Offbeat Offline: March 2026 (Plus Introducing a Mini Hiatus)

Welcome to Offbeat Offline, where I bring you up-to-date with what went on in my life during the month just gone, give you a sneak peek of my next shenanigans, and share my favourite posts of late!

What happened last month to yours truly? A medical emergency regarding my dad and a whole lot of average suffering on my part. Needless to say, I've been even more tired and overwhelmed than usual (to be honest, my parents did their best not to weigh on me except for the most necessary errands - but hitting the supermarket and unloading grocery bags from the car twice in the same day isn't a breeze, y'all. At least my hubs can drive me, but still...). What else? I read - obviously. I even produced one full review and three minis, so yay?

Tell Me Something Tuesday Round-Up (March 2026)

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen at That's What I'm Talking About, Karen at For What It's Worth, Linda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is... This time I'm doing a round-up of the last month's worth of questions, because I hate how I've been M.I.A. when it comes to the meme!

March 2026 Round-Up

+ Question of the Day:

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR?

• March 3rd: Which made-up thing do you badly wish was real? (a question I submitted)

She looks a bit grey here for some reason, but whatever - when she doesn't choose to dematerialise and rematerialise, the TARDIS knows how to make an entrance 😂.*
*(In case you're wondering...to the Doctor, the TARDIS is a she! And yes, she's sentient).

• March 10th: If you could have any celebrity be your best friend, who would you pick? (a question I submitted)

I know I'm sounding like a broken record (see above), but...David Tennant isn't just my favourite Doctor and actor. He's a decent human being with his heart in the right place (you can tell by the way he interacts with his fans, the causes he supports...I've yet to hear a single bad word against him) and an infectious smile. I would be honoured and elated to be his friend, though there might be a tiny problem with that...I've got a crush on him, so maybe not a good idea 😅.

David as Peter Vincent in Fright Night, 2011 😂 - actually, his underwear wasn't so noticeable in the movie, but someone took great pains to make a slow-motion version of this scene...😅

• March 17th: Do you prefer single narrator, duet/dual narration, full cast, or "graphic audio" audiobooks?

I don't listen to audiobooks...not because I'm one of those snobs who thinks they don't count as reading. You all know spoken English isn't my strong suit, plus I like the written page too much...

• March 24th: What’s your go-to coffee/tea order?

The only coffee I drink comes from my moka pot...mixed with (lactose-free) milk for my home breakfast. Not a cappuccino - just around a glass and a half of plain milk with a nice dose of coffee to make it light brown (I think the colour that most resembles it is called, ironically, Champagne Beige).

• March 31st: What's your favourite colour? (a question I submitted)

Apart from black (which is, technically, not a colour), I love all strong colours, but red has always been my favourite. Red and black together? A trademark for me 😍. Colours you'll never see me in and that I dislike for most things, car included: grey, brown, white, blue (except for the TARDIS of course 😁).

Me as a bird 😁 (Red-breasted Blackbird - photo by Francesco Veronesi under Wikimedia Commons licence)

Well, that's it for now. Did you enjoy this post? Would you like to participate in the meme on a regular or semi-regular basis, and get emailed the prompt list? Just head over here and fill in Jen's form! (Of course, you can jump in anytime you like - you are under no obligation to actually do all the posts, or even most of them, just because you signed up, and you can remove yourself from the list at any time). And if you're interested in participating in a more casual manner, or only in commenting, here is the TMST prompt list for the month of April:

• April 7th: Do you like spoilers? Do you read the last chapter first?
• April 14th: What do you still love doing that you loved as a kid? (a question I submitted)
• April 21st: How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
• April 28th: What's your favourite sports team?

I'll only be back for the meme on April 28th for another round-up, but in the meantime, I'll read your posts and comment on them!

Now tell me something...what's the colour you like the most/wear most often?

(By the way - of course you're welcome to answer any of the other monthly questions too in the comments, or even all of them!)

Hanna Alkaf: "The Hysterical Girls of St. Bernadette's"

Title: The Hysterical Girls Of St. Bernadette's [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Hanna Alkaf [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Supernatural, Contemporary
Year: 2024
Age: 14+
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Fleshed-out, believable (and diverse) protagonists (Muslim, Malaysian). Strong social commentary. Atmospheric writing. 
Cons: The ending feels rushed and doesn't provide enough closure, especially for some characters.
WARNING! Sexual assault/molestation (not graphic, mentioned), trauma, psychosis, victim dismissal, toxic parent, corporal punishment (mentioned).
Will appeal to: Those who enjoy stories about female empowerment and solidarity - better if in a supernatural context.

Blurb: For over a hundred years, girls have fought to attend St. Bernadette’s, with its reputation for shaping only the best and brightest young women. Unfortunately, there is also the screaming. When a student begins to scream in the middle of class, a chain reaction starts that impacts the entire school. By the end of the day, seventeen girls are affected - along with St. Bernadette’s stellar reputation. Khadijah’s got her own scars to tend to, and watching her friends succumb to hysteria only rips apart wounds she’d rather keep closed. But when her sister falls to the screams, Khad knows she’s the only one who can save her. Rachel has always been far too occupied trying to reconcile her overbearing mother’s expectations with her own secret ambitions to pay attention to school antics. But just as Rachel finds her voice, it turns into screams. Together, the two girls find themselves digging deeper into the school’s dark history, hunting for the truth. Little do they know that a specter lurks in the darkness, watching, waiting, and hungry for its next victim... (Amazon)

Review: Why don't more people talk about this book? It's one of those hidden gems that keep getting overlooked in favour of more hyped novels, and I'm going to do my part to rectify this wrong...

SISTERS IN ARMS

In the vein of Flawless Girls, but with more flesh to its plot and characters, THGOSB is an unapologetically Malaysian, yet in a way universal tale with many facets: an enthralling supernatural mystery woven with a strong contemporary/coming-of-age thread; the story of a haunting, yet not a conventional ghost story; but more than anything, a call to togetherness in the face of women's vilification and dismissal. Despite the publisher's notes, however, it definitely doesn't fall under the dark-academia umbrella, unless you think that a single character being strong-armed by her mother into excellence qualifies - I'm telling you this just so you don't build up expectations that won't be met (I mean...everything's labeled "dark academia" these days, but a "school with secrets" setting isn't enough for a book to earn it). Mainly told in a dual narrative, but with the interpolation of a third point of view, THGOSB explores themes of trauma, agency (or lack thereof) and the silencing of female voices, along with sisterhood (real or forged) and the most abhorrent crime: women themselves perpetuating the cycle of abuse because they think it's inescapable, and that the only way girls can protect themselves is by becoming higher-priced commodities. [...]

Taste the Books: Review Morsels #67 Courtney Gould, Seanan McGuire, Eric J. Guignard et al.

Intro

Hello beauties!

Welcome again to my own brand of mini reviews! I never thought I'd do minis, until I recapped a few of my long reviews in some digest post in 2014, and then guest-posted some shorties for a blogging event in 2015. And Karen from For What It's Worth started praising my short recs/recaps 😊. Just to be clear,  I'm STILL writing long reviews too - but for anthologies, shorter books or books that I didn't enjoy/don't have enough to say about, I decided to stick to minis, and I took to writing them also for novels that I can do justice to in a less wordy fashion, in order to ease my reviewing burden. In addition to that, I sometimes write minis for books I don't want/don't have the time to review in full at the moment, but plan on rereading and writing "proper" reviews for later. Lastly, just be warned - this feature is VERY random!

Note: all the mini blurbs (in italics) are of my own creation.

Disappearing Act

Hello friends,

in case you've wondered why my posts were still popping up but I was deserting you: yes, the posts were scheduled in advance, and yes, of course in the meantime I was dealing with yet another "situation". My dad fell at home and banged his head on a piece of furniture, which resulted in him being admitted to the hospital on Saturday morning. He's been in short-stay observation for three days, since the CAT scan revealed a small cerebral hemorrhage (8 mm/0,3 inches), which is especially bad for someone who takes anticoagulants (he underwent aortic valve replacement surgery many years ago). At present, he's home, though pretty banged up (he broke a couple of ribs too), and due to go back on Sunday for a new scan. So now I have to go on errands for my parents too...I already have my problems at home and I'm tired, y'all. I'm sorry for disappearing on you again, but I've been lacking the time and energy to visit your blogs. Seriously, anytime you see my posts manifest but I'm not interacting with you (except for approving comments on my own blog and replying to them), rest assured that real life caught up with me and threw me yet another punch. Well, enough of that - I just wanted you to know that I'm planning to resurface over the weekend. Thank you for not giving up on me when I disappear, and for understanding 💚.