Happy salt air and the rust on your door month! It’s been a while since we last checked in, so today I’m sharing my July wrap up! July was an incredibly busy month for me, so we’ve got a lot to go over! Grab your favorite iced beverage, or a snack, get cozy, and let’s chat recap my July!
In July I participated in the Summerween Readathon hosted by two of my favorite BookTubers Gabby (gabbyreads) and Olivia (oliviareadsalatte) and I had so much FUN. I had a pre-planned TBR going into Summerween and I read 4 out of 5 books that I had planned to read, but I did complete all 5 prompts! The prompts for Summerween were:
- Read a book in the dark
- Read a thriller
- Read a book set in the fall
- Read a book with orange or black on the cover
- Read a manga, graphic novel or novella
Here are the books that I read for each prompt, in order of prompt fulfillment:
- You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron (☆☆☆☆)
- Lock Every Door by Riley Sager (☆☆☆☆)
- The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James (☆☆☆☆.5)
- Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 5 by James Tynion IV (☆☆☆☆)
- Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV (☆☆☆☆)
I had initially planned on reading I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall for the prompt to read a book with orange or black on the cover, but I had a rough week the week of Summerween and I didn’t really feel like sitting down and reading a clearly high-stress book. Since my library had all 5 volumes of Something is Killing the Children available, I pretty much binged those and it ended up helping me fulfill all the prompts! As you can see, I gave everything 4-4.5 stars, so I would say that Summerween was very successful for me. I had so much fun with the readathon, and I’ll definitely be participating next year!
In the first two weeks of July I read a lot, but then kind of petered out towards the middle of the month, but really, that’s fine! I needed to take a break from reading, especially after Summerween, and it was nice. With a full month of being more…relaxed about reading, I am feeling less guilty about taking days off and not finishing books so quickly, and honestly, I’m proud of myself for that!
Anyway, I ended up reading a total of 17 books and my favorites of the month were (not including my If We Were Villains reread):
- Reign by Katharine McGee
- The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
- Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffin
Blog posts I loved this month:
- In her review of Someone Like You by Meredith Schorr, Helena describes this book as a “delightful and cozy rom com”, which is exactly up my alley! I really loved reading Helena’s review, and I’m definitely looking forward to picking up a copy of Someone Like You, and Schorr’s first book As Seen on TV.
- I loved Michelle Quach’s debut novel, Not Here to Be Liked (you can read my review here), and I’ve definitely been looking forward to her next book The Boy You’ve Always Wanted. I really enjoyed reading Michelle’s review, and I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a copy since it was released on Tuesday!
My posts this month:
July was a busy busy month. Work was absolutely crazy, and it seemed like every day I was putting out multiple fires. I also had plans essentially every weekend, so July was a non-stop month, but there were lots of good things!
I saw the National Tour of Les Misérables with my mom and just had the best time — which, yes, is weird to say when you’re seeing a musical that literally translates to The Miserable Ones, but it’s true! Les Misérables is a story that means everything to me, it honestly changed my life and has had so much influence on the person I am today — it’s incredibly personal for me. The last time I saw a live professional production of Les Mis was actually 10 years ago, so it was amazing to see a professional production again. I sobbed from start to finish (I literally only stopped crying during intermission), which is the norm whenever I see Les Mis. The tour is actually coming back to my area in October, so I think I’m going to try and see it again.
And then, the last weekend of July was the thing I’ve been waiting 17 years for. I finally got to see Taylor Swift live. I went to the Eras Tour on the 29th and it was everything I hoped it would be and more. It truly was the most magical evening — I went to the concert alone, but I never felt lonely while I was there. Everyone was so nice, the excitement was palpable and it was so fun to talk to other people about their outfits and trade friendship bracelets. We all know that Taylor is an exceptional performer, but knowing that and experiencing it are two totally different things and I really was blown away by her performance and how she only seemed to get better as the night went on. Standing in a sold-out stadium belting my favorite Taylor songs with 58,000 other Taylor fans was such a wonderful experience. It was a night that I will never forget.
I went to the beach the day after Eras, which was actually a great way to wind down. The beach always relaxes me; it was great to sit, read, and listen to the ocean. In other life news, I saw Barbie and absolutely loved it — I’m hoping to see it again while it’s still in theaters, and I went to the farmer’s market one weekend and got some of the most beautiful hydrangeas, which always brings me joy.
As for work, we’re almost finished with our penultimate week of summer camp and while I love my job, I am definitely looking forward to a few weeks off!
I hope that you all had a wonderful month of July, and I’d love to hear about the books you read and what your favorite memories of the month were. Until next time!
