Sunday post – Violet Daniels

Sunday Post #5

In this weekly wind up, I recap what I’ve published during the week and share with you what I’m currently reading. I hope you’ve all had a great week, and continue to stay safe in these challenging times.

Things already seem incredibly different this week compared to last Sunday. The UK is seeing rising Covid cases and we’re already running out of tests before the Winter even begins. There are murmurings that something is going to be announced, but who knows what, the government are unpredictable by nature and I wouldn’t be surprised if something changed overnight.

I had a tweet blow up Friday night, and couldn’t believe some of the comments – I even had to block and report people who were saying Covid-19 was a hoax. But there you go, that’s the kind of world we live in.

I’ve been writing a lot this week and have continued my success on Medium, nearly securing 2.3K views on one post. It feels different there and I feel like people read what I have written. Yesterday I managed to write a whopping 4,000 words and I’ve still been keeping to my daily habit of writing something every day. But as always, some days it’s easier than others. This weekend I’ve written practically nothing, but figured I probably deserved some time off.

It is starting to feel like Autumn in the mornings, as we’re getting the golden kind of sun that I know and love. It’s still fairly warm during the day but the nights are drawing in and I’m probably a bit too excited about having to wear a dressing gown in the mornings.

There’s still a lot of uncertainty about my job, as there is only one month left of the furlough scheme. It is a worrying time, but hopefully, I’ll be able to cling on.

I’ve posted relatively little this week, but I have been writing daily to try and make sure I can work to publishing something every day. Here’s what I published this week.

There are lots of things in the works for the weeks ahead, so hopefully, I can work towards establishing some kind of publishing schedule to spread things out in an organised way. If I go back to work, I’m going to need to do this to try and manage my time better.

This Week on the Blog

Book Haul #1 ~Ali Smith, Ottessa Moshfegh, Zadie Smith & More

This Week – Elsewhere

5 ‘Difficult’ Books Worth Reading, in Books Are Our Superpower

The Daily Routine of a New Writer

I’m currently reading the same books as I was last week, but I’m nearly finished with Such A Fun Age – I am enjoying it so far and I think it will be one of my favourite books this year. I’ve been dipping in and out of Quiet, as it’s quite heavy going because of its academic approach. I’m finding that I am relating to it a lot though – due to being a natural introvert. I suspect it will take me a while to read but I don’t mind that.

Next week you can expect a review of Such A Fun Age, though I expect it will be quite a difficult one to write, as it’s a complex book.

Happy reading, and keep staying safe.

Sunday Post #4

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted at @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news ~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.

Another week, another Sunday. I’m writing this feeling a little sleep deprived as I haven’t slept much this weekend – but not by choice. I’m having another insomnia flare-up, which I haven’t had for a while. They tend to come and go in spouts. I think it’s because I’ve been feeling more anxious than usual, and I’ve neglected writing in my journal and the importance of gradually winding down in the evenings – which always helps.

It’s been a strange week – again, I haven’t published too much but I have still been writing every day, although the word count is down on last week. I averaged around 1000 words a day this week, compared to my usual 2000. I don’t stick religiously to a word count, but I think it’s good to have an idea of how much you are writing to help you stay on track.

I’ve been doing my first bit of copywriting for a small company based in London and I’ve been enjoying it so far. It’s freelance and technically my first paid writing job which is exciting and a step forward. I get to learn about completely random things like antique carpets and cloud software but it’s strangely satisfying!

I’ve had some more success on Medium – I’ve now been named as a top writer in their reading and books categories, which is exciting and completely unexpected. Having only been on the platform for a month I didn’t think I would get this much recognition so quickly. I have been loving writing over there and it’s really improved my confidence.

It was my 23rd birthday last Wednesday, which passed in a haze. It was a strange lockdown birthday but still a nice day. We got a takeaway and I did lots of reading, it was nice. I saw my family from a distance yesterday and was able to celebrate with a cake (but I didn’t blow the candles out in the usual way!) and nice food. It’s the little things these days.

It’s meant to heat up again next week just when we thought Summer was over. I hope it doesn’t get too hot, I’m ready for winter now.

This Week on the Blog

Surviving Another Year Around the Sun

Book Review: Alone Together

Book Review: Salvation Station

This Week – Elsewhere

10 Books to Read in 2020, Books Are Our Superpower, Medium

Reviewing my First Month on Medium

Currently Reading

Quiet, Susan Cain

I’ve always known I was an introvert, so I thought I better read this book. I fancied reading some more non-fiction so I decided to pick this up.

I’ve only read about 50 pages so far, but have already learnt some pretty interesting things. Van Gogh was an introvert, as is Bill Gates! It starts with a discussion about how American culture and society grew to prioritise extroversion, and how this is gradually changing as we alter our misconceptions about introversion and shyness.

I think I’ll learn a lot about myself with this one.

Such a Fun Age, Kiley Reid

When the Booker Prize nominees were announced a while ago, this was the only book I thought I would like the sound of, so I decided to read it.

The story begins with Emira, a young, African-American babysitter, who gets accosted at her local supermarket for looking after a white child. The security guard in a racially motivated attack accuses her of kidnapping the child and she is forced to call the father.

It follows the perspective of Emira, and her employer, a famous blogger called Alix Chamberlain.

I’m really enjoying it so far and it hooked me straight away!

I really haven’t been reading that many articles this week, so I will leave out my favourite articles for the week – hopefully there will be some to include next time.

Please note – this post does contain Amazon affiliate links and if you choose to use them, I will earn a small fee but this doesn’t impact my review in anyway.

Sunday post #1 A busy writing week

This week I’ve gotten back into the flow of writing. I’ve been reading a lot of articles about the writing process and have since learned the importance of making writing into a habit. It may seem like an obvious thing, but to me, I used to think I should only write if I felt inspired – but I realised I could be waiting around for ages and that may never happen.

Every day this week I have been getting up slightly earlier and writing first thing – I was surprised how quickly the words have been flowing and how addictive it has been. Before doing this I was always worried this approach could potentially make writing a bit of a chore – but I think I’ve fallen even more in love with it. I’ve been writing mostly over on Medium, where you are all welcome to follow me there too. I have been exploring the platform and do like the element of simplicity it gives.

The week-long heatwave in the UK finally broke, which meant I naturally felt more like doing things. We’ve been having lots of rain and the air generally feels a lot fresher. I also went back to the gym for the first time in 5 months and was pleasantly surprised at how safe I felt. I closely monitor the number of Covid cases in my area and as soon as that goes up – I will adjust my habits, but for now, it’s been over a week without any new cases.

David Stuart MacLean

I am about mid-way through this book and already am completely hooked. It’s an e-ARC which is due to be published this October. It follows the life of Barry Nadler as he starts his freshman year of high school. It narrates his dysfunctional family life and his attempt to be as invisible as possible.

Containing undertones of the difficulties of race and xenophobia within rural Ohio, it provides a social commentary on Barry’s small, but growing world. It is startlingly comic but a deeply revealing narrative about the seeds of middle-class grievances and the shaping of modern American political consensus.

Posts in the pipeline…?

There will be a review soon of the above book – possibly next week. I’ll be writing more over on Medium as well if you’d like to follow me there. I’m currently preparing to write a few other pieces published elsewhere – one on Kamala Harris and the other on the importance of intersectional feminism, so look out for those, which will be on my socials.

For this blog, I’m also thinking about doing a small book haul, as I recently treated myself to some new books. Well, second hand, but new books if you get what I mean. I’ve never written one of those though, so I’m unsure of where to start!

Favourite articles read this week

Mini-Reviews | An American Marriage & The Mothers ~ @ Gil Reads Books. I was very happy to see the return of Gil’s book reviews, I love reading her reviews as she writes so eloquently, and also tends to read the same kind of books as me!

Mini Review, Midnight Sun ~ @ Dee’s Reading Tree. Having also recently finished Midnight Sun, I was glad to hear that Dee felt the same kind of nostalgia as I did. I found being inside Edward’s mind and seeing another version of the story very interesting too.

It’s too hot ~ @ really (not a runner) England has been going through a heatwave and by the second or third consecutive day, I was very sick of it too. I very much empathized with this post, running in the heat is a nightmare, I just avoided it all together!

Book Review: Such a Fun Age ~ @ Books and Bakes Having just ordered this, I found this review very useful and it was incredibly well written and made me excited to read the book.

The 5 States that Will Decide the Election ~ @ Dave Fymbo. I’m getting a bit obsessive over following the US election, and I found this post really useful. I find US politics a mind field at the best of times, but this was very explanatory.

What I Wish I Knew Before I Started Writing ~ @ Matt Lillywhite. This was the post that made me realise I need to write every day, so I am eternally grateful to Matt for writing this! I’d encourage every budding writer to have a read, I found it very motivational.

Have a great week everybody!

Please note – I was not paid for any of the reviews mentioned, all opinions are my own. However, if you are interested in buying the books via Amazon, please consider using my Amazon affiliate link on the titles mentioned, you would be helping a newbie writer out! I will receive a small fee from Amazon, but it won’t affect the price of your book.

This Week on the Blog

This Week – Elsewhere

This Week on the Blog

This Week – Elsewhere

Currently Reading

This Week on the blog

This Week elsewhere

Currently reading

Posts in the pipeline…?

Favourite articles read this week