booked & busy | lately with lila january & february 2024

Hello, dear friends! Once again we have reached the end of the month and once again I have been left absolutely agast by the passage of time! I mean, who authorized this?! I want to speak to the manager!!😂

Anyhoo, after a month-long unofficial hiatus, I’m happy to say that I’m back! I had a lot going on this past January and February with the start of my college’s spring semester and not one but two health issues that came up, so maybe it’s no surprise that my entertainment media consumption was lower than usual. I did manage to do a little bit, though, so I’ll take the wins I can! Anyhoo, let’s take a look at what I did manage in January and February of 2024…

RESOURCES TO HELP CHANGE THE WORLD

Before anything: FREE PALESTINE!!! 🍉 For over half a century now, the Israeli government has been enacting a genocide against the Palestinian people. This is more than something that started on October 7, 2023. It’s not complicated. It’s genocide. And it’s important that we witness, raise our voices, protest, and fight against it in any way possible. Below are a list of resources to help educate yourself on Palestine, as well as to donate to aid the Palestinian people. In addition, I’ve added some Palestinian influencers and journalists you can follow to learn more from and who keep track of what’s going on. Peace to all and keep fighting the good fight!

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

• Decolonize Palestine
• Free Palestine Carrd
• Help Palestine Carrd

AID AND ASSISTANCE DONATION RESOURCES

• Medical Aid for Palestinians
• Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund
• Ceasefire Today!

JOURNALISTS & INFLUENCERS

• Motaz (journalist)
• Bisan / Her Backup Account (journalist)
• Plestia (journalist)
• Subhi (influencer)

FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE ✊🏼✊🏼✊🏼

what i posted

what i read

🪄 Morgana and Oz (Season 1) by Miyuli (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) Aaaaaah!!! A new favorite webcomic for sure! I whizzed through the first season of this adventurous and adorable webcomic in a day and a half (a record for me when it comes to webcomics!) and I’ve fallen utterly in love!! Morgana and Oz is a series about a witch who befriends a vampire from a vampire clan that her family is at odds with, and things really take off from there. It’s amazing and if you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend fixing that ASAP!!!

🪄 Morgana and Oz (Season 2, up to current episode) by Miyuli (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) I love that we’re delving deeper into the mystery presented at the end of the first season! Plus I can just feel a shocking twist coming, and I can’t wait to see what it is!! As I said before, this webcomic series is definitely a new favorite of mine and I’m so addicted!

what i’m currently reading

✨ Faebound by Saara El-Arifi This book was one of my top three most anticipated book releases of 2024, so I’m super excited that it’s out now and I’ can finally get’m finally getting to it!!! I’ve listened to the first several chapters as of now, and so far I’m happy to say that Faebound is pretty good! The plot is relatively fast paced and the characters are intriguing. Obviously, the course of the story has yet to really take off, but I can’t wait to see what’s to come!

⚔️ Sun of Blood and Ruin by Mariely Lares I just started reading this enchanting alternate historical fantasy retelling of Zorro, and so far I’m loving it! I went on Goodreads and saw it has many middling reviews from disappointed readers and I’m just ???? But we shall see if my mind changes as I progress, I guess.

what i plan on reading

In an attempt to kickstart my reading, I’ll be taking part in the GreekGodAThon readathon taking place this March (information/announcement video here)! I decided to join Team Hades and to use the Cerberus to trade three prompts! That said, my prompts and picks are…

🖤 Slaying The Nemean Lion: A Book About Featuring A Hero ↣ Sun of Blood and Ruin by Mariely Lares

This book is a retelling of Zorro, starring a magical girl who becomes a vigilante hero for her people.

✨ Slaying The Nine-Headed Lernaean Hydra: A Book With Multiple POVs ↣ Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

As far as I’ve read in Faebound, the book has at least two POVs.

🌳 Capturing The Ceryneian Hind: A Fast-Paced Book ↣ Where The Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek

I can’t say for certain that this is a fast paced book, but it is a YA fantasy novel, which is typically faster paced in comparison to an Adult fantasy novel…

🌿 Capturing The Cretan Bull: A Book Filled With Nature ↣ Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli

I loved the first two books in Ciccarelli’s Iskari trilogy (I haven’t read the third book yet *facepalm*) so I’m excited to read Edgewood, which she released after finishing up that trilogy!

🧚🏾‍♀️ Obtaining The Cattle Of The Three-Bodied Giant Geryon: A Highly Anticipated Book ↣ Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana

I’ve been dying to read this Black fae romantasy since I first heard of it and—lucky me!—it was just added to the Spotify Premium audiobook library!

🗡️ Capturing And Bringing Back Cerberus: A Book You’ve Been Putting Off For A Long Time ↣ A Sky Beyond The Storm by Sabaa Tahir

I’ve been putting off reading this audiobook because it’s the finale of one of my all-time favorite series and I wanted to read it “at the perfect moment.” Turns out there is no such thing as “the perfect moment,” so might as well try to read it now…

what i watched

🏹 The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 Episode 1 (⭐⭐.75) I know this show has a complicated relationship with Tolkien fans as it’s kinda loosely based off of his works whilst “stealing” his works’ name recognition. That said, while I’m a MASSIVE fan of the original Lord of the Rings film trilogy, I’ve never read the source material it was adapted from. NEVERTHELESS! Even I had qualms with this first episode in regards to its storytelling—specifically, the absolutely sluggish pace paired with the lack of compelling acting on pretty much all of the cast’s part (like, to the point that I’m wondering if the stale acting was more of a directorial choice?)! Everything about the episode just totally lacked the heart and whimsy and adventure that I associate with the whole universe of Lord of the Rings. I rarely quit shows after one episode—usually I give a TV series at least two or three episodes to see how the writers, directors, and actors begin to flesh things out—but when it comes to this show, I’m genuinely considering dropping it…

🤖 Arcane Season 1 Episodes 1 – 7 (⭐⭐⭐⭐) I’m giving this show a four out of five stars despite the fact that, after watching only seven episodes of it, I came away feeling like the show isn’t really for me. Let’s start with the good. The animation of Arcane is…beyond ungodly gorgeous! Every element of every frame is just breathtaking, and I congratulate the artists who worked on the series for creating such perfection. The storytelling is also impecccable as well, with a tight plot and intricate, expressive character work. So why did i find the show not to my taste? Well, namely, the depiction of trauma and PTSD was done so incredibly well, that for myself it was quite triggering. The series is very dark and visceral, and it just felt too much for me. So, while I think the show is outstanding, I doubt I will continue on with it for that reason.

🕷️ Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (⭐⭐⭐⭐) I loved the first film in this budding franchise, and this second film was pretty darn good too! I enjoyed learning more about Spider-Gwen and seeing her journey and how it affected Miles’s (plus their friendship/budding romance is so cute!). To be honest, I didn’t love it as much as the first film, but I did find it really enjoyable—and that cliffhanger ending was brutal! Ultimately, I can’t wait to see where the story goes in the following film!

👻 School Spirits Season 1 Episodes 1 – 2 (⭐⭐⭐⭐) I decided to start watching this show quite randomly when I saw it mentioned in passing on Tumblr. Going in, I didn’t know anything about School Spirits—I even thought it was a comedy series (hint: it’s not)! I quickly caught on to the fact that it is, in fact, not a comedy but rather a murder mystery where a teen ghost must solve her own murder with the help of new and old friends who are both living and dead. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve watched so far, though! I think the actors give a really authentic and emotional portrayal of the characters, and the plot is tight and full of intrigue. If you’re looking for a new mystery/thriller show with a paranormal spin, definitely give School Spirits a watch!

what i listened to

high notes

💖 “Batwanes Beek” by Felukah I love this pop take on the Arabic classic, “Batwanes Beek”! It’s perfect to dance to, and has some nice cultural “Easter eggs” for those of us who are Arab!

🍉 “Ya Tal3een” by Dana Salah This beautiful pop ballad by Palestinian singer Dana Salah remixes traditional Palestinian songs that were originally used to encode messages. It’s gorgeous and so, so, so moving and I encourage you to listen to it and look up the history of songs such as “Ya Tal3een.”

🎶 “Wactenamaci-Illumine-Moi” by Laura Niquay This song by Indigenous American (Atikamekw) singer Laura Niquay is so soothing! And y’all know we love to support Indigenous American artists around here!

high notes

🔥 “Free” by Florence + The Machine This song is one of those songs whose lyrics and melody grip my heart with how much I relate.

🌺 “Hummingbird” by Metro Boomin and James Blake Hummingbirds as an animal have a special place in my heart for personal reasons, so I’m happy to enjoy a song named after them, lol!

🌍 “Fu-Gee-La” by Fugees, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras This is such a fun song, and it reminds me of the sounds of my hometown in such a comforting way!

what i bookmarked

Cronk defended YA fiction (Video)

Kato critiqued the trope of female empowerment through sex (Video)

Leah discussed separating authors from their art

Clo recommended books for different Capricorn placements and books for different Aquarius placements

Morgan talked about being a reader with aphantasia

Raya explored the world of romantasy novels (Video)

Bianca showed off her 2023 reading journal spreads

Chiara highlighted diverse New Adult books and diverse fantasy books

Charvi created a beginner’s guide to audiobooks

Ana talked about why we shouldn’t view reading as a competition

24hryabookblog shined a light on 2024 YA book releases by authors of color

Megan explained the difference between paperbacks and mass market paperbacks

Cam spotlighted indie bookstores in Rome, Italy

Michael asked if you prefer to watch movies or TV series

Tee gave tips for reading with dyslexia

Marie made a big writing news announcement

Tasya talked about series she wants to start in 2024 and also recounted the lessons she learned from audiobooks as a visual person

Melinda gave us book recommendations for the year of the dragon

Caro gushed about 10 authors she discovered in 2023

Emma pondered if audiobooks count as reading

Vicky returned to her blog after a years long hiatus

Sophie tested and reviewed audiobook services

Elli recommended queer romances for Valentine’s Day

Tree and Bree created an original book tag based on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour

The Orangutan Librarian followed up her post on Fourth Wing with a post defending romantasy against the haters and discussed books she feels bad for enjoying

Jen highlighted powerful love stories that’ll make you shed a tear or two

Asha shined a light on nine modern romance novels for Valentine’s Day

Sammie gabbed about romantasy books they can’t wait to read

Naemi summited Hochgern and celebrated by recommending mountainous books

Liv shared books like Howl’s Moving Castle and also some dark academia book recommendations

Sophie shed light on fiction books featuring octopi and also catalogued taking the reading timer challenge

Amy showed off books to read if you loved Netflix’s One Day adaptation

miscellaineous favorites

One of my favorite animals is a hedgehog, and when I was about 15, my mom got me a little hedgehog plushie whom I named Henrietta and whom I knitted a little blue scarft for. Fast forward several years and a shop called The Clever Clove opened online selling pins, stickers, bags, stationary, and other little gifts themed around a little blue-scarf-wearing hedgehog named Henrietta—the joy I felt at this utter coincidence!!! Anyhoo, this year, the owner announced she was closing up her shop and they were having a massive sale. Naturally, I had to splurge on some Henrietta themed pins and stickers for myself and my mom! I purchased four pins—one of Henrietta and her blue scarf, one of Henrietta reading, and two of Henrietta and some strawberries (one for me and one for my mom)—plus six stickers of Henrietta. I love them all so much!!

what life was like in january & february 2024

january 2024

I started my spring semester at my college in mid-January, so life’s starting to get a tad chaotic again. This semester I’m re-taking Calculus II in addition to taking Cultural Geography and my ususal Choral class, and so far I’m enjoying all of the classes I’ve signed up for! I have a great teacher for Calculus II and the course content for Cultural Geography is really fascinating, so I’m looking forward to the semester. Aside from school, to make my life even more hectic, I also had a stressful health issue which I was dealing with and which wasn’t resolved until the end of the month (fortunately I am now completely fine!). But beyond school and my health, I got together with friends once and went on a couple of dates too, but nothing too big happened. All in all, it was a good, albeit weirdly long, month to start out 2024.

february 2024

February actually really flew by? Which I know shouldn’t be a surprise to me seeing as it is the shortest month of the year, but still!! It wasn’t too bad of a month, though. I had my first Calculus II exam of the semester, which sucked up a large chunk of time, and I also had to work on the first part of a project for my Cultural Geography class. I also auditioned for solo in a jazz song that my college’s choir will be performing in March—and I got it!!! Beyond school, I spent some time with my partner and we went on some lunch dates, which was really lovely. I also spent a day with one of my good friends in one of the semi-historic areas down by the riverfront, and I had such a fun time just gabbing and goofing around with her! February ended on a bit of a chaotic note, though, when I injured my lower back and ended up missing three days of classes. Fortunately, the injury isn’t anything too bad, it’s just painful and now I’ll have to work physical therapy into my schedule on top of everything else 🙃

what i’m hoping for in march 2024

Honestly, this March promises to be super busy academically, seeing as I have a choral concert (a.k.a. a choral assessment), a project for my Cultural Geography course, and an exam in my Calculus II course. Aside from school, though, I’d love to get together with friends once or twice to do something besides study. The middle/end of March also marks the beginning of springtime, so I’m hoping the weather will warm up significantly by then and maybe my friends and I can have a little picnic or do something fun outdoors.

spill the beans, friends!

• How were your January and February?
• Did you read anything notable?
• Is there anything you’re looking forward to this upcoming March?