Friday 31 December 2021

Happy New Year - Welcome 2022

Happy New Year 2022
Hello to all of you. I just wanted to wish all of you a very Happy New Year and hope that 2022 is a good year for you. Usually at this point I'd share my pick of this year's reads but I have had the worst reading year that I've had in a long time :( I've read very few books and reviewed only a tiny fraction of them! So I haven't reviewed enough to make a fair pick from. 

Home office
Home Office with Co-worker Cat
I am not sure why I've struggled so badly this year, you would have thought that 2020 would be the worst, with the pandemic starting and all the uncertainty and unknown, but I think that deep down I was expecting things to go back to 'normal' in 2021 and that just hasn't happened. The expected three weeks of homeworking that I started back in March 2020 is looking like the ongoing situation now. At least now I have a separate space to work, as we've made a small home office in the garage. It doesn't look like much but actually it's a really cosy and comfortable space and it's good for me to have a space away from the other parts of the house.

I also started a new job within the same company and this is good for me too, as I am doing different things, dusting off old skills and learning some new ones. I'm in a small team - I already knew three of my team pre-pandemic, but only know the other four people through video meetings, and although it's not the same, they couldn't have been more helpful or welcoming to me, which makes me feel very fortunate.

I feel in a lot of ways that my life has shrunk, as if I don't go anywhere or do anything. It's so much harder in the current climate to do things and go places, and of course it being winter doesn't help. I am trying to go into 2022 looking for positivity and to broaden my horizons again. I hope for a better year in 2022.

So, how was your 2021? I know a lot of you squeezed plenty of reading in, so if you have any recommendations of good books you read in 2021 I'd love to hear about them. Are there any books coming in 2022 that you're really anticipating? Let me know in the comments.

Again, I want to take the opportunity to wish you a happy, safe and fulfilling 2022. I hope the year brings you good things!  

12 comments:

  1. Yes, this year did have an odd tone to it. Neat that you were able to slip into a new job in the company and have a little space to work in. I had a quiet year of staying close by and doing things around the home, too.

    Happy New Year, Ceri!

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    1. Happy New Year to you too, Sophia! Have you published your favourite reads anywhere?

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  2. The pandemic has limited my social life. But I connect through ZOOM for Church and Bible Study, send letters (the old-fashioned kind) and sometimes see friends if I take my walks at my grocery store due to the weather limiting me from walking outside. Happy New Year.

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    1. Do you know, Sheila, I think it would have been harder if I hadn't been working, because I was able to keep in touch with people online in meetings etc. It's harder to keep up with friends, because I used to quite often meet with people during my lunch hour in work, but I am starting to make space in my schedule. I suppose as it becomes the new 'normal' then I have to amend my normal schedule to make room!

      Do you have a list of favourite reads in 2021? I would love to hear them, as I know we share a similar taste :)

      Happy New Year, Sheila!

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  3. Your “lair” is perfect--separated from home but very near and cozy.
    Have fun at your new job and no guilt over reading and reviews. Reading is supposed to be done for fun!
    I have read a lot during 2021 (JAFF and more) but I’ll refrain from recommendations. If your reading appetite has lessened, try to find something that will stir it much like one does with food. You have to find what works for you. At least that is what I do when it happens to me. I must have read hundreds of blurbs this year. :-P
    If on the other hand, you prefer some JAFF I have a couple of recommendations. ;-)
    I wish us, all, a much better new year! May 2022 bring only good surprises!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Alexandra!

      My office is very cosy, and my commute is awesome :)

      I am feeling quite invigorated regarding reading at the moment, so that is good. I am hoping to mix up the reading a bit, so have some things I've planned to read for a long time and make space for reads I choose on the spur of the moment, as well as catching up on some of my netgalley reads. You are right that I need to get rid of the guilt, because it sucks a lot of the joy out of reading!

      I join you in wishing for a good 2022 - I think we are all in need of a positive year.

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  4. Okay, I forgot that it never registers my name--it's Alexandra Rivers. ;-)

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  5. Happy New Year, Ceri, and best of luck in the new job! Love your little office. During the lockdowns is became very clear to me that open-plan lounges aren't all they're cracked up to be :D
    Hope lots of good things come your way in 2022! Take care and all the best!

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    1. Thanks so much Joana. I agree with you - there were many times, especially during the first lockdown, where I was so thankful that there was enough space in our house that we could all have space from each other and have alone time!

      I hope you have a wonderful 2022.

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  6. Carole in Canada8 January 2022 at 21:59

    Happy New Year, Ceri! Congratulations on your new job and carving out your own space for work. I got my share of book reading in this past year but did hit slump by the end. I did read some amazing books. Here are some I highly recommend:
    1. Old Boots 2. Silver Buckles (both by Grace Gibson)
    3. A Fine Mind by Nicole Clarkson
    4. The Heiress by Molly Greeley
    5. Far From the Tree
    6. The Price of Pride by Abigail Reynolds
    7. Dangerous Magic by Monica Fairview
    8. The Year In Between by Christina Morland
    9. Gentleman's Honor by Melanie Rachel
    10. Miss Bennet's Dragon by M. Verant
    11. Nameless by Julie Cooper
    12. The Avenger by Don Jacobson
    There were so many others!
    Stay safe and healthy and enjoy as much reading as you can fit in.

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    1. Carole, thank you so much for giving me these recommendations! Some of these are on my mental list of things I'd like to read soon but some are new to me, and I've had a look at those too :)

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