May’s Moments of the Month: January // I Return to School and a Reading Slump

Happy new year!!

Am I still allowed to say that a month into 2022? It does not feel like we are already 1/12 of the way through the year. I’m making up my own reality simply because this one just does not make sense. January could not have been that short!!!

Unfortunately, though, January WAS very short and as a result I suffered a lot… (not really but you know what I mean). I returned to school, which was very boring and terrible, and I also returned to a reading slump, which was very boring and terrible as well. I said I wanted consistency in 2022… Well, I guess this is consistency? New year, same me?

(I don’t know what I’m saying anymore. I’m very fatigued and you all know that I am up at an ungodly hour writing this intro. Carry on.)

I read 5 books, and I’m so happy with all my reads! They were all from different genres and I enjoyed reading all of them. I totally failed at getting around to what I wanted to read to start off my year, but it’s okay. I’ve accepted that I am a mood reader. I am an unstoppable force, absolutely uncontrollable by anyone including myself. (It is very annoying.)

I also remade my reading spreadsheet, and I’m very happy with it!! Pretty much everything is the same, except it now has cool charts and fancy formulas so that I can do less work. The ultimate goal in life!

       

• The Last Mapmaker Christina Soontornvat // the best book I could’ve picked for my first read of the year! so heartwarming and thought-provoking ★★★★☆
• Monsieur Ibrahim et les Fleurs du Coran Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt // started this for my French class in 2021 and finished it in 2022! it was sad :( [no rating]
• Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls T Kira Madden // new favorite of the year alert! so engaging and heartbreaking and honestly the perfect read for me currently ★★★★☆ [4.5]
• Witch Hat Atelier Vol 7 Shirahama Kamome // this series will always bring me so much happiness, but I’m extra intrigued by the more sinister things at play ★★★★☆
• Seasons of Glass and Iron Amal El-Mohtar // trying to read at least one short story a month, which sounds so easy and yet I always forget… but this was just lovely! Amal El-Mohtar’s writing style is gorgeous and I love her stories’ themes ★★★★☆

BOOK HAUL

I bought a lot of books this month, for once in my life… I spent a B&N gift card I got for Christmas on the two above (Heaven Official’s Blessing and The Vanished Birds), and then I bought a bunch from the B&N preorder sale! Very very excited to get to them all, and I will not be buying any new books until the end of the year. Probably.

UPDATES

As expected, it was difficult for me to keep up with blogging because of my return to school… but I’m still feeling motivated to actually write posts so I’m hoping this energy will last! But the biggest thing was my 5 year blogiversary, and I’m still very wide-eyed at that number. (Like this is officially now my SIXTH year of blogging?? No…) It truly is an honor to continue blogging and know that people are still reading my words. <3

Also, if you’d like to fill out my feedback survey, I’d very much appreciate it! Thank you to those who’ve already filled it out!!

THIS MONTH’S POSTS

   
   

FAVORITE POSTS

• Rain @ Bookdragonism has the best book taste ever, so I loved reading about her favorite books of the year! (x2!)
• Emma @ Emma Reads Too Much is creative and fun and worthy of awe as always in her 24 hour reading vlog-turned-blog-post
• Fadwa @ Word Wonders shared language learning tips, and as someone who’s been struggling to consistently keep up with language learning… I found them very helpful!
• Shealea @ Shut Up Shealea puts some lesser-known 2022 releases on our radar
• The Pondathon begins at The Quiet Pond (and I’m very excited to be participating, though I’ve had a slow beginning!)

…Let’s move on…

I returned to school and of course… I am miserable! I’m just so done with this semester already and can’t make myself do or care about any work. I have little concentration and little motivation, which I think is transferring to non-academic parts of my life too, unfortunately.

At least I’m pretty well recovered from COVID at this point, though for the first half of the month I was still super fatigued. Which was very fun when I had to go back to school and watch the amount of sleep I got slowly decrease each night! (I’ve actually taken to doodling in class because it’s the only way I can stay focused and awake. Somehow it actually works.)

I also had a dance convention and competition at the end of the month! It was very tiring and nerve-wracking and definitely did not go perfectly, but it was truly lovely and I had a great time. I was extremely nervous for my solo performance (which was why I ended up buying so many books impulsively…) but it went really well and I’m satisfied!! Very bittersweet as well, though, since it’s my last competition with my team.

Other small things:

• I choreographed and set a dance piece, and I love it!! Choreographing is so hard but so rewarding, and I’m glad that I had a creative outlet through that.
• I’ve been listening to lots of different artists—I’ve been enjoying childhood throwbacks from Nicole Theriault mostly, but also actually utilizing Spotify’s various tailored-to-my-tastes playlists!
• We’ve been having some cold days in Texas, and it makes me very happy. Just a tiny bit of joy I wanted to share!

I don’t think anything big is supposed to happen in February for me? Just the usual monotony of school… But I’m hoping that the lack of any Big Events means that I have at least a little bit of time read and blog consistently, and to study Thai regularly as well!

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how was the start of 2022 for you? what was your first read of the year? any exciting things happen? link me to your reading wrap-up posts, I love reading them!!