Ohmygosh! Howdy, my lovely little ducklings! How are y'all? It honestly feels like it's been forever and a day since I've talked to you! I know it's only been about two or three weeks but...wow! I'm so sorry for being absent. Why have I been gone? Well here's the sitch!
I'm back at college!
I'm still technically on medical leave but I'm taking a sixteen week biology 101 level class (with the mandatory extra lab class each week as well) and a fourteen week Arabic 201 level class. I have class for four consecutive days each week and my weekend is three days. The classes are basic and I've actually taken both of these classes before, so they're an "easy" review, but it's still a lot of work. On top of my classes, each week I meet with an academic success coach for at most an hour and I also have a weekly academic success workshop. I also walk a mile and a half over huge hills each day to get to and from school. This is all packed in with my regular bi-weekly/monthly appointments with doctors and grocery shopping (which, I have to walk a mile to and from the grocery store). All while struggling with chronic fatigue syndrome. So I'm jam packed! I'm positive it'll seem a little less hectic, overwhelming, and energy sapping as I adjust and get used to my new schedule, but at the moment it's a lot. But even still I have great news which is...
I love school and my classes!
Why is this big news? Well, for those of you who don't know, I've struggled with major academic performance anxiety for the past four to five years. I got into one of the top schools in the world and basically fell apart--physically, mentally, and emotionally. But in the community college I'm attending now, I feel very at ease and hopeful. First off, I have a ton of accommodations for my disabilities and medical condition. Second off, the classes are much smaller than at my university. So small that the professors actually make an effort to get to know each student one-on-one. And the teachers don't do research, so all of their energy and interest is in teaching, which makes a huge difference. Finally, the school devotes an entire department to helping students learn the skills they need to succeed in college. They have free academic coaching, free one-on-one tutoring, free group tutoring, free academic success classes, and free writing help for writing all kinds of papers and reports. They offer free rooms to study in which are low distraction spaces as well! It's just so incredible! It's exactly what I needed. So if I ever have a problem or my anxiety gets in my way, I can rest assured that I will get the help I need!
The people at my current school are also incredibly kind and welcoming! I'm making friends fast and the nice thing is they're sincere friends. The school is the most diverse community college in the country and it's such a joyous and accepting atmosphere. I just love everything about it! But enough about that. I've been even more hectic than usual because...
I Helped My Friend Move
Now Let's Get To The Books...
What I'm Currently Reading
What I've Been Reading
So if y'all can recall, last time we chit chatted, I was in a reading slump. Well guess what? That slump lasted through the month of August and still has me in its grips. So because of that, I only read two books in August. And one of those was technically a comic bind-up I began in July. I read and loved Ruined by Amy Tintera and I finished Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona and, honestly, I waas kinda disappointed with it. So yeah. August wasn't my best reading month by far. September's started out slow, but I did finish Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen and I loved it! It took me ages (three whole weeks!) to finish it, though! So this month has definitely started out slow. I'm hoping, though, that with the release of Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas, my reading will speed up!
What I'm Planning On Reading Next
The Haul
"Recent" Links I've Been Lovin'
- Cait wants to know if you give authors second chances
- Aila is curious about whether or not we have different ratings for different genres
- Keionda tells us about character tropes she feels are outdated
- Erin thinks on youtuber books
- Kristen talks about why she doesn't DNF books
- Jeann discusses when "diversity" isn't actually diverse
- Liza talks fandoms and social media
- Jen reflects on materialism in blogging
- Michelle elaborates on why you may have DNFed a book
- Melanie weighs the pros and cons of including spoilers in your reviews
- Becca expands on why libraries are great and busts some library myths
- Anna guest posts on a bookworm's relationship with readathons
- Esther asks why authors still go for instalove
- Claire lists what she wishes she saw more of in YA
- Ashleigh thinks about how important endings really are
- Silanur tells us why she has a problem with 3 star books
- Jocelyn wonders how complex side characters should be
- Ari talks about why its not always a give and take when it comes to book recommendations
- Alex discusses why we need both good representation and good stories
And Now For Some Recent Obsessions!
Books
Okay. So I'm going to make a big admission here and that is that I am a major idiot. Why? Because I didn't pick up Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen sooner, despite the buzz it was getting! I thought, "Nah! I'm not into trolls! Yuck!" BOY WAS I WRONG!!! I can't account for my past stupidity, all I can say is that I've now corrected it. Please. I beg of you. Don't be as dense as I was. Pick up Stolen Songbird ASAP! It's got romance, adventure, magic, and, yes, trolls. It's ridiculously good! So go read it now!
Music
I honestly couldn't get enough of this song in the past month and yet it's still going around in my head! "Genghis Khan" has such a great groove and the perfect touch of good ol' funk. The tenor vocal, which verge on becoming ethereal at points, really add a different flavor to the song. This song is sure to have you bobbing your head for days!
TV & Movies
As a young, African American woman in STEM myself, this is a movie I can seriously get behind! I always love learning about my people's history and this seems like a wonderful story of strength, intelligence, and overcoming crazy odds! I can't wait to see Hidden Figures!
Blog/Website
Okay so I may be a tad biased as we're blogger pals, but Lauren over at Wonderless Reviews runs an absolutely superb blog! Lauren is the biggest sweetheart and her blog is simultaneously honest and fun! Lauren regularly does reviews, tags, and discussions as well as general bookish fun posts, but recently, she also began making book inspired wallpapers and they're insanely good! So go check her blog out and say hi to her--you definitely won't regret it!News
Recently Maggie Stiefvater incited total and complete chaos within the Raven Cycle fandom by tweeting that she'd outlined (outlined--not even written or proposed it to her publisher!) a new trilogy centering around Ronan Lynch!Quote
"She runs. Not away, but toward."
--Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
So that's all for this update, ducklings! I need to say that I'll probably be posting a little less just because of school and my crazy schedule but I will be posting. I'm sorry for the brief, unannounced hiatus but I'm so happy to be back (and betta than eva)! That's all for today! Tata for now! (sidenote: does anyone remember when we used to text "ttfn" which stood for "tata for now"?)
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