I received some amazing news Monday morning (I’ll talk about it at the end of the post) which inspired me to set up a personal challenge for myself during the month of September. It’s in multiple parts, but it’s something I’ve been thinking of, and now I have the wherewithal to do it.

Part One: Reading

Immediately I think you can see where this challenge is going. When I was posting my review of Lost in the Never Woods, I decided to finally look and see how far behind I am in my Goodreads reading challenge. It’s… not very pretty. As of today (September 1st), I’ve read 22 books (though like five of those were comics). My goal for the year is 52, which puts me 12 books behind schedule. This is the slowest reading year I’ve had. In fact, since I started doing this 2016, I’ve only failed twice. 2018 was due to the move across the country and having to pack my books and things early, and really not having the time to read. Last year was because of the stress of the pandemic, and honestly just mental burnout.

This year, I really don’t want to fail, or if I do, I want to be close to my goal. So, I came up with an idea.

One of my goals for 2021 has been to read every Owlcrate and Barnes and Noble YA Book Club book. Over the course of the year, that should amount to 24 books, less if there is duplicates (which has happened twice as of July.) As of today, there have been seven Owlcrate books sent (August should be shipping any day, pandemic delays) and nine BNYA Books announced. Accounting for the two duplicates… I’ve read two books. It’s a problem.

So, my goal is to read the rest of the Owlcrate and BNYA books. I’ve honestly been shying away from them, because for some reason they just haven’t clicked with me (And The Ones We’re Meant to Find was beyond a disappointment). However, I made a challenge, and I’m gonna give it a shot.

Here’s the list, skipping the ones that I’ve already completed:

• Owlcrate
  • The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna (February 2021 – Magic Unleased box)
  • Sweet and Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley (March 2021 – Of Witches and Wonder box)
  • Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart (April 2021 – Ruthless Rivals box)
  • Sisters of the Snake by Sasha Nanua and Sarena Nanua (June 2021 – Go Your Own Way box)
  • This Poison heart by Kalynn Bayron (July 2021 – Potions and Poisons box)
  • The forthcoming August 2021 – Dark Academia box
  • The forthcoming September 2021 box, should it arrive in September (again, pandemic delays)

• Barnes and Noble YA Book Club
  • Wings of Ebony by J. Elle (February 2021)
  • Yolk by Mary J.K. Choi (March 2021)
  • Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price (April 2021)
  • Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (June 2021)
  • That Weekend by Kara Thomas (July 2021)
  • Small Favors by Erin E. Craig (August 2021)
  • The Witch Haven by Sasha Peyton Smith (September 2021)

My rules are simple. Read and review each one. I can read other things, up to and including the final issue of The Old Guard: Tales Through Time, which is set to arrive sometime this month. (Which reminds me, I have to call my comic shop. I still don’t have the 4th issue…) This shouldn’t be too much of a difficult challenge, especially if I take my time and just get through books in one or two sittings.

Part Two: Writing

I’ve been neglecting my writing since May, when I finally completed Febuwhump. Since then, I’ve written one story, with another one plotted out. Even though I’ve written more this year then any other year I’ve been on AO3 combined (31, 891 words at the time of this post), I’ve been dragging.

In an effort to combat that, back in July I signed up for the 9-1-1 Bingo, hosted by the 118 Discord. I was given a 5×5 bingo board with 24 prompts (and a free space). The challenge is to write at least 500 words (if not more) per bingo square. Yesterday I started and knocked one out, which I’m going to be posting sometime today. I’ll talk about the prompts in another post down the line this month, mostly because I have to figure out what the hell a “Meet Ugly” is…

Anyway, onto this challenge. My goal for this month is to at least five squares, not counting the one I did yesterday. I have a couple ideas, so this shouldn’t be too hard. The big thing is that I want get back into writing prompt fic, as I’m planning on taking part in Whumptober starting October 1st (though I’m going to get a jump on it once the prompts are posted any day now).

The only big road block I currently have is that we’re not allowed to double prompts up with any other prompt, including cross challenges. I knew that going in, so that means I need to get a good amount done before October 1st, even if I don’t post them all in September. My aim is once a week, and once October passes, more then that.

Part Three: Gaming

Here’s where the fun is. I’ve mentioned in a previous post that I’m trying to play through the last Lego games I have left on the PS3. Since that post, I completed Lego Dimensions, though I only did it to trophy completion due to the PS3 not exactly liking loading the game. I also finished Lego The Lord of the Rings the other day, which I would place solidly in the “C” rating on the scale. It’s a perfectly fine game, but I’m not a fan of the story and there were some graphical and map issues I took issue to.

As of the writing of this post, that leaves Lego The Hobbit (which I’ve started, since I’ve played it twice before), Lego Star Wars III, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean, and Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventures Continues.

For this challenge, my goal is to complete one of these games. The reason it takes so long is because my PS3 isn’t exactly in perfect condition anymore, which means I can only play for about 2-3 hours before the thing starts having issues. On top of that, the games themselves just don’t exactly like the console. I’m working my way through Hobbit right now, and I forgot just how annoying some of the levels are. I’m using a guide for this exact reason, and thank god for that. I also always have the trophy guide up to keep track of everything. Otherwise, this might take a miracle.

Part Four: Watching

This is the part of my challenge list that will probably not be completed. My goal for September is to finish this “year” in One Chicago. As of my last check on my list, that’s 58 episodes (including one Law and Order: SVU crossover). More than two days worth of content.

The reason I’m basically giving myself permission to fail this is because I know I’m going to need a break sometimes. Gaming and reading and watching are all well and good, but I don’t want to completely stress for a month, especially since I dedicate at least two hours every day to applying for jobs, and I know if I do get one, this whole challenge gets nixed. But I wanted to make sure I had something that I could relax on, and this counts.

This also allows me to plan for the two episodes of 9-1-1 that will air during September, which I may or may not review (depends on how they structure episode one. If it’s like Season Three, I’ll just wait until the three episode arc is done. If not, I may go ahead and review it in a special Tuesday post. Maybe. Don’t hold me to it.)

Part Five: Creating

I should put “Content Creation”, but I have a pattern going, and I’m not ruining it, damn it.

Something I’ve been trying to do, to not a lot of success, is try to work more on content creation. I’ve been trying to tweet more, engage with people I’m following and who are following me on Twitter. I’m trying to post more on Instagram, both as pictures as well as in my stories. Twitch is something I’m coming back to (you’ll understand in a few minutes, I promise). And even now, I’m starting to use TicTok to making short videos of Lego gaming gags, as well as discuss TV and film creation, and how people make mistakes. And of course, there’s this blog, where I’m still trying to keep my three posts a week thing going (until October and December, because Blogtober and Blogmas will be happening again this year!).

So, I’m setting goals for the individual accounts. Ones that are actually possible to obtain. I want to try to post and engage at least three times a week on Instagram and TikTok, though posting on TikTok and reposting it to my story on Instagram doesn’t count. I want to keep up with posting three times a week here, with only one of the book reviews from this month counting as a weekly post. As for Twitch, I want to get back into streaming at night, as streaming during the day just isn’t possible with our internet. But I want to at least be consistent at some point.

Wrap It Up

That’s my five part challenge for this month. As for what inspired me to do this, it all comes down to one thing: sight. I can bring everything to sight, to seeing, to being able to use my eyes… and not really worry anymore.

I’ve posted about it on Instagram and Twitter, so I’ll just barebones it here. As I’ve mentioned before, I was diagnosed with iih (idiopathic intercranial hypertension) back in November 2017. On Monday, I went to get my eyes check for the first time in two years (due to the pandemic) and my optometrist took a photo of my optic nerve. It was fine, healthy, completely normal looking. The only way that would be possible is if the fluid in my skull was draining better. And it is. I no longer have to worry about iih (at least not every minute. It’s totally possible that in future, it could come back. But I’m bright sighting this, damn it.).

Because I have this new lease on my sight (and new glasses coming during the middle of the month), I’m taking September as a time to celebrate. And I hope you all are ready to be along for the ride on this one.

Until next time!