Erica Robyn Reads

a horror book review blog

[Wrap-Up] January 2019

     Erica Robyn      36 Comments

Wrap-Up for January 2019

Ah, January. Not my favorite month of the year based on the usual weather, but it was a very productive and busy month!

We got quite a few snow storms… I mentioned it a few months ago, but I am determined not to be so bitter about the snow. This view from the office helped a bit:

This month, I also celebrated my one year anniversary with both my full time job and my side job! It felt really good to finally hit the one year mark! It also had me reflecting on this time last year, and how awful it was. I’m so very grateful to be starting 2019 off in a much more positive and stable way!

Speaking of work, I went to Washington DC for our bi-annual Convention. Our trip down was stressful, but we got there without too much trouble. The event itself was awesome, though my whole body was sore for days afterward. The trip home was crazy stressful. Thank goodness I was traveling with a coworker who knew what she was doing, otherwise I would have totally panicked. 

Below are a few photos from the event. The first is the entrance to the “floor” where we had a marketing booth where I was able to meet many of my members for the first time in person. The second photo is the view from outside the conference center. And the third is a quick shot from the Newseum, where we had our closing event. 

To see more photos from the trip and the Newseum, feel free to check out my Instagram! 

Without further delay, let’s dive in to my monthly wrap-up!

My Reading Breakdown for January:

Monthly Musings:

    Watching: 

    Relatable (2018 Netflix Original)

    I just love Ellen. This was a fun watch and I love how it all came full circle! The bonus ten minutes of Q&A was fun as well! 4/5

    Norsemen (Netflix Original, Season 1)
    I’m not so sure that this one is for me. Perhaps I will give it another go when I am less busy. My husband loves it though!

    22 July (2018 3-Part Series)
    This series was about the two terror attacks that occurred in Norway in 2011; the first a bomb blast targeting government buildings in central Oslo, and the second a massacre at a youth camp on island of Utøya. This is definitely not something that everyone will be able to watch as it is extremely realistic and very graphic, especially at the beginning. If you can watch films with elements like this, I highly recommend it. It was heartbreaking and horrifying, but wonderfully done. I cannot believe I hadn’t heard about this in the news… 5/5

    Winchester (2018 Film)
    I’m so fascinated by the story of the Winchester house, so I could not wait to watch this one. This film was beautifully shot, the cast was great, and there were SO many jump scares! I definitely recommend this one! 5/5 

    Eli Roth’s History of Horror (Season 1)
    This show was SO AWESOME! If you enjoy horror films and series, both of current times and the classics, you need to check this out! Click here to check out my longer review of the first season. 5/5

    Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018 Film)
    I cannot believe it took us this long to watch this film. I loved it! It was terrifying and heartbreaking. I cannot wait to see what happens next!! 4/5

    Playing: 
    Nothing this month.

    Drinking:
    My boss for my side job and her husband met Alex and I in Portsmouth one afternoon for lunch at Book and Bar. I had a delicious cup of tea there along with an appetizer of potato skins. Alex and I already cannot wait to go back and try more from the menu!

    After a book club meetup, our crew discovered a speakeasy! Of course I snagged a Moscow Mule. It was delicious! By far one of my favorites that I have had out at a bar or restaurant! 


    Listening to:
    This month, I got to go see Panic! At The Disco for the first time since high school, making this the third time I have been to one of their shows! It was an amazing show, per usual! They are just so fun to watch perform and Brendon Urie is such a great showman and singer! At one point during the show, they actually blew a speaker. For 20 minutes, we all sat around while the crew found the issue and got everything up and running. I uploaded a few videos to my Instagram if you’d like to check them out! I got one awesome clip of them covering The Greatest Show from The Greatest Showman soundtrack. 

    In the bookish community:
    With how crazy this month was, I was only able to blog hop a handful of times and unfortunately didn’t save any links to share. 🙁 

    Monthly bookish related haul:



    Book of the Month:
    This month, I finally got to read my December BOTM pick, No Exit by Taylor Adams. I LOVED it. I also read my January BOTM pick, which was The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. 

    Book Club:

    This month we had four book club meetups, but I was only able to make it to three. The first was for our discussion about The Book of Lost Things and our annual book swap. Next up, a few members of our club went to meet Katherine Arden at a book event for her latest book, The Winter of the Witch. The meet up I missed was a group movie night where everyone watched Bird Box. And lastly, there was our book discussion for The Tattooist of Auschwitz. 

    Here are some photos from the events:


    My favorite bookish photo this month:


    Looking forward to: 
    In February, Alex and I have our dateaversary! Each year, we go back to the restaurant where we first met in person for dinner. I look forward to it more than our actual anniversary every year 🙂

      In Case You Missed It


      Thanks for reading!
      How was your month? Have any special plans for February? I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below!

      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      4. Barb says

        What a great month. We really enjoyed Winchester when we watched it too. Traveling with a coworker who is good in situations like that is always a plus. Things like that make me nervous initially but always seem to work out well. We watched The Punisher Season 2 this month and also one on Netflix called "Kingdom." It described as a Korean Zombie series. Pretty interesting. I'm hoping to start "An Unwanted Guest" tonight.

        Reply

      9. Amy says

        Wow stunning office view! What a winter wonderland <3

        Congrats on the great reading month. Hope February is full of books too 🙂

        Reply

      10. Tanya Atkinson says

        Love that view from your office! Wish I had a view like that. 🙂
        Hooray for so many 5 star reads in January – that's awesome!
        Love that you celebrate your dateaversary. 🙂 My husband and I do the same, except we can't go back to the same restaurant since it's no longer there. *sigh*

        Reply

      12. Lindsi says

        I love the picture of the Ferris wheel! It's lovely! I really love the snow, but I also live in Texas. We rarely see snow, which might be why it feels magical. I know in reality it's wet and slippery, and it leaves the roads a mess, but the idea of it is fun! My son always asks when it will snow here so he can build a snowman and have snowball fights, haha.

        It looks like you've had a lot of bookish fun this month! The Book of Lost Things sounds interesting. Have an awesome week!

        Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

        Reply

      14. Olivia-Savannah says

        Yay for enjoying Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom! I absolutely loved that movie. Also, congratulations on your job anniversaries and it looks like the convention was good. I am glad the weather allowed you to go x

        Reply

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