Mailbox Monday | Catch Up

MailboxMonday

Hey everybody! I didn’t have a post planned for today but wanted to see how everyone is and share some positive things with you ❤

line break

Related image

WORK 

For those who’ve missed my last few Mailboxes, things haven’t been going great for me at work lately. I had a pretty good weekend at work though, which has really improved my mood and I’m looking into some other employment options to either supplement my weekend hours or possible graduate development programmes to apply for. So I’m feeling a lot more positive today and much less depressed!

Related image

OPPORTUNITIES

I’ve had some exciting new opportunities crop up which I’m really looking forward to. I have my first ever author contact me asking me if I want to review their book which was exciting! I’ve pitched a few more writing ideas to various anthologies and websites, and I’ve completed 2/3 of my first paid writing article. I’ve also just joined the blogging team over at Queerly Reads where I’ll be contributing as a regular blogger and taking part in some of their events.

Image result for yay me gif

Life & Lit

Speaking of events, did you know that I’m one of the moderators on the fantastic facebook group Life & Lit and I’m hosting an LGBTQ+ read for Pride ❤ For Pride month we are running a Blind Date book event where me and 3 other mods including Destiny and Melanie selected our chosen LGBTQ+ book to host. We then announced which book we chose last week and mine is, obviously, The Song of Achilles! If you want to take part in reading The Song of Achilles and participating in the event then you can join in here! Destiny will be hosting How To Make a Wish which you can join here, Melanie has chosen The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo which you can join here, and Terry is hosting Every Heart a Doorway which you can join here!

x4 (5)

Bookish Things

When I went to take my library books back last week I promised myself that I wouldn’t get any more books out. I already have a lot of ARCs I need to get through, AAPI Heritage Month reads, and all of my birthday books that I haven’t yet touched. But of course… it’s never quite that simple. To be fair though, 2 of the books are for the Ramadan Readathon, 1 was Volume 5 of Saga which I breezed through already, one was a book that has been on my TBR since 2012 but have never been able to find anywhere other than Amazon, and the last one is a book which I wanted to read in my first year of uni but never had time! I have very justifiable reasons… obviously…

I won Kate’s ebook giveaway which I’ve been so excited about as it’s the first ever blogger giveaway I’ve won and I’ve requested The Whale Rider which I’m really looking forward to finally reading. It’s been really tough to find books by Pasifika authors, my local library has a grand total of 0, and I don’t have enough money to buy them from Amazon. I did manage to find a copy of Once Were Warriors though on eBay for £2.50 though, and I managed to find another book for AAPI Heritage Month, Flame in the Mist, for £1.80 in a charity shop!

line break

Read this week:

books x 3 (9)

 

Currently Reading:

books x 2 (6)

line break

That’s all from me!
How are you all doing?
How has the past week been for you?


EST. 2015 (1)

GOODREADS / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM / AMAZON / PATREON

Job Rejections & Mental Health

AMentalHealthInterludeFor any of you who read my first installment on Mailbox Monday earlier in the week, you might remember me mentioning that I had a job interview coming up this week. As I currently work part-time, I have been taking a lot of time to think about moving into full-time work within my current organization. For someone with any kind of disability, such a transition can be a big step and it was definitely something that I had spent a lot of time thinking about. Would I be able to cope with working full-time due to fibromyalgia? Would we be able to make alternate arrangements for Achilles as I’m currently his primary carer? Would full-time work actually help improve my health rather than negatively affect it? Would both me and my partner work full-time or would he have to leave his job?

Continue reading “Job Rejections & Mental Health”

ARC Review: Starfish | Healing, Identity, and Belonging

TITLE: Starfish
AUTHOR: Akemi Dawn Bowman
SERIES: N/A
RELEASED: September 2017; Simon Pulse
GENRE: YA Contemporary
FORMAT: e-Book

KEY INFO: #ownvoice, coming of age, healing, family, romance, artistry
REPRESENTATION:
bi-racial, female MC, anxiety, survivor
CONTENT WARNINGS:
anxiety, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, parental racism, suicide attempt

amazon // book depository // goodreads

imageedit_24_9323920462

Continue reading “ARC Review: Starfish | Healing, Identity, and Belonging”

ARC Review: Planetfall | Anxiety Rep in Sci-fi, Bisexual MC, and an Addictive, Character-Driven Plot

TITLE: Planetfall
AUTHOR: Emma Newman
SERIES: Planetfall
RELEASED: November 2015; Ace/Roc
GENRE: Science Fiction
FORMAT: e-Book

KEY INFO:  Founding of a new colony, character-driven, #ownvoice, political secrets, grief
REPRESENTATION:
bisexual woman MC, anxiety, hoarding disorder, f/f romance, people of colour
CONTENT NOTICES:
depiction of severe hoarding, forcible public intervention against hoarders will, feelings of shame around hoarding, descriptions of hoarding

amazon // book depository // goodreads

imageedit_24_9323920462

Continue reading “ARC Review: Planetfall | Anxiety Rep in Sci-fi, Bisexual MC, and an Addictive, Character-Driven Plot”

Book review: The Rest Of Us Just Live Here | The Background Characters Take Over

TITLE: The Rest of Us Just Live Here
AUTHOR: Patrick Ness
SERIES: N/A
RELEASED: August 2015; Walker Books
GENRE: Magical Realism
FORMAT: Library Hardback

KEY INFO: Coming of age, superpowers in contemporary society, young adult struggles, super cute friendships, not the Chosen Ones, romances
REPRESENTATION:
OCD (MC), gay men, eating disorder, woman of colour, anxiety
CONTENT NOTICES:
OCD loops (minor injuries), discussion of eating disorders, discussion of suicidal thoughts, anti-depressants

amazon // book depository // goodreads

imageedit_24_9323920462

Continue reading “Book review: The Rest Of Us Just Live Here | The Background Characters Take Over”