Bookwyrm Breakdown: July + August 2023, Where I Actually Get to Rest (!!!)

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but for once in my years of being a cog in the corporate wheel, I actually get to rest. 🥹 It could ultimately be a temporary bandaid, but I think I’ll be operating less on fumes (at least until after the holidays), which is more than what I can say for the past year. (I will take it.)

July and August have been extremely humid here in Missouri, though we got super nice weather last week (back to being humid again though 😢).

July and August Musings

• [7 Jul] Bookwyrm Breakdown: May + June 2023

• [22 Aug] The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake ★★

Books Hoarded

July and August had some new editions to the virtual bookshelf: two from First Reads during my Prime trial, a freebie, an eARC for a recent blog tour, and two found on sale.

• Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim (eARC)
• Batu and the Golden Cup by Zira Nauryzbai and Lilya Kalaus
• The Hanging City by Charlie N. Holmberg
• The Roommate Risk by Talia Hibbert
• The Mermaid and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall
• Amari and the Great Game by B.B. Alston

Books Devoured

July and August were good reading months; it’s almost like everything is swinging back to normal (!!!). But considering how the year has gone so far, I’m kind of scared of what the rest of the year will bring. (It is way too quiet to trust this. Maybe this is anxiety talking.)

July Reads

Now that I think about it, July was a big romance month for me. 😂

• The Puck Drop and Holdout by Jacqueline Snowe
• Happy Place by Emily Henry – Emily Henry’s books usually fall along the lines of “meh” for me, but they’re still fun. Happy Place, though, was a disappointment and I have Opinions™. It’s definitely my least favorite from her.
• Role Playing by Cathy Yardley – My favorite is definitely her Ponto Beach Reunion trilogy, but I would almost never pass up reading a book by Cathy Yardley.
• RWBY and RWBY/Justice League by Marguerite Bennett
• First Love, Second Chance by Vesper Young
• Just a Little Crush by Holly June Smith

August Reads

(It’s almost like someone actually rested because look! Mostly fantasy, her usual habitat! 💃)

• The Last Fallen Realm by Graci Kim
• The Ex I’d Love to Hate by Nadia Lee – This one started out well but then kind of just… went downhill after.
• The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake – Also an overall disappointment. 🥲
• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros – Truly over-hyped, but it was fun to read (and also DRAGONS – of course I’m going to come running).
• Greek Gods #squadgoals by Courtney Carbone
• Blurred Lines by Lauren Layne – This one also started out well and kind of went downhill after, but not as much as The Ex I’d Love to Hate. (Probably because the characters had way more chemistry, and I enjoyed Layne’s writing style a lot.)
• Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim

Hey, Hollywood, do us a solid and pay your writers and actors so I can be thoroughly annoying about a recent movie and upcoming show (and everything else I’m excited about). Until then, this section will be pretty sparse (I haven’t been keeping up with music too much lately), because all artists should be paid and treated fairly.

You might wonder why a book blogger who sometimes dips into other forms of media should even care. But without the writers and actors working hard (struggling and burnt out) bringing the very books and other media we regularly consume to life, they wouldn’t exist. There would be no book adaptations or second lives and reboots.

The Breakdown

What catastrophes have the universe handed us throughout the month? Let’s find out. 🧐

I GOT TO REST, AND I’VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS LITERALLY ALL YEAR, PALS. Late-2022 and pretty much all of this year has been rough, and I honestly just wished for a hole to open up beneath me so many times.

My wrap-ups were also equally depressing, and it has not escaped my notice at all. I ended up adjusting it to every two months so I’m not moping about too much (I’m all for being transparent about my mental health on my blog, but I believe there’s a balance), but then I abandoned the blog because being a potato was more enticing.

(I was also way too tempted to set my out of office message to something witty like “Error 404: Employee Not Found (until [insert date I come back])” but then I decided against it because I’m a Professional™ and I don’t think my boss(es) would like it. Or they might laugh and then go, “Sophia, this is a Professional Environment. Please act appropriately in your email conduct, including out of office messages.” The thought is nice to have, though.)

TL;DR version, it has not been a good year for yours truly, and I fully deserve this rest to recharge and be a normal, functioning Sophia again. Preferably with the return of a full brain cell or two instead of the quarter-sized shell of a brain cell that has been hanging on for who knows how long. I’m actually surprised it survived.

All the things I did/that happened during my time of recharging:

• I slept a lot because I definitely needed this. Maybe I really can get out of this perpetual sleep debt I’m in…
• At some point I felt like a normal, functioning human being and I actually responded to blog comments (most of them)?! I feel very awkward responding to some that are nearly a year old, but I think I’ve reached the age in blogging where I just vibe along at my pace.
• I got a new laptop and everything is more speedy, and it feels very odd (although I’m pretty bummed about switching from a dedicated graphics card to an integrated one RIP some of my games).
• I also got a replacement mouse for the one that lived a short life and died a few months ago; the mouse I’ve been using has been one I’ve been using for work since I work from home sometimes.
• Found a new game to be obsessed about (For the King). It’s so resource intensive, but it’s also really fun; I think I’ve died way too many times, though.

Let’s talk: tell me what’s been happening for you lately!

(And don’t forget to stay hydrated and take care of yourselves.)