Hello all,
Welcome to my first wrap-up of 2023! This is my winter 2023 wrap-up and will cover January and February. Let’s take a look at what I’ve been enjoying so far in 2023…
Books
Let’s start with what you’re all here for – books. January was an excellent reading month for me, while February has been a little slow. Here are my favorite reads from January and February:
Greywaren (The Dreamer Trilogy #3) by Maggie Stiefvater
The end of an era for me. I’ve been a fan of Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle trilogy for years and was so excited that she was continuing this universe with a spinoff series focused on my favorite character, Ronan. That spinoff trilogy has come to its end and according to Stiefvater, so has the Raven Cycle world. I don’t normally trust spinoffs, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the Dreamer Trilogy, including Greywaren.. I’ll miss these characters and this world so much! (Though I know I can always go back!)
Atomic Habits by James Clear
This was a new year’s read for me, especially as I’ve been struggling to create some kind of routine since finishing grad school in the spring. I always suggest to take self-help books with a grain of salt and a bit of a side eye, and Atomic Habits is no different. That being said, I did find this one to be both interesting and useful. There were loads of great tips on how to start simple and small with implementing changes into your life, and I really think this book is a game changer for looking at your day-to-day if you want to make changes. Reading Atomic Habits is actually what inspired me to reimplement writing and blogging into my life. So without my reading it, you may not be reading this post!
Babel by R.F. Kuang
I was a bit nervous about this one given its page count (and incredibly small font). I tend to find big books daunting, and I often get bored with them because they take so long to finish. But it only took me a little over a week to finish this one; I never wanted to put it down. I loved the overarching message about oppression, colonialism, and passivity. And while I only speak one language so I couldn’t truly appreciate Kuang’s commentary on the impossibility of true translation, I do have some experience with translation theory from my literature courses in college that made this particular theme catch my attention. And I’m giving bonus points for how deeply attached I was to some of these characters, which rarely happens for me reading a stand-alone novel. Just all around adored this one despite it’s heavy topics and tense plot. Highly recommend.
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
I also finally got around to reading this lovely graphic memoir. I’ve been really interested in gender theory recently, but mostly I’ve been interested in reading about real people’s personal experiences coming to terms with differing gender identities (rather than clinical or academic perspectives). Kobabe’s memoir is very candid, sad and challenging at times, but mostly funny and heartwarming. I really enjoyed this book, enough that though I borrowed it from my library, I’m considering purchasing a copy of my own as I know I’ll want to go back to it more than once.
Games
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
I’ve been revisiting Breath of the Wild recently for two reasons. One: in an attempt to actually beat the game before the sequel comes out in May. But I’ve actually been replaying it since prior to the announcement of the second game’s release date, because two: in the fall I wanted a cozy game I could just fall into since I was struggling mentally at the time, and Breath of the Wild was just what I needed. Then, a few months later, the trailer for the sequel dropped. Perfect timing! Now to actually beat Ganon….
Slime Rancher 2
I’ve also recently started playing Slime Rancher 2. Though I’m relatively new to farming sims and they can overwhelm me, I had a good time playing the first Slime Rancher. So far, I think I’m enjoying the second one even more! And the game is still in early access, which means all of the areas and features aren’t fully in the game yet, so there’s still more to come! I can’t wait to see what the devs have in store for the future of the game. You’ll probably be hearing about it again in a future wrap-up!
Music
Midnights by Taylor Swift
There isn’t much music in particular that I’m listening to at the moment. Mostly I’ve been looking for new stuff and listening to one particular playlist I made to psych myself up for the new year (I actually just checked my Spotify “On repeat” playlist and its entirely songs from my motivation playlist I’ve been listening to all year.) But I have to give a shoutout to Taylor Swift’s Midnights (check out the Midnights book tag I did last week!). I wasn’t blogging when it originally came out in the fall, and it wasn’t actually my favorite at first. But I’ve found myself coming back to it often in the last few weeks, which is kind of a trend for me and Swift’s albums.
TV & Movies
I have no TV or movies I’ve been watching recently, though there are a lot of upcoming releases that I’m looking forward to (most particularly Shadow and Bone season 2, Heartstopper season 2, and the Red, White, and Royal Blue movie). I’m sure I’ll be sharing my thoughts on those, so keep an eye out!
And that was my winter 2023! I cannot believe it’s already nearly March! This year has been flying by at a tremendous and terrifying speed. I’m just trying to hang in there. Next week, I’ll be posting my spring 2023 TBR. See ya’ll back here then!
The Infinite Bookcase 