January 2019 Reading Wrap-Up

The first month of January is finally over! As the month has progressed I have had some ups and downs within my reading and personal life like with everything. With reading, I was frustrated that I didn't always want to pick up a book and that I knew about halfway through I wasn't going to read all the books I wanted to. In my personal life coworkers have been teasing me about wanting things perfect (of course not in a mean way). I've also been watching art conversations online about different subjects regarding art and life. And then I've looked at the progress I've made for my January goal, or lack thereof. How I've created a bigger mess than before but lack the motivation to do something about it. It's interesting to realize that maybe I'm a perfectionist? With art, I've tried to get back into it but I'm easily disappointed or overthinking of my work. With my job, if I make one little mistake I will think about it for days on end. I HAVE to be organized at work. I HAVE to be perfect at work. But, I'm lazy when it comes to my personal life. It's been a very interesting analysis of myself to say the least.

Lets get to the books shall we? First of all, I'm sad that I didn't complete my first theme read challenge. But I don't mind too much. I read one book and then did a tag relating to the theme. I was too busy/too focused on other things as well as not really feeling a lot of books I was reading. I have to fall back in love with books it seems. I hadn't read for months last year and then when I started reading again a few were good but I didn't enjoy a lot of them. I'm trying to navigate my way through books. I no longer enjoy all the books I read like I did as a teenager and in my early 20s. I'm rambling again! Now, for sure this time, on to the books.

The Visitors was my first book of the year. I always choose my first book wisely. And I thought I had for the majority or reading this book but then it got to a certain point that went downhill. You can read all my thoughts on this book here.

Pilu of the Woods was my second read. I chose it looking for something light that I would enjoy after being disappointed from my last read but from the very beginning it was off. You can read all my thoughts on this book here.

Surely, Decluttering at the Speed of Life, would be a nice read to get me motivated to declutter? Actually, yes, it was quite helpful although was repetitive. There was one main point that really stuck with me. 

The Un-Friendship Bracelet was another attempt to keep my reading light and enjoyable. It was actually one of the first above average enjoyable reads. There was only thing I could nitpick it for but it's mainly because I'm an adult. 

Riverdale: The Day Before was my first blog tour in forever. I was so happy to read another light book. Keeping with my theme apparently this month. It was just what I needed to keep my reading fun. You can read my thoughts on this book here.

I read Hiawatha and the Peacemaker because of a class I'm taking. My father apparently knows this story but I have never heard of it. It's made me really want to read more books centered around Native Americans especially since the culture of the different tribes has always interested me.

At the last minute I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle. It was everyone's pick for my tbr book. I am so happy everyone picked this one! It was my first genuine five star read this year. I'll be reviewing it later on this month.

*If you would like me to prioritize any reviews/would like to read about any of my thoughts on the books I didn't get to review, please let me know in the comments.

Some other blog posts this past January:

• January TBR + Link-Up (I'll be posting my February tbr and link-up for challenges very soon)
• Yearly Goals for 2019 (I'll be posting my update and new goal later on in the month)
• To Kill a Kingdom (A sea creature/Little Mermaid retelling I read in December)
• Bout of Books #24 (Read two books! No more last minute readathons for me though)
• Mermaid Book Tag (A fun tag I did to go with my sea creature theme of the month)
• Choose My Next TBR Read #2 (You can see what everyone voted on by clicking this or waiting for the February TBR)

Some blog posts/videos I enjoyed this past month:

• Blogging THREE Months in ONE Day, with the “Onion Method of Blogging”! @ Bookiverse
• A cover real @ Pop Goes the Reader
• The Coincidence Makers Review @ Musings of a Literary Wanderer
• Penguin chicks rescued by unlikely hero @ BBC (WATCH THIS if you enjoy cuteness or penguins)
• UNLOCKING Your True ARTISTIC POTENTIAL [Keeper Of Flame Painting P1] @ Adam Duff LUCIDPIXUL (Not just a video about art. It's really a wonderfully thoughtful story that I think others would enjoy listening to)

What have you read in January?

Have you discovered anything new this past month?