Sundays with Sam is a combination of Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews.
My Week in Review
This, my friends, was a tough week. We started our new schedule at work, and now I leave at 5:50 am and get home around 6:30 pm. I used to get home by 5 pm, so, it's a big change for me, and I am feeling the pain of all that lost time. I guess it's a good motivator for me, because it is pushing me harder to find a new job. I would love something closer to home, within 30 minutes travel would be amazing, but I am not holding my breath. I may not be able to blog hop every day, but I will make up for it on the weekend.
I was glad to see that Justin's hair was just as wild as ever
So, tough week, but a great ending. Wish me luck next week, as it will be my first full week with the new schedule.
— Possum Every Hour (@PossumEveryHour) January 10, 2020
From @mitsuki_and_fuji: “Rawwwwwrrr you are no match for my powers of cuteness 🤺” #twitterweek #catsofinstagram pic.twitter.com/PcwMkkudSY— Cats of Instagram (@catsofinstagram) January 9, 2020
Baby Hippo sticks his tongue out pic.twitter.com/BcROBpVryh— 41 Strange (@41Strange) January 4, 2020
Let's Discuss!
- Elgee wonders why book reviews don't get much engagement
- Marie has some YA recommendations for you
- Look at all these YA book adaptations coming your way
On the Blog:
- Monday: Isn't It Romantic? - Headliners & Almost Just Friends
- Tuesday: TTT - Looking Forward to in 2020 - Adult Edition
- Wednesday: CWW - Most Likely & Wanderlove
- Thursday: Discussion - Why Punish Yourself?
- Friday: Blog Tour - Throw Like a Girl by Sarah Henning
STACKING THE SHELVES
Edelweiss/NetGalley
- Not That Kind of Guy by Andie J. Christopher
- The Marriage Game by Sara Desai
- Beach Read by Emily Henry
- By the Book by Amanda Sellet
- What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter
- You Don't Live Here by Robyn Schneider
What I Read Last Week
My reading week ending a little lower than it started, but it was still good overall. Katie McGarry's book was a standout for me, and the sequel to The Deceivers was fantastic! I didn't see THAT coming, and I loved it!
Books
- Stronger Than Words by Paula Stokes - ★★★★ 1/2 review
- Echoes Between Us by Katie McGarry - ★★★★ 1/2
- The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa - ★★★★ review
- Scammed by Kristen Simmons - ★★★★ 1/2
- Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard - ★★★ 1/2 review
- The Revolution of Birdie Randolph by Brandy Colbert - ★★★★ review
- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares - ★★★★ review
- Summer State of Mind by Jen Calonita - ★★★★ review
- Only Love Can Break Your Heart by Katherine Webber - ★★★ review
What I Am Currently Reading
- Pippa Park Raises Her Game by Erin Yun
- The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares
What I Plan to Read
- The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley
- What Kind of Girl by Alyssa Sheinmel
- If You Only Knew by Perna Pickett
- A Season of Daring Greatly by Ellen Emerson White
How was your week?
Let us know in the comments!
Let us know in the comments!
That is a long day! Ugh. I can definitely understand how you feel. and yay for live music! I love going to concerts, there's always so much energy, and it never gets old. :) Glad you're getting some nice time with your daughter.
ReplyDeleteBaby hippo!!! Cute :)
I am glad my first show after a long hiatus was a reunion show and in a smaller venue. MCS has great fans, and they made the show even better for me.
DeleteUgh, sounds like a tough new schedule for you. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that you can find a new job that better suits you.
ReplyDeleteI'm not holding my breath, but I will still try to find something
DeleteHere's hope you can find a new job closer to home. That schedule is BRUTAL. One has barely the time to fix themselves dinner and collapse into bed.
ReplyDelete"This is so important, when you are as vertically challenged as I am."
😂 I loved how you phrased it. I'm vertically challenged as well, BTW...
I know how excited you were for the show, so I'm glad you had a great time!
I hope every year to find something closer. Maybe one of these days it will happen. The show was a nice way to end the week. Everything went off, problem free.
DeleteOMG, that work day is super horrendous! I have everything crossed for you in finding a new one closer to home. In the meantime, I hope you settle into the new schedule as best you can.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you at least the concert and daughter time to enjoy! I'm also "vertically challenged" so I wholeheartedly understand the happiness of that half wall!
Nobody was happy, when we were told that they would be lengthening our workday, but the first shift got the worst deal. Everyone else is coming in a half hour earlier, and because I am the only one who takes mass transit, I was affected the most. We are going back to the same venue in March for a show, and our plans are to get the same space to watch. It should be even easier, because we will be there early for a VIP acoustic set by the artist.
DeleteThat is such a long day. I am sure that you are exhausted by the time you get home, Sam. I hope you find something close to home with great hours very soon. I am so glad that you had great seats at the concerts. I love it when that happens. I am about midway through Echoes Between Us and am enjoying it. Glad to hear that it was a stand out for you. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteLast week was such a struggle, and this week, I work all five days. My hours are only 8 am - 4:30 pm, but because of the timing of the trains and buses, it takes forever to get home. Now my morning and evening commute are clocking in at 2 hours. YEAH! Happy to hear you are enjoying Echoes. I wasn't sure how I would feel with McGarry's last two books taking on a touch of the supernatural, but I enjoyed them both.
DeleteSorry about the work schedule. That’s why I had to quit blogging over the summer. I had to leave for work at 4 in the morning, and I got home at 4 in the afternoon. It was brutal. I’m glad you had fun at the concert! Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I don't know how people, who actually sleep a normal amount handle days that long. I am letting a bunch of things slide to try and keep up with the things I enjoy, and as much as I try to come up with a better solution, the only one with any promise is finding a new job, and that's no easy task.
DeleteI'm right there with you in trying to find a new job. It's freaking hard. I'm really hoping 2020 proves to be nicer to me than 2019 did! Glad you were able to have fun at the end of the week though!
ReplyDeleteNice new reads too! New to me ones but a few are familiar from seeing other people get them this week too! Hope you enjoy them all!
Here's my StS
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
Here's hoping something good happens for both of us
Deletegood luck in your job search. i love that baby hippo. :-) and the kitty, what a cute ball of fur
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
Thanks! I need all the luck I can get. I never knew how cute a hippo could be until I saw the picture, and I am trash for cats that stand up like that. I don't know. It amuses me.
DeleteOoh, yikes, that sounds like quite the schedule change! That sounds so late to be getting home.
ReplyDeleteI hate change, and I really hate this one.
DeleteSam now you have basically the exact same schedule as me! And yes it's tiring! Now I also am vertically challenged so I get it about having a good view at a concert venue LOL
ReplyDeleteI am not working for about 4 of those hours, and therefore, not getting paid. I also don't make enough money to warrant the length of my commute. Most people, who do such things, make a good salary.
DeleteHope you're able to find a better job situation soon!! Nice haul this week! I want to read By the Book.
ReplyDeleteI was excited to get that approval, because HMH is hit or miss for me, and the book sounds like such a good fit.
DeleteI am sorry that your new schedule is kicking your butt. That is a long long day. I will keep my fingers crossed that you find something closer to home. I used to commute an hour each way to work and it made for really long days. I am still trying to find a good rhythm and not doing well as far as balancing work, kids, blog and sanity. Hopefully, I will manage it this week. Have a wonderful week, Sam. I love the baby hippo picture.
ReplyDeleteI hated teaching, but it allowed me to be more of a hands on mom, when my daughter was younger. I like this job better, but the commute is killing me. I guess you can't have it all.
DeleteWoah, that is such a long day. I hope that this week goes okay but that you're able to find a new job that's closer!! Yay for live music. I love concerts, and that's great you've been able to spend so much time with your daughter lately. Ooh Beach Read! That's on my wish list. Hope it's a good reading week.
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
I was all excited, when I went to EW and saw that Berkley did a drop. Beach Read is one of my most anticipated books for 2020, so, fingers crossed it lives up to the hype in my head.
DeleteThat is a long work day! I don't know how you do it! But, its good you got more time with your daughter and got to enjoy a great show. And I too am vertically challenged so I know exactly what you mean about having the right seats!
ReplyDeleteThe club is small, but has a few platform areas with barstools. We really lucked out! It made this time seeing MCS a bit better than the last time, when I was squished on the floor and couldn't really see the stage.
DeleteAh man, I hope next week is better for you! The show sounds amazing though! I hope you enjoy all your upcoming reads. There are some gorgeous covers there!
ReplyDeleteThis will be my first week working 5-days since November AND with the new schedule. I hope I make it.
DeleteThat new schedule sounds awful, I'm so sorry. And I've noticed over the past week that when I'm checking Twitter for the last time of the day, you are already on, liking or commenting on tweets.I feel like we work the complete opposite schedules.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about looking for a job closer to home though. The long commute is really starting to get to me, as I imagine yours is as well. I hope you find something soon!
It's not my job. Working 8 hours is normal, but it's the timing of the trains and buses, that make my commute so much longer. I cannot afford the $140 a month to park at the station, which would cut some significant wait time from my commute, but I also cannot do the drive with my vision problems. I just have to suck it up until I can find something new.
DeleteI'm so sorry that your new schedule is so difficult. I'd be missing all of that lost time too. If you do job hunt, I hope that you can find something that works better for you. That's great that you're getting to see your daughter so much and that the show was so good. I'm a shorty too so those seats sound perfect, lol.
ReplyDeleteI felt like I just got home and it was already time to go to bed, which is just stoking my anxiety, and I don't have the time to start seeing a doctor again about that. No wins for Sam these days. Wow. Almost everyone, who has visited this post is short. Good to know I am not alone in this world.
DeleteBest of luck to you with what you decide, Sam. Also, pygmy hippos are the best.
ReplyDeleteThat hippo is one of the cutest things I have seen lately
DeleteThanks for helping me out Sam :) Changing browsers worked! That sounds like a really tough schedule. I hope you find a new job soon. Spending time with your daughter sounds like a good time, and Motion City Soundtrack sounds like it was a blast! It looks like you had a nice haul this week Sam! I loved Echoes Between Us! It was a standout for me too :)
ReplyDeleteLindy@ A Bookish Escape
Lindy@ A Bookish Escape
YEAH! I have no idea what was in that update, and I just didn't have the time to try and figure it out. The apple support was trying to blame blogger, but with how and when it happened, I am pointing to the Apple update. MCS always puts on a good show. Very high energy and the crowd was excited to be there, and a smaller club show is just always better than some big show. Glad to hear you loved Echoes too, though, I didn't doubt I would love it. McGarry is always a good bet for me
DeleteOof, you've got some long days; I'm sorry love! I really do hope you get a new job that's closer to home, 2020 goals!!!
ReplyDeleteEvery time it seems like things are getting better for me, the universe takes something that makes me happy away. I am sort of used to it these days.
DeleteOh, no, that schedule! :(
ReplyDeleteIt's the worst. Just going to have to suck it up, but I do still pout about it often
DeleteI'm sorry to hear about your schedule! I hope your search leads to a positive job change! Sometimes it's something like this that forces a serious look around, because it's hard to want to change. I know that's how I am. Unless something pushes me, I'm content to leave things as they are. Glad to hear you enjoyed Motion City Soundtrack! I saw them here in So Cal a few (probably several, lol) years back. Lol on the local band feeling your commuting pain! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not holding my breath. It's hard finding a job at my age, and after wasting away in a high school for so many years. It sort of nullified anything I did before that, but doesn't hurt to try. MCS is a favorite of mine. I am so lucky my daughter enjoyed listening to my music in her youth, and still embraces all my bands.
DeleteThat is such a grueling work schedule and it should not be that long for you :/ I really hope that finding a new job works out for you! And I saw you rocking out to that hating song on your twitter and yes!! You rock it because it is very deserved!
ReplyDeleteThe work day is normal, it's all the traveling. If only the train/bus schedules worked better with mine. The NJTransit sucks song was a highlight for sure.
DeleteOh goodness, the new schedule sounds brutal. So much time spent commuting. :( I guess it is a motivator to look for something new but job hunting and interviewing can suck and that becomes a motivator for staying put. Vicious cycle. Ugh. I’ve never heard of Motion City Soundtrack. I’m going to have to Google to find out who/what they are. I feel insanely out of touch when I don’t get pop culture references. LOL
ReplyDeleteGoing on job interviews is like going on a lot of first dates. I get tired of hearing myself talk about myself. MCS is not a new band, maybe early 2000s? I love them!
Delete