The Looooong and the Short of It with a Giveaway: May 2021 Wrap-Up Post and What to Expect in June

Posted June 3, 2021 by Lisa Mandina in End of the month post / 29 Comments

The Looooong and the Short of It with a Giveaway: May 2021 Wrap-Up Post and What to Expect in June

Did I say April was crazy? Let’s not even talk about how crazy May was! Especially the very end of the month! The second to last weekend of the month I woke up on that Saturday with a bad case of vertigo, and it got so bad as the day went by that I couldn’t move without vomiting. I couldn’t keep any food down. It was so bad that I had my mom take me first to urgent care on Sunday morning, and the doctor there ended up sending me to the emergency room. So that whole weekend was a blur of just trying as much as possible not to move. It also meant I got behind on my reading, and had to cancel out on two blog tour reviews. Then the last weekend, or Memorial Day weekend, is my family’s annual trip to Branson, Missouri, where we stay in a couple cabins and just hang out together and relax. Well, since the whole week before I’d been getting over the vertigo, I decided I would skip doing any extra blogging that weekend.

While I’m pretty much back to feeling normal, I’m still trying to get back into my blogging. I ended up skipping two Sunday posts, and also two of my Wednesday posts as well. I haven’t had a chance to really go comment on anyone else’s blogs the last two weeks and I feel really bad about that. But, school is out, and so I should have lots of time now! Speaking of school being out, that is also why May was so busy. I had to get packed up because it was my last few weeks at my library job. This week I actually started meetings, or at least information meetings with my new district about insurance and getting an ID badge, etc. Now I’m just making sure to get my college transcripts and employment verifications turned in so that I can get on the salary schedule where I should be.

We did have some kind of weird weather this past month as well. Lots and lots of rain. And then my weekend in Branson, where I usually sweat through at least one outfit a day, well it was cold! My 9 year old niece, and 3 year old nephew didn’t even go swimming in the pool.

Last month I talked about my new car. And I’m loving it. However I’m still waiting on the car I traded in to get paid off, as Hyundai did not credit the payment the dealer sent to my account, even though they did cash it. I also did end up getting a new air conditioner and heating system put in. Which I need to remember to call and get the city to come out and inspect it I guess, which seems weird, but I guess I have to.

So thanks to my week long vertigo spell, and also again having some trouble with audiobooks not grabbing my attention, my reading was down again this month. Only 15 books finished. I am behind on audiobook reviews as well as a few other overdue reviews. Once again, with school being out, hoping to be able to get those done soon. I started a little review post for the audiobooks, so that should be first. I did get a DNF post done last week as well.

May Reviews:

It looks like most of my reviews pretty much were for tours or because they were ARCs that publishers sent me once again.

Challenges:

You can see my sign up post for this challenge HERE. And here is the image with all the books I thought would be read.

So technically it wasn’t until June that I finished Must Love Wieners, but I’m going to go ahead and add it this month to feel like I got something done. Because I’ll probably finish Damsel in June.

Last year I was doing the posts about Cleaning Up My TBR. I quit doing the posts by the end of the year, and was just going through Goodreads and clearing out books. So at the end of April I had 2,223 books on my TBR list. I did get to look at my list three times in May, so now I’m at 2,085. I did pretty good it looks like!

What to Expect in June:

I’m hoping to start getting some good habits back this month. Starting hopefully by the end of this first week, I want to make sure I get up at 8 am every morning and go walk. Yes this is later than I’ll be getting up during the school year. But it is later than I would get up if I just let myself sleep in. Plus once we start getting real summer weather, I won’t want to walk in the heat later in the day. So I will allow myself to get the walk in, and then come back and take a nap if I want. I haven’t decided if I’ll eat breakfast before or after yet. But I also am going to try to make eggs for breakfast with my microwave scrambler to be on a better breakfast than I have been. I don’t know if I’ll get any writing done. I’d like to add a goal of one hour a day writing. But I don’t know if I will actually do that. I know that I probably want to just do some outlining this summer for sure. I’ve also gotten to where I wonder if it is even worth doing anymore. I don’t know that I’m that good of a writer, and even though I know I need more practice to get better, I’m not sure if that’s where I want to spend my time.

Here is my proposed TBR for June based on blog tours and ARCs that I have:

  1. We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon – I have this ARC, and am currently reading! Should be posting review maybe this weekend.
  2. Friends with Benedicts by Staci Hart – reading for author review team should post review on June 7th.
  3. The Marvelous by Claire Kann – I enjoyed the other book I read by this author and I am reading this for a blog tour review on June 8th
  4. The Perfect Catch by Meghan Quinn – reading as part of author’s review team for a review on either June 10th or 16th
  5. Tragic Lies by L.A. Cotton – reading for a blog tour review on June 11th
  6. Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury – reading ARC for publisher, should post review on June 13th
  7. Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon – reading for a blog tour review on June 14th
  8. The Layover by Lacie Waldon – reading for a publisher requested review on June 15th
  9. The Sophomore by Monica Murphy – reading for an author review team I think posting review on either the 10th or 17th
  10. Blue Hawaiian by Carla Luna – reading for a blog tour review on June 19th
  11. My Contrary Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows – while I never got around to the Jane series by these three, after binging the series Reign, I’m very excited for this one. I got the e-galley from Netgalley so need to read it to keep my score on there up, and hope to post a review on June 21st
  12. Fortunate Son by Jay Crownover – hoping to get to read this as part of a blog tour review and the post should be either the 23rd, 25th, or 28th, if I get picked to be on the tour
  13. Jock Royal by Sara Ney – I will get it as part of the author’s review team, but I also signed up to do a blog tour review on June 24th
  14. The Introvert’s Guide to Speed Dating by Emma Hart – if this one doesn’t get postponed, I am part of the author’s review team again, and I hope to review on June 29th
  15. The Icing on the Cake by Linda Seed – I am listening to an audiobook of this for a blog tour review on June 30th, unless I keep having issues trying to listen to it in my car through Soundcloud which I can’t seem to get the book to the app, so have to go to the browser on my phone when I listen.
  16. Possible/probable book for my Tackle My TBR Challenge: Damsel by Elana K. Arnold should be finished this month. If I have time, the other two books I have listed to maybe read this month are Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly and/or The Demonologist by Gerald Brittle – which this last one I may be in the mood for after the new Conjuring movie comes out this month.
  17. Since the e-galley for Grace and Glory by JLA wasn’t available when I went back to download it, I had to order the physical copy. Because of that I don’t know how soon I’ll get to it. But it’s one I’ve been waiting for, so I may try to fit it in this month too.
  18. I’m in the middle of a couple of audiobooks that I’ve had trouble connecting to. One is The Best Man by A.S. Kelly – and I might not finish it because I don’t like the cheating aspect that’s already been revealed. Unfortunately it is supposed to be for a blog tour in July, so I need to decide soon. Another is The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon, which I put aside to listen to the one for a blog tour this month, The Icing on the Cake. I also started listening to Kindred by Octavia Butler, and might get back to that this month as well.
  19. Some possible DNFs this month if I don’t finish them are: The Best Man by A.S. Kelly audiobook, and The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin – an unsolicited ARC that I’m not really getting into.

Reviews that are overdue and should be possibly posted in June:

  1. Clanlands by Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish – audiobook – it has been due for a couple months now, and the show is over as well.
  2. Love, Lacey Donovan by Jill Brashear – audiobook that was supposed to be part of a blog tour review first week in April
  3. Random Acts of Crazy by Julia Kent – audiobook I finished in March
  4. Day Zero by Kresley Cole – one of the books I read in March for my TBR challenge
  5. Thick Thighs Save Lives by Penn Rivers – the novella I saw advertised on Facebook and had to buy and read really quickly
  6. Retreat by Jay Crownover – the book I read in 2017 and never wrote a review for, even though I love this author!
  7. The Duke & I by Julia Quinn – I finally finished this book in April, now on to book 2!
  8. Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline – audiobook I listened to and loved in April!
  9. Boots by Megan Erickson – another book I read in 2017 and have realized I never wrote a review for.
  10. Beard in Mind by Penny Reid – an audiobook re-read/listen from when I read this one a long time ago it seems.
  11. Pause by Kylie Scott – finished audiobook in May, although I see a blog tour happening in July for this one, so I may wait till then to post a review.
  12. Call Me Maybe by Cara Bastone – an audiobook I saw a review for on another blog and decided to borrow from the Audible Plus subscription for free. And it took a bit to get into, but then I adored it!
  13. Must Love Wieners by Casey Griffin – My decision to get this one read really picked up when I saw the author post on Facebook that she was going to be giving it and the second book in this series a new title because people didn’t like the word wiener in the title. All I can say to that is the people who don’t like that aren’t dachshund owners, because that is what grabbed my attention in the first place!

Bookstagram:

I’m a bit behind with some books I’ve got in the mail at the end of the month thanks to my vertigo episode. But here are a few, including my last two displays in my library that I am no longer working at for next school year.

Weekly wrap-up posts as I mentioned only got two done this past month:

My Wednesday Lisa’s Looking Forward To Posts again missing one this month, and the first one for June as well:

So, how was your May?

Giveaway:

Below are ARCs I’ve finished and also a couple of finished copies, the winner will get to pick out 3 books from the list. There may even be a few more choices by the end of the month! I will make the giveaway international in that you can pick a book for under $10 if The Book Depository ships to you. Just fill out the Rafflecopter below the picture.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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29 responses to “The Looooong and the Short of It with a Giveaway: May 2021 Wrap-Up Post and What to Expect in June

    • Lisa Mandina

      They say it has something to do with little stones in my ears that get knocked out of place somehow. No rhyme or reason for sure on why it happens. I do get vertigo occasionally, but this was worse than it had ever been. 🙁 I am feeling better finally though! Thanks!

  1. Your bout with vertigo sounds scary. Glad you are feeling better. Hope the pups took good care of you. You’re not enjoying the Ex-Talk? I loved that book.

    • Lisa Mandina

      I had a bit of trouble getting into it at first, but since I wrote this post, I have listened some more and am definitely starting to really enjoy it. The dogs actually were a lot better for me than they usually are when I’m sick. So that was nice.

    • Lisa Mandina

      That was the worst I’ve ever had it. And looking back I see some things I might have done that added to it. I’ll be careful to not do them again next time. Sorry you get it too. It’s not fun!

  2. John Smith

    “How was your May or what are you looking forward to in June?” My May was OK. I enjoyed the “Extinction” series” by Nicholas Sansbury Smith, and I am now enjoying books of short stories by Joe Hill.

    • Lisa Mandina

      I’ve read some Joe Hill. The Extinction series sounds interesting, I’ll have to look into that. Thanks for stopping by!

  3. Ugh, my comment disappeared.

    Sorry about the vertigo! That sounds horrible.

    I’m glad you were able to do the family trip, but that’s a bummer it was cold and no swimming for the little ones!

    I’m sooo ready to get in a pool. haha

    I really need to make time for my fiction writing this summer and try and get back into it. I get what you mean about not being sure if that’s where you want to focus your time and energy these days. I think I’ll be good if I get some sort of schedule going because I really do want to be a published author someday. It’s tough to do around all the other things though.

    -Lauren

    • Lisa Mandina

      I need a schedule and a place to go away from my dogs to write. Once libraries get to where I can go sit at a table and write, I hope I’ll get back into the swing of things. I hope you’re able to get your schedule figured out and get your writing done too! Thanks for visiting!

  4. Oh man Lisa, that sounds rough!! I’ve never had vertigo so I can’t even imagine how uncomfortable you were.

    Have you watched the new Conjuring movie yet? I was impressed sadly, I think they need to stick to haunted houses!

    • Lisa Mandina

      Vertigo is a lot like having the spins when you get drunk. Although I’ve only had that happen once or twice, but I hated it and that’s always my first though, that I haven’t had any alcohol to cause it! It’s not fun at all. But I’m glad it’s gone for now and I’m hoping I’ve come up with some strategies for next time it comes around. I did finally go see the new Conjuring movie last night. It was good, but like you I missed the ghosts as opposed to demons and satan worshipers. Thanks for stopping by!

  5. danielle hammelef

    June has been fun and a whirlwind too with school ending and yardwork galore. I’m starting my closet purging and have a donation pickup scheduled finally after charities stopped accepting donations since COVID. It feels good to get rid of things I no longer want but are still in excellent condition. I will be going through my books also to donate to our library.

    • Lisa Mandina

      I’ve got a pile of stuff to take to donate, just need to put it in my car and take it. It’s been sitting there for months even though I could have taken it at any time. Once school got going again, I just got too busy to remember until I walked past it. lol

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