Offbeat Offline: August 2023 (...and a New, Month-Long 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? New heatwave, new eye visit, and I watched Good Omens 2 🤩. Nothing actually bad occurred (OK, nothing actually good either, but I'll still call it a win?), except for almost getting baked on the asphalt/having a heat-induced nervous breakdown at home multiple times...but thank goodness the season's worst is over now (I hope...). Also, I've been busy scheduling my October posts because I'm taking a blogging break on September...

📚 THE WHOLE PACKAGE. I read 7 books (3 novels and 4 novellas) in August, 3 of them ARCs (and got approved for 4 more!). A pretty good batch, both quantity- and quality-wise (then again, there were 5 Seanan McGuire books under three different pen names in it...hence the title of this section). Here's a rundown of my bookish activity for the month... 

Approvals:

• Vangie's Ghosts by Paul De Filippo (Adult, multiverse)

I requested it on NG and EW...and was approved on both sites. It's about a woman who, since she was a kid, has been able to see "an infinite number of versions of herself, in an infinite number of parallel universes", until, after an accident, she starts jumping from one timeline to another - except apparently there's a lot more to it...It's a February release.

• Floating Hotel by Gracie Curtis (Adult, sci-fi/mystery)

Set aboard a luxury hotel that cruises from planet to planet, it's said to be "a hopeful story of misfits, rebels and found family, perfect for fans of Becky Chambers" (Greg, I'm looking at you 😉). Out in March.

• Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli (YA, supernatural/horror)

A trans YA horror debut featuring a crew of inseparable childhood friends, described as "a small-town ghost story where monsters living and dead haunt the streets, the homes and the minds of the inhabitants". Out in June.

• You're Breaking My Heart by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich (YA, speculative fiction/multiverse? or is it?)

A girl grieving her brother's death - especially because, the last time they were together, they fought - "discovers a portal to another dimension underneath New York City, one that just might offer an opportunity for a do-over as a better version of herself". It's a January release. And oh, the publisher autoapproved me on EW!

Reads:

• Lost in the Moment and Found (Wayward Children #8) by Seanan McGuire (YA, portal fantasy - novella)

Reread for full-review purposes - on the blog next month.

• Mislaid in Parts Half-Known (Wayward Children #9) by Seanan McGuire (YA, portal fantasy - novella)

ARC. I loved it! Mini review on GR for now, later on the blog (in October), but I plan on writing a full-length one closer to pub date (which is in January).

• Unbreakable by Mira Grant (Adult, urban fantasy - novella)

I loved this one too! Again, mini review on GR for now, later on the blog (in October). And for those in the back - Mira Grant is Seanan McGuire 🙂.

• Under the Smokestrewn Sky (Up-and-Under #4) by A. Deborah Baker (MG, portal fantasy - novella)

Another ARC. Another McGuire-in-disguise release 😁. Another mini review to come in October, closer to pub date.

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

Yet another ARC. Excellent read! Review to come...take a guess? in October, closer to pub date 🙂.

• Burn the Negative by Josh Winning (Adult, thriller/supernatural/horror)

Josh managed to surprise me. I'll post a review for this one in October as well!

• Seasonal Fears (Alchemical Journeys #2) by Seanan McGuire (Adult, urban fantasy)

This one was another reread (see Lost in the Moment and Found above), so I'm linking to my review. These days I'm trying to reread at least one book a month, and in August I was able to squeeze in two ✌️.

Reviews:

• Lost in the Moment and Found (Wayward Children #8) by Seanan McGuire (see above)

Scheduled for October 5th.

• Catfish Rolling by Clara Kumagai (see above)

Scheduled for October 9th.

• Burn the Negative by Josh Winning (see above)

Scheduled for October 19th.

Normally at this point I would list the reviews I plan on posting and the TMST prompts I plan on answering in September, but since I decided to go on hiatus, I've got nothing. My next blogging foray will be at the beginning of October, with a new Offbeat Offline installment (unless B.C. Johnson finally manages to self-publish the last book in his Deadgirl series next month, because there's no way I'm not going to read and review THAT as soon as I get an ARC. But I haven't heard anything yet, so...).

😈😇INEFFABLE DUO. The good news first - I watched Good Omens 2, and what can I say...David Tennant is a lifeline. So talented, so nuanced, so funny, so...well, hot when he needs to be 😂 (and an absolute gem of a human being on top of that - he keeps showing how his heart is in the right place). He always manages to make me forget the world for a while, and I need that SO DAMN MUCH. Regarding GO - he and Michael Sheen are the ultimate Odd Couple and a real powerhouse, and they play each other so perfectly. Bring on Good Omens 3, please and thank you (also because...cliffhanger much?).

(I know, I know, we're in the middle of a strike, so I guess we'll have to wait a bit for that...and I wholeheartedly support the fight, so I'll be patient...#PayYourWriters #PayYourActors 😡).

🩹MEDICAL ROUND-UP. I booked a new eye visit because I was seeing more floaters in my twice-lasered left eye (in addition to the by-now usual flashes), and I wanted to make sure there wasn't a new retinal hole, which turned out not to be the case. Not being able to rely on the flashes anymore in order to tell if something is wrong with my eye sucks big time. In the meantime, my husband had his first leg check-up in two months, and his ulcer has shrunk by 1 mere centimeter (about 0,40 inches)...it does look better overall, but the progress is sluggish to say the least. We're waiting for his heel to fully heal so that he can start moving around a little, but with such a leg wound, I don't know when he'll be able to go out...😫

💸MONEY'S TOO TIGHT TO MENTION. August 31st marked the end of my unemployment benefits. Now I'm only left with my husband's salary (which he's still receiving while he's nursing himself back to health - thanks to the system for that) and my parents' financial help (and since they're in their 80s, I don't know for how long). It's not enough, not with the way things are going. And even if I happen to find a job that doesn't require a driving licence or the kind of experience that I don't have, I can't accept one while my husband's still bedridden/housebound, because he needs help and everything's on me. I could juggle a part-time job, but those are super-rare, so...😢 I keep looking anyway - wish me luck...

🥵HOT SPOT.  After less than a couple of weeks of tolerable heat, the temps started rising again a few days before mid-August, and didn't let up until the end of the month. It was torture all over again - and again, the only way to survive was to sit next to a fan and eat stuff that didn't need actual cooking...In the last days of August we had some rain and wind that cleared the air a bit, though it sounds like the temps are going to ramp up again - but probably in a more reasonable fashion...(here's hoping). I'm so DONE with summer 2023 😡 😫.

PUBLISHING NEWS/TIPS

• Seanan McGuire confirmed on Twitter that she’s writing a new Velveteen book, and I’m ecstatic (too bad publishers aren’t interested in letting her write more in her Indexing series. Yep, I asked her…). BTW, you can read my Velveeten vs. series review here.
• Sorry to go all McGuire on you again, but...the new book in her Incryptid series has been announced! It's called Aftermarket Afterlife (tying back to the punny titles of the first installments). It's Mary's (crossroad ghost/babysitter) book.

THINK-PIECES, DISCUSSIONS, ORIGINAL FICTION

• Lissa asks how much bad writing you can tolerate.
• Briana reflects about readers not leaving reviews of books.
• Sam discusses review routine.
• Lissa shares her short story Sandwiches, flatware & murder.

REVIEWS/RECOMMENDATIONS

• For the Orangutan Librarian, "Good Bad Girl was better than good".
• Emily mostly liked Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow.
• Karen has a lot to say about Yellowface.
• Jen shares a list of books about con artists and grifters.

OTHER

• Kit shares a few of her favourite quotes.

That's it for now. My next post will be up on October 1st, and it will be an Offbeat Offline installment. Now I'll retire in my cave, do my best to put some of my ARCs behind me (I have six, yikes, and they're making me anxious even if they're months away from publication...I read fast, but reviews have become a cumbersome affair) and try to resume housekeeping after a summer's worth of neglect...See you in a month!

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