Offbeat Offline: October 2022 (+ Announcing Blog Reprise in December)

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 tending to my husband and working myself to the bone and basically going mad. But I did make a point of reading a bit every day or so, and that's how I finished 4 books (I also had a DNF though). Anyhow, I have news, so let's dive straight into my monthly recap...

Offbeat Offline: September 2022 (+ A Proper Hiatus Announced)

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 been tending to my husband and working myself to the bone and basically going mad. I only managed to finish 3 books and barely made a dent in my last ARC to date. My September posts were already scheduled, so I didn't disappear completely (also, I took the time to reply to comments at least), and I've been making the Twitter rounds daily, if briefly, but other than that...Here's a breakdown of this disastrous month.

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Do You Follow Your Favourite Authors on Social Media? Do You Interact With Them?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen at That's What I'm Talking About, Karen at For What It's Worth, Linda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is...

DO YOU FOLLOW YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHORS ON SOCIAL MEDIA? DO YOU INTERACT WITH THEM?

Apart from the authors I have a more personal relationship with (which includes beta-reading for them), only two of my very favourite writers are active on Twitter (the only social media I use, if you don't count Goodreads...which you...well, don't count 😂. I mean, is GR a social media? Hardly...). They are:

Nova Ren Suma (@novaren) 

She isn't very active (and mostly tweets writerly stuff), but I've had the chance to interact with her a handful of times, if briefly (I try not to impose myself). Once I mentioned really missing/looking forward to new books from her, and she quote-tweeted me saying something about tweets like mine being a morale booster when writers are alone with their WIP and struggling with the age-old "is there anyone out there who actually cares?" authorial question. It was heart-warming.

Seanan McGuire (@seananmcguire)

Unlike Suma, she's VERY active, and doesn't shy away from sharing private slices of life when she sees a valid reason for it, but on the other hand, she doesn't usually engage in one-on-one conversations with fans - she doesn't even use the "like" button, though she retweets stuff all the time. I understand that, what with her level of popularity and social media being the pits at times, she needs to set some boundaries, and I respect it. (To be precise: she is available via her site contact form, though it might take a bit for her to reply. That's what she states on Twitter from time to time. I have no experience with it). I think she only retweeted one of my reviews of her books so far (and I'm sure it's because there's no way she can keep up with her notifications - she probably only retweets stuff that goes live while she's online, and probably only sees a fraction of it), and we only interacted a couple of times, very briefly (when I commented on one of her tweets and she replied, and when she answered a question I posed in a Twitter Q&A). Apart from her books, she tweets about disability issues, boosts other content creators/artists, shares pics of cats (hers but not only), amphibians, My Little Ponies, Magic cards and D&D dice sets (which she collects. The last three, I mean 😉).

Taste the Books: Review Morsels #36 Rin Chupeco, Kate A. Boorman, Rob Hart

Intro

Hello beauties!

Welcome again to my own brand of mini reviews! I never thought I'd do minis, until I recapped a few of my long reviews in some digest post in 2014, and then guest-posted some shorties for a blogging event in 2015. And Karen from For What It's Worth started praising my short recs/recaps 😊. Just to be clear,  I'm NOT taking a break from writing long reviews - no such luck LOL (though for anthologies, shorter books or books that I didn't enjoy/I don't have enough to say about, I decided to stick to minis). But while I'm making up my mind about a new book I've read, I might as well give you the short version 😉. Just be warned - this feature will be VERY random!

Note: all the mini blurbs (in italics) are of my own creation.

Seanan McGuire: "Where the Drowned Girls Go"

Title: Where the Drowned Girls Go [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Wayward Children (7th of ?? books)
Author: Seanan McGuire [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Supernatural (technically it would be Portal Fantasy, but since I don't have a Fantasy Room in my blog, I decided to shelf this one as Supernatural - that's the closest I could get)
Year: 2022
Age: 14+
Stars: 5/5
Pros: An imaginative look-in-reverse at one of the most common fantasy tropes. Packs a huge punch for so short a book. Has a few surprises in store. Lets all its characters shine.
Cons: Leaves you thirsty for all the worlds that are barely mentioned/touched upon...
WARNING! Bullying by way of fat-shaming. Mention of a suicide attempt by drowning.
Will appeal to: People who love flawed, complex teen heroes and coming of age stories of a peculiar kind. Everyone who's ever felt out of place, but doesn't necessary dream of a happier world than the one they live in...

Blurb: There is another school for children who fall through doors and fall back out again. It isn't as friendly as Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. And it isn't as safe.

When Eleanor West decided to open her school, her sanctuary, her "Home for Wayward Children", she knew from the beginning that there would be children she couldn’t save; when Cora decides she needs a different direction, a different fate, a different prophecy, Miss West reluctantly agrees to transfer her to the other school, where things are run very differently by Whitethorn, the Headmaster.

She will soon discover that not all doors are welcoming... (Amazon excerpt)

Review: A few months ago, I decided I wouldn't write full reviews anymore for certain types of books, including novellas. But since I've been reviewing this series in full from the start, I'm making an exception here, and I intend to go on doing so for all its future installments. So, I'll keep writing a mini review after my first read, and a full one after my second. Also...this is my first 5-star rating for a Wayward Children book!

MY MERMAID FRIEND

Something about Cora stole my heart since her first apparition in Beneath the Sugar Sky, and it's funny how we don't have anything in common (apart from being/having been bullies' targets in different ways), but I love her more than any other Wayward Child I've met so far. Or maybe it isn't funny, because what's not to love about a fat girl with a mermaid's heart, who gets bullied for her size and tries to disappear but finds her door instead, ultimately takes matters into her own hands, and becomes a hero? a flawed one, but one who recognises her flaws and does her best to overcome them? not to mention, one with blue-green hair and iridescent skin? Everything about Cora and her arc feels so true and real, that you could swear resourceful, brave, fat mermaids are a thing and you will meet one (or more) one day, and how come you haven't yet? [...]