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 |   My first blog |
This is my first ever blog, so I'm not really sure what I'm doing  . I guess I'll learn as I go along.
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| Well. What can I say? Another year with Covid dominating our lives. I think everyone probably knows someone who has been diagnosed at some point. A lot of people will have suffered themselves. One of my neighbours spent almost six months in hospital and is now in a a rehabilitation home. She spent over a month in ICU on a ventilator. This really brought home to me how dangerous the illness can be. We weren't sure whether or not our neighbour would make it through. But she did. She is a fighter, and hopefully, she will make it back to her apartment one day. My mental health has suffered this year. There: I said it. I think there are a few reasons for this. My physical health, for one, has impacted my mental health by making me so tired all of the time. My diabetes is still not controlled. My blood sugars are all over the place. I have to sort this out. I have to. I plan to. This coming year has to be the year I change my lifestyle. I've had a lot of brain fog this year. Not as a by-product of Covid, thank goodness. No. It is because of my diabetes and my mental health. It means I haven't written very much at all this year. I've spent a lot of time reading as that has been easier to do. I have spent a lot of time editing with 4RV. We are almost at the end of a book I've been working on all year. That will be a huge achievement when it is published. I will be so happy for the author. I thought it would be good to look back and see what I have achieved this year. It will help me to see that I don't just sit around doing nothing all day every day. (Not always, at least.) I have completed another year of "The Contest Challenge"  I now have five years of challenges under my belt. That feels like quite an achievement. As I said, reading and books have been my best friend this year. I completed "52 in 52" I read 52 books in one year! That's massive for me. I used to only read about one a month, but I signed up for this challenge, and I completed it. I'm so proud of myself. What's more: it made me fall in love with reading all over again. I've loved this challenge, and I have made my own list for 2022. I may not complete all fifty-two books next year, but I know I will enjoy trying. Thanks to my renewed love of reading, I have created "Rach's Reading Club" I look forward to sharing with others this love for reading. The other activity I have completed this year is to write a poem every week for "Promptly Poetry Challenge (2023-2024)" . Writing a poem every week has been challenging at times, but there are a few poems I've written this year that I'm particularly proud of. Here are a few:"Love Yourself" "Relationships" "Happiness?" "Cruelty of Cancer" So, my plans for 2022 ... to read a lot, to run my contests, to write my weekly poems, to review more, to edit with 4RV, and lastly, to edit my own novel. To make it through to he end. I can do all of this. If I can sort out my physical health, I know everything will be easier. So, that is my priority. Healthy eating, more exercise. And the rest will follow ... right? |
| Last year, I fell in love with reading all over again. I rediscovered how comforting it is to sit down with a good book when you aren't feeling quite well enough for anything else. I can't believe I was able to complete the 52 in 52 reading challenge. I don't think I've ever read this much before. But, I am so glad that I did. Books rock! They are true friends and, yes, sometimes, they let you down. They don't live up to your expectations. But, they are always there for you. They are always happy for you to read them. So, I have decided to attempt the 52 in 52 challenge again in 2022. I am not following a specific prompt for each week this time, though. I am reading books that line my shelves and my Kindle account; books I have wanted to read for some time now. I have set out a list again because, well, I like lists  . I've included at least one book each month for "Rach's Reading Club" . I'm not sure I will have enough time to fulfil this list, though, because I have writing plans that will take up more time next year. Hopefully. Depending on how well I am.Anyway, here is my list: 2022 Reading List 1. Florida by Lauren Groff (RRC)  2. The Alienist by Caleb Carr 3. Under Currents by Nora Roberts 4. The Sea Sisters by Lucy Clarke 5. The Man Who died Twice by Richard Osman 6. Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven (RRC) 7. The Unheard by Nicci French 8. Alone by Lisa Gardner  9. Again, Rachel by Marian Keyes 10. Don’t Speak by Vanessa Heath (RRC) 11. Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay 12. The Girls In The Attic by Marius Gabriel 13. A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins 14. The Truth About Julia by Anna Schaffner 15. Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult 16. Aphrodite by Russell Andrews (RRC) 17. Windswept & Interesting: My Autobiography by Billy Connolly (Audiobook for RRC) 18. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty 19. Buried by Mark Billingham 20. Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kayson (RRC) 21. The Outsider by Stephen King 22. One Small Act Of Kindness by Lucy Dillon 23. The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith 24. Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz 25. The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse (RRC) 26. The End Of Her by Shari Lapena 27. And Away ... by Bob Mortimer (Audiobook for RRC) 28. The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves 29. The Girls In The Garden by Lisa Jewell (RRC) 30. The Doctor by Lisa Stone 31. Bridge Of Clay by Markus Zusak 32. In My Shoes: My Poetic Journey from Abus to Victory by Lyn Crain 33. That Night by Gillian McAllister 34. The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens (RRC) 35. Beloved by Toni Morrison 36. Little White Lies by Philippa 37. Blind Spot by Paula Hawkins 38. The List by Carys Jones 39. Platform Seven by Louise Doughty 40. The Lingering by SJI Holliday (RRC) 41. Furious Hours by Casey Cep 42. The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman 43. The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell 44. The Day We Disappeared by Lucy Robinson 45. The Guardians by John Grisham 46. Maura’s Game by Martina Cole 47. The Beloved Girls by Harriet Evans 48. Not A Happy Family by Shari Lapena 49. The Chameleon’s Shadow by Minette Walters 50. Two Women by Martina Cole 51. The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell 52. Last Seen by Lucy Clarke |
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I thought of you yesterday and I went on YouTube to look for Queen Elizabeth knighting Captain Tom Moore out in the sunshine in 2020. You are the person who told me about Captain Tom. I found watching the two of them comforting. So sorry for your loss, which is much more profound then ours over here although I have rarely seen anything that brought so many people together. She has been the only Queen I was ever aware of my whole life long. Much more cherished than any politician, I'd say. 