Time for another round of monthly favourites! I’m getting rather fond of that exclamation mark now. So fond, in fact, that I’ve added a new section at the end for you. It’s a round-up of stuff on my blog and other articles from around the internet that I’ve enjoyed reading, as well as some bookish news. Tell me if it should be yay or nay.

1. Tumblr It’s actually ridiculous how much I use this site. I mean, I don’t even have an account. I’ve just been drawn in from the occasional checking of authors whilst waiting for the train to actively checking fan pages to it being THE FIRST THING I CHECK WHEN I GO ON THE COMPUTER. And, if that’s not enough, it has also managed to half-drag me into Supernatural fandom despite the fact that I haven’t even watched the show. (Not for lack of trying. I thought I might manage to get away with a few episodes if it was on Netflix, but I’m not so sure about buying box set from Amazon.)

2. Theatre I have been to see more theatre in the last month than I had in, like, the entire six months before that. The plays I saw were: Usagi Yojimbo (admittedly in December), the annual pantomime in the form of Beauty and the Beast, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, and The Play That Goes Wrong (pictured). They were all excellent. I suppose that’s the year’s culture out the way, then. (Only kidding. I’m an extremely cultured person, remember? xD)

3. The Coldest Girl I Coldtown by Holly Black I tried to read this book maybe a year ago and couldn’t get into it – a lot of Holly Black’s books have been disappointments for me after reading the awesomely awesome Curse Workers.  However, second time round I rather enjoyed this: it’s is vampires as they should be. Tana wasn’t the strongest protagonist, and to be honest she was a bit irritating, but it wasn’t that bad. The concept was cool.

4. Merlin I found it on Netflix, cue binge watch. My friends and I loved this show when it was on, and I think I would be obsessed with it now if it was still running. But it’s just kind of weird to see that it has a fandom, now that I know what a fandom is…it’s like my childhood colliding with my teenagehood (teenagedom?). It’s just weird. But also cool.

5. Golden Son by Pierce Brown You might remember me flailing over Red Rising in my last favourites, but probably not. In a nutshell: it’s awesome. I went out and bought the hardback edition of Golden Son because I couldn’t bear the suspense. (And that’s not something I grant every book, because I’m a bit of a money hoarder and hardbacks are bloomin’ expensive.)

6. Ava’s Demon by Michelle Czajkowski This webcomic was recommended to me in the comments by Bridget,and just like with Nimona I read it all at once. Just like with Nimona, I’m now suffering from the drip-feed updates. But it’s awesome, and the art is just beautiful, so I completely recommend. You can go read it here.

Stuff from around the internet:

• The most popular posts I wrote this month were December Favourites & Bookish Bingo, The TMI Tag and Writing: Forests.
• Fanfiction was a flavour of the month, with posts written on both Six Impossible Things and Lollipops and rainbows about its importance.
• Evi @ Where Books Never End wrote a guest post about Girl Scouts. Being a Girl Guide myself, this was a wonderful thing to see!
• Engie @ Musings from Neville’s Navel wrote about the awesomeness of Tanith Low.
• Louise O’Neill, author of Only Ever Yours, wrote an article about her journey to feminism that talks about all the things I’ve had conflict with.

Bookish things that have happened:

• All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven was released, and I seem to be the only person not raving…?
• Pierce Brown announced the cover and title of Red Rising #3: Morning Star! Click here to see the cover.
• Fairest by Marissa Meyer was released – it’s a prequel to The Lunar Chronicles starring Queen Levana.
• Sarah J Maas announced the title and release date of Throne of Glass #4: Queen of Shadows! If you haven’t been able to tell from my multiple major fangirlings, I adore this series. There’s more info on SJM’s website, if you’re interested.

On that excellent note, I conclude my first monthly favourites of this year! *dramatic flourish* What do you think of my new wrap-up from around the web? Have you read or seen any of the things I mentioned – or have you got some monthly faves of your own? 🙂 Let me know!