#i watched the show then devoured the six of crows duology in a day

[diangelosdays]

i may be a little obsessed with wesper

[crumbly-apple-pie]

Favourite book?

ooohhhhh ok this is hard. the short answer is it depends on the day.

the long answer is here's an incomplete list of books that i love and why i love them.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - Adult fantasy book about Kvothe; a boy who grows up to be the most notorious wizard the world has ever seen. The book follows him as he tells his life story, from when he was living with his parents troupe, to his time as an orphan, to his time under another wizard's tutelage, to his time at The University. Honestly this book is unlike anything else I've ever read, just in the way the story is told and the ✨ vibes ✨ . It's a part of a trilogy, with the second book being The Wise Man's Fear, and the third book being... unreleased. For years. I don't know if the third book will ever come out lmao.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston - LESBIANS ON TRAINS WITH TIME TRAVEL. I DONT KNOW WHAT ELSE YOU WANT FROM ME.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (Specifically the version illustrated by Chris Riddell) - Ok I'll be honest with you all. I love Neil Gaiman. Like an unhealthy amount. And Neverwhere sums up exactly why I like his stuff. It follows Richard, the most average, boring Londoner you've ever met, as he falls into this magical world of London Below. There's weird markets, there's angels, there's an evil assassin duo from another universe (kinda), there's rats, there's strange little girls named Door, there's magic upon magic upon magic, and it's full of signature Neil Gaiman weirdness.

Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo - This is hands down the best YA fantasy that exists. A band of morally grey criminals go on a heist to break into the nation's highest-security-impossible-to-break-in-to-you-will-die-if-you-even-try military stronghold. There's witches! There's romance! There's dyslexic characters, there's gay and bi characters, there's disabled characters, there's curvy characters! These books have literally everything! The plot rocks! The character interactions are awesome! Please read it and when you're done you can watch the show!

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon - Queer. Feminist. Fantasy. With. Dragons.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Don't let the title fool you, this book is not about straight people problems. (The opposite actually. Wink wink nudge nudge.) It tells the story of fictional 60's actress and it-girl Evelyn Hugo, and the complicated, oftentimes messy life she led. Taylor Jenkins Reid's characters feel like real people and her books have a way of giving you this glimpse into scandalous celebrity life that we all secretly want. I see you, don’t pretend you’re above the gossip. Idk man just go read it I promise you'll devour it in a day.

I can promise that there are more, but I probably need to stop because otherwise this post will be way longer than anyone asked for lmao. Also if anyone wants to ask about favourite tv shows, movies, video games etc I'd love to answer your questions.

[benmparks]

Six of Crows (series) Review

patreon | kofi

Last night I picked up Six of Crows again, pretending I was just going to peruse it for the purpose of this review but who am I kidding? I am fully obsessed with these books, I just wanted to read it again. With that being said, welcome to my review of the Six of Crows duology, Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo.

Review

The duology follows six members of this gang, the Dregs, that Kaz Brekker basically runs as they try to outwit some big players. Somehow Leigh Bardugo manages to jump from six POVs and not only make it work, but also use it to her advantage. The plot is crazy heist after heist, a lot of violence and darkness and yet every character and scene feels so endearing. The character work is crazy in these books, and at the end of the day the focus isn’t the crazy stunts they pull but the dynamic and connections between these six very different characters and how in the end they do care about each other despite the odds.

In the big picture of things, both of the books get a 4/5 Goodreads stars from me. I could not put either of the books down, and to be honest it felt like one long book if only because I read them back to back. Six of Crows is the “introduction” to the characters, but the book jumps right into it. The writing is very dense with character and world building, in a way that I found entrancing instead of boring somehow. I think I can credit that to the richness of the characters, and my immediate love for each and everyone of them. Admittedly, if I didn’t already know them from the show, I don’t know if I would have made it past the first page which is why it only gets 4 out of 5 stars. It was a thick book, and sometimes my eyes did just glaze over the words to try to get it moving.

The ending of Six of Crows was almost cruel, and I had to wait a day before I could get Crooked Kingdom. Reading Crooked Kingdom was like running a marathon and I have to admit, I’m not sure it was because it was very interesting or I just really wanted to get to the good parts. The plot in Crooked Kingdom gets a little repetitive, and I just really wanted Kaz to get some rest near the end, but the writing and some scenes really saved the whole book. I have reread some scenes multiple times already, Ms. Bardugo does have a solid grasp on writing emotion and dynamics in a way that feels so authentic like I am watching it play in front of me.

Some Thoughts

To be fully transparent, I read these books so quickly and in a haze of hyper fixation, so my review is probably biased but the books really did deliver on the character building that I wanted after what I had seen of the crows in the show. The writing was truly captivating, and the plot had me stoked to see how they managed to pull it off. By the end of Crooked Kingdom, I had managed to figure out the pattern though, which made the final resolution a little lackluster to me.

I really liked how casually diverse the cast was, with people of color with their own fantasy cultures, diverse romances, and even some disability representation. Kaz, my favorite character, has a limp and PTSD induced touch aversion like........ That spoke to me on a personal level. (I don’t have PTSD, but I also can be averse to touch at times.) The way that all of this works together, the diverse character with their diverse traits and flaws, was a masterpiece.

I keep going on and on about the characters, but I am truly amazed at how well they were built throughout the series both personally and their interpersonal connections. You get the sense that they are a dysfunctional family that deeply cares for each other. I said it already, but it is really endearing despite all the violence and thievery. So much so, that the rest of my review will be about that.

Let’s talk about the relationships

Kaz and Everyone Else

Everytime I write this review it devolves into me going on and on about how much I love Kaz and here we are again... but really. He carries the story, okay?

As I said, Kaz is the cold and calculating “leader” of the Dregs. He is known in the Barrel (where they live) as a ruthless killer who cares about furthering his gang than anything else, which is sort of true but not the whole story. By the end of Crooked Kingdom, I think what Kaz cares about the most is getting everyone else out safely. He had dragged them all into the mess they were in, where chances of getting out alive were slim, and he felt personally responsible for making sure it worked for everyone else. This was the part where I was reading just so maybe he would go to sleep, because I was so worried about him.

There were other moments throughout the books that showed his “soft side” for his gang, but in ways that they wouldn’t read as friendliness. He acts very careful to continue his persona around everyone except...... Inej. Which we’ll get to in a moment.

Kaz and Jesper

Jesper is sort of Kaz’s right hand man, he is introduced to us in that context anyway. It is not made clear, as I remember, their relationship much further than this but Jesper clearly looks up to him. Impressing Kaz, or proving his loyalty to him, seems to be a main driver in Jesper’s actions. He clearly wants a more personal relationship with him, and is constantly disappointed.

I liked how they portrayed these two, switching POVs to show that they are very clearly close personally but neither of them really knows. Near the end, in a dramatic and emotionally charged scene, Kaz accidentally calls Jesper his dead brother’s name and I think that says it all. That was one of my favorite scenes because after two books of this sort of tense relationship between them, it kind of ties it all up in a bow. Kaz does care about Jesper, maybe too much in his opinion.

Jesper and Wylan

Wylan is the estranged son of the merchant that they were up against, so the crew originally sees him as a bit of an outsider. He had a rich upbringing, so they think of him as soft and he’s only originally used as something to hold against the merchant. I loved him, he was the voice of reason in the group. A look into what a normal person might see when interacting with this band of thieves.

Jesper is a flirtatious character, he flirts with everyone, but you can see the slow way his flirting with Wylan changes into something a little deeper. Their relationship was masterfully done, it was like I stumbled into it. It was like, halfway through Crooked Kingdom, I suddenly cared a lot about them which made the twists and turns of their relationship so much more fulfilling.

One side note, I personally didn’t care for their final resolution. I’m not big on sappy endings, so there’s that.

Nina and Inej

I love a female friendship, okay? Nina’s entire story seemed to focus on Matthius and her being a grisha (someone who can use magic), so her interactions with Inej were refreshing. Nina was like the heart of this troupe, trying to keep the focus on a righteous goal instead of the money that Kaz seemed to only care about. (Seemed being the operative word). Inej was a perfect counterpart to that, as her religious and cultural background kept her on the softer side of things despite integration to the Dregs.

I think it was those parts of their story that made them care so much about each other, they were two girls trying to keep a part of themselves in this crazy world of the Barrel. In the midst of all the darkness and scheming, their softer bond was a welcome addition.

Nina and Matthius

I said this in my Shadow and Bone review, I just don't care for these two. Nina, as I mentioned, is a grisha and Matthius was a grisha hunter who did try to kill her. Maybe a little too enemies to lovers for me, and too fast. While I think their dynamic was better portrayed in the books, I still didn't really like Matthius as a character and I didn't feel a strong enough reason for Nina to care so much for him. I think their story is a little too insta-love for me. (I also had a major spoiler about the two of them which I don't think helped, let's just say I knew not to get too attached.)

Kaz and Inej

Alright. I’m writing this.

Kaz wears gloves all the time, except with Inej.

I mean, that’s the dynamic. He is that cold blooded guy from the Barrel, except with Inej. He doesn’t want to admit that he feels anything besides professional feelings for her, but god does he pretty much from the start. When he’s losing his mind, it’s Inej that brings him back. When Inej is attacked, oh my god the writing for that part. He lost it, and it was dark and scary because he was scared he was going to lose her.

Yet, still, he won’t admit it.

Inej wants to believe he is that cold blooded guy from the Barrel, she wants to believe there is something else in him but whenever she tries to find it, he pushes her away. Still, she stays and tries again until she gives up but Kaz doesn't give up on her. Kaz never gives up on her, everything he does is for her in the end. He wants her to get everything she dreams for, even if he thinks dreams and hopes are stupid distractions.

And, in the end, he does that for her. And they hold hands.

(Which is a big deal because, as I said, he’s touch averse but he wants to touch her...............................................)

Anyway.

That’s my review.

The characters carried the story which got long and repetitive at some points, but I really did devour these books in a matter of days and I’m still rereading parts just to relive them again. 4/5 stars.

Thanks for reading.

[readwithmichelle]

Books I Read in May

For the month of May, which was my first real month back to reading books for my own pleasure and not for classes, I read 4 books. Not a lot, I know, but I’m kind of a variable reader - sometimes I devour books in a matter of days, and others it takes me a few weeks. I suppose it depends on how much a book gripped me.  Anyway, for the month of May I read Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, both by Leigh Bardugo, as well as Among the Hollow by Roman Ankenbrandt, and American Pharoah by Joe Drape. 

Six of Crows was my first foray into Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse. I first heard of the book when I worked at a bookstore, and one of the assistant managers mentioned it as one of her very favorite books she had ever read. I frequently saw the duology when I was straightening shelves or recommending books to teenage readers. When it finally came time for me to leave the store for my next job, I ended up grabbing Six of Crows and buying it with the intention of reading it. I even managed to start it, but then I decided to go back to school, and all pleasure reading went out the window.  It would be another 2 YEARS before I picked Six of Crows back up. Initially I tried out the audiobook - which wasn’t bad but not really my cup, and then I bought it as an eBook as a bundle with it’s sequel. Once I dug in, I couldn’t stop. I devoured Six of Crows in the matter of about a week. I adored the writing - if there is one thing Leigh Bardugo is good at, it’s dialogue and the careful art of showing and not telling. It took me almost 100 pages to understand what the Grisha were and what the deal with this new fantasy world was, but despite that it very much reads as a standalone that does not need the presence of the Grisaverse trilogy behind it.  The story is mildly predictable, but the plot isn’t really what drives the story - it’s the characters. The internal motivations of Kaz, Inej, Wylan, Jesper, Nina, and Matthias are the cornerstone of this story, and they’re what make it a truly enjoyable read - not necessarily the story itself. I imagine, if you wanted a definition of a character driven story, this would be it. The characters - in particular Kaz and Inej gripped me pretty much immediately, and I was completely invested in them and what they had gone through. It also totally emotionally compromised me.  Rating: 5/5 Stars The same could be said of Crooked Kingdom, though this one felt a little bit less cohesive than Six of Crows, which had a clear goal. Crooked Kingdom has the Crows being pit against just about everyone in Kerch, and with everyone looking for a piece of them, the story felt a little all over the place for it. That said, we got more of that sweet, sweet character backstory and development, and I will not deny that I was completely incapacitated by Kaz and Inej’s moments together. I felt pleased to have continued with these characters, and it was a real page turner - I had intended to give myself a few days before starting Crooked Kingdom after finishing Six of Crows, but I HAD to know what happened next so I started it pretty much within an hour of finishing the first book.  When it comes to THAT scene, it was a bit more emotionally upsetting than I anticipated. The character involved was not one of my favorites, and I found them kind of problematic as a character. That didn’t stop me from tearing up. I feel, perhaps unlike many other fans of this book that it was a “justified” moment. I will go further into detail at another time about this specific scene with spoilers, but not in this recap.  Ultimately the story felt extremely satisfying. I was glad to see where it ended, and was so incensed about not getting to continue with certain characters that I pretty much threw my Kindle away from me in a fit of frustration. I desperately want to know where these characters end up, so if Leigh Bardugo could come out with a third book and make it a trilogy, I would be forever in her debt.  Rating: 5/5 Stars After that whirlwind I ended up deciding to read Among the Hollow by Roman Ankenbrandt. This is a debut work, and apparently didn’t really make a big splash when it was released. It has less than 50 reviews between Goodreads and Amazon where it was self-published. This one was a surprise for me. The reviews for it are exceptionally high, so I hoped that perhaps it would be a fun one - and it was. But it also was extremely refreshing. The setting is inspired by Ancient Byzantium - a setting that is exceptionally uncommon in my experience, and it features my very favorite kind of magic to use in stories - necromancy. If you know me, you know that I’m absolutely crazy about Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom Series. They’re some of my very favorite novels, so this was a no brainer for me. The interpretation of Necromancy ended up being the surprise. The magic system of how it works is very soft, but is present just enough that I do not feel as though I don’t understand it.  When it comes to the characters, our main cast is that of Sevila, and Aurel. Aurel is a spirit that contracts with Sevila to get their body back, and from there it’s a whirlwind. Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of this story is that Aurel desperately wants to do good things, but people are so scared of them as a spirit that they cannot. Sevila, who has the capability, has no desire to do good things, and the conflict between Aurel and Sevila over that is interesting. Of the two of them, however, Sevila is probably my favorite character - she is barely likable, and is a strong morally grey main character. Also, I love that she’s an unabashed lesbian who does not pretend to be something she is not. The book races towards it’s end very quickly, and my biggest gripe about the whole book is that it feels too short. At 299 pages on the eBook edition it is on the shorter end of books I have read. Perhaps I am greedy, and merely wanted to spend more time with the characters in that setting, but I strongly felt that some scenes could use some fleshing out, or new scenes could have been added between Sevila and Aurel. Ultimately, it is a very good debut book, and I hope this author publishes more in the future. At the end of the book there very much feels like there is more story to tell, more adventures to be had.  Rating: 5/5 Stars The final book I read for the month was American Pharoah by Joe Drape. This is a biography about the 2015 Triple Crown winning horse. A little background information if you will - I am an avid horse racing fan. I watch it regularly (have it set to record on Hulu!), and have watched the Triple Crown races every year since I was around 8 years old. I have had my heart broken by horse racing more times than I’ve been in relationships.  My relationship with the sport is still contentious at times. I don’t care for most of the breeding practices, and I don’t like that people with money throw it around to get essentially a commodity, not an animal. The Thoroughbred breed has suffered for it.  So when it came to reading this book, I was a little apprehensive - it claims to be an untold story. The story of American Pharoah is quite well known among horse racing fans - so what could be untold? Ultimately, it was the stories of his connections, and his early training years that were untold, I suppose.  The owners of American Pharoah, Zayat Stables - especially Ahmed Zayat don’t come out of this book looking particularly good. In fact he looks like a billionare with too much money to throw around and a “get rich quick” scheme to boot. Bob Baffert, legendary trainer as he is, is given a softer approach, but not by much. The book makes sure to mention his previous to 2015 doping scandals and the time he got scammed by a guy. This is compounded by hindsight too; Bob Baffert’s second Triple Crown Winner - Justify (2018 winner) - was revealed to have been doped (intentionally or not is irrelevant) in the race before the Kentucky Derby, and the scandal rocked the horse racing world quite heavily - it even ended up on the New York Times.  As the book says, there are very few saints in the Horse Racing industry.  On top of examining the human connections to this once in a life time horse, the book also examines the effect that the rich and elite have had on the industry - everything from purchasing habits to breeding trends - the most damning part of the book is how it details the pervading millionaire view of race horses as personal ATMs, how they don’t even know the names of the people who care for their horses, and worst perhaps of all, their desires have shaped the breed itself. Horses used to be raced upwards of 20 times in their lifetimes, and their conformation - or the way they are built - reflected their stamina and strength. Today’s Thoroughbreds barely race more than 10 times in their entire career, and much has been published examining the fragility of the breed in the wake of Eight Belles and Barbaro’s very public breakdowns on the track.  Even Seth Hancock - perhaps one of the most well known names in horse racing - has said “I don’t breed them like I used to” and that is because people want fast horses, not strong horses. This book drives that point home multiple times.  Ultimately, the book itself is a fast read, and enjoyable to boot, though it spends an uncomfortable amount of time giving the lurid details of Thoroughbred horse breeding. My biggest gripes with it is that it has a few grammatical errors and I found the passage about Bob Baffert being scammed a tad unnecessary.  Rating: 4/5 Stars For the Month of June I intend to finish a few books I started in May - The Graves are Walking by John Kelly, Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, and Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. I also intend to (if I can get through the depressing but enlightening account of the Irish Potato Famine) read If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio, The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith, The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo, and The Last Temptations of Iago Wick by Jennifer Rainey. 

[justkarliekloss]

Just as the other day I recommended you some period dramas to watch, today I want to share some books to read.

I had to ask a friend of mine who reads a lot because my reading habits suck. I go from reading three books in 6 weeks to not touch a book in months 🙈

Hope you find it useful, and if you have recommendations, please share them too! 😊

Fantasy/ Sci-fi/ Young-adult

-> “Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds” by Brandon Sanderson. Short stories quick to read.

-> “Scythe” by Neal Shusterman. This is the first book from a trilogy, and I highly recommend it. Both my friend and I have read them all and loved them. We had long whatsapp conversations discussing everything and sharing theories 😅

-> “Six of Crows” and “Crooked Kingdom” by Leigh Bardugo. They are a duology, and there also is a trilogy, “The Grisha Trilogy”, that is set on the same universe but a couple of years before (Nextflix has a tv show about it coming soon). Both my friend and I loved these books, I personally devoured them.

-> “Shades of magic” series, by V.E. Schwab. Romance and fantasy.

-> “Under the never sky” by Veronica Rossi. Set on a post-apocalyptic world.

This is our favourite genre, so we could share lots of books tbh 😅 She is currently reading the books from “The Witcher”, and I always recommend “A Song of Ice and Fire”. Maybe if you start reading now, the new book will be out when you are done and won’t have to wait 7 years 🙃

Other genres

-> “Born a crime” by Trevor Noah. It’s about his childhood in South Africa and my friend loved it.

-> Anything by author Christina Lauren. She writes adult romance, but not like 50 shades haha

-> “Little Fires Everywhere” by Celeste Ng. There is a tv show with Reese Whiterspoon coming out soon or already out that is based on the book.

-> “Dark places” by Gillian Flynn, a thriller.

-> “Turn of the key” by Ruth Ware, another thriller.

-> And if you are looking for something different, “Why we sleep”. It’s all about dreams, why we dream... those things.

[oliverphisher]

Alan Baxter

Alan Baxter is a multi-award-winning British-Australian author who writes supernatural thrillers, dark fantasy, and urban horror. He rides a motorcycle and loves his dogs. He also teaches Kung Fu. He lives among dairy paddocks on the beautiful south coast of NSW, Australia, with his wife, son, and two crazy hounds.

He is the author of the dark fantasy thriller trilogy, Bound, Obsidian and Abduction (The Alex Caine Series) and the dark supernatural duology, RealmShift and MageSign (The Balance 1 and 2), the fantasy horror noir novel, Hidden City, the cosmic horror novella, The Book Club, and the supernatural noir novella, Manifest Recall.

His latest novel is Devouring Dark, an urban horror thriller. As well as novels, Alan has had around 80 short fiction publications in journals and anthologies in Australia, the US, the UK, France, Germany and Japan. His short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Daily Science Fiction, and many others, and around thirty anthologies, including the Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror on several occasions. His award-winning first collected volume of short fiction, Crow Shine, is out now. At times, Alan collaborates with US action/adventure bestselling author, David Wood. Together they have co-authored the horror novella, Dark Rite, action thrillers in The Jake Crowley Adventures, Blood Codex and Anubis Key, and the Sam Aston Investigations giant monster thrillers Primordial and Overlord. Alan has been a seven-time finalist in the Aurealis Awards, a six-time finalist in the Australian Shadows Awards and a seven-time finalist in the Ditmar Awards.

He won the 2014 Australian Shadows Award for Best Short Story (“Shadows of the Lonely Dead”), the 2015 Australian Shadows Paul Haines Award For Long Fiction (“In Vaulted Halls Entombed”), and the 2016 Australian Shadows Award for Best Collection (Crow Shine), and is a past winner of the AHWA Short Story Competition (“It’s Always the Children Who Suffer”). Read extracts from his novels and novellas, and find free short stories at his website – www.warriorscribe.com – or find him on Twitter @AlanBaxter and Facebook, and feel free to tell him what you think. About anything.

What are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?

Probably the biggest influence on me is Clive Barker’s novel, The Great and Secret Show.

Two more would include:

Roald Dahl’s short stories (maybe Kiss, Kiss)

Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea

 What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)?     

I travel a lot, for conventions and so on, and that means I stay in hotels a lot. For some reason, so many hotels don’t have a power outlet by the bed. I recently bought a 3 metre charge cable for my phone and it changed my life!

 How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?

As a writer, every failure is armour against future failure, which means we don’t quit. The default of a writer’s life is rejection, and you need those rejections to make you stronger so you keep going regardless. Then you get to enjoy occasional wins!

 Are there any quotes you think of often or live your life by?

One of my favourite quotes is from Neil Gaiman, in Sandman volume 3, Dream Country: “Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot.”

 What is one of the best investment in a writing resource you’ve ever made?

Time. Honestly, you can manage to write with pretty much any tools, even just a pen and paper, but time you have to make. You have to invest in the time required.

 What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love?

I enjoy dancing with my dog. No, there will never be video. I’m pretty sure he enjoys it too.

 In the last five years, what new belief, behaviour, or habit has most improved your life?

Remembering that working hard is important – you have to do the work above all else – but that taking time away from the work is also important.

 What advice would you give to a smart, driven aspiring author? What advice should they ignore?

They should ignore anything that doesn’t work for them. There are no hard and fast rules other than you must read a lot and you must write. Keep doing that, and the rest will come.

 What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession often?

The two I hate the most are “Write every day” – for many that’s impossible and it’s not essential, and also “Write what you know” – sure, you should write about stuff you know, but you should also strive to learn about other stuff and write that too. And make stuff up – this is fiction! – how many people really know about dragons or zombies?

 In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to (distractions, invitations, etc.)?

Pretty much everything! There was a time that I would say yes to everything, but I realised a lot of it had little or no value. So now I assess everything I’m asked to do and I’m much more selective about what I’ll take on. But I still try to do as much as possible.

 What marketing tactics should authors avoid?

Constantly yelling about their book on social media. You should be social and interesting and just be yourself on social media, then only mention your books when there’s something new or relevant about them. That’s organic and natural and people will stick around. Give them more than you take.

 What new realizations and/or approaches have helped you achieve your goals?

It’s not really new, but as I mentioned before, focussing on doing the work is what gets me to my goals. Sometimes I have to move from one project to another and back again, but the approach is always focus on the task at hand!

 When you feel overwhelmed or have lost your focus temporarily, what do you do?

I take time out. Rest and recharging is essential. I take the dog for a long walk, go for a ride on the motorbike, go watch a movie – anything that removes me from the work and lets my brain relax.

 Any other tips?

Don’t quit! It sounds trite, but it really is that simple. And always try to be better than you were before.

________

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