January is one of my favourite months of the year. Not because of the dreary Dutch weather, but because it’s the month of new beginnning. By the time I reach January, I’m done looking back and it’s time to look forward. It’s time to plan new trips, and to set new goals.

The end of January 2019 marks the beginning of my first ever wrap up. Over the next few months I’ll be tweaking this wrap up post a bit to see which format pleases me (and you) the most. My monthly wrap up post will be a merry mix of travel & books & miscellaneous  content.

What did I do in January 2019?

The month of January was quite a standard month for me in the Netherlands. I’ve even been able to produce steady content for my blog. I published 6 posts in January which makes this one of my most productive months in terms of blogging. One of my first blogging goals of 2019 will come true this month as well as soon as I publish this post.

I had a break from work in December, so in January I started working full-time again. I’m a Scrum Master in IT (I’m a team coach). I’ve worked a lot of long days in January, but overall I felt like it was a good month on the work front.

I didn’t travel this month, but I did see a few new sights in the Netherlands. The weather was actually unexpectedly lovely so I managed to have a couple of walks on the beach and I visited a few new cities like Woerden & Oudewater. I will write a blog post about Oudewater in the future.

Travel Content which inspired me

All throughout the month I read travel blogs & check Instagram. Even when I’m not travelling, it’s on my mind all the time. I love to be inspired by travel bloggers. In this section, I will share the travel content that jumped out to me the most this month.

“Diving Where Few Women have Dived Before: Scuba Diving in the Dead Sea” by Alex in Wanderland. I mean… Look at this title! Do I need to say more? I will likely be visiting the Dead Sea in May this year, but I think I’ll pass on diving there.

“Chichén Itzá, het wereldwonder van Mexico” by Marcella Molenaar. Mexico has been on my list for years and the photos on Marcella’s blog look absolutely beautiful.

“What to do and where to stay in Sao Tome & Principe” by the Very Hungry Nomads. Sao Tome & Principe has been on my radar since I saw blog posts about it last year. Rach and Marty travelled to these islands on their awesome journey to see every country in the world.

What did I read?

I’m quite proud of my reading month. I read 9 books, it was a nice mix of audiobook and physical book and genre. These books are sorted based on date read.

• Colleen Hoover – Verity (2018)
  • 4 out of 5 stars because this novel deliveres in several ways. The first is that it didn’t give in to one of the thriller tropes I hate the most. In this novel the female protagonist is very self-aware. She doesn’t like the spotlight, and she has her insecurities but she also acknowledges that someone could be into her. When a man stares at her, she doesn’t think there’s something wrong with her. The second way the novel delivers is because the story is propelled forward by the fact that it’s a story within a story. I finished this book within two days, so it works.
• David Jackson – A Tapping At My Door (DS Nathan Cody #1) (2016)
  • 3 out of 5 stars because this read is quite unremarkable. It’s good, it kept me listening, but I can’t say I was enthralled or on the edge of my seat. People who like Liverpool (I like Liverpool!) will like this book for its story and its characters. The plot twist was OK, because I’ve heard and read about the story in the past. I’m not sure if it will mean a lot to other readers who aren’t familiar with the UK.
• Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows – My Lady Jane (The Lady Janies #1) (2016)
  • 4 out of 5 stars because I actually had no idea what I had signed up for when I picked up this book. I bought it because of the excellent reviews, I didn’t realize it would be just so outrageously fun. This is a historical fiction novel – with strong emphasis on the fiction. Lady Jane is Jane Grey, according to our history books she was queen for 9 days until (Bloody) Mary took over and had her and her husband executed. History was actually wrong if we have to believe this account, which we obviously shouldn’t. The Catholics & Protestants are actually portrayed in a very interesting manner. In this “world” there are edians & verities. Edians can turn themselves into animals, and verities want to kill these edians.
• Courtney Summers – Sadie (2018)
  • 4 out of 5 stars because the story is hard-hitting and incredibly well told. It’s about Sadie, who’s sister Mattie, has recently been killed. Sadie decides to hunt for the killer. It’s a dark and grim storyline as we delve into the world of Sadie’s thoughts. On the other hand we listen to a podcast being created about both missing girls. It’s clearly a YA book, but I found it enjoyable nevertheless (as you might have noticed YA is generally not my favourite genre).
• Camilla Way – The Lies We Told (2018)
  • 3 out of 5 stars because this book didn’t shock me. I don’t know why, because I didn’t expect the twists it takes, but I also didn’t care enough. I think that’s it. I didn’t care about the two families. I didn’t care about Luke disappearing. I didn’t care about Clara’s despair. I didn’t care about the aloof Tom, the friendly Mac and the crazy Hannah. That having been said, I can’t deny it’s a well-written book which is easy to read.
• Jon Ronson – So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed (2015)
  • 2 out of 5 stars because Jon Ronson is incredibly popular, so I figured it was about time I picked up one of his books. I don’t think I should’ve picked this one though. I didn’t really enjoy the writing and I didn’t find the subject matter very interesting. This book focuses its attention on internet shaming. The fact that an innocent remark/joke can be blown up out of proportions on the internet. As a result the person who made the remark or joke will feel the repercussions in their private life. Many of those shamed have lost their jobs.
• Riley Sager – Last Time I Lied (2018)
  • 5 out of 5 stars because this book has so many fabulous twists and turns. It has a bit of romance, but it isn’t thriller “tropey” in the slightest. The story is about Emma who’s friends disappeared 15 years ago during camp. She is now asked to return to this camp and she does, because she’s still curious to find out what happened 15 years ago. I can’t wait for Sager’s third book to come out this year.
• Patrick deWitt – The Sisters Brothers (2011)
  • 3 out of 5 stars because I don’t generally read many westerns. I don’t know if it’s the case with all westerns but this book propels you right into the action. It doesn’t stop until the end. There isn’t much time for intro or retrospectives, but that’s what also makes it enjoyable in part. This book is about two brothers, the Sisters Brothers, who are on a mission to hunt down a prospector who has created a special formula. On the way to the prospector they meet all kinds of weird figures and they have humorous banter.

Chelsey Schultz – Inspired: The Stories of Nine Solo Female Travelers (2018)
I’m rating this book 3.5 stars. I have received a free copy of the author for an honest review which you will find below.

I love to travel and I love to read, but for some reason I don’t read many travel related books. I do read a lot of travel blogs. Most of the bloggers I follow are women. I think this is due to the fact that the travel experience is different for women than it is for men. As such, I can relate more to female travellers.

This collection of short stories by female travellers is compiled by Chelsey Schultz who is an avid traveller herself. The stories blend together a bit, which makes them hard to distinguish from each other. A few stories really stick out to me though: Jennifer Armstrong’s “Silent Witness” about her travels through Croatia (the way she wrote it I could really relate to her), Akanksha Holani’s “The Truths and Dares of Travel” (because it inspired me), Sarah Kilbourne’s “From Suburbs to Sightseeing: One Woman’s Road to Solo Travel” (because of all the awesome places she’s worked and the opportunities she seized), Katie Birtles’s “I was here” (because of the great storytelling).

All-in-all this book is not meant for me. It’s meant for women who have not dared to solo travel. Women who think the world really is a scary place. Women who need that little nudge from other women to convince them that travelling can indeed be scary but also fun at times. There aren’t many books like these around, so I would definitely advice you to pick it up. Especially if it helps you to take the leap and to travel the world!

What did I watch?

I watched a nice eclectic mix of movies and series, both fictional and non-fictional. I won’t mention everything I watched, but I’ll highlight a few of my favourites.

The Vietnam War by Ken Burns (2017)

This is a great documentary with survivor accounts from both sides. I don’t know if I have ever seen a documentary which also looks at the North Vietnamese side of the conflict. This documentary can be viewed on Netflix.

Fauda (Season 1) (2015)

What the Vietnam War does in a non-fictional format, Fauda does for fiction. This TV series takes into account two sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I thought especially season 1 was very strong in showing that the conflict isn’t at all black & white but it’s very much grey area. This TV series can be viewed on Netflix.

The Hate U Give (2018)

This book tore at my heart strings two years ago. It’s now a movie, and if you’re not much of a reader it’s time to check out the movie. It’s not as good as the book (wich movie adaptations almost never are), but it has the same powerful story. This movie is still playing in the cinemas in the Netherlands.

Fyre (2019)

Last but not least is the documentary everyone is talking about at the moment. I would put this under the horror genre. Tension is built up very well in this documentary and it’s hard not to get an anxiety attack. This documentary can be viewed on Netflix (but it’s not for the faint of heart).

What’s next for February 2019?

My month of February will be business as usual. I don’t have any trips planned for this month, so I’ll be meeting up with friends, sightseeing in the Netherlands, and working as I always do.

Did you have a good January?