Only Here, Only Now by Tom Newlands
Hello!
I thought it was time to have a chat about something massive that’s impending for me, and to discuss the reasons around why I’m choosing to do such a thing.
That’s me now. Note I never post body shots anywhere online, but you’re about to get some at the end of this post.
In August I’ll be travelling to Turkey to undergo a gastric sleeve operation. This decision has not come lightly, and follows years of umming, ahhing, and endless research. I’ve chosen to go with Booking Surgery for the procedure, and my surgeon will be Dr Katar.
I've read a lot of good reviews for I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning from the book-based accounts I follow and I felt like it'd be a book I'd enjoy as well. I requested the ARC for this one quite close to publication, and after a couple of days I figured it was too close to the book's release to get the chance to read. That is not how it went; on Wednesday evening I got the approval notification...the day before publication!
And now for something completely different…
I thought I’d mix it up a bit as I don’t want this blog to be all books, so I’m here to share my top ten tracks from January according to my Spotify plays. My music taste is somewhat eclectic so I’m starting this post with no idea what will actually come up in this list! I mostly play my liked songs on shuffle and listen to whatever is thrown my way from that.
“Something bad happened last night, but I can’t remember a thing…”
What an unexpectedly fantastic surprise - my first ARC of the year! I never thought my new little NetGalley account would be chosen to read this in advance, so imagine my delight when I got the email saying I’d been selected! Last summer I read Katy’s first novel How to Kill Men and Get Away With It and immediately fell in love with her writing style; witty and humorous, twisted and emotional, and clever enough to have you rooting for the morally dark main character, despite her murderous tendencies. Suffice it to say, I had high hopes for The Murder After the Night Before from the day it was announced.
A couple of weeks ago I finally got a beautiful new addition to my leg tattoo collection!
Some way somehow it'd been almost eight years prior to this appointment since I'd been tattooed, so I was excited, nervous, and more excited to get it underway.
Since he was born I've wanted a tattoo for Jackson. Not all of my tattoos have meaning, and I'm very much an advocate for getting what you fancy simply because it looks good, but there's been a desire to have a Jackson-specific piece for many years.
Hello again after a nice little break!
Those of you who had 'She'll Never Update This Regularly' on your Kayleigh's Blogging Again bingo card can stamp that one off...
It seems that as time goes on it becomes more obvious that procrastination is my only strong suit - literally I am currently writing this in place of an essay I have due on Tuesday - and it's kind of the only way I can comfortably function, despite being beyond stressful and not actually comfortable at all. It’s really not a superpower, it’s super frustrating, but I can’t seem to operate unless it’s with a sense of urgency. One year later and I’ve still not had anything further in terms of ADHD-based helped and it’s getting to the point where some days feel unmanageable.
Anyway, tangent aside, a lot has happened since I last posted here, and I’d like to do a little roundup before I post another three things and disappear until 2028. I mean hopefully that won’t happen, but none of us will be surprised if it does, right?
