Tag: reading

Monthly Digest

Monthly Digest | January 2022

bookishluna5 Comments

Hello and welcome to the first Monthly Digest of 2022! This month was VERY chaotic personally with work, getting sick, and just a lot of stuff that needed my attention. Somehow I managed to find time to read, make, and do some other fun things.

Reading

My reading mojo is back! I was able to finish 9 books, which is a shock because I only read 1 last month. I really was afraid that trend was going to continue. I found some winners this month and unfortunately not so great ones, but I am glad I read them.

Crochet, Knitting and Crafting

Apiarist Cowl by Claire Borchardt in red.

The first project I finished this year was the Apiarist Cowl by Claire Borchardt. This was my first time needing a cable needle and I was very intimidated at first. As I worked through it, it became easier. Funny how that happens! lol. I really loved how this came out because I have been using it every day since. It is cute, warm, and soft as can be.

Musselburgh by Ysolda Teague in a gray.

The second item I finished was also a winter accessory, a Musselburgh by Ysolda Teague. This was an impulse make through and through. I had to put working on socks aside because I was unable to see the person I was making them for so I needed something else to work on. I ended up using fingering scraps from an old project. I love how this hat ended up coming out. I have not used it yet because I still need to block the hat, but I am waiting to have to block a few more things.

Life

This month was a really weird one to say the least. But, with that being said, I managed to make some pretty great memories. I went to a paint class with my friend and had a blast! I have not painted in a very long time so it was great to do something different and have some great conversation. I also somehow was able to order a new graphics card for my computer so once that arrives I can install it and hopefully finally finish my play through of Resident Evil Village and actually see what is going on. So, while January was really chaotic, some great things came out of it.

Sign Off 2020
Sign off, thanks for reading!

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Monthly Digest

Monthly Digest | December 2021

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Hello and welcome to a fairly short recap of what what reading, crafting, and life was like over the past month. This final month of 2021 was faster than I care to admit, but it was still filled with some great things. I am really overall happy with how this month went, but also this past year. Even with everything going on I feel like it was an improvement from the year before and I hope that next year is even better than this one for myself and all of you. I am wishing you all a wonderful 2022! Now, on to how my month was.

Reading

This month was a bit weird when it came to reading. I ended up only reading one book, The Bear and the Paving Stone by Toshiyuki Horie and translated by Geraint Howells, I ended up giving it 4 stars. As for a book haul I picked up 5 books only because of the 50% off hardcover sale at BN. If you want to see the books I picked up from that haul you can see that in my post; Barnes and Noble 50% Hardcover Haul.

Crochet, Knitting and Crafting

As for crafting, knitting, and crocheting I ended up finishing all of my WIPs so I can start off 2022 with a clean slate. I already know the first project I am going to be casting on. I completed the 2021 12 Days of Tosh Advent Crochet Cowl designed by Toni Lipsey of TL Yarn Crafts, who is just an amazing designer. The colors were just so beautiful and it was a blast to work on for the first 12 days of December. Next I finished the Kari Shawl by Sari Nordlund. I absolutely love how it came out and I can’t wait to block it and use it! The last project I finished this month is Modern Double Crochet V-Stitch Blanket by Daisy Farm Crafts. I have been working on this blanket on and off since 2019 so I am happy to finally be able to use it!

Life

This month was a bit of a roller coaster of good news and some bummer news, but overall the month was really awesome. I got to catch up with some friends I had lost touch with due to our busy lives. I got to go to a traditional tea, which was very lovely! I didn’t do much outside this month, it was a bit too cold for me personally, but I got to spend a lot of time with my loved ones and catching up with friends and honestly, that was the beat part of this month.

Sign Off 2020
Sign off, thanks for reading!

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Reading Challenges

My 2022 Goals and Challenges

bookishluna10 Comments

Hello and welcome to my blog! Today I will be talking about a few of the goals I have for myself in the coming year. I always love setting goals for myself, but I also know they are not the end all be all because a lot can change over a years time. This year I plan on sharing some of my reading goals, crafting goals and even a few life goals I have for myself.

Reading Goals

Life Goals

  • See a new place
  • Teach myself something new

Maker Goals

  • Knit a sweater
  • Knit 6 pairs of socks
  • Crochet a sweater
  • Create 10 things with my hands
Sign Off 2020
Sign off, thanks for reading!

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Monthly Digest

Monthly Digest | October 2021

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tea and books on a bench

Reading

Total TBR Count: 36, Last Month: 35

Crochet & Crafting

This month I was thankfully able to finish SO MANY presents I wanted to get done. I finished two different stockings following the pattern
Reindeer Stocking by Sincerely Pam, a cowl to donate, and a blanket following Golden Granny Blanket by ChiWei Ranck pattern. Then after that I made my scarf for this year, I made the pattern Super Scarf with Pockets by Lion Brand Yarn and I love it because it gives me extra pockets! You can never have enough of those. I am really thrilled with all I was able to accomplish crafting wise. I really didn’t think I was going to have time to start let alone finish my scarf.

Life

apples on an apple tree

This past month has been filled with a lot of adventures, but my favorite would have to be going apple picking with my significant other. It was a really beautiful day, the sun was out and it wasn’t too hot or too cold out. We decided to try all the types of apples and picked one of each kind on top of what I needed to make an apple pie. I never made an apple pie before so that was a fun little experiment that ended up delicious.

Another fun adventure was my significant other and myself also went to Princeton and walked around the downtown and around the campus. It was another lovely time just spending outside and enjoying our surroundings. On top of that we got some delicious tea and then did some book shopping, pictured at the top of this post. I have really been exploring Stoicism and I was able to find a few books on the topic so I was thrilled.

Sign Off 2020
Thanks for Reading! Sincerely, Luna

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Monthly Digest

Monthly Digest | September 2021

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Reading

Total TBR Count: 35, Last Month: 33

Crochet & Crafting

This month I am thrilled to say I finished my first pair of knitted socks and I already cast on another pair. I don’t think I will be working on this second pair anytime soon because I have a few gifts I want to get through first before making something for myself. In addition to that I also finished my poncho/sweater I was working on for months. I feel like this month was really LETS GET EVERYTHING DONE! It really felt great to finish both of these because the socks are my first knitted project ever and the poncho is the first wearable I did in the round so it was challenging, but really rewarding because it came out wonderfully and I can’t wait to wear it when it gets colder.

Life

This month has been a bit of an adventure in a few ways, but I am happy to say I was able to go apple picking with my boyfriend and we were able to pick a few different kinds just to try and then enough to make some delicious treats! I love going to pick my own apples, but pick my own food in general. It is so fresh and the flavors are just so much better in my option because of it.

On top of that I decided take these monthly goals I have for myself and get a little whiteboard and put them up in the room to really make sure I meet the fun goals I have set for myself not just the adulting ones I need to do. I want to make the fun things I want to do a priority too. So, I picked up a cute little white board and decorated it a bit and picked up some fun colors to use. I am adding a section for the goals I have, my tbr, but also my current yarn projects. Turns out I was in the middle of more than I thought. I am loving having these things in one place so I can really focus and see what I have going on. Organization at its finest!

Sign Off 2020
Thanks for Reading! Sincerely, Luna

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Reading Challenges

Replacing My Screen Time

bookishluna7 Comments

Hello and welcome to a post where I am going to share my experience attempting to replace my screen time with some reading instead. I have been seeing this concept shared by a few booktubers such as The Book Leo and Spoopyhol. I thought it was a really fun idea and would be a great way to put my energy in enjoying my hobbies and not just looking at a screen mindlessly. This really goes hand in hand with me wanting to take a few ideas from my recent read, Thinking Like a Roman Emperor and implementing them. I did a whole review on this book, you can read that here: Reading Taste Test | @jacksepticeye. Anyway, here is what happened throughout my attempt to replace my screen time!

screen time data

To start off I needed to take a look at my screen time for the previous week and I ended up spending 1h 48min a day on my phone. This is actually better than I thought it would be, but to think of reading that much a day seems like it might be a bit difficult. Also, I am going to be monitoring or tracking my reading using an app called Study Bunny and set it to 110m, which is the equivalent to 1h 50m.

Screen shot of Study Bunny

Monday, August 2nd: Read from 13% to 100% of The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar. I ended up reading a total of 2h 15m.

Tuesday, August 3rd: Started reading Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobbs and ended on page 154. I read for 1h 50m.

Wednesday, August 4th: Oops life got in the way. So my time for the day was 0h 0m. I am hoping to make this up before the week is over so I can get the time in.

Thursday, August 5th: Continued reading Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobbs I started on page 154 and ended on page 296. I read for the full 1h 50m.

Friday, August 6th: Continued reading Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobbs I started on page 296 and read until page 398. Following reading my tome for the entire 110m, I ended up reading two short stories, Snow Flakes by Ruth Ware and then Treasure Oyinkan Braithwaite. I read both of these short stories back to back and added another 40m to my reading for a total of 3h 40m.

Saturday, August 7th: The first section of reading was the daily amount of 110 min and I read from pages 398 to 547. Later in the day I decided to read some more. I ended up making it to page 631 and took the days total to 3h 13m.

Sunday, August 8th: The last day of the challenge and I was determined to finish this read to end this challenge with the book, I thought it would be fun. I read from page 631 to page 880. The total time of reading for the day ended up being 3h 19m.

Reading Time Graph

Number of hours of required reading was 12h 50m or 770m. I ended up reading a total of 16 hours and 7 min this past week. I ended up exceeding my goal, even though I missed a day of reading, which I am proud of. I thought I would have a hard time trying to make up the missed day, but it all worked out in the end! I am really glad I ended up taking on this challenge and I hope to try another reading challenge in the future!

Sign Off 2020
Thanks for Reading! Sincerely, Luna

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Monthly Intent · To Be Read

Monthly Intent | August 2021

bookishluna4 Comments
Books I plan on reading this month!

Hello and welcome to my monthly intent post for August! I hope everyone has a lovely July, and August will even better! This month I have quite a few things I would like to see or give a try. I am really hoping the weather ends up cooperating because a lot of them are outdoorsy or a DIY I would need good ventilation.

Reading Plans

This upcoming month I have three books I really would love to get to. The first one being Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann, I have wanted to read this for months and for some reason I just have not picked it up. I was in a bit of a slump after the first few months of the year, so I am going to blame it on that. Thankfully, I think it is starting to go away since my reading has gone up a bit the last few months. Next, I really would love to read Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin. I read Fever Dream by the same author and I really loved it so I have very high hopes. Her last one had a bit of a horror twist that I was not expecting. I want to slowly read all of her stuff. Last, but not least is Writing on Stone by Christina Marsden Gillis. I recently picked this up, but I just want to get to it right away! It’s a nonfiction about a small island community in Maine.

Crochet Plans

This month I want to finally finish my Macchiato Crochet Poncho created by BrianaKdesigns. I am loving how it is coming out and I just cannot wait to get to wear it in the fall. Another thing I want to attempt to do is knit a pair of socks. I signed up for a class of sorts to try and learn, we shall see how it goes! I do not have the highest of hopes, BUT I am excited to give it a try and also have the support if I need it. Even if they come out wonky I will love them. I might just hang them on the wall as an art piece instead of functioning socks though. lol. If I happen to have time I have a few smaller projects I want to work on to try to get ahead on gifts during the holiday season.

Random Goals

This month I have it in my head to dye my own yarn. I found a method using blackbeans and I was thinking of giving it a go. The post I found is called Natural Dyeing with Black Beans by fiberartsy. I just need to find the right kind of yarn to dye, I feel like that is going to be the most difficult. I want to use a cotton, but we shall see! Next, I really want to go to an art museum of some sort. I have a few that are within my state so I am trying to decide which one I would feel the most comfortable going to.

What are you planning on doing this month?

Sign Off 2020

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Reading Challenges

2021 Mid-Year Check-In

bookishluna14 Comments

Hello lovely people and welcome to my 2021 mid-year check in for my goals. If you would like to see my origional post you can find that here, Reading Challenge | 2021 Reading Goals. I went kind of easy on myself this year, but to be honest the 2020 was a bit hectic in quite a few ways. I wanted to really tailor my goals to what I truly wanted and not try to compete with anyone.

Use Library Monthly

So far I have stuck to this goal very well. Even if I owned a book I used my local library to read the book digitally when on the go or used the library as my only copy of a book. I am still not comfortable going to borrow a physical copy of books just yet, so I am using their digital services at this point of the year,

Twelve Non-fiction Books

I am actually ahead on this goal, which thrills me honestly. I have read a total of 9 non-fiction books at this point. The books I have read that meet this goal are; A Promised Land by Barack Obama, Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other by Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish, The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi by Richard Grant, White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad, World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History by Tori Telfer, The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary by Catherine Gray, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein and Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde.

Read 50 Books

I am excited to say I am also ahead on this goal as well, at the time of writing this I have read a total of 42 books! If you want the most up to date read count for the year you can check out my goodreads challenge page.

This is where my goals kind of take a turn. The past few ones I have been pretty on top of, but from here on out I have made progress in almost each of the goals, but have not quite on track. Ooops.

Read International Booker Prize Shortlist 2020

The good news is I have read two books from this list, you can see a more detailed post talking about Hurricane Season and The Memory Police here: Reading Challenge | Reading a Shortlist Vol. 1 Update. The bad news is I have 4 more to read. I will say, I am glad I have 6 months to read 4 books, that is very doable and I plan on continuing to work towards achieving this goal.

Read The Farseer Trilogy & Liveship Traders Trilogy

Once again, I have read two books towards this goal. I have read the first two books of The Farseer Trilogy, which I really enjoyed so I cannot wait to continue. I do have all the books either physically or digitally to meet this goal and I plan on doing just that.

Reread The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilology

This is where I start to hang my head in shame. I have not attempted to pick up these books at all so far this year. I love them so much, but the mood has not hit me at all the first half of the year. I am hoping that this changes very soon.

Keep TBR under 10 Books

Last year I got my TBR down to 0 books. I wanted to keep my owned TBR under 10 books going forward, but I am at about 30 books as of writing this. I am not totally happy with it being this high, but I am really happy that it is not as high as it once was. This is what happens when you have some holidays, birthdays, and sales.

Sign Off 2020

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Monthly Digest

Monthly Digest | June 2021

bookishluna7 Comments

Hello and welcome to a run down of my past month. If you follow me over on twitter you will have seen that I want to share a bit more than just reading books with everyone so my monthly wrap ups are going to be sharing, of course, books, but also a few more things as well. Each month what I share might be different, but I want to share something that sticks out as a propionate memory or just some random things that sparked my interest. I hope you enjoy!

Reading

Current TBR Count is at 33 books.

Crochet & Crafting

This past month has been fun for crafting and crocheting. I completed my first granny square sweater without a pattern! I never really made anything before without a pattern and I actually really loved how it came out. On top of that I made quite a few market bags and made a huge chunk of progress in my ally blanket. I am hoping to finish that in the near future, I have never done a graphgan before and it takes a lot more time than I thought it would, but I am really liking how it is coming out.

On top of that I figured out how to transfer images to wood using Mod Podge, I feel like I am going to be using that in quite a few things in the future. I tested it out by making myself my own rune plate on a piece of cut wood. It came out fabulous! If I bought the same thing it would have been easily $35, I made it myself for about $12. This is one of the reasons why I love DIY so much!

Life

This past month I have been doing a lot of deep cleaning. I don’t know if it is because I am doing Summer cleaning instead of Spring cleaning, but I have been feeling the itch to purge a bunch of stuff I have not used in a while and clothing that isn’t really my style anymore. I have really been trying to acquire clothing and things I like and are truly my style. I think being at home so much over the past year I have kind of figured out what I really enjoy and want in my space. I think this month was just the month where I really started to follow through on it.

Anyway, that has been a bit of an incite into my life over the past month. I didn’t really make notes throughout this month because I didn’t know the direction I wanted this blog to go in, but now that I have an idea I think in next months digest you will see the difference. I hope you had a wonderful June!

Sign Off 2020

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Wrap Up

Middle Mark | March 2021

bookishluna5 Comments

Hello and welcome to my middle of the month reading check in! This month my reading is kind of slumpy. I think because I have so much going on this month I am just so exhausted when I do have some down time. But, I have managed to make some progress in quite a few books. Anyway, here is what I read and what I am in the middle of.

This Little Dark PlaceThis Little Dark Place by A.S. Hatch
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A long winded dark tale told through letters that jumps around in time. I did a full review on this book as a separate post earlier this month. I was not a huge fan overall, but it had some good aspects to it.

View all my reviews

Royal Assassin: The Illustrated Edition by Robin Hobb, I am currently at 22% through this book and I am still enjoying this series very much. I might even pick up the second book in the series right after I finish this one. It is a very interesting world and I really like the characters as well. I am truly invested in this trilogy!

An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, this is the 7th book in the Outlander series and what a tome it is! I am currently 13% into it this one and I invested it this one as well. I keep switching between the two of my current reads. Since this is the 7th book, I don’t want to talk about what is happening, but this series really is a blast because it touches on so much history.

What have you read so far this month or what are you currently reading?

Sign Off 2020

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