Welcome to my first monthly wrap-up of 2017! Take a gander at what I’ve been up to so far this year!

In January I read a total of 5 books:

1. How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
2. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
3. The Girls by Emma Cline
4. The Shining by Stephen King
5. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

A little milk and honey with my tea ☕️ Finished reading this amazing collection of poetry last night… WOW. So, so beautiful!!

A post shared by HOLLY (@nutfreenerd) on Jan 17, 2017 at 1:57pm PST

I was not expecting to name Rupi Kaur’s Milk and Honey as my favorite book of the month (especially since I randomly bought it on a whim at a bookstore), yet how could I not? It’s all I’ve been able to think about since first reading this beautiful collection of poetry. Certain poems have me returning to reread them time and time again, a sure sign that this book deserves all of the praise it has received and more. I highly recommend it, even if you don’t usually read poetry!

My dad and I started off the New Year by carrying on one of my favorite traditions: hiking on New Year’s Day. To me, the experience of spending the day outdoors surrounded by fresh snowfall and the smell of the forest is the ultimate way to feel grounded and refreshed going into the new year. We also went hiking again later on in the month and actually slept over in a cozy lodge at the base of the mountain. It was such a fun weekend!

Some windy winter walking ❄️ Tonight I'll be reading THE SHINING from a bunk bed in a cabin on a mountain… ironic??? What are your #fridayreads ???

A post shared by HOLLY (@nutfreenerd) on Jan 13, 2017 at 4:31pm PST

Besides hiking and spending time with friends, I spent most of my winter break working at the local Child Advocacy Center where I was an intern over the summer. Of course, I also spent a fair amount of time blogging and reading, too!

Then came the end of winter break and the beginning of the new semester. I’m really excited for the classes I’ll be taking over the next few months and all of the fun events that will be happening soon. (If you’re interested, my new classes are Approaches to Literature and Culture, Renaissance Poetry, Logic, and Latin American History and Culture.)

Since the new semester has officially started, my blogging time has just about dwindled down to being nonexistent. I’ve been writing posts non-stop over winter break in an effort to schedule as many in advance as possible– I should be all set until around late March!

Here are some notable posts from my blog this past month:

• Stationary Book Tag
• Entertainer Blogger Award
• On Separating Women from their Work | Discussion
• Captain America Book Tag
• Does Format Impact Interpretation? | Discussion
• Mystery Blogger Award | 2
• Classics Club Challenge | Update 1

Here are some posts that I loved reading this month:

• Selah shares her recipe for the perfect chocolate chip cookies
• Adriana shares her resolutions as told by Disney characters
• Rachel tracks how much she has spent on books in 2016!
• Puput discusses the struggle of writing a coherent positive review
• Ava shares great advice on how to start reading more diversely
• Meena has created her own awesome reading challenge for 2017
• Danielle creates the best of both worlds by pairing books with teas
• Emily asks YA authors to stop doing these bothersome things
• Sophie shares tips on how to create the perfect reading nook
• Olivia shows the many ways that her TBR pile grows
• The Closet Readers share helpful tips for redesigning your blog
• Ashleigh talks about the pros and cons of reviewing books

How was your month of January? What is the best book you’ve read so far in 2017? Have you made any progress with your New Year’s resolutions? Let me know in the comments section below!

Yours,

HOLLY