Offbeat Offline: June 2023 (Back, but Nowhere Near OK)

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? Nothing major, but the heat kicked in and I'm even more tired and achey than ever. A month-and-a-half hiatus didn't do much for me, also because I ended up reading and scheduling reviews for two ARCs, so yeah...return of the review woes LOL. But one of the books was a June release that I got approved for at the last minute, and the other was the second-to-last of my August books (I have a handful) and its sitting there unread so close to pub date was making me stabby. Anyhow, I decided to come back for a couple of months, fulfill all my review obligations, touch base with everybody (what did I miss?), and hopefully go on a REAL hiatus in September, because if I have one to look forward to, I function better...

📚 A LUCKY STREAK. I read 4 books in June, 2 of them ARCs. I have to say they were all very good for once! Here's a rundown of my bookish activity for the month... 

Approvals:

• Girls of Little Hope by Sam Beckbessinger & Dale Halvorsen (YA, mystery/sci-fi/horror)

This was a June release that I got wind of at the last minute, which is why I didn't include it in my "Which Books Are You Looking Forward to Reading This Summer? (June-August)" list. And I'm so happy I did hear about it at all and in time to get approved, because it was SO GOOD!

• Catfish Rolling by Clara Kumagai (YA, magical realism)

This is an October release that I got approved for EONS after I requested it - I had started to think my request would remain in limbo until the book expired...I haven't read it yet, since it will be a long time before it comes out, and I don't need to write YET ANOTHER REVIEW right now...

Reads:

• The Never-Ending End of the World by Ann Christy (Adult, sci-fi)

One of my August ARCs - review coming next month (spoiler: I loved it!).

• Girls of Little Hope by Sam Beckbessinger & Dale Halvorsen (see above)

Review coming in a few days.

• Spelunking Through Hell (InCryptid #11) by Seanan McGuire (Adult, urban fantasy...well, more like fantasy, in this case)

I didn't like it as much as the previous installments, mainly because it's more regular fantasy than the rest of the series (plus there are hiccups, so to speak), but still a good one. Mini review on Goodreads for now.

• Backpacking Through Bedlam (InCryptid #12) by Seanan McGuire (Adult, urban fantasy)

I liked this one much better! It brings back the vibes of the first two books in the series, along with a handful of beloved characters (if briefly). On the other hand, it sorts of rehashes the same plot of those LOL. But in an entertaining way! Again, mini review on Goodreads for now.

Reviews:

• The Never-Ending End of the World by Ann Christy (see above)

Scheduled for August 6th.

• Girls of Little Hope by Sam Beckbessinger & Dale Halvorsen (see above)

Scheduled for July 9th.

Here is my review plan for the month:

• Girls of Little Hope by Sam Beckbessinger & Dale Halvorsen (on Sun. 9th - see above);
• The Wonder State by Sara Flannery Murphy (on Sat. 15th);
• The Museum of Human History by Rebekah Bergman (on Sat. 22nd);
• The Dark Place by Britney S. Lewis, The Girls from Hush Cabin by Marie Hoy-Kenny and Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire (in a mini-review round on Fri. 28th).

With all these ARCs and relative reviews in the way, I'll be skipping the Tell Me Something Tuesday meme for the whole month...to be precise, for a couple of months almost, since I'll only be back for it on August 29th. It pains me, but I can only produce so many posts. Here is a list of the next TMST questions though, covering July and August, so that you can schedule your own posts if they strike your fancy.

• July 4th: What is your favorite holiday and what do you do to celebrate?
• July 11th: What are some underrated books/series you wish got more recognition? (a question I submitted)
• July 18th: Have you found a way to cut back significantly on your TBR pile?
• July 25th: What is your favorite thing about summer?
• August 1st: Describe your summer perfect day/weekend.
• August 8th: Which book world would you like to visit (real and/or fictional)?
• August 15th: Do you DNF books? When do you decide to stop?
• August 22nd: Have you ever picked up a book you didn't finish/didn't like and ended up enjoying it?
• August 28th: Which books are you looking forward to reading this fall? (September-November)

🥵HEATED UP, BURNED OUT. So the heat arrived, and of course it's only made my usual problems worse. I'm even more tired than usual; my legs ache/itch; every time I go out (on foot...you know I don't drive) I sweat a river. The house is a...ah, dumpster fire doesn't cover it, and since I'm always running around doing things for/in place of my husband (who is recovering, but at an unbearably slow pace, and didn't even qualify for physical therapy, so when the time comes for him to get up, I will have to help him out with THAT, too 😫), I don't have the time and energy to fix it...Even blogging takes effort, so I'm looking forward to YET ANOTHER HIATUS in September, but for now I have to trudge on - as I said, I've got lots of ARC reviews to post, but regardless, I want to talk with you all and read your own posts and comment on them again...I've been neglecting you for too long 💚.

(Hi, young David 🙂)

😑FAIRLY QUIET. Other than that - as I said - nothing major. The pipe damage hasn't been repaired yet - we're still using the patch - but we were told how much was expected from every co-owner and we paid (at least I hope everyone did LOL), and it shouldn't be long now until the job gets done (anyhow, in the meantime, we do have running water, which is what counts). My left eye retina is recovering (though my vision remains funky because of the vitreous), and the doctor said to go back for a check-up in six months (unless a new hole ensues) and see if a cataract surgery is advisable...not that I can have it until my husband doesn't start to leave the bed, if only to walk from room to room, since you're supposed to rest for a while after that kind of intervention - not to wheel an adult around and help him reach the toilet 🙄.

Since I was on hiatus, I haven't blog-hopped at all this month, so I've got nothing 🙁. But as I said above, I'm going to reprise my normal routine, at least for a couple of months (some of you who have put out new posts in this couple of days will have noticed that I've already started visiting your blogs again), so this section will be operative in my next monthly recap!

That's it for now. My next post will be up on July 9th, and it will be the review for Girls of Little Hope by Sam Beckbessinger & Dale Halvorsen I mentioned above.

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