Writing
Bahahahaha! I said a first draft by September! BAHAHAHAHA! Let me just go die of laughter really quick because there is NO WAY I’d have managed a first draft by today. Honestly, I’m not even sure if I wrote anything in August because it was such an absolute nightmare for time. #PhdLife 0.0 No, seriously. I started my PhD program this week.
I’m hoping September will be a little better, but I honestly can’t say. I will have to keep up on blog posts and book reviews (which also means reading), and I know I’ll have plenty of papers to read for school. Don’t even get me started on some of the extracurricular programs I decided to sign up for to better my future career chances. 0.0
Reading
Well… August was a bit of a nightmare when it comes to reading. Honestly, the only reason I managed to finish even 3 books is because two of them were audiobooks, but August was a bit of a disaster in general for life. And I think we can all agree that if life is chaos, hobbies do not exist. Still, three books is better than I thought. (I was thinking closer to 1. :p ) I’m hoping that I’ll have time for more books in September (and I better because I have a review schedule I’m already falling behind on. Eep!)
Blogging
Well… blogging wasn’t awful this month. :p I mean, I did accidentally put up a couple posts before they were ready. Downfalls of scheduling all your posts in advance, but I don’t think I did too bad. I still got quite a few posts out this month in addition to my regular posts. That’s always fun. I even gained a few new readers in August, which is helping me with my 1,000 followers by 2018 goal. Yay! Still, got a long ways to go.
Though, I think I’m gonna take it easy in September. I am just starting grad school (in case you haven’t heard about it all over my blog. :p ) Which means most of my time will be devoted to actually keeping up on lectures and notes and studying for exams, working in the laboratory and making a good impression on a potential professor, and being the sole care-taker for my puppy. I also have a LOT of posts planned for October. So keep your eyes peeled for that. 😉
Thank you soooo much!
1,000 Total
-808 Current
192 Followers in 121 Days!
Book Reviews
Zodiac by Romina Russell {5 Stars}
A Drop of Night by Stefan Bachmann {3 Stars}
Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman {3 Stars}
Audiobook Reviews
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge {2 Stars}
The Heir by Kiera Cass {1 Star}
And I Darken by Kiersten White {2 Stars}
Splintered by A.G. Howard {4 Stars}
Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton {1 Star}
Discussions
Violence in Fiction
{Highlights} Emotional Responses: Anger
Emotional Responses: Anger
{Highlights} Series In-Process vs Complete
Series In-Process vs Complete
{Highlights} Emotional Responses: Crying
Emotional Responses: Crying
{Highlights} Movie Adaptations
Movie Adaptations
{Highlights} Manga
Miscellaneous
ZERO REPEAT FOREVER Release Blitz!
HENGE Audiobook Release Blitz!
THE HUMMINGBIRD HEART Release Blitz!
THE EPIC CRUSH OF GENIE LO Release Blitz!
Book Signing w/ Susan Dennard!
Sunshine Blogger Award #2 & #3
Best Historical Fiction Novel
Updates
2nd Blog-o-versary!
Calendar Girls August Wrap-Up!
TBR… what?!
July Update
Melanie Noell Bernard 
You can do it Melanie! If there is a will, there is a way 🙂
And yes, audiobooks are the way to go when we have a busy schedule! It’s amazing how many things can be accomplished while listening to a good story 🙂 I also would not have listened to the amount of books that I did if not for audiobooks.
Make sure to take care of yourself and have time to take breaks, nap, etc 🙂 Starting something new can be exciting but hectic!
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Hahahaha! Thank you, Sophie! 🙂 I am having some trouble figuring out the work-life balance at the moment, but a lot of deadlines for fellowships and other programs are early. So, after those go by, I’ll figure it out. Hee hee! Of course, sleep has always been way important. I get at least 7 hours no matter what. Homework and papers are NOT that important. (Well… not yet. :p)
I can’t say I’ll be able to do audiobooks anymore. Kind of hard to listen to them in lab, especially since my current label is Biosafety Level 2, aka no headphones allowed.
Oh well.
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Oh gosh, best of luck on fellowship applications. That’s great that you sleep enough each day- it’s so important! I am definitely working towards those 7 hours each day haha :’)
Whoa! It might be best that you don’t wear earphones in the lab then! Better alive, even if it means less audiobooks haha… These days I am also finding it hard to listen to audiobooks, just because a lot is on my mind and also because I’m trying to put more work into my novel (I feel that listening to another story kinda interrupts my writing mood? Not sure if that makes any sense haha)
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Nah. That makes total sense. I honestly haven’t gotten anything written since I started grad school (and a month before that even) and I feel awful! So I sat myself down yesterday and wrote a new short story because I need to be actively writing SOMETHING. You know?
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Yeah! I also do find that I have to be in a certain frame of mind to write too, which makes it hard when life is hectic! That’s great that you wrote a short story despite how busy you are! Hope to read it some day? 🙂
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Well, that all depends on whether the lit mag decides to publish it. 😉
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Sounds like it’s going to be busy for you! Good luck with your PhD program. 😀📝📖
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Hahaha. You have no idea. 😜 And thank you!
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😆😛
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Hang in there, Melanie. You can do it!
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Thank you, Tanja. ☺
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Sounds like you’re going to be very busy over the next few months! When do you sleep? Or are you a vampire? It’s possible……
My copy of Zodiac came in the mail today!!
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Bahahahaha! Well, I mean… I’m pale enough to be a vampire. :p But sadly sleep is a necessity for me. Even if I don’t get everything done that I need to, sleep comes first. I see it as a form of health and I don’t want to sacrifice my health for hobbies or school. Still… I may need to cut back an hour if I’m gonna cram in writing my novels on top of everything else. 0.0
YAY!!! Can’t wait to hear what you have to say.
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