Hey guys! I’m a tad late on this one so it’s gonna be a bit short.
The weather’s gone from “I’m sorry, WHY is it 23 degrees in the middle of March???” to a nice, comfortable, predictable “10-15 and raining” which I’m pretty happy about because that makes it the perfect weather for rainy-pier watching. And rainy boating.
So besides reading and gaming, I took my kayak out for a lil’ 2 hour float in the ocean this weekend (I keep hoping I’ll run into seals every single time I do this but sadly it only seems to happen about…20% of the time). I also watched a lot of curling (Sweden, we need to talk about how irritatingly good your team is) and hit a few tennis balls indoors. And then I capped it off with some watercolouring.
Sometimes I wonder if I have too many hobbies going on at once, because when someone asks me “What did you do this weekend?” the answer probably shouldn’t sound like I’m reading off a youth camp itinerary. But nah. That’s crazy talk.
⚔️= Fantasy; 🚀= Scifi; 👻= Paranormal; 🔍= Mystery; 🌺= Contemporary; 🗝️= Historical; 🌈= LGBTQIAP+
BOOKS – THIS WEEK
Finder by Suzanne Palmer 🚀:
A space adventure story about a repo man who gets caught up in a whirlwind of trouble and lands himself smack dab in the middle of a faction war. I’m reading through it right now and so far it’s uncomplicated fun with a likeable protagonist and charming side characters.
Miranda in Milan by Katharine Duckett ⚔️🗝️🌈:
I couldn’t get to this one last week so take two!
The Binding by Bridget Collins 🗝️⚔️🌈:
I’m excited and worried for this one because everything about the synopsis says this is My Thing–a queer magical gothic story about young man who becomes a bookbinder’s apprentice. Oh and it’s also a story about the power of stories. Please please please be good.
GAMES – We, the Revolution
I only got through, like, an hour of Sekiro last week, but I did get a chance to start and finish this bloodthirsty little gem. We, the Revolution is a visual novel/strategy game where you play as the judge of France’s Revolutionary Tribunal–an official court created by the newly established government to try, imprison, and execute enemies of the French Revolution. I’m still not sure what to feel about it. The experience was…grim and discomforting (not that I expected a game about the French Revolution to be a bundle of laughs), but also really compelling?
So yeah, I’ve been casually sending people to the guillotine in my spare time. Just a typical weekday night.
Pages Below the Vaulted Sky 
I’ve got Finder and The Binding to read this month too, basically I have way too many April books and I’m a little stressed😬
LikeLiked by 1 person
It seems like EVERYTHING is coming out this month. Hopefully May will be a little less hectic! 🙂
LikeLike
Where have you been missy? LOL I’ve just been trying to read all the things lol :p
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha I’ve been bouncing back and forth from “okay, I think my blogging/reading pace is back in order” to “OH NO HERE COMES THE SLUMP AGAIN.” 😛
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah ok that’s no fun! Slumps always suck lol. Hopefully it doesn’t last long
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sometimes taking a break from ARCs help, but EVERY book in the world seems to be publishing this month and I don’t really want to fall behind on them. 😛
LikeLiked by 1 person
The weather went from “this feels like June” to “rainy and actually feels like the month it should be” here too. I have no idea what the weather is doing and neither do plants, everything is either blooming early or unusually late.
And I tried to get into Miranda in Milan too, but couldn’t because of the writing – which surprised me, since I had liked Katharine Duckett’s short fiction before. Maybe I’ll give it another try in the future.
I hope The Binding ends up being good!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The flowers here are VERY confused right now. 😀 Half of them started blooming weeks ago and the other half are just starting to catch up.
And I finished Miranda in Milan and I really wanted to love it but it just felt like…half of a story? I think it could have worked better as a novel because neither the worldbuilding or the characters felt fully-developed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If I was still in my previous job I think I’d relish the chance to send some people to the guillotine, but I’m in a happier place at the moment!! 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
ROFL Oh god, I snorted so hard at this. 😂 Glad to hear your current job doesn’t require the use of one!! 😂 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
😁😁 well, you can’t say I’m not entertaining!!
LikeLike
I really enjoyed the Binding. I think the fantasy elements are very low key and it’s much more focused on the relationships but it was quite a compelling read.
Lynn 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
So glad to hear that! I…still haven’t picked it up yet. Still stuck between wanting to read it and fear of being disappointed. 😛
LikeLike
Okay I really want to play that game. It could work well for stress relief 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha well, it starts out being REALLY cathartic and stress-relieving and then it kind of devolved into, “Oh…Oh no. I’ve become a monster” 😛
LikeLike
I love water colouring! The Binding sounds amazing and that cover! Hope you enjoy it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! And watercolouring has become a bit of an obsession. 😀 It’s so soothing!
LikeLike
I love hearing about your well-rounded hobbies, Kathy! I wish I could go kayaking in the ocean on a whim, and how lovely to pier watch, especially knowing the beautiful part of the world you live in! Ahhh! I am hearing so many great things about The Binding and can’t wait for your thoughts on that and all three books. ♥️
LikeLiked by 1 person
I still haven’t got to The Binding yet but hopefully this week! *crosses fingers* I really really love rain, and we haven’t been getting as much of it here in recent years (with global warming and all that), so I’m just trying to soak it all up right now. 😀
LikeLike
Keen to see your thoughts on Miranda in Milan. Hopefully I’ll be able to start that one soon myself. 🙂
LikeLike
Finder sounds like a lot of fun. I like uncomplicated sci-fi from time to time. 😀
LikeLike
I like all your hobbies! It means you can always find something to do haha. Our weather has been super weird lately. We went from 75 degrees (24 Celsius) on Tuesday to a blizzard on Wednesday.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh nooo, a blizzard??? And I thought snow in March was weird and crazy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha its not super weird here, but its also not super common. We had a fairly mild beginning to our winter so its not surprising we are getting late snows.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I 100% feel the exact same way about The Binding; it’s one that could be wonderful for me because the synopsis basically fits me like a glove but that’s also the reason why it could definitely disappoint me viciously if it doesn’t hold up to my high expectations ahh. Hope you enjoy it! c:
LikeLiked by 1 person
I still haven’t even started on it yet! Way too nervous. 😀 And there are several books milling around on my bookshelf that I haven’t picked up because of that fear of disappointment. Sigh.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope your enjoy The Binding! I finished it recently and enjoyed it SO much. It wasn’t really what I was expecting but the writing was just incredible. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
AHHH that’s so awesome to hear! I still need to get to it (I’ve been sick for the past several days so my reading pace for this week has been totally off), but I’ll go into it with high hopes when I do!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You like curling?? And rainy boating??… And Strategy games?!? I always knew we were destined to be besties. Lol! AND I MISSED YOU!! I’m going to be trying to pop back. (Ya. I know. I’ve said THAT before!) 😅 good to hear you’re doing well!
LikeLike
MISSED YOU TOO!! ❤ ❤ I've been in and out of reading/blogging slumps and I think (??) I'm finally back on track! And hahaha I'm like 80% sure there's something in Canada's waters that eventually makes everyone into rabid curling fans. I've gotten soooo obsessed with in the past 5 years. 😀
LikeLike