage my expectations this time and have a better reading experience.

      Book(s) I’m reading:

      1. Super Powereds: Year 4 by Drew Hayes – On hour 37 of a 60-hour audiobook. I knew it was going to take up a chunk of the week! But I’m loving it and I don’t want it to end either. My only consolation is that the author has got other books I can read, but I’m sure I’ll miss these characters and this story.
      2. Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan – I am 25% into this book and I am loving it! The MC gets sucked into the world of her favorite books and it is so fun!!

      Last Week on The Blog

      This Week

      I have so many books accumulating on my TBR because I spent so many hours with the Super Powered series. Maybe once I finish Super Powereds: Year 4, I’ll be able to make a dent on my TBR again!

      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 | Halloween Hype

      Posted November 2, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 16 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. 

      All the Ghouls and Ghosts

      The highlight of last week was Halloween!

      We don’t really “celebrate” Halloween in Malaysia and we’ve never gone trick-or-treating, but now that we’re in Canada and immersed in the Halloween culture, we loved watching the Halloween decorations pop up throughout October and we wanted to check out all the festivities!

      We didn’t think to get costumes this year and we weren’t planning to participate or anything, but people everywhere were so friendly and welcoming (some tried to be frightening, which is fair enough!) we ended up making some friends and getting invitations to come back next year. It was a lot of fun and a wonderful highlight of the week!

      Also, I’m aware that I’ve been behind on visiting blogs and replying comments. I’ve been trying to catch up with all the things I fell behind on the last few weeks and I’m making some good progress! I’m anticipating some busy weeks ahead as we’re trying to hit a deadline, but I want to be more present here as well. I might end up cutting down on post frequency and book reviews but I’m really hoping I won’t have to, or if I do, that it will only be temporary.

      The Conqueror Challenge

      I’m still behind on my progress with The Conqueror Challenge. I only did a little more than 15km out of my 20km/week goal. I do have nine more days to go and about 24km more to go, so hopefully I’ll be able to get that done.

      We can set our own goals so I could technically push back the time frame if I need to, but I really want to try to hit it if I can. I had a bad run (pun intended) these last three weeks, but I did account for bad days when I set the goal.

      Nine days is only a little more than a week, and I’ve only been doing 15-20km a week. 24km a week would be pushing it, but hey, that’s why it’s a challenge. I’m going to give it a final push this week, because I’m also really excited about completing the goal and getting the medal! And also starting a new challenge immediately after!

      All the happy things:

      1. I had the best time on Halloween night!
      2. Shared some hot cocoa with my husband late one night and had a wonderful time just talking.
      3. We had our in-person bookclub meeting this morning! And we had a new person join us today!
      4. My bookclub friends and I went for lunch after the meeting and continued the chat and fun. Bookish friends are the best!
      5. I am almost 80% done with my first The Conqueror Challenge!
      6. We made some great strides in the project that I’m doing! Exciting things are coming soon!

      The Books

      Books I read last week:

      1. The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young – I really liked how different it was. It was really fast-paced as well, so I finished it quickly.
      2. The Girl from the Other Side Vol. 11 by Nagabe – This is the final book in the series and I’m a little disappointed with how it ended, but I enjoyed the experience of reading it.
      3. Super Powereds: Year 3 by Drew Hayes – More fun with bad writing! This time it was all the blondes that stood out; the author kept referring to some of the characters as “their blonde friend”, “their blonde classmate”, “their blonde opponent”, etc. There were other hair colors too, but it was the blondes who stood out. I am still having so much fun with the series!

      Book(s) I’m reading:

      1. Super Powereds: Year 4 by Drew Hayes – I cannot wait to dive into more of the story!
      2. Dear Enemy by Jean Webster – This is the sequel to Daddy-Long-Legs and I have read it before but not as many times as Daddy-Long-Legs so I’m refreshing my memory.

      Last Week on The Blog

      This Week

      Super Powereds: Year 4 is a 60-hour audiobook so it’s probably going to take up the chunk of this week, but I might intersperse it with other shorter books in between.

      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 | Under The Weather

      Posted October 26, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 4 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. 

      Under the Weather

      I came down with a cold the first half of last week and was pretty much tired the whole of the week. I was quite miserable, not just because of the cold, but also because I was already behind with work since the week before and I’d intended to catch up last week but only got further behind. I didn’t even do the Top Ten Tuesday for the week, and I haven’t caught up to replying comments either. 😭

      As for The Conqueror Challenge, I didn’t do well since I was sick, but I did push a little more towards the end of the week and got 18km out of my 20km goal. I should mention that 6km of it was only done this morning.

      Really hoping for a better, healthier, and more productive week coming up!

      The Books

      Books I read last week:

      1. Super Powereds: Year 1 by Drew Hayes – I’m enjoying this series so much even though I mentioned earlier that the writing is quite amateurish. The story and the characters are really good though!
      2. Super Powereds: Year 2 by Drew Hayes – The first book was 26 hours, this one was 32 hours and just as entertaining. I just finished it last night!
      3. Pet Sematary by Stephen King – This is both a buddy read on my online bookclub, and the BOTM for my in-person bookclub! It’s harrowing, horrifying, and soooo good!

      Book(s) I’m reading:

      1. Super Powereds: Year 3 by Drew Hayes – A whopping 41 hours on audio! I just started it this morning.
      2. The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young – It’s been on my TBR and it’s also a buddy read. I’m only on Chapter 4 right now.

      Last Week on The Blog

      This Week

      It’s the last week of the month so I have some wrapping up to do. I’d like to try to finish a couple more books before the month is over too.

      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 | Birthday and Other Things

      Posted October 19, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 11 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. 

      Ups and Downs

      Last week started off with news that one of our friends had a heart attack and was in the hospital. He’s a very dear and beloved friend and we were very worried when we got the news, but he was in great spirits when we visited him at the hospital and it put our minds at ease. He’s already had tests done and he’s well enough to be discharged back home, which is great! We will be visiting him again this weekend.

      Last weekend was also the Canada Thanksgiving long weekend, and my birthday was on Monday. We got my favorite Sichuan food to celebrate and I meant to take pictures but I was a glutton and ate before I remembered!

      The highlight of my week was meeting with Susan from The Cue Card this morning. I was so excited when I realized she lives relatively close to me, and I think this is the first time I’ve ever met a fellow blogger in real life. The most wonderful thing about it is that you’ve got lots to talk about because you’re both into books and reading! We had so much fun talking and we found out that we had a lot in common.

      My husband and I also hung out later and had a late lunch after his work. We shared and had a little of both dishes because we wanted to try each other’s orders and they were both great! And I did manage to take pictures this time before I gobbled it all down!

      The Conqueror Challenge

      I didn’t do as well on The Conqueror Challenge last week compared to the week before. My goal is to get at least 20km per week, but I only got 15km last week. Hopefully I’ll make up for it this week.

      It has been a tiring week but more emotionally and mentally than for an actual physical reason. It did translate over to me feeling physically tired though and not only did I not run as much as I wanted, I had to reschedule some plans I initially made because I didn’t have the energy for them. I didn’t even manage to work as much on my project as I had hoped.

      I’m going to try to make up for everything else that got put off last week, not just the running, but I still don’t feel at my best yet, so I’m not sure if I’m going to end up taking some extra time this week also.

      It’s hard not to feel pressured and guilty about not getting things done, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that it is important to put your own mental and emotional health first (also physical health!).

      All the happy things:

      1. So much good food! All the yummy stuff!
      2. Meeting a fellow book blogger! I loved meeting with Susan, and I hope we’ll see each other again soon!
      3. So grateful that our friend is doing well and recovering at home now.
      4. So grateful that I am one year older and wiser.

      The Books

      Books I read last week:

      1. Exhalation by Ted Chiang – Wow, these stories really made me think. I enjoyed some stories more than others, but I think they were all really good.
      2. The Shining by Stephen King – This is a reread and a buddy read. The last time I read it was more than a decade ago so there’s a lot I don’t remember, but I loved reading it again and I feel like I’m appreciating it more now.
      3. The Girl from the Other Side Vol. 10 by Nagabe – It’s starting to get more and more confusing, and I’m starting to get annoyed by the inconsistencies, but there’s only a couple of volumes left so I feel like I should just see it through.

      Book(s) I’m reading:

      1. Super Powereds: Year 1 by Drew Hayes – I’m surprised by how much I’m enjoying this book! The writing isn’t very good, tbh, but the story is really good and I’m just very pulled in by the whole thing. Also I’m listening to it on audio, and the narrator’s voices are adding to the experience for me!
      2. Never Whistle At Night edited by Shane Hawk – I’m 20% in and while I really enjoyed the stories so far, I’m debating if I want to finish the book. I expected more focus on folklore, but the folklore connection is quite thin on some of the stories, and they’re all very dark and gruesome. Maybe it’s just that I’m feeling low right now so I don’t feel up to finishing the book, but we’ll see.

      Last Week on The Blog

      This Week

      I’ve got a couple of reviews to catch up on, and I’m planning to read Pet Sematary this week for my irl bookclub, plus it’s also a buddy read for my online bookclub. Two birds! So efficient!

      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 | Progress

      Posted October 12, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 17 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. 

      Slow Progress Is Still Progress

      I had another busy week last week and didn’t get a lot of reading done; I finished two books and that was it. I’ve been working on a project for a long time and it’s very close to being done, hopefully in the next 2-3 months, so I’m trying to push as much as I can. It has been slow going before due to a lot of unforeseen issues that cropped up, but as long as nothing else unexpected happens, I feel like we’re good and we’ll finish strong!

      The Conqueror Challenge

      I did pretty good on The Conqueror Challenge last week but I ended up hurting my knee on Thursday in the second km and walked the rest of the way home. I was also going to try walking 8km this morning but I got tired and only did 5.7km.

      I’m still ahead of my goal, so there’s that, even though I’m walking some of the time instead of running, and I did get in almost 20km this week. I find myself trying to hit certain milestones in order to get the virtual rewards offered in the app, and they are fun, but I really want that physical medal as the ultimate reward!

      There’s still a long way to go but I’m already excited about the prospect of finishing this challenge and getting that medal. And then I’m anticipating the next challenges and the next medals! This thing is seriously addicting and I don’t know yet if that’s a good or bad thing! 😂

      All the happy things:

      1. It’s my birthday on Monday and we’re getting my favorite Sichuan food to celebrate!!
      2. I also got myself a one-year subscription to Audible as a birthday present to myself!
      3. And I got it at a discount!
      4. I made some yummy chicken wings in the air-fryer and they were so good!
      5. Feeling very optimistic about finishing my work project soon. 🤞
      6. Really enjoying my online bookclub, not just for the buddy reads and book discussions, but the chats and jokes as well. ❤️
      7. Despite my setback hurting my knee, I’m very happy with The Conqueror Challenge keeping me motivated to walk/run now that the weather is getting cooler.
      8. I’m really enjoying seeing the Halloween decorations popping up bit by bit around my neighborhood. 👻

      The Books

      Books I read last week:

      1. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler – It was a good book with a good story but it turned out a little preachy and I didn’t like that.
      2. The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth – It wasn’t the best mystery but I really enjoy the way the author writes about familial relationships, and especially something as complicated as the relationship between mother- and daughter-in-law.

      Book(s) I’m reading:

      1. Exhalation by Ted Chiang – There are 9 short stories. I finished 6 and have 3 more to go. It’s all been very thought-provoking so far.
      2. The Shining by Stephen King – It’s a reread and a buddy read. I’m at 20% so far and loving it.
      3. Super Powereds: Year 1 by Drew Hayes – I started this audiobook because I listen to audiobooks to fall asleep and I needed something not scary (ie. not The Shining!). It’s actually pretty good so far!

      Last Week on The Blog

      This Week

      I’m anticipating another busy week (plus it’s my birthday!) so I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to read but I really, really want to get started on Never Whistle At Night if I can!

      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 | Moving On Up

      Posted October 5, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 15 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. 

      Valar Morghulis

      Well, this has been a busy week!

      One of the biggest highlights of my week is that I signed up for The Conqueror Challenge! It’s a virtual running challenge (or any activity, really) with lots of fun virtual rewards, and a real medal you get in the mail when you complete the challenge, and they had challenges that corresponded to quests and adventures in The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and other real and fictional places!

      I hadn’t been doing as well with my running as I would’ve liked in the last few weeks, and as the weather gets colder, I’m afraid that I might lose motivation to go outside and run, so when I came across this challenge I thought that maybe it might help keep me motivated.

      I was hesitant at first, but apparently one of my friends has finished two challenges with them and spoke highly of the experience, so that made me excited too and I ended up signing up for the Game of Thrones challenge!

      So far it has worked very well, because I’ve walked and ran a total of 23.31km last week, 8.14km of them from just this morning! It makes me excited to get out more and get as many kms in as I can. It pushes me especially when I see how much more I have to go to reach the next checkpoints, but I’m also trying to pace myself because I don’t want to finish the challenge too quickly!

      I’m just so delighted about this because it combines my new-found love of running with my existing love for Game of Thrones (and other stories)!

      I’m also no longer apprehensive about when real winter comes (Winter is coming!) and probably not feeling like running at all. I have less motivation to run at home on a treadmill, but I think I’d be able to convince myself to get in some kms for the sake of moving forward in my GoT adventures!

      Zoo
      We also went to the zoo last week. It’s been a couple of months since we last went and I’ve missed the animals. It’s also a great place to walk and get in my kms! You bet I counted them for my challenge!

      The penguins were the star of the show this time around. One of them kept swimming up to us and checking us out. I wanted to pet it so badly, it was that close, but of course we weren’t supposed to so I didn’t.

      Inside Out 2
      One more thing I have to talk about; my husband and I finally watched Inside Out 2 last week, and that portrayal of Anxiety made me cry because of how accurate it feels like for me.

      I have had many sleepless nights and anxiety attacks and although my husband has always been loving and patient with me even at my worst times, I don’t think he’s ever understood what it felt like, and I love that the show was able to show him in a way that I was never able to articulate.

      It’s been so much better for me recently; Anxiety has taken a back seat and Joy is leading the way a lot more, but it was just so cathartic to watch this show and feel so seen and realize I’m not alone. I love the first movie, and I love this one too!

      All the happy things:

      1. So very happy about my virtual running challenge!
      2. And about my renewed motivation for running/walking in order to get the kms!
      3. And about the fact that I got in 23km this week!
      4. I even got my fastest pace at 8min/km! I’m usually at about 10min/km. Of course, I was exhausted after, and I don’t think I want to kill myself like that again for a while, but I was still very happy about it.
      5. The zoo visit made me very happy too, especially since we haven’t gone in a while, and we’re not sure when we’ll be going again.
      6. It’s a new month so we got KFC last week! We only get KFC once a month as a treat, and it’s such a happy treat!
      7. I baked a new batch of cookies!
      8. I’m starting a new crochet project with some gorgeous yarn and I can’t wait to see how it turns out!

      The Books

      Books I read last week:

      1. The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer – It didn’t live up to expectations but it wasn’t bad. It’s categorized as adult fiction but it feels like it might be better suited for middle grade.
      2. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers – This is a reread and a buddy read. It’s been a while since I read it the first time so I didn’t remember much of the details except that I loved it and I thought it was such a great example of interpersonal connections and acceptance of other cultures and beliefs. Reading it a second time made me love it more!
      3. The Girl from the Other Side Volume 9 by Nagabe – It ended on a cliffhanger that’s making me very anxious to find out what happens next! Most of the other volumes end on cliffhangers too, but this one makes me wonder how it’s going to move forward.
      4. I Fell In Love With Hope by Lancali – DNF. I’d been trying to read this book for weeks and I just couldn’t get into it. I finally realized that it’s just too purple prose-y for me. Too much style and not much substance. The writing is beautiful and it might’ve been good if done in poetry maybe, but as a story it’s a struggle to read.

      Book(s) I’m reading:

      1. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler – I am 70% in and I am loving it! It’s my first Octavia Butler book and I’ve heard so much praise for this book but I’ve never known what it’s about. Now I am totally invested!

      Last Week on The Blog

      I didn’t do very much on the blog last week. I’ve got some book reviews to catch up on!

      This Week

      I gotta get on the book reviews because I don’t want them to pile up on me. I’m also going to try to get a start on Never Whistle at Night, and/or The Glass Chateau.

      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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