April, my dear April. I never thought I’d have any other reason than David Tennant’s birthday to make me like you. Before 2017, you were only a month among others, preferably bringing a bit of sun. You kinda failed on this point, but you, my friend, has been very very good to me.
Dear March, you have been magical and exhausting, a challenge and a blessing, with your ups and your downs. You stole my hours of sleep but gave me my best blogging time since I started Chocolate’n’Waffles. I am sad to see you leave, but I’m happy we worked well together, even if you tried to freeze me to death and make me choke with the heat. You really couldn’t decide on your own weather, could you?
Continue reading “March Wrap-up + #OrendaMonth Giveaway Winner Announcement!”
Is it just me or did the shortest month of the year felt like the longest one? I am under the impression so much happened this month that there were really 90 days to February rather than the usual 28. Maybe it is just my brain trying to hold on to the winter by secretly making hours count double and days stretch more than my legs during a yoga session. Anyway, this is the end!
A semester, a treatment, a diary. Nothing much really happened this month, I can’t say it was the best time of my life, but it had its good times, and a whole lot of bad times. Oh and Winter finally came.
I have been listening to Adele and feeling very dramatic this week. Don’t be fooled by the title, I am only talking about the end of the year, and with it comes the usual wrap-up! I am combining both December and 2016 wrap-ups before jumping with both feet into my second blogging year.
Spooktober deserves its name. Something scary happened in October. Time disappeared. Vanished. Pouf! No, I’m not talking about the fact we entered Winter time last weekend. I’m talking about our days going missing! You blink and the month is gone. Is there someone to investigate this phenomenon??
I know it is a cliché 90% of us use at the beginning of a wrap-up post but HOW THE HELL IS IT THE END OF SEPTEMBER? I have recollections of the beginning of the month when I started the paperwork for university, then my birthday, and endless hours waiting for the mail guy to deliver my package, and suddenly October knocks on the door. Can I get those days back? I really need them. Plus, the weather cheated. It’s still summer here. Where is the cold??
Continue reading “September Wrap-up”
Summer is gone. And with it, the lazy days spent trying to not melt, the cruel heatwaves that won’t let you sleep correctly, the mosquitoes (a girl can hope!), and the little amount of free time you can get when you don’t have to work. Let’s go back to business!
What’s new?
Hair. My hair is new. No, I did not buy a wig, although it would be fun. Instead, I fulfilled one of the goals I had set for 2016: take the jump and find a good hairdresser that would accept my radical color change.
I had forgotten how good and happy finally having the hair you want makes you feel. Netflix knows how difficult it was to find a hairdresser, I feel I’ve been on a terrible quest for a year. Wait, it’s not a feeling, it’s reality. You would not believe the number of hairdressers who don’t want to take risks. When risks means do more than a few highlights.
Other than this, nothing really happened. It is not necessarily a bad thing, I like my routine. I haven’t been able to find a psychologist. Apparently, everyone in France needs one. I should not be surprised with everything going on… But I’m not losing hope, and until I get better, I study, read and have TV shows marathons to keep busy.
I’m always eagerly waiting for September, as it means classes are going to begin and I’ll be buried in work.
Now off to the interesting stuff!
Books I read in August
(Clicking on the title will take you to the review if it available)
Blog Tour: Good Girl, Bad Girl by Ann Girdharry 3* and a half
What Happens When The Lawyers Are The Bad Guys? Vincent Scarsella 2*
Are you happy? I mean, Furiously Happy? Jenny Lawson 1000*
If You Were Here, Alafair Burke, 4*
Return To The Little French Guesthouse, Helen Pollard (review to come)
Can You Feel The Magic? Harry Potter and The Cursed Child 3*
The Last Day of Captain Lincoln 4*
1984, George Orwell (audio book reread) 5*
Miller’s Valley, Anna Quindlen (audio book)
Books read previously but reviewed in August
Portmanteau, Paul T. Beardow 4*
Happy Families: Give me Mrs King, The Unlucky Stepmother 3*
Books I purchased
There’s a slight improvement here, I only bought 9 books in August! Well, September might be wilder as I won a giveaway over @ Sci-fi and Scary (thank you Lilyn!) and it’s my birthday month, so I’m hoping for a nice book haul!
Books I received for review
Remember when I said I was cutting back on ARCs? Yeah, me neither! But look at those covers!
Book I won / received as gifts
I was lucky enough to win two giveaways in August, one from the lovely Holly @Â Bookaholic Confessions and an Amazon gift card from Lilyn that I intend to spend mostly on books she recommends. I also received 13 Minutes as a gift from Beth @ Reading Every Night for our Souvenirs From Across The World package.
Book of The Month Award
Okay, this one is easy. If you were lucky enough to avoid my waves of love for Furiously Happy before, you’re stuck now! Give this book a chance and adopt a Rory!
Blogging Life
I am pretty happy with my blogging activity this month. I postponed a few posts because I was too lazy of the holidays and the disappearance of many fellow bloggers, so I have some new things coming soon!
This Week In Books
SunTags
Life
And that’s a wrap! What did you do in August? Let me know!
What’s new?
The big news of the month was my sudden travel up to the North of France for some unplanned family time that forced me to put my blog on the back burner for a few days. The longest days of the year. That is when I realized I truly was addicted to blogging as much as reading. I can’t dissociate the two activities anymore. It is a good news. I think. At least for me. I can’t talk for my hubby, whose time with me has dwindled a bit because of my awfully busy schedule.
Anyway, I am glad July is over. It is my least favorite month of the year. With December. And January. July is useless because August has more fun. December is annoying because of Christmas songs / gifts / spirit. January is always too long and has the bittersweet taste of a morning after a night at the pub trying out all the shots on the menu, combined with a massive 30-days long headache and cold.
Books I read in July
(Clicking on the title will take you to the review if it available)
The Summer That Melted Everything, Tiffany McDaniel
Heir of Fire, Sarah J. Maas (won’t be reviewed)
Boyfriend By The Book, Laura Briggs
The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller
My Husband’s Son, Deborah O’Connor
Books I purchased
I stopped trying to grab the meaning of the concept of book buying bans. Every fiber of my being rejects the notion. What can I do?
Books I received for review
Good Girl Bad Girl is actually a paperback. I did another little waffle dance when I received it because it is my first physical ARC ever.
Book of The Month Award
This month’s award goes to The Summer That Melted Everything. What do you mean, I have already talked about it for a week and it’s time to move on?! It will be time to move on once every reader around has read and experienced this book! Let’s hear a round of applause for the story that made me cry, where hundred of others failed to do so.
Blogging Life
Not a lot to report on this side, I was AWOL for two weeks and have been slowly returning to my usual schedule.
Tags
Life
Author Interviews
This Week In Books
That’s a wrap! How did June treat you? Do leave your wrap-up link in a comment below and I’ll pop a visit!
June, its summer days, the holiday starting… Nope, let’s do it again. June, its cold and rainy days, its hectic schedule. It sounds more like it.
What’s New?
I don’t have any complaints regarding June. No wait, I have one. The Euro. I won’t send my thanks to the guy who had the terrible idea to host games here and create a fan zone.
My mother went back to our hometown, leaving me with the task of taking care of her dog. I spent the week with a death threat hovering over my head if anything should happen to her cutie. Living with two dogs with opposite personalities was fun, most of the time. I was not so happy to be waken up at 6am.
Last week, my student dream job became available. The university published an ad to recruit new assistants for all their libraries. I was over the moon when I noticed the English library was looking for someone too. Of course, I applied. When the answer came back 4 hours later, I was shocked. First because no one in that administration had ever replied to an email in less than a day. Second, because they had scheduled an interview for the week to come. But. Because there is always a but. Only when I agreed for the date of the interview did I spot the little warning telling me that the contract did not say 26hours a week but 26hours for the entire semester. There is a HUGE difference. I am going anyway, 26 hours in a library playing with the stamps and scolding students returning their books late is better than no job. Or a summer job handing ice creams on the beach. Or night shifts counting bottles of medicine. Or staying home. The interview went very well, but someone applied before me so now my fate depends on the other candidate’s answer.
Oh, and I bought beauty products. Yes, I know my life is very exciting! Now off to the most interesting part of my days:
Books I read in June
Portmanteau (Review next week)
The Dali Deception (Review here)
The Last Billable Hour (Review here)
The Scorch Trials (review later)
The Raven Boys (Review here)
Crown of Midnight (Review Saturday 2nd July)
The Stepmother (Review to come)
Book Reviews of Stories I read in May
Book Review: Travel to France with The Little French Guesthouse, by Helen Pollard
Books I purchased
On June 1st, I decided to go on a book buying ban…
I know. I must have misunderstood the concept. It is not that bad. I managed to buy less than in May. I promised myself to behave for the summer.
Books I received for review
Of course, the ban involved book requests. I blame The Stepmother for luring me to NetGalley again. I requested My Husband’s Son and Yoga Beyond The Mat in May, so they don’t count, right? I can’t help it if I was approved in June…!
Books I won
I want to thank Jenny at Neverland Blog Tours for hosting a giveaway and Kate Hewitt for sending me a copy of her book. I really like the colors of the cover.
Book of The Month Award
At 4.51am a few nights ago, I realized something was missing on my blog. A Book of the Month Award! This way, when the time will come to publish my favorite books of the year, all I will only have to go back to the wrap-up posts and check the monthly award. Aren’t I a clever girl?
Because I still couldn’t sleep, I wondered about the best way to decide which story deserves the recognition and a shiny waffle made of paper napkin. The easiest solution would be to take the book with the highest rating, but sometimes the books that stay with you are not the ones you expect. This month’s winner came to me as I was writing the beginning of this post.
My favorite book in June came from Adam Maxwell. The characters of The Dali Deception are still in my head, even after a few weeks. I changed my mind about high-risk heists. I find them so much more interesting and exciting now that I have gained an insight into what it takes to pull off such a job. The sequel is at the top of my most anticipated books!
Blogging life
I was less productive than I hoped to be in June. Still, I am satisfied with what I wrote and I am slowly getting used to scheduling.
Hype or Like Friday
Tags
Life
Discussion posts and lists
This Week In Books
That’s a wrap! How did June treat you? Do leave your wrap-up link in a comment below and I’ll pop a visit!
