Offbeat Offline: January 2023 (Back for Good?)

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? Some health drama leftovers for the hubs, then a change of pace (it seems like we're finally on the right track) - and a medical miscellanea for me. This wrap-up will also feature ARC approvals, book mail, hair issues (again) and utter tiredness...

📚 A GOOD BATCH. I read 2 novellas and 1 novel in January, including an ARC from NG, plus I finished rereading another novel I started at the end of last month...(The Valley and the Flood by Rebecca Mahoney - see my review plan below).

I read What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher (adult, sci-fi, mystery, horror - novella), a gift from the lovely Carrie. It has a peculiar horror aspect. Mini review on Goodreads.

• BTW, I haven't read it yet, but I also received a copy of Smoke and Key by Kelsey Sutton (YA, afterlife) from Carrie above - it was part of her Christmas book package, except The Book Depository forwarded it separately, and I got it a bit later.

I read Tricks for Free by Seanan McGuire (adult, urban fantasy), Book 7 in the InCryptid series. Very entertaining! Mini review on Goodreads.

Lastly, I read an ARC of And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky (adult, portal fantasy - novella). Review to come closer to pub date, but I really liked it!

Speaking of approvals, I hit 13 ARC rejections in four months (did publishers become stricter in the last year or so?), and then, all of a sudden I was granted 3 review copies in under a week! The aforementioned And Put Away Childish Things, plus two books I haven't started yet - This Is the Way the World Ends by Jen Wilde (YA, thriller) and The Wonder State by Sara Flannery Murphy (adult, supernatural? portal fantasy?)...which is funny, because my requests for the last two had been previously rejected on Edelweiss...

Here is my review plan for the month:

• The Valley and the Flood by Rebecca Mahoney (on Wed. 15th - if I actually manage to produce a review, that is 👀);
• Discount Armageddon, Midnight Blue-Light Special, Half-Off Ragnarok and Pocket Apocalypse by Seanan McGuire (in a mini-review round on Wed. 22nd).

Reviews aside, I'll participate in the first and the last Tell Me Something Tuesday installment of the month, on the 7th (question: Would you read a book by your favourite author if it was in a genre you don't normally enjoy?) and on the 28th (question: Which books are you looking forward to reading this spring?). It's been ages since I did a TMST post, what with all my hiatuses...the most recent one was on September 27th...😲

🩹 ON THE MENDS. The month got off to a rocky start for my husband - his hemoglobin level had gone to hell, so he was admitted to the E.R. for a transfusion...then he was given a fresh round of antibiotics for his still infected ulcer. After his latest appointment at the "difficult wounds" practice though, things have started to improve. It's going to be a long way to recovery, but at least we're on the right track now (then again...🤫...for good luck LOL).

😫 OLD BONES & CO. I, on the other hand, am not a happy bunny. My left wrist still hurts after one month and a half - the X-rays didn't detect anything abnormal, so the doctor suggested an ultrasound, except at the moment there isn't any appointment available with the NHS where I live. At least I can report that the floaters in my left eye have receded (maybe they were a temporary effect of my getting both the Covid and the flu vaccine together, since they appeared the day after?) (Nope...they're back...and as annoying as ever 😫). I did book a visit with an ophthalmologist, who could only see a mild case of cataract and an old, small, already healed hole in the retina (which is scary though, since I hadn't even noticed something was wrong!). 

😤 A LIST OF GRIEVANCES. Here are the other highlights (so to speak) of January...

• I got a new perm touch-up on my bangs (just the ones right on my forehead), and it didn't come out like it should have...again. Despite the new hd's best efforts, I have half-wavy, half semi-straight locks...again. I mean...you would probably think they're fine, but that's not MY hair. I used to have gorgeous curls - real curls - that lasted until I cut them...I don't know what this thing is supposed to be now. *cries*
• I have a veritable ice cushion on my fridge's back wall - the damned thing hasn't worked properly for a while now, and I'm finally buying a new one. It comes tomorrow and it's COSTY, y'all. Not because it's fancy...quite the contrary...because I wanted a model like my old one, which is a rare find right now...then again, it's not like the up-to-date ones are cheap. *cries some more*
• I can’t seem to get a copy of This Ain’t Witchcraft (Book 8 in the InCryptid series) from my usual booksellers (the Italian sites where I buy my foreign books)...it's "not available" at the moment...which means I have a hole in my collection. And since I only buy cash-on-delivery and those are the only sites where I can do it, who knows when - or if - I'll be able to locate a copy. Unless I win a giveaway and the generous sponsor orders it for me from The Book Depository...*guess what? more crying involved...*
• I'm tired...and achy...what's new? *insert yet further crying here*
• It's cold! After an unseasonably warm early winter, the temps have finally taken a nosedive since mid-January. Well, OK, this isn't something to cry over at least LOL. (Except the energy prices have gone through the roof...*I guess more crying is in order*).

PUBLISHING NEWS/TIPS

• Fellow blogger Nicole announces her debut MG novel in verse (congrats again!).
• Author B.C. Johnson is giving the last touches to the final installment in the Deadgirl series, which should come out in March/April (YAY!).

THINK-PIECES, DISCUSSIONS, ORIGINAL FICTION

• Lissa shares a list of bookish goals she's sure she'll fail at.

REVIEWS/RECOMMENDATIONS

• Kit discusses the cozy potential of the apocalypse and lists a few books/games in that vein.
• Jen highlights the best serial killer fiction books.

OTHER

• None this month.

That's it for now. My next post will be up on February 7th, and it will be a new installment in the Tell Me Something Tuesday series, as I told you above. After which I hope to be able to start posting (and commenting) regularly again...

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