February. This means Spring is around the corner as well as a little bit of sun and the days being longer. I love this time of the year.
Although the shortest month of all, February is the hardest when it comes to working. If January is the file your taxes/ getting your shit together month, February is the truly the work work work one.
To be honest, I love being busy. I remember some months ago there was this thread on the Internet about being busy and how you shouldn't be proud of it. I never agreed with that. Being busy means you're keeping your hands moving, preferably in different pies, which also means you can finally buy that jumper you had your eyes on for months. If being busy means I have a bit of financial security then this is all I wanna be all year. Busy busy busy. Doesn't sound that bad to me, tbh.
But with being busy also comes the need to slow down a little bit - will we ever be satisfied with anything in our lives? I'm quite the "get busy/ focused on the task at hand" kinda person until I'm not. Look, I'm a workaholic through and through but give me a show to binge and I'm bye bye bye.
This is also why I like to give myself some goals to work towards, every month and February was no exception. They keep me focused and grounded and feeling like I have my shit together.
A few February goals...
- actually start eating healthy and forget all about the Christmas food bonanza.
- publish five articles par week on Medium throughout the whole month.
- find new revenue streams that keep me creative.
- post on Instagram consistently - because I've been really shit at it the past few months.
- read two books (at least!)
My Goodreads Challenge is doing great, btw, thanks for asking! I feel like I got this under control, I'm two books ahead of schedule so I think I can sleep at night if I don't manage to read two books in February but I will try anyway.
Speaking of books...
I didn't write a specific post to tell you all about my monthly TBR, it's not that I forgot! I think I will do my monthly book picks in a post like this, instead of a short one, what do we think?
Anyway, I've been lucky enough to receive some great books these past few weeks, and it's not like I don't have enough books to build a tower with, but new releases are always a lot more fun to talk about - and read!
A Messy Affair* by Elizabeth Mundy
I'm forever thankful to Little Brown for keeping my TBR incredibly exciting every single month. A messy affair is kind of a fun thriller that takes place in London and deals with reality tv and online dating and how hard it is, sometimes, to discern what's real and what's just for the cameras.
I thought about spicing things up a little and pick this one since I rarely read thrillers but this sounds so fun!
The Stars We Steal* by Alexa Donne
If you're a Booktube habituè then you know Alexa Dunne makes videos about writing. Her tips are A+ and I always wanted to read one of her books. So this is my chance, I guess. The Stars We Steal is loosely based off of Jane Austen's Persuasion (which I haven't read, tbh) but in space! It follows Princess Leonie as she has to save her family from financial ruin marrying a wealthy bachelor. Intrigue, romantic tension, secrets and betrayals, this book has it all, apparently!
Other Words for Smoke* by Sarah Maria Griffin
I was meant to read this beauty last year but now I'm glad I didn't because I can pick it for the Book Club! It's pitched as part Twin Peaks, part Stranger Things and part Sabrina the Teenage Witch so I don't know about you but these are all a win in my book! Other Words for Smoke meant to be a dark, creepy, summery story about a house where strange things happen, a cat who is more than a cat and a dark power that lurks behind the wallpaper. It has dark magic and lots of Irish folklore. I'm definitely here for the ride!
As you can see, I'm on top of my reading game and I hope to keep it that way. Fingers crossed!
How's this fine Sunday treating you?
*All the books mentioned in this post have been #gifted to me by Titan Books and Little, Brown.