Hi. Hello. Yes, I’m still alive.
Maybe you’ve noticed—or maybe you haven’t—that it’s been a while since I last posted. Based on my last post it’s been about two months, though it feels like much longer. Honestly even writing this now feels weird.
As I’m sure many of you are aware, things are pretty chaotic right now, like, all over the world. Other than my family being home all the time, my life hasn’t changed much—this has been an eye-opening time of reflection for me. I may have to leave my house more once we’re all allowed to.
I wish I could say I’ve been super productive during this time, but I really haven’t. The general uncertainty of the last couple months have thrown me into a bit of a reading/blogging slump as I basically did everything BUT read in March and April.
RIP my Goodreads goal.
In this time I’ve read exactly one book, and oddly enough, it was on magic mushroom cultivation. A book, by the way, I picked up purely out of curiosity—totally not growing shrooms over here.
I’ve continued to haul books, of course, but at a slower rate than before thankfully. And while I’m not finishing books, I have recently started forcing myself to read a few of the books I really want to finish (hopefully) in May.
CURRENTLY READING
1. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole | Reading this for a thing I’ll talk more about later.
2. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer | Rereading in physical form after loving the audiobook.
3. Lobizona by Romina Garber | Just started this in preparation for a blog tour I’m participating in.
4. Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare | Forcing myself to get back into this because I was really enjoying it.
HAUL
1. Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare | No explanation needed
2. The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James | BOTM March pick
3. A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow | ARC
4. Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim | ARC, much anticipated sequel, Book 1 review
5. The White Album by Joan Didion | Abbi Jacobson mentioned this in her memoir
6. Wild by Cheryl Strayed | Loved the audiobook, wanted a physical copy
7. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer | Loved the audiobook, wanted a physical copy
8. The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kid | BOTM May pick
In lieu of reading, I’ve spent this time doing a number of other things. I kicked the quarantine off with kind-of-homeschooling children (would not recommend), this is when I believe I abandoned blogging. I was not meant to be a teacher.
My family and I have watched way too many horror movies. I’ve begun watching a few new shows—most notably, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (so good), and The Midnight Gospel (mind-blowingly deep for an animated show). And I finally began watching the Paradise Lost documentaries I’ve been eyeing for about half a decade.
Outside of TV/Film, I’m replaying GTA V for the millionth time, and I’ve been taking time to explore the discographies of artists I enjoy. The more I listen to King Krule, the more I love him—and I’ve been obsessed with this pop-punk sound MGK’s been playing around with recently (listen to My Bloody Valentine!).
Some fun updates: my sister’s cat hoe’d one too many times and now I’ll be getting two kittens in about four weeks. I’ll introduce them in a post sometime after, with pictures, of course.
I bought my very first plant (English Ivy). I love it, and so far, it hasn’t died.
I’ve also finally gotten new bookshelves and I absolutely love them. I had hoped when planning them that they would be big enough to fit all my books while leaving me room to grow, but I underestimated how much space I would need, so it looks like I’ll be adding more shelves somewhere else in my room.
In the process of getting those shelves set up, I began KonMari-ing my possessions. It’s been interesting, and I’ve found it relieves stress for me. I highly recommend this.
I’ve decided to dye my hair green, which will be a first for me. I’m thinking about facial piercings I don’t need again, and I’m trying to convince myself not to shave part of my head because I know I’ll regret it immediately. So, you know, my self-isolation is going just fine.
I hope everyone is being smart when they go out, and that you’re all doing well. I have loads of posts in the works right now and intend to have some up soon, so stay tuned for those!
How are you coping with the world right now?
Follow DegenerateReads for more bookish content. As always, social media links are below—and thanks for reading!
∇ Follow Me! ∇
Bookstagram • Twitter • Goodreads • Facebook
DegenerateReads 