Wrap Up - February 2018

As always I'm a bit late, but I'm finally going to start writing monthly wrap ups! This is something I've been wanting to do for ages but as with everything that I think is a good idea it's taken me bloody ages to get around to it.

February felt like a really productive month, I did a lot of degree-related stuff as well as organising my blog a little more (fingers crossed I actually stick to my schedule...). Also, this month I discovered that I can borrow audiobooks from the library which has revolutionised my journeys to and from uni!

Books Read

Total books read: Five

Physical books: Three

Audiobooks: Two

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling - My first audiobook choice from the library because Stephen Fry reading this series may be the most soothing thing in the whole world!

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas - This was an ongoing read because throughout Jan and the #MHBookBingo I was reading this on the side so it took me ages. But ultimately I did really enjoy it, I forget how much I love fantasy and I need to make sure I read more this year!

Love, Simon by Becky Albertalli

Rating:

Published: 30th January 2018
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 303
Synopsis from Goodreads: Straight people should have to come out too. And the more awkward it is, the better. 
Simon Spier is sixteen and trying to work out who he is - and what he's looking for. 
But when one of his emails to the very distracting Blue falls into the wrong hands, things get all kinds of complicated.
Because, for Simon, falling for Blue is a big deal . . .

I received a copy of this book through my book club (Liverpool One Waterstones YA Book Club!) which has in no way impacted my thoughts! A big thanks to Penguin for sending us copies 😄


This has been on my TBR since it first came out in 2015 yet for some reason I need got around to it and honestly I was missing out! This book is fun and cute and all round good!

Mental Health Mondays #19 : Being taken seriously

If you've been following my posts for a while you'll be aware that I've had a bit of an up and down journey with the mental health services. I've been treated well and badly and then slightly better and then worse again which unsurprisingly has left me somewhat sceptical. For this reason and the recent changes in my situation I wanted to take time this week to let you all know that I'm finally being treated well and it feels very strange but very good!

Within the last month or so I finally got a disability support plan for my degree and, much to my surprise, they didn't tell me I was making a fuss over nothing but actually suggested numerous options which may be of help to me. As a result of this I have finally got support in my department at uni should I have issues, particularly with reaching deadlines, and if I need any assistance!

Sar vs TBR Episode I

Okay so it has previously become apparent that monthly TBR features just don't work for me because I enjoy writing them but then never read any of the books that I put on them so instead I'm introducing a new version of the same thing where I highlight a few of the books that have been gathering dust on my shelves in the past *coughs* 5+ years that I actually want to read this year and hopefully make myself excited to read them!

For now I'm going to pick five and then maybe I'll do another post once I've made some progress:

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed.

Honestly, why is haven't I read this yet? I know I need to!!

Mental Health Mondays #18: Romance & MH in Books

So it's Valentine's this week and I thought now was as good a time as any to write a little post on why I find the "romance making individual with mental health issues magically better" trope so frustrating.

Basically I'm just going to go on a little rant...

Mental Health Mondays #17: 2018 reboot

Hey, hi, hello, welcome! In case you hadn't noticed I've not written one of these posts for quite some time due to a wide range of factors (largely exam related). So for the sake of this post I'd appreciate it if everyone could just pretend that I haven't entirely missed out on posting in January! I'd like to take a little time to chat through the kinds of things I'm hoping to do with this feature in 2018, mostly because I need to plan it and I am currently very much lacking in inspiration for where to start with writing MHM's again. Hopefully this will help?!

Anyway here goes with my 2018 Mental Health Mondays aims/plans/goals/whatsits:

Mental Health Book Bingo Reviews #1: 10 Things I Can See From Here & Countless

As is always the way when it comes to my blog (and my life in general shh) I started my #MHBookBingo month with a plan and I was going to write reviews as I went and read a lot. But of course, the three exams and the ongoing stress and mental health problems decided different and the month is shockingly almost over and I've not written a review! Anyway, I've decided to remedy this by just posting my thoughts on the first two books that I've read for the bingo and then I'll do a second post when the month is over. But for now, I hope you enjoy these reviews!