Here we go. Day 1 of exercising and blogging.

My initial plan of giving the blogs the theme of ‘what I was listening to during exercise’ failed on day one, let me explain…

It had been a pretty grey, blustery, miserable day, so I stepped out the door with headphones on and ready for the run.

Within 400 yards I was regretting wearing a long sleeved top as the sun was threatening to appear and it wasn’t actually as cool as I thought. But I carried on, it was no big deal. I was only planning on a half hour run, I could put up with feeling a bit warm. But then, a robotic voice announced ‘powering off’. I was slightly annoyed as apparently they were 20% charged when I put them on. I was not about to run with headphones on that didn’t work.

Decision made. Turn around, go back home, drop off headphones, change top, head out again.

Today’s run was eventually completed.

4.37 miles.

Headphones are now on charge so the monthly theme of ‘what I was listening to during exercise’ will start tomorrow. Try to control your excitement.

Coolio.

Juneathon. The annual do some sort of exercise every day of the month, up to you what or for how long, then blog about it.

Of course, I personally need some sort of rules, it’s not a challenge if you can do whatever you want.

In the past I would have done entirely running, minimum of three miles each day. I like running. But this year I have started doing a bit of swimming, and I definitely don’t want to do swimming followed by running!

Therefore, Juneathon 2024 rules:

1. Any form of exercise

2. 30 minute minimum

Simple.

Wish me luck.

‘As Good As Dead’ by Holly Jackson

This is the third book of a trilogy. I’d not read the first two, so spent the first half of this book trying to catch-up on a complicated story. About halfway through, I was up to speed and things started improving, the second half of the book was great.

I would definitely have given it a better rating if it had started about halfway through, or read the previous two in the trilogy.

Very exciting read, you were routing for Pip to work it all out without leaving anything to chance.

I would recommend.

‘The Book With No Name’ by Anonymous

This was a recommendation.

I actually really quite enjoyed it. Not a book I would naturally pick up and read.

Think ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ meets ‘The X-Files’ meets ‘The Da Vinci code’. It has gangsters, karate monks, hitmen, cops, local gangs, and a serial killer. Together with the mysterious ‘Eye of the Moon’ pendant that everyone wants, the woman who recently came out of a 5-year coma, and a book that whoever reads ends up dead…it is a full-on horror spectacular.

It really shouldn’t work. But somehow it does.

Definitely worth a read.

‘Silent Saturday’ by Helen Grant

Teenage fiction. It was alright.

Took a lot of time to get to a last 15 page climax. Could have been much shorter.

‘The Employees: A Workplace Novel of the 22nd Century’ by Olga Ravn

This was a slightly strange read.

It’s written as a series of witness statements compiled in a workplace investigation. The crew of the Six-Thousand Ship consists of humans and humanoids. The ship visits a new planet called New Discovery and take on board a number of strange alien objects.

The novel explores the reactions of the humans and humanoids to these strange objects. They start to become deeply attached to them and leads to the employees questioning what it means to be truly living.

I think I liked it…but I’m not entirely sure…