Updates

February Recap 2022

Geoff W

So, February is ALWAYS a short month, but this year it felt like at most 10 days. A good chunk of this was because of a week-long cruise that’s been on hold in some version of another since 2020.

After weighing all of the pros and cons we finally decided to stick with it and I’m glad we did, we both came back 100x more relaxed (except the crazy FLL airport) and warmer than the cold weather and snow in Boston would EVER let us get this time of year.

That top photo I took as we were going into Nassau Harbor around sunrise and I just happened to catch it while I was walking laps on deck and there are more photos at the bottom. Honestly, the cruise was great. The ship was maybe 2/3 full (at most) and we never felt crowded or overwhelmed. Nassau was by far the safest as they were not joking about masks or vaccination anywhere on the island. Mexico was a bit more relaxed, but we never felt unsafe and wore our masks regardless of if they were required.

Books and Bookish Things
However, the BEST part of the trip was the uninterrupted reading. Prior to going on vacation I’d already read five books (one from the library and four graphic novels), but I knew I’d read a lot on this trip as I usually do. I wasn’t 100% how many I would get to read as Tim usually has class during sea days and that’s when I got the bulk of my reading done, but his classes were cancelled for this trip.

So in preparation I made a list of 16 books mixed between ARCs, Kindle Unlimited, and my TBR shelf. And of those 16 books I got through 11 of them while on vacation! Two of them were novellas and the bulk were, of course, MM Romances.

  1. More Happy Than Not – Adam Silvera
  2. Heartstopper, Vol. 1 (Heartstopper #1) – Alice Oseman
  3. Heartstopper, Vol. 2 (Heartstopper #2) – Alice Oseman
  4. Heartstopper, Vol. 3 (Heartstopper #3) – Alice Oseman
  5. Heartstopper, Vol. 4 (Heartstopper #4) – Alice Oseman
  6. Black Cake – Charmaine Wilkerson
  7. Hot Seat (The Hot Cannolis #1) – Eli Easton and Tara Lain*
  8. Sink or Swim (Shore Leave #2) – Annabeth Albert*
  9. The Professor – Charlotte Brontë
  10. Back Where I Come From (Five Points Stories #4) – Kyle Baxter
  11. The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison
  12. Tender with a Twist (Rainbow Cove #2) – Annabeth Albert
  13. Word Nerd – John D. Williams, Jr.
  14. My Best Friend’s Brother – K.C. Wells
  15. A Novel Death – Judi Culbertson
  16. Stronger Than Hope (Chesapeake Days #1) – Katherine McIntyre*
  17. Lumber Jacked (Rainbow Cove #3) – Annabeth Albert
  18. Prejudice Meets Pride (Meet Your Match #1) – Rachael Anderson

There were a couple of disappointments (The Professor, Back Where I Come From, A Novel Death, Prejudice Meets Pride) but for the most part it was a great time and I’m still catching up on finishing the blog posts that will finish out into next week!

Also, saw this tweet in a moment of levity with all that’s going on in the world and it just made me smile. And doing some more digging seeing all the work the librarians of Ukraine are doing to counteract misinformation with everything going on.

Here are the couple of promised pics from our trip. Clockwise from top left: Blue Lagoon Island looking out at the Caribbean Sea, two photos of building 24 at the Chocchoban Ruins in Costa Maya, and the mural at the cruiseport of Costa Maya.

What’s Next?
I’m continuing to read and have a few ARCs this month but am still chipping away at my overall TBR shelf. I’m still knitting A LOT because winter is when I really knit the most, but I’m hoping to extend the knitting season with some smaller projects over the summer. I’ll leave you with these two photos. The left is the sunset on our final night of the cruise, we stayed in the adults only pool/lounge area until well after sunset enjoying the fact no one else was there. The right is where I was mid-month with my Skylar Shawl Scarf which I’m hoping to finish up in the next two weeks.

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