Tag: Monthly Wrap Ups

August Wrap-Up: A Long but Good Month

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Books

This month, I read 25-28 books. August is the first month where I have decided not to finish books – there were three that weren’t for me, but that others may like.

My favorite books were The Final Strife, The City of Dusk, and Siren Queen. I also re-read a few books, including the These Violent Delights duology which was just as amazing as the first time I read it.

College

I started university on August 29! I am so surprised because I like all of my professors, which is very lucky. My favorite class so far is Global Studies 101. I was worried that I wouldn’t like the readings, but I love them. I feel affirmed in my decision to have already declared my major. I don’t have a least favorite class; however, I do not like my ENVS 101 class because it is at 8:30 AM.

I need to give credit to students at my uni for following my #Bookstagram and getting me to 1.4k followers!! I have been hovering around 1400 for so long.

Life

Life is pretty good. I am excited for my birthday in September, and I am glad I get to celebrate with my family.

Yesterday, I went to WorldCon for the first time. I cannot believe that I just found out about it a week ago! I met N.E. Davenport, Xiran Jay Zhao, Gene Ha, and Apara Verma. Later this week, I will hopefully have a post up about my first WorldCon experience (it was amazing and I really hope to go to the Hugo Awards the next time!).

I also took a lot of photos for my ##Bookstagram account before I left for university, and I hope I have enough to last me the semester.

The An Ember in the Ashes Quartet by Sabaa Tahir.

September

My only goal for September is to get through my first month of college: go to every class, not get covid, read for fun, and make time for my own hobbies. I also have a few books I need to read and review from NetGalley: I am reading Study Break right now and I LOVE IT!! Being a first year college student, SB came at the perfect time.

How was your August?

June/July Wrapup

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I finished my virtual internship with a book publishing company last week, and I’ll be moving into university later this month.

In June and July, I read a lot of books. As I find myself aging out of reading YA, I’ve found many new books/authors. Here are a few standouts:

  1. Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li – a art mystery about a group of Chinese Americans. Also discusses the consequences of colonization/critiques museums.
  2. Empire of Sand and Realm of Ash by Tasha Suri – while I liked The Jasmine Throne more than these two, I still felt that these two books (which take place in the same world) were engaging. I’m excited for The Oleander Sword!
  3. The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah – my new favorite fantasy series! There are three perspectives. The worldbuilding is gorgeous and I can’t wait for the sequel.

Books I’m Looking Forward To

  1. Babel by R.F. Kuang – I’ve seen so much praise for this book and I am so excited! This is an academia fiction historical novel. It’ll be interesting to see R.F. Kuang write in a different genre.
  2. The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean – I love books about books!
  3. The Decoy Girlfriend by Lillie Vale – I loved Beauty and the Besharam which came out earlier this year, and I’m glad that Lillie Vale is writing more books. Freya Lal impersonates a famous actress and poses as the girlfriend of a famous actor.

How was your July and August?

July 2021 Wrap Up

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Hey everyone!! This month, I read 24 new books. 6 less than last month and the same amount I read in May, which is a pretty good accomplishment because I had my academic summer program for four weeks in July. (I hope I did well because it was my last summer.) So far, I’ve read 107 books.Here’s what I read in July and my goals for August, as well as some of my favorite IG posts.

A black and white plaid blazer and skirt set along with a red shirt and an ARC of How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao (only 17 days away!!) and a sword necklace.

Favorite Quote

CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR: We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

“Beneath the beat of the sun, all he saw was the starkness of her skin and the sharp cut of her lips. But last night, beneath the glow of the moon, that skin had coaxed and those lips had beckoned. They still do.” – Nasir’s thoughts, pgs 294 to 295

Books I Read (bold = author is new to me, italisized = re-read)

  1. Everthing that Burns by Gita Trelease – started in June
  2. Blackout by Angie Thomas, Dhonielle Clayton, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon, Nic Stone, and Tiffany D. Jackson – FAVORITE
  3. Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield – FAVORITE
  4. Witchshadow by Susan Dennard – Least favorite
  5. The Archer at Dawn by Swati Teerdhala – FAVORITE
  6. We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal – FAVORITE
  7. She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan – FAVORITE
  8. Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao – FAVORITE
  9. Dial A For Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto – FAVORITE
  10. A Chorus Rises by  Bethany C. Morrow – FAVORITE
  11. Every Body Shines edited by Cassandra Newbould
  12. What’s Not to Love by Emily Wibberly and Austin Siegemund-Broka – Least favorite
  13. The Chariot at Dusk by Swati Teerdhala – FAVORITE
  14. Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury – FAVORITE
  15. The Marvelous by Claire Kann
  16. A Universe of Wishes edited by Dhonielle Clayton
  17. Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson – Least favorite
  18. Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney – FAVORITE
  19. Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta – an almost 100% new FAVORITE but some things could be improved
  20. Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson – FAVORITE
  21. Darling by K. Ancrum
  22. Jay’s Gay Agenda by Jason June
  23. Radha and Jai’s Recipe for Romance by Nisha Sharma – FAVORITE
  24. XOXO by Axie Oh – FAVORITE
  25. Off the Record by Camryn Garrett – FAVORITE
  26. The Right Side of Reckless by Whitney D. Grandison

Overall, 14/24 books I read were new favorites!! That’s about 60%. I didn’t like Witchshadow because the plot was all over the place and some parts seemed unecessary/there were a lot of POVs. I know this series is very popular, but it just didn’t land for me. And What’s Not to Love seemed so interesting, but I really feel like I want to read more rom-coms with people of color. Xoxo and Radha and Jai’s Recipe for Romance made up for What’s Not to Love.

I also did a buddy read with @sagarific and @yourlocalbookreader!! It was super fun and you all should definitely follow both of them. We read Iron Widow and it was super engaging and the ending. Oh my gosh.

Finally, if you read five books from this list (cries in I can’t choose but I will for now), read Blood Like Magic, Dial A For Aunties, and The Tiger at Midnight trilogy, and Off the Record, and Rise to the Sun.

August Goals

I hope to read seven books and have my TBR! I also am hoping to finish my e-ARCs of Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong and When Night Breaks by Janella Angeles!! I also got an e-ARC of The Red Palace by June Hur. Furthermore, I hope to post more reels this month.

As for non bookish/slightly bookish goals. . .

  1. I want to finish my commonapp essay. I have a second draft. If anyone else is applying, please message me and I’d love to talk about college. Also, narrow my college list/do more research.
  2. Rewatch some shows.
  3. Relax!!! My academic program was super fun but I also like having unstructured time.
  4. Hangout with friends. Hanging out in person is different than seeing someone through a screen.
  5. Start planning for Model United Nations. It’s my last year and I really hope in person conferences will happen.
  6. Get 10 people to read How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao – it’s one of my favorites of this year!!

My Favorite Posts of July

What did you do in July?

Whimisical Wrap-Ups #3: October 2020

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fave local bookstore/place to get books? highly recommend @bookcellarchicago if you’re in Chicago. they sold out of copies of legendborn so i didn’t get my copy until tuesday and it’s so good!!!! Tracy Deonn, I will be recommending this to everyone. anyway i’m about to be posting about ARORB a lot because i finally have a finished copy. it’s been nearly a year since it came out and i read it and now i can re read it over and over. highly recommend this spectacular and magical duology. Amanda Joy crafts a world to get lost in. a mg book and a ya book! kingdom of souls = best KOS!!! another 2019 debut i love. Rena Barron is awesome. and grown. now this is one i’m most excited to start that i haven’t started yet. my first book by Tiffany D. Jackson. overall, i am super grateful that i did have the money to buy four books at once. also to these people for being amazing people and writing some of my favorite books ever.

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my most liked post of October.

October somehow went really well? Online learning is challenging but I feel like I’m retaining information more than I did last spring and my teachers are SO accomodating. Somehow I posted thirteen times on my bookstagram, which is pretty good considering the fact I had 5 tests last month. My blog has been a bit neglected: I posted five times in October vs. thirteen times in September. As for my mental health, it’s pretty good. (I am trying my best to avoid the Internet tomorrow.) I’ve also surpassed my Goodreads Challenge goal by 13 books so far, which I honestly was not expecting

TOP BOOKS

  1. Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson – This is for sure one of my top books of 2020. I need to convince my school to add this to the curriculum because Grown changed my worldview forever. I highly recommend reading Jackson’s author’s note as well.
  2. Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore – OMG, have you ever seen a more perfect author duo? This book combines magic, social events, and what it’s like to be a teenager so well. That ending almost made me cry happy tears.
  3. Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar – Star Daughter is enchanting, beautiful, and will draw you in. I think this is Thakrar’s debut novel and she does amazing. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.
  4. Any Day With You by Mae Respecio – As an adopted Filipino American teen, a book like this would’ve pushed me to research my homeland earlier. Any Day With You is so important and visibility is so important. I don’t read a lot of realistic fiction middle grade books but I loved this one.
  5. Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe – Philippe is one of my all time favorite authors. The way he writes teens is so well done, and Henri is awesome. I’d want to be friends with him if he was real. Also, I relate to Corinne so much (almost a little too much).
  6. This Is All Your Fault by Aminah Mae Safi – Hello this book takes place in my favorite city in the world!!! Not many YA books are set in Chicago, and I love this book so much almost for that reason alone. Also the fact that this book is about three girls trying to save their local bookstore in Wicker Park.
  7. A Thief Among the Trees by Sabaa Tahir – Tahir does it again. Elias has been through so much, and it’s so sad and heartbreaking and I just want him to be happy. (Also, Helene is a colonizer/supports colonization. So I don’t mind if she dies in ASBTS.)
  8. Beyond the Ruby Veil by Mara Fitzgerald – I AM NOT OVER THIS BOOK. It is intense, brutal, and will leave you gasping for breath. Emanuela is so amazing.

I read 13 new books, which is pretty good, however, I am in the middle of reading 14 new books and

October Evaluation

Well. I sort of met my September goals: I have not started Rebel Rose or Clues to the Universe yet, but I will soon. I didn’t really do any Halloween themed bookstagram posts, but it’s ok. October was so good and I am kind of nervous that November is going to not be as good because I currently have all A’s in my classes (except AP Psych oof). On the positive side, I have my AP Research problem statement done and I have found 18 sources, and by the end of this month, I should have 30+. Also, my first MUN conference is next month!! I don’t think I’ll win anything but it’s fun. I also won a physical ARC copy of Wings of Ebony and I AM SO HAPPY!!!!

November Goals

  1. Post on bookstagram 9 times and on my blog more than three times. I already posted today and find that taking pictures when I feel motivated is best. I also have a lot of blog ideas, which is good.
  2. Read 5 new books and finish the 20 books I’m in the middle of reading.
  3. Write ARC reviews for Skyhunter, Like Home, Clues to the Universe, and Rebel Rose.

How was your October? Any goals?