Hi everyone! I’m back!!!

First off, I’m really thankful for saved passwords. I realized today that I haven’t written in over two years. Admittedly, it’s been a busy two years; life sometimes gets in the way, and, until recently, I been neglecting my library (both public and person). But that’s for another day…. the point is, after a long furlough, I’ve managed to cannonball myself back into my favorite hobby just in time for No Tele August, my yearly television fast.

No Tele August started last summer when I found myself in a rut with television shows. I just kept watching the same things over and over again. Feeling in a funk, I made the decision to turn off the tele and have a month of doing other things: reading, yarn crafts, maybe even a jigsaw puzzle (spoiler alert, I never finished – puzzles + cats = “where’d that piece go?”). I think I knocked out three chucky Steven King books then (Under the Dome, 11/22/63, and most of It). It was a good month, and when August 2019 rolled around, I decided to try it again.

And this time was even better…

The month began with Dewey’s Reverse Readathon, which was an absolutely perfect way to jumpstart No Tele August. I managed to finish Bee Season, which I’d been working on here and there for a while, started Neverwhere on audio, and got in Race Me in a Lobster Suit at the end for a quick finisher. I still have a lot of thoughts about Bee Season, which may warrant a separate post, but Gaiman was delightfully dark per usual and Race Me gave me some hearty chuckles. But that was just the beginning.

Here’s a rundown of the severn remaining #noteleaug reads in micro reviews:

The Magicians/The Magician King. This was a pseudo recommendation from the BF, who loves the show but hasn’t read the books. The best way to describe this trilogy thus far is a overt ripoff of The Chronicles of Narnia with sex, drugs, and pretentious young adults. I had difficulty sympathizing with any of the characters, and mainly I plugged through (and continue to do so in the last installation) because I wanted all my questions answered. Here’s hoping Syfy’s interpretations morphs the characters into likable subjects.

Harry Potter and the Prison of Azkaban (read by Stephen Fry). This was an “I’m too sick to listen to something new” pick during the part of August where I thought I was going to die (yay for summer colds and hyperbole!). I love love love this book, and I love having Stephen Fry read me to sleep.

Hope Never Dies. This is the first installation in Andrew Shaffer’s Obama Biden Mysteries. The tale is told from the point of view of Joe Biden, and it does not disappoint. There was a nice combo of silly bromance moments, heartfelt moments, a few damned good stabs at elected officials on both sides of the isle, and even reference to the lizard people (SN: I happen to know someone who truly believes in that theory…).

Hope Never Dies probably ranks as my favorite read of the month, and I will pick up the latest installation, Hope Rides On.

Whittington. This is a cute middle grade novel that randomly showed up in my house. None of the kids laid claim, so I’m guessing God blessed this crazy cat lady with a story about a cat and his barnyard friends. It was adorable and sweet, with positive messages and little sad moments that stories such as these cannot avoid. Very cute random read. Yay for kitties all around.

The Bookshop of Yesterdays. This was my least favorite, hands down. I bought this book on a whim because I liked the cover and I like books about books. It, however, turned out to be more of a family drama co-starring a bookstore. Once again I was bored and irritated with the pretentious characters who were all selfish and “woe is me” types. If I hadn’t paid money to purchase this one, I would have DNF’d.

The Rules of Lying. This book was written by a local author. I picked up the first two parts of the series last year at Pensacon. I hate to admit I’m always a little leery when it comes to local, self-published books, but I was pleasantly surprised, and it definitely ranked high in this month’s selections. My biggest critique was that, at times, I lost the sense of the time period; the language and character interactions felt out of place for the 1930s. Otherwise, a fun read. I have Book 2 on my TBR.

No Tele August was a fantastic success and a wonderful retreat into reading. Without a doubt I plan to make this a tradition (y’all are always welcome to join). Truth be told I haven’t really resuming any viewing habits. I just don’t miss it… and there’s this little thing called RIP XIV to keep me armpit deep in my TBR pile.

Any takers for next year?????

Hello. It’s been a while.

The word, “tumultuous” doesn’t really seem sufficient to describe the chaos of my life in 2016. I started last year unemployed and struggling to finish my thesis.

My thesis.

Those words have been the bane of my existence for far too long. In 2013, put myself on the path to PhD. I was firmly committed to that arduous journey, and had no doubts whatsoever that I would achieve that goal. A thesis would make that even easier, make me  a more desirable candidate. I would show these schools that I could roll with research and they would want me as their student.

Fast forward to 2017. I went through 2 (well, more like 1 1/2) rounds of soul crushing rejections for PhD programs, watching literally (yes, literally) every other person I knew who had applied get accepted. Every. One. I won’t discount all those very talented and lovely people, and I’m so proud of all my friends. But I was left behind, and it was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to overcome. All the while, sitting in the corner was all that stood between me and a master’s degree.

My. f**king. thesis.

In addition to the PhD blow, which felt like it blew in on the wings of a hurricane, 2015 brought unemployment. And depression. At that point I had lost all motivation to do pretty much anything. Finding a job was hard; I wasn’t technically qualified for most jobs I could do because I didn’t have the degree, and there aren’t many jobs out there for someone with a BA in psych. I even looked for office work. 75 WPM and still nothing. Hell, even Barnes & Noble turned me down. All the while I kept telling myself to use the time wisely. Get the paper done. You’re almost there, I told myself.

When I got a job in April of last year, the excuse became work. Adjusting to work. Tired from work. I told myself, no new books, no new Netflix, no blogging until you get it done. But just thinking about it made me ill. My faculty advisor called it negative valence. And I was really damned negative. But still it lingered in the back of my head. Work on it. Just for an hour. Ok, maybe tomorrow. Maybe this weekend. It was always in the forefront on my mind

Then things took a bad turn at work, and I resigned immediately. Another three months unemployed. Another Christmas without being able to afford gifts. I kept beating myself up each and every day, but at the same time, I couldn’t stand to even open to books or read an article. Pure hatred is what I felt.

I’ve been rambling a lot. And so far it seems like Heather Bee is having herself a pretty elaborate pity party. I can imagine, my dear readers, that you’re dying to RSVP this bitch.

But 2017 has given me a huge gift.

Yesterday I was given the opportunity to return to my original degree track. You know what that means…

Thesis, no more!

If I’d known this was an option, I would have changed things a long time ago. But I suppose there are reasons why things happen when they happen, so I’m going along with it.

It’s not quitting. Not really. I no longer have immediate aspirations to get my PhD. One day, down the road I may reconsider, but I’m 35 years old, and I’ve spent all but 9 years of my life as a student. It’s time for me to step away. In addition to that, my thesis, which served a purpose at some point in the past, has lost its value for my current endeavors. I’m back to work again, and I’m a practicing counselor. By returning to my original track, my final degree requirements align with my current goal of getting out there and being a helping professional. It just makes sense.

And, more importantly, I am elated. How’s that for some positive valence? I came home yesterday ready to work. I’ve organized my space and gathered my necessary materials. I am finally ready to work. I feel so relieved and free; I don’t feel guilty about taking this time to share my goings-on with you all. It’s a beautiful feeling, and one I’ve greatly missed over the last year or so. I am not in the place where I wanted to be back in 2013, but that’s completely and totally OK. I believe the choices I’ve made that lead me here serve a purpose, and while I seriously hated life, I am here today, ready to work. Ready to move forward. Ready to finish my degree and graduate, to practice this craft I’ve been honing for several years now.

I am ready. Let’s go.

Anything Can Happen Thursday is a series of posts where I ramble about whatever tumbles out of my head. It may be books, but more likely, cats.

Currently// relaxing, watching HP4 on the tele, and doing laundry. Oh, and actually blogging! I’ve been away for quite some time now mainly because I’m….

Working// all the time.

About six weeks ago, I started my job as an addictions counselor at the state prison. With an hour-long commute each way and having to be at work at 7:00, I’m pretty whooped by the time I get home each day. It’s cutting deep into my reading time, too, damnit. But I’m slowly getting used to the grind and to working with inmates.

Watching// Doctor Who (or, rather, rewatching).

In the evenings when I get home, I’ve been too tired to do anything else but sit, nor had the mental fortitude to read much. So I’ve been hitting the Amazon Prime hard lately going back through Doctor Who. I just started season 7, and I have every plan to start some form of exercise plan when I’ve finished. Cant’ use the “getting used to the new job” excuse for much longer.

Listening// a lot. Between a recent road trip and two hours each day driving to and from work, I’ve been devouring audiobooks in rapid succession. The latest of which is Maestra by L.S. Hinton, which may warrant some form of review; it’s been…. interesting, but not necessarily in a good way or in the way the author intended. But I like the narrator’s voice, so that’s something.

Reading// a little. I finished Thursday, 1:17p.m. by Michael Landweber about two weeks ago, which was load of timey wimey fun. I’ve got a review brewing for that one that’ll be out soon.

Writing// even less. I’ve gotta few ARC reviews that I need to write up, and I’m slowly progressing on that. Again, stupid work is interfering with my blogging and leisure reading. How rude!

So, that’s where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to. Keeping this as bookish as possible. How are all of your readers doing????

Currently// in my jammies, but about to switch on Uber so I can schlep folks to and from their Super Bowl festivities.

Currently// coming down from finishing The Library at Mount Char and waiting for my next Uber rider.

Happenings// This was a full week! In addition to midterms, research, and readathoning, I’ve finally decided what I’m going to do re: graduate school applications. While I would prefer to apply to schools all over the country, I must also consider my hubby’s career, and he currently works for a geographically limited institution. So, I will be applying to only one PhD program this year. Fortunately, this happens to be the same university where I interviewed last year, so I’m hoping second time is the charm.

Submitted// a couple of abstracts to the Southeastern Psychological Association to present research posters at the 2016 annual conference: one with the health psychology lab and one based on my thesis data. Here’s hoping those get accepted, but since the conference is in New Orleans this year, I’ll be going regardless!

Progressing// on my thesis. The last couple of months I’ve struggled with physical illness and writer’s block, and I’ve had to push back my graduation a couple of times now because I haven’t been able to put cogent thoughts on paper. But something clicked this week and I’m getting going again. It may not be 100% complete by the end of the month, but it’ll be mostly done. And that will be a huge load off!

I also managed to get a couple of blog posts drafted this week! (The writer’s block also affected my ability to write reviews…) It feels really good to be back in the groove!!!

Reading// Because of school, I didn’t get to read much during the week. I’m still working on Packing For Mars by Mary Roach. I wanted to use Dewey’s readathon to finish it, but didn’t quite make it. I discovered two things about myself during the readathon: I am better at binge reading fiction; and reading about astronauts and space barf when you’re queasy is a really bad idea.

Listening// to the Harry Potter series read by Stephen Frey. I finished HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban Friday night as a readathon appetizer, and got through about 160 pages of listening to HP and the Goblet of Fire throughout Saturday. I absolutely adore listening to Frey read these books. Not only does he have a fantastic voice for narrating, his character voices are on point!

It feels good to have a good week! How was yours, readers? 

Right now, this is my favorite day of the week. On Wednesdays, I have weekly thesis meetings and then class, so Thursdays are for unwinding, and getting ready for the next week. What’s great about this coming week is…. NO CLASS! Thank the gods for a professor who loves Back to the Future so much she cancels class on October 21st!

So, what’s the big deal?

I can do fun stuff without having schoolwork hanging out head!!

So here’s my plan for the weekend… I caught up on my shows tonight (any Haven fans out there?), so Friday will be for adulting: making progress on my thesis, doing some laundry, maybe visiting the grocer. This’ll pave the way for a glorious Saturday spent participating in Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon!

Here’s what I hope to accomplish:

• Read Packing For Mars and Why I Killed Pluto
• Catch up on some reviews
• Finish Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on audiobook

I’ll be posting my progress on Twitter, so follow me @beesbookbuzz (I also share great pet photos, IMHO)! Who else is excited for a readathon?!

 
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Last month, I decided to read Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. So far, I’ve read the first four (of seven) books, and while I’ve most enjoyed the first and fourth so far, I have much more time thinking about the second installment, The Drawing of the Three. Admittedly, this has been my least favorite thus far for a variety of reasons, but that isn’t the source of my rumination. What has continued to plague my thoughts in the month since turning the last page was a grossly inaccurate mental health diagnosis.

About a third of the way through the book, the reader is introduced to two characters, O’Detta and Detta. However, these characters inhibit but one physical body. These split characters are supposed to be the result of the very rare mental health diagnosis, dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder). However, in the book, the diagnosis King used was schizophrenia. Despite a common misconception that these two disorders are the same or similar, they are vastly different. This is what has been on my mind so much lately. I was so irritated with the misdiagnosis that I almost dropped the book and abandoned my journey to the Dark Tower.

Since then I’ve been thinking a lot about the portrayal of mental health in books (and television and film for that matter). And the question hanging on my mind is this: does it matter if the author gets it right?

I’m currently finishing my Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology, and one year of that time was spent as an intern counselor. Mental health is kinda my jam, so as a pre-Masters professional and mental health advocate, my initial reaction is to stand on the rooftops and shout, “Hell no! Get your shit together!” There are so many misconceptions out there about mental health and psychotherapy, and such misconceptions can affect whether an individual in need seeks appropriate care.

But…. how many other things are misrepresented in our books?

I recently read that there was a huge scientific error in The Martian regarding windstorms on Mars, which is ultimately what left Mark Watney stranded. I loved this book before I knew about this, and now having that knowledge hasn’t altered my opinion of the book. Are there astronauts, physicists and engineers racing to their rooftops for the same reasons I have? And how many procedural crime shows on TV today are riddled with procedural inaccuracies? I mean, seriously, in what world would the FBI give a psychologist a gun and send him out into the field? How many legal procedures are grossly simplified or outright wrong? (I could go on and on about some psychological aspects of these shows that also make me want to pull out my hair, but I’ll save that for another day.)

Hence my current dilemma. Should writers be getting mental health right, or do the laws of fiction allow some flexibility?

I would love to hear what you all have to say about this subject, readers!

Happenings:// Thesis stuff. Everyday I spend a few hours either at the library or tucked away somewhere quiet to write. I’m hoping to be ready to defend it in September or October, then I can graduate in the Fall!

Reading:// July was a slower reading month for me. I finished three books this month: The Martian by Andy Weir, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker’s Guide #2) by Douglas Adams, and Our Dried Voices by Greg Hickey (see my review here). I’ve been continuing my spacey theme, and each of these was different, but fun!

Currently, I’m reading Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Part of me is glad I waiting this long to read it because I can see several parallels between Offred’s world and my own. The other part of me is absolutely terrified. I’ve also picked up a handful of galleys that’ll keep me occupied for August (and maybe into September)

Watching:// Mr. Holmes. MB and I caught a matinee this weekend, and it was fantastic. Ian McKellan killed it (because he always does). He was very convincing playing a 93 year old (and the make-up was very well done, too). Definitely a different take on the character, and worth a watch if you’re into Sherlock Holmes.

Loving:// Health insurance!!! We’ve been without it for a couple of months since MB changed job recently. I’m glad we didn’t need it during that time, and I’m super psyched that we’ve got it back!

Hating:// toothaches… Grr… I’m blessed to still be cavity-free at 33. But my streak may be ending. Good thing we got that insurance, right?!

Anticipating:// my first author interview in the coming week. I’m going to be including in Kayce Hughlett’s book blog tour for her debut novel, Blue (see my review here). Expect to see my post on the interview on August 12!

How was your week (or month), readers? Have you done interviews before? Got any tips???