Happy September, friends ☀️ This year’s flying by, really. Let’s wrap-up the past month together!
I can’t believe it’s September already. Where has this year gone by and why??
August was an all ups and downs kind of month. It started nicely with my family coming to visit for the first time since I moved back in November and we spent a lovely time, walked a bit too much and visited a lot. I also got lucky enough to go on holidays with my two favorite people in the world for a couple days and it was such a nice breath of fresh air, I wish it could have lasted a bit longer.
At the middle of the month, I started something new professionnally and well, for now I’m still anxious and a bit stressed out, since it’s the beginning, but still hoping for the best. Fingers crossed.
I hope you’re all taking care of yourselves, friends.
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I haven’t read as much as before this month, with the holidays and the new job and trying to get into the new rhythm of it, too. I’ve read some books I overall really enjoyed, though, so I’d say that’s a win!
KEEP MY HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO ☂️ I had a lot of fun with this book! If I still prefered Between You, Me and the Honeybees by the author, I still enjoyed this one, the lovely friends to lovers romance and the mental health discussion.
💧 Read my review – Buy the book on: Amazon – Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT ☂️ This one was such a fun ride. It’s a veeeeeeeeery slow burn f/f romance in Hollywood and I had a lot of fun reading it overall.
💧 Buy the book on: Amazon – Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
NOT HERE TO BE LIKED ☂️ My favorite of the month! I loved this one. The main character’s amazing, I loved the discussions on feminism and sexism and overall, 200% recommending this book.
💧 Buy the book on: Amazon – Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
FRESH ☂️ My expectations weren’t quite met with this one. I hoped for something great dealing with the first year of college, but I had a bit of a hard time with the narrative voice, at first and thought it could have been… different, in some ways. I was entertained, but that’s it.
💧 Buy the book on: Amazon – Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s
Goodreads challenge: 31/60 books
I’m still behind and thinking about lowering my goal, just to stress myself out a bit less… maybe.
Writing hasn’t been the best this past month, either. Being busy all month long, I didn’t have time… correction. I didn’t take time to focus on my story, either. Being too tired on the evenings and coming in later than I used to hasn’t helped me with wanting to open my laptop and work on my WIP, either.
So… I don’t know how much I wrote in the past month, but not a lot at all. I’m hoping that I can find a new rhythm where I can try and take some time for this second draft and… you know, not take another year to finish it.
Even if, let’s face it, I know it will probably take me another year to finish it.
How do people with full time jobs write, I ask. I seem to have forgotten. I’m sad.
Despite everything, I managed to keep my usual blogging schedule… not sure how, maybe I forced it a little bit. I’m still happy about the posts I managed to write, especially the one on my blogging tools, which took me like, 4 days overall to wrap-up.
I’m stuck between the need to relax and do nothing and the guilt of not putting out any content and not being there for other bloggers, as well. There’s so much I want to do and I feel like I need more hours every day to try and do them all.
I also want to keep on working on sending newsletters, but while I figure out how to add that to my schedule…I’m trying my best. You can subscribe here if you’d like, I promise I’m sending some fun behind the scenes (hopefully) and hosting some giveaways when I can, just for you:
On the blog this month: book reviews
On the blog this month: blogging, books & more
It’s been a month filled with book recommendations, apparently! Nyx shared some excellent YA books for the back to school season that I highly recommend you check out. I personally wrote about YA books with friendships, as well as young adult books with no romance. Or well, not that much, because we need these stories, too.
My essential and free tools to blogging is the biggest post I worked on this month, both in terms of time spent putting it all together and … well, length, but I’m pretty happy I did it and hope it’s useful to some people!
As you know, I’m always reading all of your comments, so if you have any blog posts you’d like to see from me, please feel free to let me know!
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It’s been another real bad month, blog-hopping wise. I hope I can do better this September to visit your lovely blogs! In the meantime, if you have a blog post you’d like to share with me, feel free to do so in comments!
How was your month? Do you have any advice to get used to a new rhythm to… find more time to do the things I love?? Please share. I’m in need.
I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
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I’ll probably sound like a broken record here, but you’re never going to find the time, you’ve got to make the time. I have a full-time & part-time job, and whenever I have free time at work, even if it’s only going to be ten minutes, I’ll quickly open a Word doc and dash out as many words as possible. I read on my lunch to make sure I get some words read during the day to keep my creative energy flowing, and I’ll set aside Netflix or lounging on my phone for making space to write in the evenings. If you want it to happen, you’ve got to make it happen. Treat it like something you can’t live without, or something that makes you happy and relaxed, like Netflix, and make it a habit. It’s hard, and writing is exhausting, but if you love it, the time will be there when you look for it.
I know that, that’s why I wrote that I didn’t make time, rather than didn’t find time :). I admire that whenever you have free time at work, you can do this, that’s great! It’s definitely a habit to take. It’s one I had taken before, but with my new job and the different schedule and commute and longer hours I just need to work out a different schedule for myself, now, to be able to fit this in between, well, you know, having decent sleep, too, ahah. I’ll figure it out 🙂
I’m happy to hear that you were able to go on holiday, Marie ❤ Not Here to be Liked hadn’t been on my radar before, but it sounds really great! I have my semester break but I’m already worrying about putting out content during the semester when things get stressful 😅 The one thing I always do is plan everything in Notion, so that helps a bit!
Thank you so much Caro <3 I'm glad that Notion has been helpful to you, too! It feels good to have a plan, it always makes me feel a bit better ahah :)
Your August sounds like how my September is going to be, busy, busy, busy! 😅 I don’t know how I’m going to get everything I’d like to get done but I’m going to try! I guess this is also a time for me to try and relax on my reading/blogging! Here’s to happy readings for September! ❤️😊
Ahh, best of luck to you for everything and I hope that you can take a bit of time to relax, too <3
Thank you, same to you! ❤️😊
You know my stance on goodreads goals – there’s no shame in lowering it at any given time. I once lowered mine during the last week of December haha I just wanted to reach it so bad, but the stress ain’t worth it.
You did so great on the blog and in life considering all these new changes that came with the job!! I’m so proud of you and hope that you give yourself a break with writing and blog hopping, because sometimes life is just a tiny bit too busy.
I won’t share my Sebastian Stan post here, because you’ve already supported it so much on Twitter and whenever we talked! Thanks for being such a great friend <3
Thank you so, so much Kat, you’re the sweetest. <3 I'm trying to give myself a break, but I also want to do it all and ahhhh. I need my mind to calm down haha.
I hope September will be wonderful to you <3
happy for you that you got to spend time with your family!! <3 i also haven't touched my wip v much. after going hard and succeeding at camp nano in july, i just let myself take a break and waited til i felt like writing a bit more of my story, and i only just did that the other night :') how did i not realise that you have a newsletter?! subscribed right away! i'm working on starting one myself actually, but, like you, it's all about fitting into my schedule x
Thank you so much, Macey! I’m so happy you’ve been feeling like writing a bit more again and hope this continues! <3 And I hope you'll get a chance to start a newsletter, I'd love to subscribe :)
I hope September will be lovely to you!
This year really did fly by it seems! Crazy that it’s already September! *shocked face* Haha. That’s great that you got to visit with your family and go on holidays! I’ve been wanting to take a little trip so bad, but Covid is just too much here right now again, especially in the state that I live. Such a bummer about Fresh. I bought that book in August but haven’t had the chance to read it yet. I totally understand about the blog hopping. I haven’t really done my best with that the last two months. I’m trying to do some now though and hopefully I’ll get back into blogging again like I was before soon. <3 🙂 I hope you have an amazing September, Marie.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts about Fresh, I hope you will enjoy it more than I did! 🙂 I hope September will be kind to you <3
Good luck with the new job, Marie!! I know how stressful that can be and I really hope every day proves to be easier and easier! xx
Thank you so much! I hope you’ve been doing okay <3
august was a month of new professional beginnings for the both of us then, marie! it’s super stressful starting out something new & i definitely sympathize with you in that sense! i hope things are already doing better for now!
it’s lovely you got the chance to go on holidays and hang out with your family! i love whenever you share pictures of all those beautiful locations!
also: as someone who’s working close hours to a full-time job now, i seriously can’t stress enough how people who work + blog + write, like yourself, are HEROES. like, i have NO energy at all in the week days and in the weekends, i have so much college work to do that whenever i can catch a break, i just want to chill. i can’t even think about touching my WIP, moreover actually writing anything!
as a side note: i am loving the newsletter & i am really happy to see you in my inbox every once in a while. it’s a more personal format i think and it makes me feel closer to the writer, which is lovely!
I hope that your new professionnal beginning has been a good one and that you are feeling at ease with it all now! <3
Thank you so, so much for your sweet words, Lais! Honestly, I struggle with balancing it all a lot and I always want to do it all, but I know it's impossible. Some things have to be sacrificed sometimes and... well, let's just hope it's not my mental health too often 😂
OH thank you so much! It means a whole lot that you enjoy it, thank you!! 🥺🥺
Hoping you find your writing groove again this month. I have been slacking on my blog. it has taken a back seat because there is literally no time in the day. I have loved all of your book recs posts this month and the blogging tools posts, I have read maybe three times.
my post: https://blessedmommysc.blogspot.com/2021/09/august-2021-monthly-wrap-up.html
Agree ahah we need way more time every day to do it all. Thank you so, so much for your sweet words! I hope you’re having a lovely month 🙂
I totally understand having a mixed bag of a month! I’m glad you got the chance to see family and travel with loved ones before starting out at your new job! And since I’m a bit late at this point, I’m hoping that it this point it’s gotten a bit easier, even if it’s just a small degree so far!
I haven’t been blog hopping practically all year, and when I do, I’m usually catching up on older posts, so I feel weird mentioning them in my wrap ups, even though I shouldn’t. Maybe I’ll make an end of the year post with all the random backlog of posts I read throughout the year that I adored, but felt weird sharing in monthly wrap ups!
Thank you so, so much Malka! <3 I so get it about blog hopping. I'm so irregular and so late to everything, sometimes I have very old posts I love but... I wonder if it's weird to share them. I still do and plan on doing it. No matter how old a blog post is, I'm sure it still makes people happy to see they're read and enjoyed :D