The Sunday Post August 11, 2024

 Hello, Lovelies, and happy Sunday, I hope you’re all doing fantastic.

It’s been a minute since I’ve sat down and wrote up a Sunday Post. Here’s what I’ve been up to while I was away from the blog.

Life

In January, I started 2 continued education courses (on-line) from Oxford University. Originally, I had signed on for one course (Death in Tudor England) then discovered that this was the last time they were offering another course I was interested in (The Mysteries of Mary, Queen of Scots). As someone with a degree in Tudor/Renaissance History, I couldn’t pass up the second course. I didn’t realize just how time consuming taking both courses (as well as working a full-time job) would be so, unfortunately, the blog ended up falling behind. I finished both courses and handed my dissertations in at the end of May.

I decided to take some ‘me time’ during June and July, which included stepping away from the computer, which I needed. I attended a few events (Celtic Fest and a DIY Hat Making Bar at a local shop), a couple birthday parties, and spent time with friends. I also binged some shows (Bridgerton, Discovery of Witches, Coupling, to name a few) and tackled a few projects. 

I’ve also had some health things going on. My allergies have been all over the place. Seasonal allergies have been horrible this year so the allergist swapped my meds and I ended up being extremely allergic to my new allergy meds. My food allergies have also changed and now I’m allergic to foods that were previously safe to eat. It’s been fun the last couple of months.

House

I need to get back to my decluttering and organizing. This week I plan to get started on my walk-in closet. There’s so much that I need to sort through: clothes, shoes, games, bedding, towels, throw blankets and more. I picked up a few storage pieces last week and need to see what else I need to buy. There’s also a few wall shelves I need to hang.

Blog

I’m so excited to get back to the blog. I’ve missed posting and I’ve missed visiting everyone’s blogs. I’m excited to see what everyone’s been up to and what you've been reading.

I’ve spent the last few days writing and scheduling posts. I’ve also been thinking about what I want my blog to look like, content-wise. While I my primary focus will be reviews, I want to add other content as well and I’m trying to sort out what that content should be.

Reading

My reading has changed up a bit this year. While I’m still reviewing ARCs and Reader Copies, I’ve been working my way through my TBR mountain. I started the year with a list of series that I wanted to finish or work on and I’ve added to that throughout the year. I’m happy to say I’m making decent progress.

I’m also happy to report that I’m back in my romance-reading era. It’s been a minute but I think the Bridgerton series rekindled my enjoyment of this genre.  

Books

I’ve started the process of decluttering my books. I’m mainly focused on decluttering the books I have multiple copies of, books I won’t reread/didn’t like, and books that I’m not interested in reading.  

To make sure that the books go where they need to (friends/family/little free library) and not sit around for who knows how long, I separate them into tote bags or boxes and stick them in the car so I can drop them off the next time I’m out. This has really been helping to make sure things don’t pile up around the house.

Book Haul            

I went a little wild with my book buying the last few months. In my defense, Ollies had great deals, the Book Outlet had an amazing fiction sale, then they sent me a 10$ off coupon in my order that I had to use, and several of my pre-orders came in.

Ollies Haul  

t’s In His Kiss (Bridgerton #7) by Julia Quinn

The Other Miss Bridgerton (A Bridgerton Prequel) by Julia Quinn

Because of Miss Bridgerton (A Bridgerton Prequel) by Julia Quinn

The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband (A Bridgerton Prequel) by Julia Quinn

When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald

Follow Me to Ground by Sue Rainsford

The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books (nonfiction) by Edward Wilson-Lee

Book Outlet (order 1)

Vengeance of the Pirate Queen by Tricia Levenseller

The Weaver and the Witch Queen by Genevieve Gornichec (2 copies, 1 was a gift)

The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths (replacement copy)

The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths (replacement copy)

The Crossing Place by Elly Griffiths (replacement copy)

The House at Sea’s End by Elly Griffiths (replacement copy)

Book Outlet (order 2)

O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker (2 copies, 1 was a gift)

Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

The Witches of Bone Hill by Ava Morgyn (2 copies, 1 was a gift)

Preorders

The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde

Heaven Breaker by Sara Wolf 

The Duke and I & The Viscount Who Loved Me (Special Edition) by Julia Quinn

Apprentice to the Villain (Special Edition) by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness

 

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly or for a monthly wrap up.