Monthly Wrap || July 2019

Somehow, we’re at the end of another month, and I still haven’t unraveled the mystery of how time passes THIS QUICKLY. If you have any hints, let me know. We’ll get to the bottom of this together.

Life Beyond the Blog

Honestly, it feels like there’s been so much, and most of it is job applications and a book slump. I’ve had one interview so far, and I’m looking at another by the end of this week, but no dice on actually getting hired. Meanwhile, I plan to finish Shadow Scale today (I seriously refuse to let this slump beat me), but it’s been over two weeks since I actually finished reading anything, which is massively frustrating.

On the flip side, it’s been a stellar month for writing. I’ve cranked out a truly absurd number of words for a project that will likely never see the light of day (almost 33k!), but I’ve had fun doing it, which is pretty much the most important thing. If I’m not having a good time writing, then why am I doing it, you know? And hey, it seems like if I don’t formally declare a Camp NaNoWriMo project, then I sail clear past the goal I would have set, so that’s a fun little bit of information to have. Maybe I’m more motivated when I don’t have a specific number or deadline to hold myself to? I’m not sure, honestly, and it’s going to take some poking and prodding and testing to figure it out.

And possibly the biggest thing (and maybe the one giving me the most anxiety, but hey) is that I’ve taken the first steps toward getting help for my mental health. I know it’s not going to be an immediate fix, and that I have to put the work in, but I’m ready to not be…floundering as much when it comes to negotiating between Rational Brain and Anxiety Brain, and this is the first step. It’s a little scary, but it needs to be done.

Overall, it’s been a busy month, though not for reasons I expected, and I think August is going to throw EVEN MORE STUFF my way, so…wish me luck?

 

Books Read and Reviewed

So the reading slump hit me over the head with a two by four, essentially. Instead of plowing through a giant stack of books, I only got through…five of them, if I can finish this last one while you read this. You can read my reviews of Sky in the Deep, Shatter the Sky, and Grim Lovelies already, while Shadow Scale and Once & Future will make an appearance in, well, the future.

 

Next Month’s Reads

Next month, the focus is on ARCs and some adult fantasy. I’m hoping to get through Oathbringer, Crown of Coral and Pearl, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, The City of Brass, and The Beast, among other things if I can muster up the time and energy. I’m also hoping I can finally FINALLY read The Hate U Give because it’s about time!

 

My Top Three Posts

It’s a known law of the universe that I have to toot my own horn just really quick at the end of every month, okay? But here’s the posts I had the most fun with this month!

1. TAZ: Balance Book Recs

2. The Pancake Book Tag

3. Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me Review

 

Favorites From Around the Blogging World

Here it is! The best part of the month! As always, the blogging community is full of treasures, but these are the posts I most enjoyed this month, and I think you should probably check them out too!

Kat @ Novels and Waffles kicks off the Bibliosmile Project!

Cait @ Paper Fury gives her advice on how to stay motivated when you’re writing your book (which has targeted me deep in my soul and I respect that)!

Kal @ Reader Voracious explores the wonderful world of Feedly and converts me to it in the process (going to set up my account SOON)!

Kelly @ Another Book in the Wall shows us how Trello can organize book blogging in the most helpful ways!

Jennifer @ Sleeping Suburb beats back the blogging slump with 20 ideas for new posts!

 

And that’s July in a nutshell! Fingers crossed August won’t be too intense, but we’ll just have to play it by ear, see how it all shakes out. I hope you’ve had a great month, and that the month ahead is ready to shower you in all things good!

See you around! 💚