Instead of participating in the Monthly Rewind meme, every three months I’ll update the world on my life from the previous season. Enjoy the Seasonal Rewind!

Through the Lens

On one particularly rough day, the doorbell rang with a welcomed surprise: flowers from one of my clients! Just because. They brightened the following weeks in many ways. In February, I donated a foot of hair. Needless to say, my neck thanks me for it. And then in March, a couple friends from college sent me an awesome birthday package that contained these nerdy owl socks.

Life Highlights

To be honest, 2016 has been quite brutal so far. I’m still shocked, devastated, frustrated, heartbroken, and a whole mix of sad words, so I’m clinging to the joys of spring and March to keep me going. The birthday, taking up yoga, getting back into running, flailing over author cover reveals…March was on the right track. April has already proven to be filled with good news, so let’s hope everything looks brighter here on out!

Tunes on Repeat

As to be expected, the music I listened to on repeat truly reflect the state I’ve been in these last few months.

ABBA’s “Chiquitita” and “The Winner Takes It All” were just…blasted. All the time. Day and night, in my room, in the car, on Spotify. Sometimes I cried like there was no tomorrow, sometimes I sang and danced. But they’ve been permanently imbedded in my mind and I’ve no doubt I’ll forever associate them with this time in my life.

Little Mix’s “Wings” is a song I had on my running playlist back when I ran through Valley Forge. A good pick-me-up, girl-power kind of tune for exactly that: getting you up and moving.

And of course, it wouldn’t be March without some Irish music. The High Kings were played on repeat as well. “The Parting Glass,” sung by anyone really, is one of my favorites.

Bookmarked in the Community

1. Am I Outgrowing YA? @ Novel Ink — Christy shared her thoughts on her YA slump vs reading slump, and wondered if she was outgrowing YA or just not reading the things that capture her attention. Have you felt the same about a particular category or genre?
2. Book People Talk Movies: The Great British Bake-Off @ Bring My Books — January’s theme on Lindsey’s blog was Reality TV, and Gillian was more than happy to push Lindsey into the obsession that’s GBBO. It even inspired “Signature Dish Saturday” on the blog with Gillian’s Banana Chiffon Cake.
3. To Continue On or Not? @ Perpetual Page-Turner — For some, DNFing a book is easy. Or the kind of DNF that’s “let me just put this down and I’ll get back to it later.” But in this discussion, Jamie questions whether to continue a series. How do you decide whether or not to continue reading?
4. “Is this silly enough for you yet? Gothic enough, mad enough, even for you?”: Nostalgia for the ‘Victorian’ @ The Victorianist — No no, you’re not crazy, that is what Moriarty said to Sherlock in the special episode. Emily Bowles, a PhD candidate at the University of York, discusses the TV show Dickensian and the importance of nostalgia’s “shaping influence in the afterlives of the Victorians and their texts.” A part of me is still so romantically stuck in the academic world that I couldn’t help but share this!
5. Lies Bookworms Tell Themselves @ Paper Fury — Look me in the eye, bookworms, and tell me you haven’t had at least one of these thoughts.
6. “You Must Allow Me to Tell You…” @ So Obsessed With — Hannah highlighted twenty great declarations of love in literature, classics and contemporary, for Valentine’s Day. Check it out.
7. Falling in Love with Revision @ Clarissa Harwood — Something I think all writers should consider reading.
8. Taking the Guesswork Out of My Book Ratings @ Boomark Lit — It seems bloggers are very much influenced by their immediate emotional reaction to book, and thus it appears everything is 4 or 5 stars. But how can you critically differentiate a 4-star book from a 5-star book when it’s entirely influenced by an emotional reaction? How was the writing, the plot, the character development, the world-building, all the other ingredients that make a book great? Lauren’s got a neat system she’s shared on her blog.
9. One Weird Trick That Makes a Novel Addictive @ Jezebel — While the article seems to start by saying addictive novels are dependent on the author’s gender, that’s not it at all. Catherine Nichols is instead sharing the elements of classics still read today that make them compulsively readable, relatable, and addictive.

Popular Posts on Scribbles

1. That One Time I Binged on Kinsella — Intended to be Part One of a two-part post! My winter was full of Kinsella discoveries and humor, and I’ve enjoyed every page. Glad to see you have, too!
2. Book Review: “Salt to the Sea” by Ruta Sepetys — If you haven’t read Sepetys yet, do so now. She’s phenomenal.
3. 2016 Bookish Resolutions and Reading Challenges — One of the things we all need to do throughout the year is step back and examine our resolutions, personal challenges, goals, and areas for improvement.

Cherished Reads

The Forbidden Orchid by Sharon Biggs Waller ★★★★.5

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys ★★★★★

Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella ★★★★

Cherished Quotes

“’Manners cost nothing, sir,’ I said. ‘It takes as much
time to be rude as it does to be polite.’”
–The Forbidden Orchid, by Sharon Biggs Waller

“You have a horse, you ride wherever you want, you shoot
things with your gun, you go out in the night and find lost
children and jump under wagons to save little girls.”
—Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

“I saw a girl who races to help others but doesn’t help herself.
And right now you need to help yourself. No one should walk
up the aisle feeling inferior or in a different league
or trying to be something they’re not.”
–I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

Progress Update on Reading Challenges

Library Books: 3 / 10
Future Perfect || Blackhearts || Rebel of the Sands

#ReRead2016: 1 / 5
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Flights of Fantasy: 3 / 5
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix || Rebel of the Sands
Lady Renegades

Classics Challenge: 0 / 5
*currently reading Emma*

Rock My TBR: 3 / 12
Walk on Earth a Stranger || Arsenic for Tea || Twenties Girl

Impulse Buys: 3 / 5
Can You Keep a Secret? || I’ve Got Your Number || The Undomestic Goddess

Overall Challenge: 13/50

Random Obsessions

On TV: The final season of Downton Abbey took over my Sunday nights, and just about any other time I was watching Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. I need more shows like MFMM! Grantchester is back for season 2, and Endeavour is on its way for season 3, but really now. More great mysteries, please.

On Film: The Intern. Folks, if I loved Kinsella as much as I did and needed a movie that had a hardworking female career woman struggling through life, The Intern was a surprising treat.

In the Shopping Bag: 70% off sale in January at ModCloth! Flights from Munich to London in February! All the Kinsella impulse buys in March! Guys, retail therapy was rough this season. It’s back to saving. I need money for BEA and for my European jaunt in June!

Miscellaneous: To get back into yoga, I revisited Yoga with Adrienne. Adrienne is wonderful! I’ve completed her 30-day challenge and it’s fantastic. Do you have a favorite YouTuber or video work-out instructor you run to?

Looking Towards the Future

While the beginning of 2016 was rotten, I know the following months will be absolutely wonderful, no matter what life throws my way. My dear friend Amanda has her baby shower in April, I’m reuniting with all the bookish folks at Book Expo America in May, and in June I’m wandering through Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and England. I love traveling. It’s the best.

What have you been up to this season / this month? Any new obsessions or good reads or great music? Share some of your favorites here, and let me know if I should check out any great blog posts!