Hi friends,
Today is Sunday and the first day of March! So time for our Sunday Post that I am linking to The Sunday Post hosted by Kimberly @caffeinatedreviewer and a monthly wrap up going with “my best reads of February”.
In my private life first
This work week has been slower than the previous months thanks to the holiday! I didn’t have five to seven meetings a day and could finally tackle my overflowing mailbox, make work plans with colleagues, analyze what had to be improved etc.
And it seems that next week will be very weird as my managers have decided to keep us the whole week (yes five work days) in homeworking thanks to the Corona Virus crisis! They fear all the colleagues coming back from abroad where they went for the holiday and want to contain the epidemy if one would arise!
On the positive side, it means no rushing to catch my train, no waking up early and more time to rest.
On the down side it means not reading as much as I do when I commute and not seeing my colleagues! Well, even if I saw them “face to face” we have orders not to kiss cheeks, not to shake hands and stay one meter from each others. Yes it will earn popularity points I guess!
It seems to me that the world has gone crazy with that virus.
Don’t misunderstand me, maybe I’ll die from it as it seems that people above fourty are prime target and I fit that bill but on the other hand, what can we do? We can try to limit the damages for sure but we will never avoid everything. If my time is up, my time is up, nothing to do about it.
I just hope that this will stop before the summer as we had plans to go to YALC London by the end of July!
On a higher note, I am still doing custom funko pops and Friday I made two more: Rhysand from the ACOTAR series by Sarah J Maas and Kaliis Idraban Gilwraeth from Aurora Rising (see the fanart and my funkos below).
I worked hard on Rhysand’s wings as I wanted to make them different than just black clay. I wanted them see through and glittering and found a fantastic tutorial …in German 😆 I don’t speak Gremand but thanks to Dutch I could understand most part of it and the video helped too!
Oh and the three swords tattoo on Kaliis forehead are smaller than half the nail in my pinky so …. And I used a brush, not a pen!
.
.
.
On the blog (click on the graphic to read the post)
Again I am doing a wrap up with only my best reads of last month.
For the first time ever in years no five stars in February! Maybe I am becoming too picky or I went from a trend of amazing books in January and nothing compared….
But many 4,5 stars and books that totally surprised me so that’s still a win! I have read 12 books in February and reviewed 11 of them.
So my best February reads where:
The Life duet by Jewel E Ann : The Life that Mattered and The Life You Stole.
This duet was a 4,5 stars and a real rollercoaster of emotions and questions! Never before have the conversations on Jewel’s spoiler group been so heated! These books are really unique and won’t leave you unscathed!
The Diviners by Libba Bray was a 4,5 stars and a phenomenal audiobook! It was my first dab in horror (light horror or I wouldn’t have been able to listen to it) and I already know that I will listen to the whole series in the coming months!
If These Wings Could Fly by Kyrie McCauley was an ARC sent by the publishing house (many thanks to Harper360UK) and broached the topic of domestic abuse with a tinge of paranormal. This story was excellent, true yet smart. You could feel that the author had experienced something similar in her youth. I recommend this to everyone willing to read a nuanced story on that topic.
Last week on the blog, we had our Meet Your Next Book Boyfriend and I posted about two favorite book boyfriends : Nikolai Lantsov and Weston J Turner!
.
.
And this week’s Top 5 Tuesday was about books that gave me hangover! I wanted to feature new books and chose them going back on four months ago!
.
In the blogosphere and literary world.
This week for quiz, I have one around the Squad 312 of Burning Aurora! Click on the graphic to take the quiz! I got the role of leader!
Some very interesting posts this week!
Kim @cadburypom
https://cadburypom.wordpress.com/2020/02/26/whimsical-wednesday-91/
Shares once again the best animated movie!
Kat explains how to build a cohesive Instagram theme!
https://novelsandwaffles.com/how-to-make-instagram-theme/
Em talks about when books should be banned
https://kinesiologic.wordpress.com/2020/02/27/f2rw-when-should-books-be-banned/
That’s it! How was your week? Anything fun happened?
Thanks for reading!
Sophie
You’re so talented lady, those Funkos are gorgeous!!
Thank you Trisy!
I love your funkos, Sophie!!
Thank you Meeghan!
Great wrap up, Sophie! Working from home sounds nice! It’s too bad that you won’t be able to read as much as you want to.
Have a Wonderful March!
Thank you Raven you too!
Your funko’s are awesome!
I just heard the London Book Fair has been cancelled but hopefully since YALC is later in the year it won’t be affected.
Wishing you a great reading week, stay healthy!
Thank you Shelley!!!
I really hope things will clear up with the virus soon as well, especially as I had plans to travel to Asia pretty soon but it seems like those might be foiled 🙁 I hope you will be able to get to go to YALC! I also have a week of online classes because the university doesn’t want us meeting in groups of people…
Well Olivia I hope this crisis will stop soon!
Well Olivia I hope this crisis will stop soon!
The Corona virus is definitely troubling but I hope we’ll get it under control soon and those the majority of people who get it will recover. I love that you’re still making these custom Pop dolls. Rhysand looks fantastic!
It seems impossible to avoid talk of the Coronavirus these days. It’s concerning for sure but I also think many people are very reactionary and tend to panic (which is so not helpful). My husband’s work trip was just canceled and I can’t say I’m upset. Great job on Rhysand! I love the way his wings turned out. I have that duet by Jewel E. Ann on my TBR and can’t wait to get to it.
Thank you for your praise Tanya!!!
Omg that Rhysand is AMAZING! You are so good at that, I wish I had half your talent (and patience!)
Thank you Caro!!!
I really wish you could sell them…I’d bite your hand off for them!!!
Hahaha thank you Caro!
I hope you stay safe from the virus! This is all so scary but also expected. It’s great that they implemented those decisions.
I agree with you Genesis. Let’s hope the virus will die soon!
The virus is nasty, but working from home sounds awesome. I don’t like waking up early or riding public transportation. I hope you have a good March!
Thank you AJ you too!
I worry about the virus, not so much for myself, but for people with poor immunity like my grandson with Type 1 Diabetes or my mom whose health is not the best. I watched Dr. Oz this past week and pointed out how the spread of this infection is double that to a normal flu- so yes, it’s dangerous.
Love your Funkos!
Ah the Coronavirus. So much concern, and rightly so, I get it but I feel the same way. You can’t avoid EVERYTHING. I know someone planning a trip to Paris and they’re kinda afraid to go because of the virus, and I’m like… it’s PARIS! Go lol!!
You are like a Funko machine! I can’t believe how good those look.
Ooh quiz!!!
Holy cow! Rhys is amazing. His wings are stunning. The circumstances are not the best, but I would love working from home. Just one less day a week commuting would improve my life greatly. Enjoy it!
The whole world has gone corona virus mad. I guess working at home will give you more rest in the long run, and hope you stay safe, Sophie. Other than a few extra groceries, I think we’re pretty safe from catching it here, in the frozen north. The frigid cold will probably kill the virus dead, and we are more likely to die from the flu than this. Anyway, take care of you and your family! ❤️
Both myself and my mom work in healthcare so there is a higher chance we will get it and I am scared but my mom is very much like you, saying if it is her time it is. Hopefully they get it under control. And your custom Funko’s are AMAZING. I can’t even fathom what it takes to make those! What an awesome skill 🙂
I think being able to work from home for a week would be GREAT! Not forever, but in the short term you can get some extra rest, wear comfortable clothes and use commute time for other things. Have a lovely week and I hope you get a little reading time!
I think your attitude about the virus is extremely healthy, but maybe because that’s my take on it as well.
Your Funkos are amazing! All of that detail! You are a true artist Sophie!!
Oh, and I took the quiz… apparently I would be the Brain??
I work at a hospital, so I’m more than a little worried about the corona virus. What can you do, though? They say most people who get it don’t die, but the spread is worrisome. Enjoy your week at home, Sophie! 🙂
This whole Coronavirus epidemic is quite hectic! To see how fear invites all into such a chaotic approach is impressive. I do hope things will be smooth selling for you this March. Oh, by the way, LOVE your custom funkos! They’re beautiful! 😀
We have had schools close here due to illness but not coronavirus. Its mostly because of the flu around here. I would LOVE a week to work from home though. Maybe I could finally get over this sinus infection! I work in germ factory (nearly 500 teenagers!).
I suspect my mom built up her insane immune system after teaching for so many years Samantha!
The funko pop are so so cute!!
Thank you Susy!
1) Thank-you for highlighting my banned books post! I’m so happy you liked it!!!
2) Holy smokes, it looks like you had a really active month! — and a whole collection of really amazing reads!
3) The pops = amazing!
4) The corona virus … I feel you. A number of academic groups have cancelled their annual conferences out of fear of transmission (packed poorly-ventilated hotel seminar rooms are probably not the best place to be …) — In my city, both face masks (which are not recommended) and hand sanitizer (which is better, though not as effective as proper hand washing) are entirely sold out.
It’s an interesting social environment, because everyone seems simultaneously terrified, resigned, and dismissing … which I suspect comes from all the mixed messages we’re being sent. (Bad enough for the Canadian government to charter a plane and quarantine people on a military base for 14 days … but the country is also at low-risk and no real prevention measures are in place?) I think the next week is going to be very telling as to the direction and appropriate public health response. For now, the best advice is to simply stay healthy – eat, sleep, and exercise – and wash your hands frequently.
… and, well, if a quarantine happens, I have about 40 physical TBRs on my shelf just itching for attention. (I also only have 1 half-eaten bag of mini eggs and 1 can of soup … maybe I should go get some canned beans or peaches or something?)
So basically Em you are saying that you want to be quarantined to read all your books? LOL
Ha ha, well, I’d rather the option to spend 2 weeks off work, reading books outside in the lovely spring weather … but, yeah. I’d also take a quarantine 😉
Someday, Someday left me with a book hangover too. So good!
Have a great week.
Thank you Whitney you too!
The virus has me a bit worried. as I’m sure we’re not being told everything. And those Funkos are darling!
Well Laura we can only wait and see what happens…
Thanks for linking to my Whimsical Wednesday post Sophie. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am over how much you liked it!
I think your workplace is probably making the right decision. Given the contagion rate for this virus I think being overly cautious might be the way to go.
Would you believe I still haven’t read Skyward or Starsight? Too many books!
No you still need to read Skyward???
I’m so ashamed!
LOL My family has a saying (made in jest, but still) “If I die, I die!” What I did do was a little prep just in case. I bought extra canned goods and such in case there is a point where we cannot get out to the store easily. Nothing that won’t be consumed but just proactive. This could blow over or not. I’m older than you 😉
You are older than me Tracey??? No!