Weekly Wrap Up #403

Posted March 10, 2024 by Carole in Stacking the Shelves / 7 Comments

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I am really excited to participate in The Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Reading Reality.

My Life

I played a bit of a disappearing act this week. I just needed to take a break from writing reviews and everything that goes along with the blog and Instagram account. It was a busy week. I had to get new tires for my car. I knew that I would have to do this soon but was hoping to wait just a bit. Tires aren’t cheap! Later in the week, I found out how much I owe on my taxes. It is just really frustrating that I can’t seem to get my head above water financially despite working 2 jobs and rarely spending money on anything even resembling fun.

It probably comes as no surprise that when I was offered an extra shift at the bookstore, I took it. I worked 4 shifts at the bookstore on top of 5 days at my full-time job this week. That kind of schedule doesn’t lend itself to a lot of free time to write reviews and keep up with the blog/instagram anyway. I spent the free time that I did have playing games on my phone instead of doing anything productive.

How was your week?

What I’m Reading

It was another week of audiobooks. I finished Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings early in the week. I enjoyed the book even though it wasn’t my favorite from this author. I had difficulty deciding what to read after finishing Late Bloomer. None of my ARCs sounded good to me and I am a bit stressed over how many reviews I need to write so I decided to grab something different for Audible Plus that I wouldn’t have to review. Impact Winter and Impact Winter Season 2 by Travis Beacham were fantastic listens. The books are narrated by a full cast with sound effects so I felt like I was listening to a radio drama or television show. Both of these books were presented in spatial audio so that you felt like you were in the middle of the action which was a cool effect.

I did read a chapter or two of The Night Ends with Fire by K.X. Song and it really is a good book. I just need to find some more time to read. I hope to get back to The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden this week. I love her books but focus has been hard so we will see what happens this week.

Books Added

The Infiltrator by T.R. Hendricks (Publisher); Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth (Publisher); The Dead Guy Next Door by Lucy Score (Publisher)

Happily Never After by Lynn Painter (Publisher); The New Couple in 5B by Lisa Unger (Publisher); Lonely For You Only by Monica Murphy (Publisher)

Favorite Instagram Post of the Week

What books do you add to your shelves this week? 

7 responses to “Weekly Wrap Up #403

  1. Tires are not cheap, and it’s terrible to be hit with a tax bill, too. ((HUGS)) Don’t worry about reviews, worry about you. Be well, Carole!

  2. It did seem pretty quiet your way and I chalked it up to work! Sorry to hear about the tax season woes! That’s never fun. I would have thought the extra job would be helping you in that area too. Hope you have a better week this week!

    Nice new reads! These are new to me ones but I hope you enjoy them all!

    Here’s my StS

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower 🙂

  3. Well, it sounds like you needed a break with the financial hits and the extra shift this week. I don’t blame you for needing to cut back on reviews and blogging. Looks like you got to some good books this week.

    Take care, Carole!

  4. Sometimes you just have to have a break. Don’t feel bad about taking it. I still need to do my taxes and I hope to get to it this week. I was happy to have them tell me my 6 yo original tires were still fine. I just don’t drive too much.

    Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post

  5. I’m so sorry you’re feeling the financial strain, especially given that new tires have added to your stress this week! As my grandmother always said, “This too shall pass.”

  6. Glad you were able to get a break from the blog. Sounds like you needed it. Sometimes games are just the escape we need. As a double income, no kids family, taxes have always been stacked against us. And yep, tires and vehicle maintenance in general is never cheap. Hope this week is better for you.

  7. I hate buying tires! They’re so ridiculously expensive. Financial stuff is so frustrating – especially right now when everything is so expensive. I hope you’re getting some rest and getting some fun stuff in or at least a little bit of time for yourself.