Offbeat Offline: January 2024

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? Confirmation of the house loan disaster, but also good news on the blood count front. My mother in law fell again, but this time with minimal consequences, phew. I saw the second half of Around the World in 80 Days with David Tennant, and received great bookish news with regard to a favourite series. But my month was unproductive as heck on all counts...

📚 FROZEN IN PLACE. For the second month in a row, I did my best to get my reader and reviewer card revoked. I only managed to read TWO books, because I was stuck writing a review and I wanted to finish it before I started my next read...and I practically stalled that review all month 😳. As of now, I have 7 ARCs to review (4 of which are slated for March...!!!), and I still have to read...6 of them 😱. Not to mention, 1 more ARC (out THIS MONTH!!!) should join the pile anytime now...I mean, reading is NEVER a problem - it's the reviews that throw a wrench in my gears. Anyhow, here's a rundown of my bookish activity for the month... 

Approvals (1):

• The Penance of Valentine Cash by Rebecca Rook (YA, afterlife)

When she dies in an accidental collision she caused on the cusp of musical fame, Valentine is offered a deal: Complete a series of difficult tasks to get her life back. Fail, and she dies a final, everlasting death. Guided by Route 66 the Mother Road of America on her quest, she tackles one herculean task after another, giving up a piece of herself with each trial. Valentine begins to understand that the fame she once sought won’t bring her happiness or belonging – and if she fulfills the penance, she must decide what’s more important: Her old life or restoring the lives of the strangers who died alongside her.

Reads (2):

• The Penance of Valentine Cash by Rebecca Rook (see above)

Some unfulfilled potential, but I liked it well enough.

• The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste (Adult/YA *, supernatural)

I loved it! Review to come at the beginning of March.

* With flashbacks to when the protagonist and her friends were teens/new adults, but it's a grown-up novel on the whole.

Reviews (2):

• The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard (YA/Adult, magical realism)

I finally managed to review this one! On the blog later in the month.

• The Penance of Valentine Cash by Rebecca Rook (see above)

Mini review coming soon (it's been written, but I'll only put it on Goodreads after posting it on my blog).

Here are my scheduled reviews for this month:

• The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard (on Thu. 8th);
• Aftermarket Afterlife (InCryptid #13) by Seanan McGuire, Three Eight One by Aliya Whiteley and Vangie's Ghosts by Paul De Filippo * (in a mini-review round on Wed. 14th);
• Deadgirl: Daybreak (Deadgirl #4) by B.C. Johnson ** (on Tue. 20th).

* Please note: as of now, there are three different pages on Goodreads for Vangie's Ghosts, sporting different formats...and radically different ratings. Unsure of what to do (though only one of the pages features a cover, so it feels more official...?), I posted my review on all of them.

** Please note: Deadgirl: Daybreak doesn't have a Goodreads page yet...and I'm still waiting for the eARC to get delivered in my inbox. But the author set the pub date for Tue. 20th, so I trust him to send me my copy in time...🙂 For the book info, see the Tooting Your Trumpet section below.

Reviews aside, I'll participate in the Tell Me Something Tuesday meme on the 27th (question: Which Books Are You Looking Forward to Reading This Spring? (March-May)). Again...I'm so behind on ARCs that I must concentrate on reading and reviewing them, so I'll mostly skip the meme for now (what's new?). In the meantime, here's the TMST prompt list for the months of February and March, in case you want to join in:

• February 6th: What's the last book you re-read? Did you like as much as the first read?
• February 13th: Share your romance (HEA/HFN) recommendations.
• February 20th: What's your favorite type of candy?
• February 27th: Which books are you looking forward to reading this spring? (March-May)
• March 5th: Describe yourself in three words (a question I submitted)
• March 12th: Which book genres do you tend to avoid?
• March 19th: Where would you like to travel? (a question I submitted)
• March 26th: Will you start a series if you know it probably won't be finished?

💸FLYING MONEY. It's official: our 20-year house loan will be extended by 7 more years (see last month's recap) 😭. I mean...when my husband's bank bought our debit from the one we'd signed the loan contract with (because it had gone bankrupt), they "forgot" to tell our that they did it for 100,000 euros when the original loan was 61,000...so I guess we'll have to use my husband's severance package to pay the debt off and put the damned thing behind our backs. For now, we're still waiting for said package, his pension and the assistance allowance he was granted to get delivered - we were told that the latter should arrive by the the first half of March at the most, the pension by the end of the same month if not earlier, and the severance package around the end of April...

🩸 BLOODY GOOD. I got my blood drawn, and this time the leukocyte and lymphocyte count dropped exponentially compared to November - from 81,000 to 48,000 and from 73,000 to 43,000. Which means no therapy yet woohoo. Now I have to get a new bloodwork and my yearly abdomen and lymph nodes ultrasound in April, and I have my next hematologist appointment in May. Let's hope thing stay on track...

⛅ MIXED BAG. So my mother-in-law fell again a few weeks ago...thank goodness she only broke four ribs this time. She had to spend three days at the hospital, but it could have been MUCH worse, and she's healing already. My husband had his measurements taken for a new leg prosthetic (he's gained a little weight and the old one doesn't fit anymore), which should be ready in a month or less. His ulcer is still shrinking at a glacial pace, but in the meantime he'll be able to start leaving the bed for a while, at long last. I saw the second half of Around the World in 80 Days with David Tennant, and though it's not typically my thing, I had fun. Nothing else to report...

PUBLISHING NEWS/TIPS

• Big announcement regarding one of my favourite series, Deadgirl by B.C. Johnson: the fourth book won't be the last, but there will be a fifth (and final) installment in August! In the meantime, Bobby revealed the cover for Deadgirl: Daybreak (out Tue. 20th), along with some end-of-series sneak-peeks...

THINK-PIECES, DISCUSSIONS, ORIGINAL FICTION

• Cee Arr discusses the perks of failure.
  
• Lissa shares some of her old poetry.

REVIEWS/RECOMMENDATIONS

• Jen lists (and in some cases, recommends) a number of 2024 mysteries and thrillers.

OTHER

• Kit set up an online shop for her art prints.
• Cee Arr is putting together the Bookish Diversity Link List for 2024.
• Shannon showcases and compares a series of unfortunate covers for popular books.
• Claire shares her Korean diaries.

That's it for now. My next post will be up on February 8th, and it will be the review for The Other Valley I mentioned above.

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