Monthly Wrapups

What I’ve been up to in July ⛅ Vacation, Reading & Revision

Caro @ bookcheshirecat

July Wrapup

Hello fellow bookworms ⛅ Is anyone else scared that it’s already August?? Time really ceases to have any meaning and we’re already almost done with summer. I thought that after finishing my Thesis I would have all the time in the world, but it turns out that the months flew by and now the new semester is already looming on the horizon 😱 At least July was a way better month than June, as my mental health improved, I got back to doing revision, went on vacation and managed to read some great books, so at least that’s great progress ❤ This wrapup is slightly late because like I said I was on vacation – meaning no new posts last week – and was itching to post my Readathon TBR first, but here we are 😄

Studio Ghibli GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY
Me trying to escape time

Important Resources

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whatiread

🔄 = Reread 💌 = Library Books 🌈 = Here and Queerathon

🐯 = #YARC2020  ✨= #StartOnYourShelfathon  ⌛ = Digital Arc

July was honestly a good reading month! I read 19 books and managed to chill a bit with my library loans (I managed to renew my online library card, which is also exciting!!). Instead, I reread a couple of books (A Map of Days and the Hunger Games Trilogy and Jackaby!!! Yes I just read it at the beginning of this year, but this series is God Tier!) which was so nice as I love rereading and try to fit it into my Monthly TBR whenever I can 🥰 I also participated in two Readathons, the Reading Rush and the OfftheGrid Readathon. The latter I joined pretty last minute, but it was such a great Readathon, as it’s all about staying offline and I really needed that. Usually, I find myself scrolling through Twitter way to often, so it really helped me to stay off social media for the weekend and read instead ❤ Both Readathons definitely boosted my reading and I read a bunch of really great books! I also found a new favorite book after months of not having a new 5-star read which is amazing and honestly makes me so happy! (The Gilded Wolves ftw 💗❤💖)

OC Update

After not reading as many out of comfort zone books in the last few months, I definitely did better in July! I read 5 books (7 books if you count the Alex + Ada volumes separately) and liked a lot of them, which is always great! I’m hoping to get back on track and read some of the books on my TBR in the following months ❤ In July I read 2 sci-fi books, 2 historical fiction books (one of them a classic, which is even farther out of my comfort zone) and 1 mystery book (2 if I’m also counting A Study in Scarlet)! I also read 3 adult books (Alex + Ada, If We Were Villains and A Study in Scarlet), so that makes me proud as I’ve been neglecting adult books 😄

OOCZ_ June

The Gilded Wolves (Roshani Chokshi) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🌈 🐯 ✨

Alex + Ada Vol 1-3 (Luna & Vaughn) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 💌 

If We Were Villains (M.L. Rio) ⭐⭐⭐.5 💌 

A Study in Scarlet (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) ⭐⭐⭐ 💌

The Sound of Stars (Alechia Dow) ⭐⭐.5 💌 🌈 

ReadingRushWrapup

I participated in this year’s Reading Rush for the first time and actually managed to read 7 books which was incredible! It really boosted my reading and I found many great new books to love 💖

However, I won’t be participating in the Readathon next year as there have been many instances of careless and hurtful behavior on part of the hosts. The Group Book was barely promoted by them and in their final live show, they made fun of not having read it. This was incredibly disrespectful, especially as it was a book written by a Black Author. Instead of uplifting Black voices with their platform, the book wasn’t given any priority. Their ‘apology’ also rang a bit hollow to me as well. Even before this incident some of the things they did were a bit iffy to me, which I recognize in hindsight: like the ‘reading outside’ prompt or how heavily they promote their merch. I liked the idea of a Reading Journal but the fact that it’s more of a leaflet (not even a hardcover), covers only the Readathon and still costs 20 dollars didn’t sit right with me. I do hope that the hosts take a moment to truly reflect on their actions, but until then there are a lot of other great Readathons and Book Clubs by content creators of colors to support.

ReadingRush2020

1. The Gilded Wolves (Roshani Chokshi) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🌈 🐯 ✨

2-4. Alex + Ada Vol 1-3 (Luna & Vaughn) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 💌 

5. Felix Ever After (Kacen Callender) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 🌈 💌

6. My Heart and Other Black Holes (Jasmine Warga) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🐯 ✨

7. A Study in Scarlet (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) ⭐⭐⭐ 💌

Other Books

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8. The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔁

9. Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔁

10. Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔁

11. Jackaby (Suzanne Collins) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔁 💗

13. A Map of Days (Ransom Riggs) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 🔁 

13. The Conference of the Birds (Ransom Riggs) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 ✨

14. The Gravity of Us (Phil Stamper) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 💌 🌈

15. Girl in Pieces (Kathleen Glasgow) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 💌 

16. If We Were Villains (M.L. Rio) ⭐⭐⭐.5 💌 

 

17. Love, Creekwood (Becky Albertalli) ⭐⭐⭐.5 💌 🌈

18. Catherine’s War (Billet & Fauvel) ⭐⭐⭐ 💌 

19. The Sound of Stars (Alechia Dow) ⭐⭐.5 💌 🌈 

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Favorite Book 💕

whatiposted

2020 #ReadingRush TBR 🌊 A week full of reading fun ⛅ Arc Review: The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune ✨ Superheroes but sadly also Disappointment

⛅ Most Anticipated Releases of 2020 (July to December) 💕 ⛅ How many of my Anticipated 2019 Releases did I actually read? 📚

⛅ Sharing the Blogger Love 💗 #2020BookBloggerAwards ⛅My Physical TBR ⭐ Exposing myself with all the books I haven’t read yet 

⛅ Spotlight #1 💖 The Gravity of Us, A Blade so Black & Every Heart a Doorway

faveposts

For this section of my wrapup I’m linking up with the Favorite Blog Posts of the Month Meme that has been created by Kristin @ kristinkravesbooks to showcase our favorite blogs of the month!

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life stuff

I was doing really well with my revision!!! I was really unmotivated in June, but in July my Mental Health improved by a lot, which also got me back to feeling more inspired and ready to tackle my goals! I basically did all of my second round of edits in the first three weeks of July, despite not participating in Camp NaNo 😄 However, the NaNo spirit seeped into me and I was suddenly on fire, revising 2 scenes a day and later, even more, to be done in time for my vacation in the last week of July! I revised on Scrivener and some scenes actually turned out to be really great. I’m proud that I finally finished this round of revision, and now there are only 2 left! I’ll definitely be doing another writing update in August to tell you what exactly I’ve been doing ❤

I finished doing my Master applications, so now we wait.  I also continued to work on my Master applications and now I’m done, as I applied to all of the courses I was interested in. The wait for answers is killing me though, as so many universities – especially those with early application deadlines – haven’t given me any updates. I got a few rejections already, but I knew this would happen, as the Bachelor course I did is a bit different from the usual Psychology course. I have about 10 universities left to hear back from, but it’s frustrating to constantly wait for news and be stuck in this place of not knowing what will happen. I’m just hoping for some good news so I can finally plan ahead for my future 🙏 (please send some good vibes!)

I finally went on a week-long vacation! I was so excited that we got another chance at a vacation after our cruise in May being canceled! Of course, we stayed within our country and also choose a less populated area, so we’d be staying safe and also have a more relaxed time. It was so nice to have a change of scenery and routine, it did wonders for my sleeping quality and mental health! I’m already sad that the vacation was over so quickly because I really enjoyed doing other things than usual and being away from constantly worrying about my applications. Here are some of the things we did:

  • Taking lots of walks on the riverside or in the forest 🌳 (We stayed at a small village in a really quiet area that had a lovely forest and pond)
  • Visting an Apple Farm 🍎 (The area is famous for having lots of farms full of fruit, complete with little cafés where they sell homemade cakes and also little shops where they sell the local produce. I loved exploring the farms and seeing all the apples grow, it was just so peaceful and amazing to see all the apple trees!!)
  • Going to nearby towns 🏠 (Most of them weren’t that big and while we did a little shopping we also took lots of walks. My favorite was a town that had little badges of book award winners spread out around the area!! They host the particular award for YA books and it was nice to spot some favorites! … but also sad because there were barely any authors of color featured.)
  • Visiting Hamburg 🌃(This was by far the place with the most people we went to, but as it’s my favorite German city, we couldn’t resist going. I bought a book because they’ve got a better English selection, si that was exciting!!! We also went to have tea and dinner – for the only time this week, as we usually cooked at home.)
  • Going to an outdoor nature reserve 🌲(It’s basically like a museum with lots of information about the area in terms of geography, wildlife, and animals but set mainly outside)

Things that made me happy 😊 

  • Watching so many great TV Shows 📺 My friend Sandra and I finished watching season 3 of Dark and it was phenomenal!! This is one of the most well-plotted and incredible shows I’ve ever seen and it did everything right. Having such a satisfying but also realistic ending was great! We also watched the new season of Queer Eye which made me so happy, as it’s always such a great comforting show to watch!  We’re also rewatching Shadowhunters in between our shows and that’s another comfort and nostalgia factor ❤
  • Going on Vacation (see above) 🌊 It was so just so nice to have something to look forward too, which really helped my mental health and I got to have a change of environment!
  • Taking some lovely walks 🌳 I really underestimated how nice some fresh air could be and I was feeling so relaxed when I was going outside more. Especially getting to a nearby city – walking by the riverside or in parks – was great as it meant a change of surroundings that I desperately needed! My Mental Health was also so much better! 😊

looking ahead

To be honest, I don’t have that much planned for August 🌞 I’m back well-rested from my vacation now and will probably catch up on what I missed. I’m also planning on continuing with my revision, this time focusing on line-edits which means working on my writing style, as I’ve mainly focused on developmental stuff like plot, characters, and worldbuilding now. My plan is to finish line-edits in August and then do the last few edits in September before university starts up again in the fall. I also want to brainstorm a new writing project that I can focus on after I finished my edits 😊

Reading-wise I hope to read some more of the books on my physical and digital TBR so I can catch up on the #StartOnYourShelfaton as I’m doing really poorly with that challenge 😅 I want to tackle some of the books that I have been putting off for a long time and get over my procrastination! I’ll still read some library books though, as I have some holds probably coming next month, so that’s also very exciting 🥰 Of course, I’ll also be doing Readathons, as I can never resist them! Normally the NEWT’s would take place in August, but after J.K. Rowling proving again and again how transphobic she is, I’m not going to be participating in a Harry Potter-themed Readathon. The host did ‘cancel’ the NEWT’s, specifically, it means that she still released the challenges if you want to do them, but the Readathon will not be hosted publically and next year the Readathon will return in another, original format that isn’t HP based. I’m definitely excited for next year, as I love how creative G is  and I’m really happy that she decided to make her own Fantasy Readathon as of next year, as I always enjoy participating in what she’s hosting 😊

Readathons that I’m participating in ❤

  • Tome Topple Round 12 📗 2 week-long 📗 August 8th to 21st
  • Series Crackdown Round 10 📚 Month-long special 📚 Announcement Post

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What were you up to in July? What was your favorite book this month? I hope you’re staying safe ⛅

 

Published by Caro @ bookcheshirecat

30 thoughts on “What I’ve been up to in July ⛅ Vacation, Reading & Revision”

  1. Thank you for the shout out!

    I’m glad you got to go on vacation 🙂 it sounds like you had a lovely time!

    I keep meaning to try both Dark and Queer Eye since they’re both on Netflix. Our copy of Jonathan Van Ness’ book is put on hold a lot so that has made me more curious about the show, lol.

    Best of luck with your masters pursuits!!

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  2. 19 books!!!! so much!!! It’s so cool how you deliberately also try to read out of your comfort zone and keep track of it — that’s such a good idea. I’ve seen so many people highly recommending The Gilded Wolves — I wasn’t a fan of one of Roshani Chokshi’s other books so I never picked it up, but I feel like I have to now!!! I also relate to re-reading the Hunger Games, I actually did the same thing in July. It’s such a good series!!! Also I didn’t know that there was another book in the Simonverse — what is it about? Also props to you for all the editing, that stuff is HARD. & good luck with your masters application, and I’m so glad you had fun on your vacation! Also, I really appreciate you providing all those resources ❤

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    1. I definitely had a great reading month! I really like that I challenged myself to read more broadly this year, I have found some unexpected favorites this way 😊 The Gilded Wolves is definitely a great Fantasy book with an interesting magic system, so I highly recommend it! Rereading The Hunger Games was definitely lots of fun. Love, Creekwood is a short novella set after the events of Leah on the Offbeat 😄 Thank you so much!! 💕

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  4. Hooray for vacations and lots of reading 😀 I’m glad to hear you had a good July, and I hope that continues into August (though I definitely agree that it does not feel like it should be August already).
    Yay, I’m so glad you enjoyed The Gilded Wolves so much! And rereading THG is always a great choice.
    WOW I’m so impressed by your revision progress! That’s amazing! (Can you send some of that motivation to me? 😅) That vacation sounds SO lovely and relaxing, I’m glad you had a nice time.
    Thanks so much for sharing my posts, Caro ❤ Have a wonderful August, and good luck with your revisions!

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    1. I’m happy that my July was a lot better (especially with the lovely vacation) though the passage of time is still so strange 😱
      The Gilded Wolves is a fantastic book and I also enjoyed my The Hunger Games reread so much – lots of great books all around 🥰
      Ahh, thank you so much!! *sending you lots of motivation* 💕
      You’re welcome! I hope you have a great August as well! Good luck with your WIP ❤

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  5. I’m so so happy July was a better month for your mental health! This year has been really rough, so I’m glad you had a great time.
    Congrats on your reading! Wow, 19 books is a lot. I’ve been participating in readathons almost every month this year, and they are so much fun, but I also felt a bit iffy with everything that happened with the reading rush this year. Honestly, the best part for me is actually how close the community gets and all of the reading vlogs, but that doesn’t have to be tied up to the reading rush anyway.
    I’m so excited to see what g comes up with for next year’s readathon! I love her content, and all the work she put into the o.w.l.s and n.e.w.t.s was very impressive. Imagine what she can accomplish with her own world and rules!
    I hope you have a lovely August ❤︎

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    1. Thank you so much, I’m happy that July turned out to be a lot better 😊 I also participated in a lot of Readathons this year, they are always so much fun! Sad that the Reading Rush turned out to be iffy because the community was really great!
      I’m also excited about the future of the Magical Readathon, as G always puts so much effort and passion into these Readathons!
      Thank you, I hope you have a great August as well 🥰

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  7. ah, i didn’t know that about the magical readathon! i’m so glad that g is changing the theme of the readathon in order to not show support for a transphobe! and i’m so glad that you enjoyed the gilded wolves <3<3 it was pretty underwhelming for me, but i see why other people would like it!

    the reading rush was a mess :(( it's sad because i've wanted to participate for so long, and i finally had time because of my 5 month summer break, but then they had to go and dismiss a book by a Black author, include a reading outside prompt during a pandemic, and more.

    also, congrats on your writing progress!! that's incredible—i've literally been planning my wip for months 😭😭 and it's amazing that you got to go on vacation 🥺 (i really wonder what that's like, i haven't left my house in six months :""))

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    1. I’m really happy that she’s doing her best to come up with an original theme for next year and leaving behind the HP focus! Sorry to hear that The Gilded Wolves didn’t blow you away, I can see that it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea! Oh, the Reading Rush was truly messy this year 😖 So glad that there are a lot of other great Readathons to support instead!

      Thank you so much! ❤ I wish you all the best luck with your WIP, you can do it! 💕 I’m very grateful that we got to go on vacation! Hope you have a good August 💗

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  8. 19 books ?!! I’m glad that you had such a great reading month! I can’t wait to read Felix Ever After! It seems soooo good! I’ve been meaning to read the Hunger Games trilogy for a while now too but there are sooo many books that I want to read! I hope you’re going to have a great reading month in August too and that your master applications are going to have positive answers!

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    1. I’m really happy with my reading in July, I read lots of great books! 😄 Felix Ever After is such an amazing book, I hope you enjoy it 😊 The Hunger Games are definitely such great books, even so many years later, I’m glad I reread them! Thank you, Joss! I hope you’ll have a great August as well 🥰

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  9. the reading rush was so bad this year, truly — i’m glad i didn’t make my participation very “official” with a tbr or account on the website, and i’m definitely not participating in it next year at all! but AAHH i’m so happy you loved the gilded wolves so much; i have an arc of the sequel that i’m going to get to this month and i am so excited for it! i also read felix ever after this month, and it was so good!

    ahh you are so amazing for all the writing progress you made! i can’t wait to hear more about it in your august update post ❤ and i'm glad that you were able to go on vacation and have some time to rewind and recharge, that's always the best. i hope you have a great august!!

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    1. The Reading Rush truly was a mess this year, but gladly there are a lot of other Readathons to support instead! The Gilded Wolves was such a fantastic book and I honestly cannot wait to read the sequel soon as well!! 🥰 Oh yes, Felix Ever After was such a great book as well 😊

      Thank you so much! ❤ Taking a short vacation was truly great for recharging and provided me with lots of new inspiration. I hope you have a great August as well! 😊

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  12. Thank you so much for the shout-out! It always makes me happy that you enjoyed our posts. 🥰 Anyhow, I’m glad you were able to go on a vacation and that you could relax. The apple farm sounds delightful – I’d love to go to a place like that one day. Congrats on working on your WIP – I hope the line edits will go well. 🙂 Also, I’m really rooting for you to get some good news from the universities you’re waiting for!! 😀

    I’m doing very poorly with the #StartOnYourShelf, as well – and most of the books I have read ended up being disappointing. So it feels like I’m failing the challenge in two ways. 😅 I wanted to participate in the Reading Rush, but I was kind of in a slump, plus their prompt about reading outside made me feel eh about it. We have a garden, but so many people don’t have any way to complete that. I know that they then said that you can sit in your window, or do it however you want, but it still felt like a really bad prompt in the middle of a pandemic. Obviously, what they did later was more serious, and it convinced me not to participate in their readathon in the future. :/

    Hope your August has been going well! Sending all the good vibes. 🙂

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    1. You’re welcome 🥰 I’m happy and grateful for the vacation as it was so nice to get a change of scenery – the apple farm was truly lovely!! 🍎 Thank you so much!! I haven’t started with the line edits yet, so we’ll see how they go 😄

      I’m slowly catching up on StartOnYourShelfathon though I still have some hope for my TBR! Sorry to hear your reads have been disappointing so far 😢 Really sad about the Reading Rush, they were such a mess this year and I definitely won’t participate in their Readathon again!

      Thank you! I hope you have a great August! 💕

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  13. Ahh Caro I am so happy to hear your month has been better mental-health wise and that you managed to have some vacation, too, that’s wonderful! A little change of scenery feels good with everything happening and I’m so happy you got to take walks and explore and relax, too. 🥰
    I am amazed by how much you’ve read in the past month with everything, WOW teach me your secrets ahah. I’m a little sad to see you didn’t love The Sound of Stars too much, I was eagerly anticipating this one 😦
    CONGRATULATIONS on all of your writing progress ahhh this is so, so very exciting. Wishing you all the best for this month ❤ ❤

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    1. I’m really grateful that July was a lot better mental health-wise and going on a little vacation to get a change of scenery really helped 🥰 I hope you got to relax a little bit as well last month!
      Reading has been my main coping mechanism, this year more so than ever! What’s great is getting to discover lots of amazing books ❤ I hope you still like The Sound of Stars! It had a lot of potential! Thank you so much! Wishing you all the best for August as well 💕

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  15. Hi Caro 🙂
    I’m happy to hear that you were able to get a lot of reading done in July, and that you’ve enjoyed many of the books! I am always impressed by how much you read!
    It’s also great to hear that you’ve made progress on your revision, and I’m looking forward to your next writing update! Also that’s awesome that you had a chance to get away 🙂

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    1. Thank you, Sophie! I’m happy that I had such a great reading month in July and could read so many amazing books 😊 Revision was tough but I’m happy that I finally made some progress! My update will be coming next week 🥰 The vacation definitely recharged me 😄

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