Somehow, the last time I did a monthly wrap-up was October 2016. I don’t even know how this is possible, so we’ll swiftly move right along! As per usual, I’m finding it difficult to stick to a regular blogging routine, BUT I’m still here and I’m still posting, even if I do have SO MANY reviews to catch up on…
The Books
I think I’ve been a very well behaved Book Blogger lately. Since posting my annual book-spending review, I’ve been much more conscious of my book buying (especially because this year I’m also tracking books bought in a physical bookstore!). Also, since I finally acquired some new (and amazing) book cases, I’m acutely aware of how many unread books I own…
That being said, there have still been a few sneaky purchases since the start of the year, though nearly all of these were purchased with reward vouchers of some description for Amazon and The Works! Honestly, sign up for Quidco, people, you will not regret it.
- When Breath Becomes Air: At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer.
- Scrappy Little Nobody: She was a grower, but I’ve slowly fallen a little bit in love with Anna Kendrick. I’ve already finished this one, review to follow soon!
- A Court of Wings and Ruin: I preordered this one on Amazon (I know, given my preorder rant, I’m a glutton for punishment!). I. CAN’T. WAIT.
- The Life and Loves of a He Devil: I LOVE Graham Norton, and I had heard bad things about this so stayed away from it. I’m almost finished it and really enjoyed it!
- Mad Girl: When Breath Becomes Air was part of a 2 for £7 deal. This was my “I’m a weak Book Geek” purchase.
- Start With Why: This video was doing the rounds on Facebook, and I started following Simon to see what he’s all about. What he says intrigues me, so a book purchase was made. Simple thought process that one.
- Why Women Don’t Ask: I’m hitting a career crossroads, of sorts, and know from other sources that women can inherently find it difficult to negotiate and understand financial self-worth (partly because we’re taught not to from a young age, and partly because of society’s belief that we shouldn’t). Consider this training and a pep talk for what hopefully lies ahead for me… speaking of…
- Emotional Intelligence 2.0: This has been available as a Goodreads First Reads giveaway SO many times. I’ve entered a ton of times, and never won. So I took matters in to my own hands. I started following the author, Travis Bradberry, on LinkedIn, and liked what he had to say, so I took the plunge.
- Leadership 2.0: While I was picking up Emotional Intelligence, I spied this one. Bit of personal development never hurt nobody, right?
Movies and TV Shows
Have you seen Hidden Figures yet? If not, watch it immediately, it is AMAZING!
I cried my heart out to another Will Smith movie, Collateral Beauty:
I also watched Let It Shine, and became totally hooked. My favourites won (no spoilers!), and I’d LOVE to see the live show, but it doesn’t look like there are any dates in NI. Raging.
If you fancy something a little heavier, but equally a fantastic watch, I highly recommend both Amanda Knox and The 13th on Netflix.
Wrappin’ It Up!
- Stefani @ Caught Read Handed made a victorious return to Book Blogging
- Hazel @ Stay Bookish shared how a book made her stand up to body shaming
- Cris @ My Tiny Obsessions had something to say to Trump supporters
- Joy @ Joyous Reads wrote a short piece about Hillary
- Stormy @ Book.Blog.Bake shared YA books to educate and inspire empathy
- Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction shared why she’s thankful for the book blogging community
- Simon @ Savage Reads investigates other people’s bookshelves
- Tara @ The Librarian Who Doesn’t Say Shhh! shares what she looks for in book blogs
- Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense asks are ARCs worth it? And talks about preordering debut books
- Cathy @ 746 Books shares a new feature The Books That Built the Blogger (featuring ME!), and launches Reading Ireland Month
- Cristina @ Girl in the Pages talks about the art of the binge
- Anne @ Modern Mrs Darcy shares 3 ways to listen to Audible books without membership
In Case You Missed It:
Since the last time I’ve done a wrap-up, I’ve written reviews for Dreams From My Father (3.5/5), The Lemon Grove (2/5), The Versions of Us (2/5), Seven Steps to Happiness (4.5/5), The Secret History (3/5), Through the Barricades (4.5/5), and Rockadoon Shore (1.5/5). I also wrote the following posts:
- My Top Ten Books of 2016
- End of Year Book Survey 2016
- Reviewing my 2016 Resolutions and new bookcases!
- Running Away from Reading Challenges
- How Much Do You Spend on Books? 2017 Edition
- Crazy and Best Search Terms of 2016
- Interview with Stella Newman, author of Seven Steps to Happiness
- Interview with Denise Deegan, author of Through the Barricades
My most popular post in January was How Much Do You Spend on Books? My most popular post in February was What is the POINT of Preordering? My most popular review in both months was for The Secret History.
What have you been getting up to so far in 2017? Let me know in the comments!
Confessions of a Book Geek 
I’ve considerably cut down my book-spending as well. And while I’m not there yet, I feel pretty good that I don’t just go to town when I’m in a bookstore.
Good job, Rachel!
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Oh Joy, I had one of those terrible “your-blog-posts-before-it’s-meant-to-go-live” scenarios! There were a few purchases this month that I’ve now included that I’ve had the chance to edit it properly. Though most of them were “free” through using vouchers I received for doing surveys and the like. So that made me feel much better! As well as that, these are all the purchases made this year so far, so it’s not THAT bad either… except for the wee bundle I have waiting online and I’m getting ever more tempted to click that checkout button!!!! Lol R xx
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I totally have a section of unread books and it’s been slowly growing. I’m not allowed to go to the library for a few weeks, haha. Thanks for sharing a couple of my posts! Enjoy your March 🙂
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My unread books went from growing, to outright ridiculous. I haven’t even counted them, I don’t want to know! Lol it must be over 300 though… R xx
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I don’t have nearly as many, but enough that I’m starting to contemplate a book buying ban.
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They so don’t work for me. I try to buy-smart rather than banning altogether. I have so few bad habits, I’ll let collecting books be one of them! Lol R xx
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Nice way to spin it 🙂
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Has it really been that long since your last wrap up post? Wow, that’s crazy. I know I sometimes struggle keeping a blog routine, I kind of like just posting what I want when I wan but I definitely find the monthly posts help keep me vaguely organised. I’ve found keeping track of my spending does nothing to curb it which makes me sad. I am trying but I just have this impulse buying problem I am slowly trying to conquer. I just need to not browse books websites or enter shops really. I can’t believe I haven’t seen Hidden Figures or Collateral Beauty. They were both on my list to watch and then I just never found time to arrange a cinema date. Maybe I’ll have got myself organised in time for the DVD release.
I hope you have a good month.
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I know. There has to be a mistake there surely?! I just spent £25 on The Book People last night, so not entirely sure if tracking my spend is helping me THAT much either lol though to be fair, one of those was a signed Graham Norton book for £13, one was Jodi Picoult’s new hardback that I was buying regardless as she’s an autobuy author, the other two were cheap collections that I was really interested in. I do find I think more about purchases rather than just clicking buy, or doing impulse spends in the shops. I’ll really stew over it to be sure they need to be part of my collection.
Both movies were very good. Though I ADORED Hidden Figures!
Thanks, Becky! Hope March is good to you too! R xx
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Your bookshelves are sooooo gorgeous – I love them! 🙂
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Thank you! I want to reorganise them and whatnot which is always fun! But I’m so happy with them! R xx
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The shelves are gorgeous! I love the teddy bear at the top!. I need to organize my books soon. I have to see Hidden Figures and the Will Smith movie (love him).
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Thanks, Danielle! I STILL haven’t gotten around to properly organising them yet, but at least I have them built! Have you seen Hidden Figures and Collateral Beauty yet? R xx
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I love the section where you share other bloggers posts you enjoyed! Fabulous idea.
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Hi! Thanks for commenting! It acts as a great archive for me too, but I think if something grabs me, someone else might enjoy it too, so I have to share the love! R xx
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