It’s been a while and understandably so, putting down lighthearted words feels harder than ever at the moment and my creativity has hit a bit of a low. However, I’ve woken up this morning feeling more refreshed, why? Because I turned off social media last night and just read. There were 2 parties going on over on facebook which I just couldn’t get in to as it didn’t feel right, so I returned to reading, and what a panacea it was.  Isolation with the family is hard, but I think fatigue from screens and social media is going to become a real thing soon. I’m feeling a maternal connection with my children that has been lacking with me constantly being out at work and then keeping up a social media presence, being able to put these aside for the most part has been great and things are actually not as dire at the moment as they could be, I know that this is just the start of the storm though. However, I thought I would try for another 5 things Friday and see how I get on with posting earlier on in the day as well.

New to my Queue

I’ve got a bit of a stack building up (unsurprisingly) and I have a nice balance of trad and indies which is nice. Starting with the Indies, I have Ascent which is book 7 in the Return of the Elves series by Bethany Adams, one of my all time favourite series which I’m always singing the praises of. Beneath Black Sails is the latest offering from Clare Sager, I thoroughly enjoyed the first in her Counterfeit Contessa series so I’m looking forward to reading this change of direction set on the high seas. For the Trads, I am incredibly grateful to Titan Books for sending me copies of The Deck of Omens by Christine Lynn Herman, the follow up to The Devouring Gray and Looking Glass which is a novella collection by Christina Henry, set in her Alice universe.

Favourite Reads this week

It’s been a quiet reading week, as I mentioned above I’ve been attached to my phone for the most part, but I finished Dark Skies by Danielle L Jensen which I loved and am powering through This Vicious Cure but Emily Suvada, the conclusion of the Mortal Coil trilogy and at the moment it’s just relentless and amazing action!

When I wasn’t reading

A little game called Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out, I have been escaping to that world where I can and it’s lovely being able to make connections with people on my island that I can’t currently connect to IRL. I named my Island Starfall, because why not! I’ve seen a lot of bookish island names around which is amazing.

Pic of the week

Before the lockdown I managed to get an Inej funko from Fandom Fealty who create bookish funko pops! I got their Kaz Brekker and Jesper Fahey last year and I loved their take on Inej so now I only have 3 crows left to get!

Looking ahead

I have no idea. I’m just going to muddle through with a mixture of working from home, home schooling, reading and gaming and see how I get on!

In all honestly, trying to keep a sense of normality is tough and all we can do is try to look after ourselves and those around us as best we can. My blog is always an open door and if anyone wants to talk either drop me a comment, find me on IG or Twitter or email me at paperbacksandpinot@gmail.com.

Stay safe everyone ❤