April Recap || Busy As A (Queen) Bee

Posted May 3, 2020 by Sammie in chat with me, monthly recap / 22 Comments

March felt like a year, and April flew by before I even wrapped my mind around the fact that it was, indeed, April.

What I’m saying is that can May please slip back into a normal state of time? I know it’s easy to forget what day of the week it is, but that’s no excuse for a whole month to just vanish, okay? Whoever’s doing magic tricks with time, tone it down a little.

So what’s been up with me this month? Not as much as you might think.

  • The Writerly Way went through a rebrand and redesign! In case anyone missed it. The dragons have landed! The blog is now officially The Bookwyrm’s Den, which I think the new name and layout better reflects me and the state of the blog, and I’m just excited for it. It wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it would be, but I’m still glad to be on the other side of it now. Plus, what could be more me than dragons? Except maybe dragons with talking swords that like to stab people, but that seemed a bit busy for a theme.
  • For those who were following, my post streak lasted 113 days! Which wow, talk about some staying power. I’m actually super impressed and consider this a major win for the blog this year. Unfortunately, posting every day just isn’t sustainable for me. What it ended up coming down to was I started becoming super stressed about it and getting things out late because I hadn’t had time to write it beforehand. What ultimately broke the streak, though? My brother-in-law (who’s living with us) has been playing Elder Scrolls Online, and he talked hubby and I into redownloading it, so we had a gamer weekend and I did absolutely nothing blog-wise. I have no regrets.
  • Schools are officially closed for the rest of the school year. Which means I’ve got Minion half the week to try to squeeze in some schooling, and my mother-in-law has her the other half so that I can actually still, you know, work. Because for some reason, I still have to work. On the one hand, I’m glad to still have a job and be able to work. On the other hand … I really would’ve enjoyed sitting home playing video games for two weeks with my family. I might just take a week off when this is all over just to get my time in, darn it.
  • I’ve fallen behind on blog hopping, but I still love you all. Everyone in my household is still working full-time, plus my daughter being home all the time now and having to spend more time taking care of my self-quarantined grandfather … time is a luxury I don’t have much of anymore. I’m trying to squeeze in what I can, but man is it hard. So forgive me if I’m not around as much as I used to be.

Anyway, let’s get to the books!

First things first, why don’t we wrap up the O.W.L.s? Guess what? I passed! I am officially on the way to being a magizoologist. *puffs out chest*



O.W.L.s Wrap-Up

Career Prompts:

Bonus Prompts Completed:







Discussion Posts

No posts found.

Top Ten Tuesday



WWW Wednesday



MG/YA Takes on Thursday

First Line Friday







Blogger Post Love

Here are some great posts this month from other bloggers:

✦ Lisa @ Way Too Fantasy talks about how she started listening to audiobooks and how her habits have changed.

✦ Lydia Schoch talks about some tips for developing a social media calendar.

✦ Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads and Mir @ FangirlPixieBlog are hosting the SeaMAYden-athon during May.

✦ Mary @ BookCraic has a new weekly meme called #MGTakesonThursday to highlight some fabulous MG reads!

✦ It’s time for Wyrd & Wonder and there’s a great group of people doing it this year, so check it out and join us! Expect plenty of fantasy things on the blog this month!

✦ Esmee @ Servillas Speaks has officially become a Booktuber, so go give her some support and love!







Twitter Fun

Not following me on Twitter? Maybe you should.







Instagram Fun

Not following me on Instagram? Maybe you should.

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“I don’t like reading epic fantasy,” she says as she gives five stars to epic fantasy book after epic fantasy book. . QotD: What’s one genre you’re considering giving another chance? . I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with epic fantasy, usually ending in bitter disappointment and me sobbing in the corner because I want to love this genre so much. Everyone else does. Why am I like this?! . Turns out, I DO like epic fantasy. Or, well, I CAN. I’m just picky. Surprise! Why don’t you seem surprised? Instead, I’ve fallen back on taking recommendations for epic fantasy and reading those books, and so far, I haven’t been led astray. . So I’ve decided that in 2020, I’m giving epic fantasy another go. No longer will I be intimidated by monolithic tomes! No more will I shy away from books that are large enough to be considered a deadly weapon. Plus, if nothing else, they make some pretty sturdy foundations for a solid book fort. 😉 . #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #books #booklover #bookworm #booknerd #bookaholic #bookblogger #readersofinstagram #booksofinstagram #instabooks #igreads #booksbooksbooks #booksofig #bibliophile #bookish #bookishlife #allthebooksapril20

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In case you’ve ever wondered what library staff does when the building is closed to the public… . Other than skip gleefully through the endless rows of books and occasionally pet them so they know they’re still loved, of course. WE MAKE A MESS. . No, wait. I mean, we REORGANIZE. Which would be way more fun if I was an organized person to start with. It’s almost like an adventure, though. You learn new skills on those hopefully, right? I mean, new skills or die, sooo… . Meanwhile, we have heaping piles of books everywhere and I have never been so tempted to build a book den! Think anyone will notice if I disappear into YA to make a nest and live there until we reopen? . #bookstagram #books #booklover #bookworm #booknerd #bookaholic #bookblogger #booksbooksbooks #bibliophile #bookish #bookishlife #libraries #librarylove #librarylife #publiclibrary

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22 responses to “April Recap || Busy As A (Queen) Bee”

    • Sammie

      I sacrificed a few neighbors to the Dark Lord. But shhh, don’t tell anyone my secret. xD If anyone asks, I have no idea what happened to everyone. Probably Coronavirus or something. *shrug*

      Reply
    • Sammie

      I cheated, and quite a few of them this month were novellas. xD The numbers look pretty, but if you counted the pages of books? Not so impressive haha. I’ve been in a mini slump like everyone else. 😛

      Reply
    • Sammie

      Thanks! I thought it was fun while it lasted, and I loved the challenge and seeing if I could do it (the answer is: yes) even if it wasn’t sustainable forever. 😀

      Reply
  4. jessicabookworm

    Sammie, I love the new look/theme of your blog (the dragons are adorable 😍) and I truly impressed you managed to read 14 books with how busy you’ve been! There’s me happy to have read five books, which is just over average for me, so yay! Take care and happy reading in May – Here’s hoping it doesn’t disappear like April did! 😅
    jessicabookworm recently posted…Sunday Reflection | 3rd May 2020My Profile

    Reply
    • Sammie

      Thank you so much! I had a lot of fun coming up with it. Nothing could possibly be more me than dragons. xD

      If May disappears like April, then I quit, darn it. No more of this nonsense!

      Reply
  5. Julie Anna

    Congrats on reading 14 books this month – and blogging as much as you did! That’s incredible. And I’m definitely looking back on this when my physical TBR is down because so many of these look so good!

    Reply
    • Sammie

      Thanks! Good luck with your physical TBR. I’m still wrestling mine, but I don’t have the good sense to, like, not buy more. xD It’s such a bad habit.

      Reply
  6. Dini @ dinipandareads

    Ugh, I really don’t know if I want May to be like April and basically disappear in the blink of an eye or if I want time to go back to normal speeds. I’m leaning towards the “blink of an eye” but I bet that’s definitely not what’s gonna happen! 😂 YAY for gamer weekends (it’s a total mood) and you did so well on your April reads/challenges! I totally failed my OWLs but let’s not even go there, I’m glad that I at least completed our buddy read 😂 (wait, was that in April? LOL) I super love the revamped site, Sammie <3 I hope May is just as awesome for books as April was!
    Dini @ dinipandareads recently posted…Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUpMy Profile

    Reply
    • Sammie

      Hint: you want it to go back to normal speeds. I’m not sure if I can handle any more months disappearing. xD

      Speaking of gamer weekends, did I tell you that hubby bought Animal Crossing finally (I knew he would, but he was in denial)? He was glued to the Switch, and I couldn’t help but think of you talking about how it was monopolizing your time. xD

      Yes, our buddy read was in April, even though it feels like it may have been March of three years ago. 😛

      Reply
    • Sammie

      I feel like April was making up for how fast March went. You know, like when something lags on the computer and then suddenly speeds up crazily to catch up once it starts working again? That’s what I’m going with. No more buffering and no more fast-forwarding now, please. xD

      Reply
  9. Lisa @ waytoofantasy

    I too have fallen behind on blog hopping – trying to catch up lol. Hope your May is fantastic and that it doesn’t fly by as fast as April did (seriously, where did that month go???)

    Reply
    • Sammie

      Unfortunately, it seems like it has been. Didn’t May just start?! How is it a third over already?! Ahhhh. Will time ever go back to normal speed?

      Reply
    • Sammie

      It seems like there were a lot of magizoologists this year, which is interesting. A lot of people wanting to deal with dragons, maybe? xD

      Hey, progress is progress. Five is great, too! I also read a lot of mid-grade now because of my job, so that makes it seem like I read a lot more than I do. xD

      Reply

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