A Different Sort of Wrap-Up| March 2022 Wrap-Up
March kicked my ass. On multiple levels, it was a very stressful and not fantastic month. I’m stressed, depressed and, as you can tell by the date, a little behind on everything. It wasn’t all bad but wow, March sure was a lot! This wrap-up is a little shorter and a little different from my usual ones, I hope you still like it! Overall, March was busy, had me in a massive reading slump and without much progress on any of my goals. Without further ado, let’s get into my March 2022 Wrap-Up!
The Books I Read in March
My reading in March was incredibly chaotic. I spent most of the month in an intense reading slump that was pretty much only broken for a ridiculous weekend of binge reading. Here are the books I managed to read!
Gallant – V.E. Schwab
Gallant was the first read of my March and remains my favourite. It’s beautifully haunted in the best of ways and the kind of book you can devour in one sitting.
Previously, I had only read one of V.E. Schwab’s middle grade books and didn’t like it. But a lot of my friends told me that I’d like their YA and Adult books and I think my friends were right! Gallant was absolutely stunning and took me by surprise. It made me really excited to finally read the other V.E. Schwab books I have on my TBR
Related: My Review of Gallant
The Stevie Bell Series – Maureen Johnson
When I mentioned a weekend of binge reading, I meant it. I reread the Truly Devious trilogy and finally read The Box in the Woods, all in one weekend.
It was a glorious weekend, to be honest. Spending my days with my nose buried in one of my favourite mystery series was absolutely delightful! It was a much-needed break from my real life and even though it caused me some stress down the line, I have absolutely no regrets.
I’m super excited for the next Stevie Bell book!
A Personal Life Update
Instead of my usual monthly goal check-in where I look back at my 2022 goals, I am using this space for a more personal life update.
Stress and Mental Health
I am currently in the thick of finishing university. It’s stressful and overwhelming and I’d like nothing more than to curl up in bed and avoid all the logistics, please. I had one of two final exams on April 1st and I passed it with full marks! My professor also told me to look into publishing some of my research in a journal run by the institute so who knows, I might be a published academic soon?! I still have one regular paper to write, a second oral exam and then my dreaded bachelor’s thesis/dissertation to write. It’s all a lot and right now it feels like I won’t get a break until July. I know that I can do it, after all, countless people have done it before me, but it still feels absolutely overwhelming.
Added to this base layer of stress is the fact that I am depressed! And though I like to forget that fact as if pretending my brain is fine would magically make it so, it’s something I struggle with. Finding energy is hard somedays, structure and routine are even harder. I’ve found my ways to cope but it certainly makes my life harder than it should be and than I wish it was. Maybe one of these days I’ll write about being a blogger with depression and how my mental health affects my blogging, if that sounds interesting to anyone. So yeah, my mental health hasn’t been super great but luckily, it hasn’t been terrible. It’s a middling sort of “meh” vibe over here. However, I am currently in the process of maybe trying antidepressants! Yay for me and the slow cogs in the German healthcare system. I’m curious to see if medication will help me balance things a little better.
Hobbies and Joy
While it’s easy to get caught up in the bad stuff, I also have plenty of opportunities for joy! So here is a list of some of the things I have enjoyed recently
- I’ve joined a blogger discord server hosted by Sumedha @ The Wordy Habitat and it’s such a lovely space! Having a place to chat about all things life and blogging, and exchange advice and resources has been great! Sumedha is also the reason that the links on my blog now look different, thanks to some custom CSS magic that she coached me through.
- The trees outside my window are growing leaves again. I wake up every morning and the world outside is a little greener. Having that visual representation of growth is magical!
- I’ve been watching a bunch of cleaning and organizing videos on YouTube. This new rabbit hole of mine has had the nice side effect of giving me some cleaning motivation!
- I spent most of March researching topics that genuinely interest me. I got to choose two areas of research for my oral exam and ended up talking about true crime TikTok and Black Widow and the male gaze! Turns out, that research is a lot easier when you care about your work.
- I’m in love with my new bookstagram theme and set-up! It’s been a wonderful creative outlet and I’m excited about the content I’ve been creating.
Do you follow my bookstagram yet? If not, just click here and you can come to say hi!
Some Closing Words
And that’s it for my March 2022 Wrap-Up. Honestly, I’m very glad to leave March behind me and try to make the most of April! It’s looking to be a busy month between university work, life madness and me trying to write something for Camp NaNoWriMo. I have no idea how much I can actually accomplish this month, but I look forward to updating you at the end of it.
Thank you so much for reading this Wrap-Up. I hope you’re safe and taking care of yourself💜
How was your March? Did you discover a new favourite?
I hope you have a lovely day,
If you like my work and would like to support me, you can buy me a coffee!
14 Comments
Caro @ bookcheshirecat
I’m so sorry to hear that March was a difficult month for you, I hope April is much better! 🌷 Glad to see that you liked Gallant, I’m so excited this was finally released and I cannot wait to read it (hopefully next month) 🥰 Good luck with Camp NaNoWriMo!
bookshelfsoliloquies
Thank you! I think Gallant is such a specific book for a very specific vibe and I’m really happy that I read it when I did! I hope you enjoy it when you read it ✨
Ena @ Fly(er) on the Wall
I hope this April turns out better for you, Lay! It was great seeing you in Sumedha’s server; can’t wait to see how the community grows in the coming weeks. Good luck with NaNo! <3
abookowlscorner
I always love getting life updates in people’s wrap-ups, so this new format has immediately earned my stamp of approval! 🥰 I’m sorry you didn’t have the best month overall, but congrats on possibly getting research published! That’s amazing!! Also, I would love to read about your experiences regarding blogging with depression – you’re right, our healthcare system could do a heck of a lot better as far as mental well-being is concerned, so I think spreading awareness is so important!
Also, you love watching cleaning videos? 😍🤗 You’re basically my soulmate, Lay 🤣 Aurikatariina and Hoarder’s Heart are some of the best YouTube channels ever if you ask me, so if you have more recommendations like them, I’m all ears!!
I’m also really curious about Gallant, now! I’ve read the majority of V.E. Schwab’s books and they’re always either hit or miss for me, so I guess we’ll have to see what I’ve got to say on this one 😂 I’m afraid I’m not a Stevie Bell fan at all, though – but that might just be that I don’t like that each installment in the series doesn’t have its own, somewhat finished plotline…
bookshelfsoliloquies
thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment, I always love chatting with you! I’m glad to hear people seem to be interested in that depression post, I really wasn’t sure if that’s something anyone would care about!
As for cleaning videos, I love Aurikatariina! Other than her channel I’ve been watching a bunch of random American mum’s because there’s so many of them who make cleaning and organising videos 😂
I’m curious to hear your thoughts about Gallant if you do end up reading it! It found me at the perfect time but I can also see why it might not be for everyone. As for Stevie Bell, the latest book actually does have it’s own plotline, removed from the Ellingham Academy/Truly Devious arc! And I think from now on, all Stevie Bell books are more or less standalones! Though in my opinion this latest one was my least favourite 🙈 But I’m still super excited for the next one that’s coming out this year!
abookowlscorner
Lololol, yeah, American moms do seem to be way more into filming their cleaning and organization than anybody else 🤣 And they always have so much stuff, which makes the cleaning all the more satisfying when they throw a ton of it out! 🤩
And ooh, I didn’t know that about the Stevie Bell books! I might have to give one of the later ones a chance at some point, then… Maybe if they ever become available on Scribd or at my library! 🤔
Kat Impossible
Thank you for such an honest and open wrap-up! I feel you on March not having been the easiest, I struggled as well, although we were definitely under very different kinds of stress. IF you ever feel like writing about being a blogger with depression, I’d be very interested in reading those thoughts. Wishing you all the best and a kind April!
bookshelfsoliloquies
Thank you so much, Kat! It seems a lot of people haven’t had the best month so I’m glad we’re not alone! I hope you have a great April 💜
saima @ storieswithsaima
I’m glad to hear you liked Gallant, I’ve been eyeing the audiobook and been thinking about starting it because it sounds so good. Wishing you the best with finishing university, best of luck! 💛💛
Karla
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed Gallant! It was featured in the March Illumicrate and you made me excited to read it! And I read the Truly Devious series because of you and adored it! 🥰 Also best of luck on finishing uni and all of the work ahead of you! You can do this! and I would love to read more about mental health 🥰
Katie | Doing Dewey (@DoingDewey)
I’m glad to hear you’ve found some sources of joy in your life in addition to all of the busyness. Good luck with the rest of the work you have to finish up!
Sumedha @ the wordy habitat
You’re not alone in finding uni overwhelming, for sure. While I can’t relate because the education system here is more… meh, I do know that most other unis are designed to be like that. Hang in there, friend. You’ll get through it! And do take care of yourself. I’d love to read the post about mental health as well.
And I’m so glad you’re loving the discord server! Considering how unsure of it I was, your words are reassuring 💜
Kal @ Reader Voracious
As a person who’s read and disliked most of Schwab’s books I WANT TO READ GALLANT SO BADLY but am afraid that I will not enjoy the writing either lol. At least it’s short? haha. I’m soso glad you enjoyed it though!
Sorry uni stress has been a lot – I remember feeling so overwhelmed as I reached the finish line. You can do it and I love that you’ve gotten high marks and are being encouraged to publish! LOVE THAT FOR YOU! I adore you and hope you are doing well
bookshelfsoliloquies
I’m super curious how I’m going to feel about Schwab’s other books, I have a feeling it’s going to be a hit or miss kind of thing haha. And thank you so much for the encouragement, I’m perpetually a minor inconvenience away from a mental breakdown but what’s a girl to do, I just gotta get the work done. Really hope I get to have a nice summer and just relax. Sending lots of love your way 💜