Offbeat Offline: November 2022 (I'm Back-ish)

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? I've still been playing nurse (and maid, and drudge), because my husband finally had surgery, but his recovery is a lengthy affair. Other than that, there was yet another hair incident (details below) and two more ARCs that ended up in the DNF pile (after the one I had in October). I guess I've become sloppy with my request choices lately...Anyhow, rejoice! I have posts scheduled for this month! Not a proper comeback, since the home situation is still a work-in-progress, but I won't be M.I.A., so yay?

📚 UNWISE CHOICES. I read 4 books in November, and I DNF 2. Again, the DNF ones were ARCs...😬

I read The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould (YA, supernatural mystery, queer AF) and Bone Gap by Laura Ruby (YA, contemporary with a twist...that is, magical realism) - two backlist books from 2021 and 2015 respectively. They were good. Mini reviews on GR for now.

Speaking of backlist...I read The Bowstring Murders by Carter Dickson - formerly Carr Dickson - (adult, mystery, dated 1933), and as much as I like the author (who used to write thrillers under his real name John Dickson Carr as well), this one was somewhat atrocious, especially when it came to the female characters and the way the were treated/perceived...and it's not like the mystery itself had a lot of redeeming qualities. Also, this is the third JDC book that I read in English, and gah, it's official...I don't like his writing style at all (OK, it's an OLD book, but still. Agatha Christie's, for instance, are a different kettle of fish...). I should definitely stick to modern translations for his stuff...

I got an ARC of Nothing but the Rain by Naomi Salman (adult, novella, horror-tinged sci-fi...or maybe contemporary with a twist? I'm not sure!), and I enjoyed it, despite the lack of certain answers (then again, answers weren't the point here). Mini review on GR for now.

I also got ARCs of Tell Me What Really Happened by Chelsea Sidoti (YA, thriller) and We Don't Swim Here by Vincent Tirado (YA, supernatural mystery)...which I both DNF. Maybe I should go back to thinking twice before I hit the Request button. Or maybe the blurbs are fooling me lately...I'm not sure. Anyhow, you can find my DNF mini reviews on GR for now.

Finally, I got approved for an ARC of Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey (adult, multiverse), which pleased me a lot, since I was afraid the publisher wouldn't give me another chance after I DNF one of their books earlier in the year (though I made it very clear in my review that it was a bad fit, not a book that I considered lacking per se).

Here is my review plan for the month:

• Seeds for the Swarm by Sim Kern, Freaks Like Us by Susan Vaught and Boneyard by Seanan McGuire (in a mini-review round on Sat. 10th).
• Skeleton Song by Seanan McGuire (on Fri. 16th).

As for the non-review posts, due to my ongoing home problems (see below), I don't want to put too much on my plate, so I'll skip the Tell Me Something Tuesday meme again this month. Here is a list of the next TMST questions though, covering December and January, so that you can schedule your own posts if they strike your fancy.

• December 6th: Which character from a book would you like to be friends with and why?
• December 13th: Do you have a favorite quote/s from a book?
• December 20th: What are your favorite holiday-centric movies? Do you rewatch them every December?
• December 27th: What are your favorite books/audiobooks that you read in 2022?
• January 3rd: What are your blogging/reading goals for the new year?
• January 10th: Do you read classics? Why or why not?
• January 17th: Do you tend to enjoy spin off series? Or are you hesitant about them? 
• January 24th: Do you listen to author/book playlists? Do you create your own?
• January 31st: Do you reread series before reading the newest book if it's been a while?

Anyhow! I'll post my 2022 wrap-up on Thu. 22nd! so prepare to gather round and listen to all the misadventures the universe put on my path this year! again! 😅 😫

🩹 NURSING THE WOUND. You may remember that weeks ago my husband got a doppler test to investigate the reason for his foot (and leg) ulcer, which showed a peripheral arterial occlusive disease. Since then, he got a femoral balloon angioplasty (on Nov. 9th), but the ulcer site was still (partly) infected, so he was referred to a medical office for "difficult wounds", where they prescribed special medications for the visiting nurses to apply. It's a long process, and it has involved a couple of scares (he got X-rays to rule out osteomyelitis in October, and the visit above was meant to make sure he didn't have necrotising fasciitis). While he was waiting for surgery, the wound spread to his leg, and now it looks hideous. He's under antibiotics again...and he has another appointment with the difficult wounds office on the 15th. With all those bandages in place, leaving the bed is still a dream at the moment. And am I allowed to say that - besides being worried - I'm angry and unbelievably tired? Is that too selfish? 😬 😰

🤦‍♀️ PERMANENT FAILURE. On November 8th, I went to my new hairdresser because my top and bangs needed another touch-up (after a little more than two months...you may remember that the roots didn't curl last time, and since I needed to cut the ends, I would have been left with next to no curls...)...and now I have a half-frizzy mess on my forehead, hair more wavy (and coarse) than curly at the top, and a straight lock on the right side that I have to spray with hair mousse and roll up with a bobby pin every day to shape it into some semblance of curliness. The funny thing is, the new hd listens to me, and she tries different things, but they don't seem to work. Now I have to wait at least another month to redo my bangs (because they're too short right now, but also because the damn hair has to be nursed back to health - I'm using a cheratine mask, for the very first time in 40 years of perms), while I'll try and recurl my side lock in a few days...but now I'm terrified of the results. No one understands this hair. And the waving solutions sure have changed since I started curling it...but the fact is, until my first hd and her former employee did my perms, they ALWAYS came out awesome. For 30+ years. Coincidence? 🙄 The fact is, they knew what they were doing. Now I never know what to expect and I hate my hair (or parts of it) all year long, for one reason or the other...

Of course, I haven't blog-hopped at all this month (again), so I've got nothing 🙁. And...as you may have noticed, the situation is still dire, so my plans for a proper comeback have been thwarted. Anyhow, I'll do my best to visit your blogs in weeks to come, and in my next monthly recap I hope to have a round-up of my favourite posts of the month!

That's it for now. My next post will be up on December 10th, and it will be the mini-review round I mentioned above. I managed to draft my (scant) posts for this month (though I'm still working on my 2022 wrap-up of course), and for the rest, I'm playing it by ear - but at least there's that.

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