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Erica Robyn Reads

a horror book review blog

[Wrap-Up] January 2019

February 1, 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:

  • 5 Stars- 5
    • An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena
    • Cubicleland by Rook Winters
    • In This Ground by Beth Castrodale
    • Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down
    • The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
  • 4 Stars- 5
    • Jennifer Brown’s Journey by Angie Langley
    • Mind Me, Milady by Anne Rothman-Hicks and Kenneth Hicks
    • No Exit by Taylor Adams
    • On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
    • The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
  • 3 Stars- 0
  • 2 Stars- 0
  • 1 Star- 0
  • DNF- 0

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

      • 2 February Book Releases I Can’t Wait To Read
      • [Book Blogger Hop] How Many Books I Hope To Read In 2019
      • [Book Blogger Hop] A Trope That Drives Me Bonkers
      • [Series Review] Eli Roth’s History of Horror- Season 1
      • [Book Event] Meeting Katherine Arden @ Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, NH
      • [Wrap-Up] December 2018
      • [Top 10 Tuesday] My Favorite Books Published In 2018
      • My Goals for 2019
      • Goodreads: Your Year In Books Meme 2018
      • [Book Blogger Hop] 2019 Releases I Am Looking Forward To
      • My Favorite Book Quotes from 2018
      • [Book Photo Sunday] My January TBR
      • 2019 Book Adaptations I Can’t Wait To Watch
      • [Book Blogger Hop] First Read of 2019

      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

      1. Deanna Reads Books says

        February 1, 2019 at 12:53 pm

        I love moscow mules too! Looks like you had a great month!

        Reply
        • Erica Metcalf says

          February 1, 2019 at 10:31 pm

          They're so refreshing!! 🙂

          Reply
      2. chucklesthescot says

        February 1, 2019 at 1:11 pm

        22 July and Jurassic World are on my must watch list along with Rampage, Ready Player One and Mamma Mia 2 but I'm just not finding time for films right now.

        Reply
        • Erica Metcalf says

          February 1, 2019 at 10:32 pm

          There just aren't enough hours in the day! 🙁

          Reply
      3. Donna H says

        February 1, 2019 at 1:21 pm

        Wow. Your book club meets 4 times a month. Mine only meets monthly I still can't always get through the book. Here's my January wrap up

        Reply
        • Erica Metcalf says

          February 1, 2019 at 10:32 pm

          It's usually just once, but this month had some bonus events 🙂 Thank for leaving you link! I'll head over now.

          Reply
      4. Barb says

        February 1, 2019 at 1:36 pm

        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
        • Erica Metcalf says

          February 1, 2019 at 10:37 pm

          Ah! I need to watch season two of The Punisher soon! Enjoy An Unwanted Guest! 🙂

          Reply
      5. AJ Sterkel says

        February 1, 2019 at 2:42 pm

        Wow, you had a busy month. I love your photos, especially the Ferris wheel. We had a bunch of snowstorms, too. They do make things stressful. Have a great February!

        Aj @ Read All The Things!

        Reply
        • Erica Metcalf says

          February 1, 2019 at 10:38 pm

          <3 Here's to hoping we don't get too many more intense storms!

          Reply
      6. Stephen Donovan says

        February 1, 2019 at 9:23 pm

        Looks like you had a wonderful fun month, and lots of great books read. All the best for February, Erica!

        Reply
        • Erica Metcalf says

          February 1, 2019 at 10:38 pm

          Thank you! 🙂

          Reply
      7. Esther @ BiteIntoBooks says

        February 1, 2019 at 9:41 pm

        Wow Erica. You had a great reading month! And congratz on the one year mark @ work 🙂

        Reply
        • Erica Metcalf says

          February 1, 2019 at 10:38 pm

          <3

          Reply
      8. Angela Lawrence says

        February 2, 2019 at 1:27 am

        I wish I had a view like that from my office! That's great that you had only 4 and 5-star read this month – hope February is just as great!

        Reply
        • Erica Metcalf says

          February 2, 2019 at 2:19 am

          <3

          Reply
      9. Amy says

        February 2, 2019 at 7:11 am

        Wow stunning office view! What a winter wonderland <3

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

        Reply
        • Erica Metcalf says

          February 2, 2019 at 12:52 pm

          <3

          Reply
      10. Tanya Atkinson says

        February 2, 2019 at 10:02 am

        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
        • Erica Metcalf says

          February 2, 2019 at 12:52 pm

          <3

          Reply
      11. Grace @ RebelMommyBookBlog says

        February 2, 2019 at 2:30 pm

        I hate snow but that is such a pretty picture!! Sounds like a really busy month for you. But still a lot of good reading!!! A speakeasy sounds fun!

        Reply
        • Erica Metcalf says

          February 2, 2019 at 4:39 pm

          <3

          Reply
      12. Lindsi says

        February 2, 2019 at 4:14 pm

        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
        • Erica Metcalf says

          February 2, 2019 at 4:40 pm

          Thank you! 🙂 Aww! I hope you guys can take a trip and enjoy some snow for a bit! Have a great week as well!

          Reply
      13. Alicia AKernelofNonsense says

        February 2, 2019 at 5:31 pm

        Look at you starting the year off with only 4 and 5 star reads. That's amazing. I hope your February is just as awesome!

        Reply
        • Erica Metcalf says

          February 2, 2019 at 8:12 pm

          😀

          Reply
      14. Olivia-Savannah says

        February 2, 2019 at 6:57 pm

        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
        • Erica Metcalf says

          February 2, 2019 at 8:12 pm

          It's SO GOOD! And thank you! 🙂

          Reply
      15. Shaz says

        February 2, 2019 at 7:27 pm

        Glad to hear you had a great reading month, Erica! Have a wonderful February!

        Reply
        • Erica Metcalf says

          February 2, 2019 at 8:12 pm

          <3 Have a wonderful February as well!

          Reply
      16. Lauren Stoolfire says

        February 2, 2019 at 10:25 pm

        Winchester was a good one – such interesting real life history. I think I'll have to try Eli Roth's show. Happy February!

        Reply
        • Erica Robyn says

          February 2, 2019 at 10:42 pm

          Right!? Ah! Enjoy!!

          Reply
      17. Shooting Stars Mag says

        February 3, 2019 at 3:30 am

        Aw, I love the idea of celebrating a Dateversary. How fun. I SO wanted to see Panic! but tickets sold out before I could get them. I've seen them quite a few times in concert, but it's been years now. LOL

        -Lauren
        http://www.shootingstarsmag.net

        Reply
        • Erica Robyn says

          February 6, 2019 at 9:43 pm

          <3 Oh darn! I hope you can see them again soon!!

          Reply
      18. Heather's Reading Hideaway says

        February 6, 2019 at 9:18 pm

        All four and five star reads!!! Seems like a great reading month! <3

        Reply
        • Erica Robyn says

          February 6, 2019 at 9:43 pm

          😀

          Reply

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