September 02, 2022

Offbeat Offline: August 2022


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 Seanan McGuire full immersion, a perm touch-up and...more heat. Also, I had to trash my TMST post for August 30th (Which Books Are You Looking Forward to Reading This Fall?) because in my customising frenzy I messed up with the code (or maybe more like, Blogger finally lost it on me 😂), and I didn't feel like starting the post anew. Then again, later I noticed that some of my previous, similarly long (and heavily coded) posts have the same problem that the TMST one had - if I look at them in the HTML editor window, from halfway through all the text is in black, instead of showing the different part of the codes involved in different colours with only the actual post content in black (I don't know if I'm making sense...). I mean, the codes WORK - but I wonder if they're going to stand the test in case Blogger makes more changes in the future like the one where I almost lost all my reviews a few years ago 😱. I save everything, but I could never go back and replace ALL my posts if the worst happened...Anyhow, it's clear that Blogger can't handle long posts without freaking out LOL. Maybe it's trying to tell me something...Anyhow, onto my August recap!


📚 DOWN THE INCRYPTID HOLE. I read 4 books in August (one of them was a novella) and a number of short stories. I've been on on a Seanan McGuire roll lately (I mean, more than usual LOL), and only one of my reads was by another author...So:
I read Discount Armageddon, Midnight Blue-Light Special and Half-Off Ragnarok by Seanan McGuire (adult - Book 1,2 & 3 in the InCryptid series), plus most of the free in-world short stories. The series has reached Book 11, and another installment is scheduled for next spring, so I finally decided to get up to date with it...Mini reviews coming later in the year (they're on Goodreads for now).


I also read Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You by Scotto Moore (adult - novella). A tad too weird for me, but fun. (See review schedule below).
I was approved for Seeds for the Swarm by Sim Kern (YA - it comes out on Nov. 1st, so I'll have my review up in October) and The Getaway by Lamar Giles (YA - see review schedule below).


Here is my review plan for the month:




Reviews aside, I'll participate in the last Tell Me Something Tuesday round of the month on the 27th, I SWEAR (question: Do you follow your favourite authors on social media? Do you interact with them?). As I explained above, I trashed my only TMST post for last month ("...you had one job..."), but at least I managed to visit yours...😅 Anyhow, I plan on doing at least a couple next month!


🥵 AND THE BEAT HEAT GOES ON. The temps have been a tad less brutal lately, but still stifling. August has been a repeat of July for me: only going out for grocery shopping (and twice for hair - one dye job, one perm), eating cold cuts and stuff that involves a minimal amount of cooking, clinging to fans, sleeping poorly, rinse, repeat. I'm SO ready for a change, after three whole months of this misery. Let's hope September will bring a measure of relief...it rained yesterday, and we should get more rain over the weekend, so the worst should be over (finger crossed). 

💇‍♀️ GOOD BUT NOT GREAT. I got my perm fixed at the new hairdresser's (top, bangs and some of the longer locks in the rear that were almost straight), and while the hair actually curled this time, there's still work to do. I desperately need my hair to curl tight up to its roots (like it used to), so that I can get it trimmed after a few months and still keep a minimum length of curl, and this hasn't happened yet. Even in my bangs there are locks that are super-curly at the very end, but retain a length of straight hair at the roots, so that if you cut the end, the perm is virtually gone. I told the new HD that, and we need to work on it in the future, because I can't keep perming my top/bangs twice a year in between a complete perm and another. It used to be once, for goodness' sake...Stress for me, stress for the hair, money. Ugh. It never ends.


📻THE SOUND OF SILENCE. I used to be surrounded by music (long before I started working in radio - I've always loved it, which was my reason for becoming a radio host in the first place), but since I've had to leave my job, I don't have the foggiest idea which songs have been released and how they sound. I'm slowly turning into one of those people who hate any songs that doesn't remember them of their youth and who think that all new music is subpar. It pains me to lose touch completely, but then again, I can't muster the energy to care about who's putting forth which song and to listen to one of the "other radio stations", or to look up the latest releases on YouTube...and that's horrible. Maybe it's just that music has been the core of my job for so long, and I had grown to hate that job for so many reasons long before my workplace closed, but the fact is - now that I don't have to keep abreast of new stuff, I'm basically pretending that music stopped on Apr. 29th, the day I hung up my microphone...Really sad.


PUBLISHING NEWS/TIPS
  • None this month.

THINK-PIECES, DISCUSSIONS, ORIGINAL FICTION

REVIEWS/RECOMMENDATIONS
  • I didn't take any notes this month...😳

OTHER
  • Kit sings the praises of s a couple of quirky, relaxing games: Townscaper and Calico.

That's it for now! (Or, not really, because there was more life stuff going on in the very last days of the month, but since it's spilling into September, I'll tell you about it in my next recap...). My next post will be up on Thu. 8th, and it will be my review for Full Immersion I announced above.

So, what were your highs/lows in the past month?

24 comments:

  1. I hope September brings cooler weather for you, Roberta! Sorry to hear about your Blogger woes. But, I commend you for using coding at all. HTML has always frightened me.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I only mess a little with it - "mess" being the operative word here 😂.

      Thank you! It's about time...

      Delete
  2. I agree with the Paperbackprincess, I hope your September nicer in terms of weather than the August was.

    I've been struggling with the HTML with blogger too, I've been updating my layout and it's easy to mess things up easily. Though I love blogger, it is beyond annoying that that happens.

    I really like the discussion of the "true fans" post you linked, in the LOTR fandom there is this same problem. Some fans are considered "lesser" or "not true fans" for either liking The Hobbit movies (because of their divergence from the books in some ways) or liking the Rings of Power series. And it's really toxic, I think, I wish people accepted that people can like different things and still can be fans.

    Also thank you so much for giving my post a shout out, it means a lot to me.💚
    -Quinley

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "I hope your September nicer in terms of weather than the August was."
      Thanks!

      "Though I love blogger, it is beyond annoying that that happens."
      I don't know about WP, but Blogger sure can be a pain in the ass sometimes. It's highly customisable...until it thinks you're having too much fun with it and starts sprouting HTML nonsense at you 😂.

      "I wish people accepted that people can like different things and still can be fans."
      That would be the mature thing to do...except it never happens. But the worst thing is when the authors themselves decide who's a "real fan" and who isn't...as it was the case in point.

      Anytime! 🙂

      Delete
  3. I've scrapped posts too. Blogger is a mess these days.

    I read Discount Armageddon and liked it but for some reason nevr went on with the series. I almost did a few times. I do want to read the PAradox Hotel. It sounds like something I'd like. :)

    New music? Is there such a thing?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. InCryptid is great fun, but if I know you, The Paradox Hotel is much more your thing (also, it's a standalone! 😉).

      I've lived and breathed music for my whole life, so it's kind of surreal not to follow it anymore...but it sounds like I'm in good company...

      Delete
  4. I am right there with you waiting for some fall weather. My September be kind to you, in all ways. I loved Giles' Not So Pure and Simple, but not sure his new book would be for me. I hope you loved it, though.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! I looked NSPAS up, and it's VERY different from The Getaway. This one is a post-apocalyptic thriller in a luxury enclave where prejudice takes an "interesting" new form...

      Delete
  5. Our temps in California are unbearable right now. I'm just trying to get through each minute, lol. I'm also reading Full Immersion and I cannot wait! Hope you have a good month!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "I'm just trying to get through each minute, lol."
      Oh, how I hear you!

      Full Immersion was kind of wild! Looking forward to hearing what you think of it.

      Thanks - have a good month yourself!

      Delete
  6. I haven't listened to the radio in years but I do have a Youtube playlist and listen to that. I think it's over 600 songs long at this point. I go through and look for new music on Youtube. It's easier for me to find it on there. And then I just add the ones I like to my playlist. I listen to music all the time while blogging, reading, writing reviews and scrolling social media.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's the modern way to music LOL. I'm a hopeless romantic who buys physical records (or, well, used to...). But at least you keep up-to-date with what comes out, which I don't have the time or willpower to do at this point...all my free times goes into reading and blogging. And I need to give everything I do my undivided attention.

      Delete
  7. Strange about Blogger, I had no problems with long posts, must be one of those glitches that we will have to pretend it never happens because really, there is no fix anyway. When one of these glitches happens, I just wait a day or two and then try to do whatever I had set to do.

    I don't know if I have the patience to deal with curly hair. I hope you'll get to somewhere to make it easier to manage.

    I don't bother to keep up with music or technology or anything. Sometimes I think I'm getting way behind in technology or whatever and I don't really care but sometimes I do.

    I hope your September is nice and cool.

    Have a lovely day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometimes Blogger does strange numbers on the codes...especially since the last update....

      Eh, it's not patience on my part...only my stubbornness to keep my hair curly at all costs 😂 😭.

      Is it an "old" thing when we stop caring about something that keep changing around us?

      Thank you - same!

      Delete
  8. Sorry you're having trouble with your blog. I hate when the platforms change something and it messes up past posts. I hope you're able to figure it out and get something that works.

    I'm really excited to read Feed this month. I've heard from so many people, including you, that Seanan McGuire is amazing. I've wanted to read her books for so long.

    I hope you have a fantastic September! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm looking forward to your thoughts about Feed (though it's one of the books I still have to get to)...

      Thanks - you too!

      Delete
  9. Oh the hair issues! I hope that the new hair stylist ends up working out for you. We had a pretty hot August as well, but it suddenly started cooling off, especially at night. I hope the same for you. We just moved our oldest into his college dorm this past weekend, (which is a long weekend in the US), and I'm experiencing so many different emotions. I'm excited for him, but also missing him and worried, etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "I hope that the new hair stylist ends up working out for you."
      Thank you!

      Aw, the first big separation. I hope the excitement will win in the end...though I realise being a mom comes with a lot of other, very pugnacious feelings 😉.

      Delete
  10. Oof, I am sorry that Blogger is being such a pain lately, that is so frustrating! I remember those days- and not fondly! Hopefully it gets itself figured out ASAP for you!

    I am so curious about your thoughts on a LOT of these books! I am currently writing my own review for Full Immersion, which I really enjoyed. And I really want to read The Getaway, so I am interested to hear what you thought about it, too. Ditto Sublime! I also loved Paradox Hotel, but I know some people didn't love it as much, so I am excited to see where you fall!

    Sorry about the hair trauma- my hair has been giving me trouble too! Color seems to not take to it AT ALL lately, no matter what I do. Hopefully we can both get it straightened out (or in your case, curled out hahahha ban puns).

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I LOVED The Paradox Hotel. And yay! it's so rare that someone reads the same books that I do, let alone enjoys them LOL.

      The dye job thing sounds even odder that my perm issues - I've never heard anything of the sort. Do you dye your hair yourself or go to the hairdresser's? Regardless, I feel your pain and I hope you can find a solution! Also...your pun actually made me chuckle, so good pun!

      Delete
  11. You *have* been on a Seanan McGuire roll lately! It sucks being beholden to a platform and its whims when it comes to blogging. Also sucks that you haven't been able to get as good of a perm as you used to. Hopefully you can at least get some cooler weather soon.

    I started being out of touch with new music in like 2011 because that was when I stopped doing a lot of driving and going to gym, and those were the places I listened to the radio. I know it's not the same as your situation though, since music and radio were more important to you. Sorry it's been so tough.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Blogger isn't so bad but I'm wary of it since its last makeover LOL.

      No one seems to listen to radio anymore (I mean, not like they used to), which is sad. But the medium changed a lot since I was young, and not for the better. Wow, 11 years is huge. I didn't know you stopped living a "regular" life so long ago. *sends hugs*

      Delete
  12. "I didn't feel like starting the post anew." - this is a hard core mood and I would've done the same in your shoes. How dare Blogger lose it on you??? Absolutely rude of it if you ask me. I do hope it doesn't give you anymore issues though, with the latest updates I've been seeing more and more Bloggers just jumping ship and I honestly don't blame them. I don't regret it either, even if I look back at Blogger kind of fondly.

    Honestly at some point I actually started writing and coding it all separately when I was on Blogger because it did it to me once or twice and I was just NOTTTTT having it; surprisingly it worked out okay? But honestly going back and fixing all my old posts after moving was work so I can't even imagine replacing them all? At that point I think I would've actually thrown the blog out the window and just started over, LOL. (I mean, I did give up and just deleted some of the oldest posts, but let's not talk about that...)

    I'm super curious about your thoughts for The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco! I'll have to remember to check out your review.

    ANYWAYS GOOD MORNING ROBERTAAAA

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I don't mind coding and stuff, but I don't have the time for that...blogging shouldn't be work...I admire you for your dedication to the tech part of it.

      My review for The Sacrifice just went live, and alas, after The Girl from the Well/The Suffering, I expected more...
      https://offbeat-ya.blogspot.com/2022/09/review-morsels-36-chupeco-boorman-hart.html

      Delete

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