I hope everyone is finding a bit of love today! I’m planning to squeeze in time with the people and things I love today. Especially my books! Reading a romance that’s fitting for the season. Moonlight Over Paris. I’ll have a review later this week.
JEH
This is more of a photo-essay than anything. And it’s a bit off-topic considering I usually talk about books and coffee and my love of books and coffee. But sometimes there are other things that I think about.
On one of the days I was in Mexico, I went for a two hour walk up the beach. From previous travelling experience, I knew that beaches were often combed, cleaned by early morning workers at the resorts. I knew that I would find a different world, have a different experience by walking up the beach, but this time I saw a few things that got me thinking.
We stayed just north of Playa Del Carmen, on the Carribean Sea. There was both a lot of seaweed and a lot of litter washed up on the shore. I began taking pictures, because all of this litter just began to catch up in my mind and a lot of it is something that we can all do something about. You see, what I most commonly saw washed up on the shore were bottle caps. Plastic bottle caps that come on water bottles or soda bottles or sports drink bottles.
Then I realized that while people can recycle the bottles themselves and get money back, there is nothing you can do with the lids but throw them in the garbage. But why, both the bottle and the lid are plastic. Can’t we do something about that other plastic, reuse it somehow?
Then I began to think that that isn’t the main problem. the main problem is that we’re using plastic bottles in the first place. When at home, I often drag around a refillable water bottle. I don’t buy bottled water unless I’ve forgotten my refillable container. But I do buy it sometimes. I also occasionally buy something else like a pop or a juice. And all of those lids are ending up in the ocean and destroying these beautiful beaches! So now, after my two hour long walk, I’ve developed a new goal of lessening my purchase of plastic bottles to practically nil (I’m going to be realistic, it’s going to happen sometimes, but I’m going to try really hard to avoid it). I have two favourite coffee travel mugs, and a few water bottles. I can do this. I can avoid purchasing plastic. Hopefully it helps my wallet out too.
And maybe these pictures will help you think about litter and the state of our oceans and lands as well.
JEH
I have to say, Mexico in January was a great place to be. Now I’m back in the snow, though the temperatures have been surprisingly pleasant. I was happy to learn that it was -40 C while I was away, plus there was a blizzard. I’m glad I got to spend time on the beach reading instead of dealing with snow. It’s taken me a few days to readjust to winter and work and regular life. I think it would be all to easy to live on a resort where you ever have to cook clean or worry, except maybe worry about if it’s going to rain. Here are some picture from around the area we stayed in, it was gorgeous.
I finished reading two books on vacation and read parts of a couple others. I never read just one book at a time, but read whatever suits my mood. GoodReads tells me I’m 1 book ahead of my reading goal, which is excellent because I think reading 60 books in a year is going to be quite the challenge, especially since I have a couple long books on my shelves.
I’ll post a review of As I Darken tomorrow, one of the books I finished while on holiday.
Till then,
JEH
Lucky # 13! This update, I’m pleased to say that I have made it to the gym twice. There are a few reasons for this:
So on that front, things are going well.
In the writting world. I wrote nothing on Christmas Eve and Christmas, and have been writing between 600 and 1,000 words a day since. The lead I had at the beginning of my year (September 2016) has shrunk, and I’m down to a 14,000 word lead. Which is pretty good, though I’m hoping with a week of sunny vacation that I’ll be able to draft up a storm!
This morning I woke up to light, thick, fresh falling snow. The roads were a disaster but everything looked so pretty again.
Also, as I posted earlier this week, I made it to my 40 books in a year reading goal as posted on Goodreads. I’ve actually finished another book since then and plan on finishing one more. I can’t wait until January 1st, 2017 when I get to set my new reading goal. What’s your goal going to be?
JEH
Fences are built for many reasons. Why was this fence left to decay? What about how this broken fence makes you or your character feel. Write for five minutes. 
So yesterday was the first day of NaNo. I wanted to blog about it and wish everyone well, but I was just so busy trying to get the writing done that I had no time for blogging. So here I am, wishing everyone good luck on their writing journey!
Yesterday was the perfect day to stay indoors and write. It was cold, grey, and rainy. Fingers felt like ice after a mere minute outside. Even the magpies were rooting in the woodchips in an effort to stay warm. I took a few pictures to share, since I was surprised that there was still so much fall colour after that crazy snowstorm we had a month back. Thankfully, the snow is still gone for now, and it’s even going to get into the teens this weekend, so you might see some pictures of the sun.
Today, I will continue to write while my stealthy cat watches me from the shadows. From the looks of things, he’s not happy with the arrival of NaNo wrimo or the cold weather. He loves going outside, but not in the rain. Good luck on day 2!
Walk down this dark path. Something jumps out at you. What is it? Why is it after you? Are you going to run away or fight?
This post is a Young Adult Book Review. I only review books I’ve chosen to read, and am not compensated in any way.
Switched by Amanda Hocking is one of those books I’ve had on my shelf forever. It was, in fact, my bathroom book for the past five or so months. Does anyone else do bathroom books? You know, the book you leave in the loo just in case you need to sit in there for a while? Well, I do. But I pulled it last week because I wanted to read the second half all at once because I couldn’t wait anymore.
I’m pretty sure by now that everyone has heard of Amanda Hocking—well, everyone in the self-publishing world anyway. She’s one of the biggest self-publishing success stories, and I, for one, would love to find that kind of success, though unfortunately, my books have been nowhere near as popular as her’s.
Switched (A Trylle Novel)
3.5/5 Stars
JEH
What is it like to be this ladybug? What struggles does it face? Why is it climbing over this rock?
J. E. H U N T E R 