We made it through the first month of 2025! Somehow, that felt so fast… and it’s been crazy. Lots of big events, snow in places there shouldn’t be snow…
For this month’s update, I also have three exciting announcements! (Though none of them contain snow. I’m ready to be done with snow.)
First off, another fun challenge!
I’ve always loved the idea of bullet journaling. Writing down all the things I love, with pretty doodles and organized trackers and all the stickers. And I tried bullet journaling (or BuJo, as those in the community call it). It’s a beautiful experience, and while I do recommend it for those who have the time, I found I don’t have the time in my week to fully devote myself to a full BuJo.
But what I do have time for, is tracking my favorite book of the year. Winner takes the title of my 2025 Book of the Year! And I invite you to join in this handy elimination challenge of mine. This can go along quite nicely with my Book-A-Month challenge!
So, here’s how it works– every month, read a book, or two, or five. Then take your favorite, and plug it into this nice bracket challenge image below. I already have my January book in there!
(If any of you can think of a better word than… “bracket challenge image”, please let me know in the comments, I will be forever indebted to you.)
I’ll continue to do this every month, choosing my favorites between the options, until only two books remain… and we’re left with our winner.
And I invite you all to join me! You can download or copy this image, and paste your own Books of the Month into the brackets (I’ll be using Canva!). If you end up doing this, let me know your progress, on here, or on Tumblr! As I always say, I love book recs, and seeing what you all are reading.
Second, as we all know, February is generally considered to be a month full of love. Lots of dates for Valentine’s Day (whether you love it or dread it). Roses and chocolates and violin serenades everywhere.
But one really important thing I don’t see talked about as much, is anything other than romantic love. Make sure you give yourself and others around you love, this month and every month. Whether you have a date or not, plan a day for some nice self-care. Watch a comfort show. Plan a date with friends, and go out (or stay in) to eat. Set up a movie night with your family. Bake treats for your dog. Whatever sparks joy in you and the people around you. Because that’s the big picture. Everyone deserves love, whether you have a partner or not. We don’t have to limit ourselves. And we can be the start of that change.
Now, onto my third announcement… and the one I’m most excited for.
Our February Book-A-Month theme! I was able to find some really stunning books for this, including my January review of [Four Dead Queens]. But, without further ado….our prompt is…
Read an author’s debut book!
I’m so excited to kick off our challenge, and what better prompt than this? Debut books have been stirring up storms in the literary world for years. The excellence demand for stunning novels is high, which makes publishing hard. But it sure does make reading fun!
I’ve found, in my reading of debuts, they can be very hit or miss. I’ve read two debut this year that I loved, from start to finish (*cough cough* Four Dead Queens, my first 5 star novel of the year, the The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas). I’ve read three debuts, where I loved the story, but the ending left me… wanting. I also DNF one debut, because I couldn’t stand the main character (even though it was a relatively popular debut? Maybe I just needed to finish it, but I don’t know…). You’re gonna find some really good books, and some really not-so-good books. Take it as a learning experience. For my writers, learn what to do and what not to do in your novels. For my readers, this is a really good chance to find a new favorite author, or start at the beginning with one of your current favorites.
Here are some debut recommendations!
- Can I talk about Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte again, or is it starting to be too much? A stunning fantasy murder mystery, with a touch of romance, intriguing worldbuilding, and plot twists that left me reeling.
- Divergent by Veronica Roth. Now, I know what you’re thinking–the movies didn’t do so well. But if you’ve seen the movies, I’d suggest checking out the book. It gives some more detail into the characters, and was a pretty fun read.
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. I highly recommend this contemporary to anyone and everyone, no matter the race, to read this. It explains the thoughts and dilemmas of Black women so well, and gives great insight into the experiences Black people go through every day.
- Mechanize My Hands to War by Erin K. Wagner. This multi-time and multi-POV futuristic science fiction was so intriguing. I’m pretty sure I read it in just a few days. It centers around the dilemma of child soldiers, AI in war, death, grief, and survival. Some pretty heavy topics, but Wagner tackles them in an intriguing, page-turning style.
Now, onto our prompts for the month:
Our Short Story Prompt:
Write a story based off one of your favorite songs. It can be a love related song, or not. Just have fun with it!
Our Poetry Prompt:
Red // A Different Shade of Roses // Floating
and our Self Care Prompt!
Write down one thing you love about yourself or your life, every day. At the end of the month, you can read about all the lovely things in your life.
(Can you tell I love roses?)
Do with these prompts as you will, and as always, let me know if you try them out! You can either share them here, or tag my Tumblr!
Until next time, stay warm and stay kind ❤
ZRise Writes 