Weekly Wrap Up – Dec 31 – Jan 6

AND…. just like that, we are back into the swing of things and the first week of 2019 is compete! I am SOOO glad that I took the mini hiatus over the holidays. As much as I missed blogging and everyone in the community, I feel like I’m refreshed and ready to go again. 2019 is going to be the year that I put as little stress as possible on myself. I was able to accomplish SO much in 2018, but I really felt it towards the end. This is the year that I understand that my life is busy, there’s only so much that I can do, and it’s ok to not be superwoman and do EVERYTHING! It’s the year I plan to take it easy, relax, and just have fun!

Now that all the end/beginning of the year posts are out of the way, I have a few reviews that I need to get posted. One is from the end of 2018, and the other is the book that I finished this week. Let’s see how my first week of 2019 went:

BOOKS I’VE FINISHED THIS WEEK:

A REAPER AT THE GATES by Sabaa Tahir
I wanted to start the year off right by reading a sequel that I’ve been meaning to get to for a while now. I’m glad that I finally got around to it BUT – I have some seriously mixed feelings about it. There were things that I enjoyed, and a bunch of things that I felt it lacked. Full review will be coming this week.

BOOKS I’M CURRENTLY READING:

Normally I only read one book at a time but, since I got the kindle, I have a physical read going and an ebook going in bed and when I travel.

For my physical read this week, I’m currently part way through Let’s Go Swimming on Doomsday by Natalie C Anderson. As soon as I read the synopsis I was hooked, but I was afraid of the subject matter. It has to do with a boy in Africa who is forced to be a spy and child soldier. He’s also forced into the world of terrorism and into the jacket of a suicide bomber. Tough subjects! But after reading the first two chapters I was HOOKED and wanted to forget all adult responsibilities! This book is just SO GOOD!

For my Kindle read, I started The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe. I haven’t gotten too far into this one yet but it’s already started off really emotional and terrifying!

OTHER BOOKISH NEWS:

TOP 5 TUESDAY:

Along with finally getting back to blogging after the holidays means a brand new year of Top 5 Tuesday! Click here for the topics in January! I also wanted to take this time to mention again that I might not comment on the posts of every participant. My life has been increasing in its chaos with work, so I’m forced to realize that there’s only so much I can do. BUT – rest assured that I will read all your posts and get you added to the list ASAP!

NEW GRAPHICS!

New graphics is something that I’ve wanted to do for the longest time but it never seemed like the right time. But I worked hard on these and tried to go with a somewhat cohesive them of design and colours and released them all at once. I hope you like them!

OFF THE GRID READATHON BEGINS FRIDAY JANUARY 11!!!

As if I didn’t have enough going on, the readathon that myself and fellow blogger Justine from I Should Read That cohost is coming up on January 11th! There are no challenges, buddy reads, or any other fluff. The whole point is to set aside your phone, social media, and other distractions and read as much as possible! It begins at 12:00am Friday and ends at 11:59 Sunday. Watch out for us on Twitter @OffTheGridReads for details, and chats at the end of each reading day 🙂

It’s been a very relaxing yet productive beginning to 2019! I hope your year has started off really well and wish you all the best for your reading year!

Until next time, happy reading!