Y’all. We made it through the worst of Summer and have officially entered the ‘Ber months! Never mind that the heat index is still 100* this week, and the sweat pours as soon as you walk outside. Cozy season is almost here, if we can just hold on a little bit longer.
As mentioned in my Glimpses post, August was a hodge podge of a month. To make the general weirdness even wackier: I read a lot in August! I’m not even sure how that happened, because in the moment it didn’t feel like I was reading that much. And yet, here we are: 9 books {and 3,000+ pages} later, and time to look back at the month.
📖 Worse Than Strangers | Kyleigh Leddy | ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
📖 Queen of Shadows | Sarah J Maas | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
📱 Just Friends | Haley Pham | ⭐⭐1/2
📱 The Christmas Yes List | Melissa Ferguson | ⭐⭐⭐
🎧 Wild Goose Chase | Sarah Adler | ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
📖 Adversary to the Villain | Hannah Nicole Maehrer | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
📖 Our Perfect Storm | Carley Fortune | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
📱 Eyes Like Stars | Ashley Poston | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
📖 Sense & Suitability | Pepper Basham | ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The earlier than usual Christmas read was to earn my Camp Netgalley badge, and it was kind of fun to toss a Christmas book into the middle of hot-hot-hot Summer. {I may actually attempt a Christmas in July of some sort next year… hmm…}. It was a cute read, perfectly predictable and festive, and one that I think will be even better on the screen when the upcoming movie releases.
Overall the reading was good in August, and between the ongoing Throne of Glass reread and revisiting not one, but two favorite storyverses {Rennedawn and Star Wars}, I traveled far and wide.
Without getting into the data, I’m doing a much better job of juggling reading my shelves and reading library books this year, especially when it comes to print reading. Hopefully the trend continues, even though I’ve got a stack of library holds waiting for me to devour.
Listening:
I managed one audiobook, and honestly that feels like a win. As we slide, eventually {hopefully}, into cooler weather, I’m hoping for the return of audiobook walking.
Watching:
Not as much watching this month. We tried keeping up with House of the Dragon [Season 3], and the last few episodes just weren’t keeping our attention. So that one’s been left on the table {again}, and we may try again later. As seasons change in the natural world, what I want to watch changes as well, so there may be some “taste testing” viewing to come.
- 📺 The Count of Monte Cristo | PBS Passport/Masterpiece
Okay, this time we actually finished. I’m not sure what to think … The whole production is so carefully layered and plotted out and then we get to the last, oh, 10 minutes? And it slows way down. And the very end just … stops. Mr and I looked at each other like “that’s it?” Granted, I haven’t read the book yet. Maybe it ends that way as well. Now I’ve got a general idea of the story though, and may brave up enough to tackle the behemoth novel. - 📺 The Forsytes | PBS Passport/Masterpiece
Officially we watched Episode 1 of this one, and it was intriguing enough that we will return. All the teasers for the next season of The Gilded Age have me wanting more from that world.
On the Blog:
It was a slow month for posting, but I was able to give a garden report and share our amazing August feasts. There were cow-induced smiles and a look ahead at Fall-themed reading.
Looking ahead, there will be a chicken update later this month {I’m trying to wait for one of the new babies to lay an egg, but we’ll see}. We should be getting close to harvest time for our luffa gourds, which will make for a wild update I think. These things have gotten huge! And of course, with October comes Year 4 of My Christmas Is Booked, so keep an eye out for an introduction post toward the end of the month. There will also be an official wrap-up for Summer of Jane.
I hope your August was a satisfying end to Summer, and that as the ‘Ber months settle into place your days are filled with cozy moments of quiet joy and all the best reads.
What are you most looking forward to in September?
Do you have a favorite historical drama to watch?
Besides the blip of Just Friends it looks like you had an incredible reading month. So many strong reads 😍 out of curiosity do you have a favourite TOG book? As I’m never 100% sure but generally lean towards Queen Of Shadows with how twisty things get. I also desperately need to hurry up and try that Villains series and cant believe you’ve started the festive reads off already 😂 I missed that camp thing over on Netgalley 🙈 I really need to start using it more again.
Sorry to hear that House Of The Dragon stopped gripping you. I have no idea what the end of Monte Cristo is and now I’m nervous 😬 good luck if you do decide to try the book. If it was a fantasy title I’d be excited by the length but chunky classics terrify me 😂🙈 I also really should return to The Gilded Age. I randomly stopped watching and don’t know why.
I hope you have a wonderful September. (I just put August 🙈 its my birthday tomorrow so how the hell did I say the wrong month 😂) anyway I hope you have a lovely time and discover lots of new favourite reads.
As to historical dramas Downton Abbey and The Tudors are my favourites. I dont think I could get bored of watching either.
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I don’t feel too bad about Just Friends being a blip in the ratings, since I read it for a friend whose tween daughter wanted to read it/I said I would content check it for her 😉
Oh man, a favorite TOG … That’s so hard! I think, right now, I’d say Empire of Storms. The characters have grown so much by that point, and all the tiny “easter egg” details are coming together, and it’s such an emotional gut-punch … So good. But the whole series is so good, I really think it’s the best SJM. {I’m actually going to make a much larger “Maasverse Journey” post in the future, as I reread through all the things}.
The Gilded Age is soooo good. But I also am generally predisposed to like things in that world, which might help, lol … It’s gorgeous though: the costuming, the music … I hope when you slip back into the world, you enjoy it 🙂
I need to give Downton a whirl – I think I saw the first 15 or 20 minutes of the first episode, and for whatever reason the group watch stopped there, lol … I know the story though, because I followed a blog that gave solid recaps every week, and it’s definitely intriguing!
I hope you had an AMAZING birthday! 😀 Yay for birthday months! ❤ May it be a month filled with celebrations, food, and brilliant reads.
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Ah right, at least it wasnt anything you picked up with high expectations then.
I’ll have to try and read it again sometime to try and decide for sure, and watch out for all of the easter eggs that you’ve mentioned. Its my favourite series by SJM so far too, although I still need to read CC. I really must get to it soon or I won’t be up to date before her new books release 🙈 I look forward to your SJM post in the future 🥰
I did enjoy the first few series, I just never started on the latest for some reason 🙈 I did the same with The 100 and I was utterly hooked on that. Apparently I’m even worse with TV sequels than book ones 😂
I think once you get into it it’ll really win you over. It has such great characters and I love that you get to see the ‘upstairs’ and ‘downstairs’ world.
Thank you so much 🥰 I had a lovely time thanks, visited Hever Castle (where Anne Boleyn grew up) and tried a Thai restaurant. My books have been great so far this month too. King Of Ravens is proving to be a major success 😍😍
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I’ve decided, during the reread, that Throne of Glass is my favorite too 😀
Yay for a lovely September so far! ❤
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I’ve been saying this all week ‘Autumn is the new Summer’! haha I just feel like it’s been either too hot, stormy, or bad air quality so it didn’t truly feel like summer to me this year. I’m hoping your cozy season starts soon. Sense and Suitability sounds good! I adore Christmas movies but not so much Christmas books so I’m definitely going to try to watch that movie when it comes out lol. I guess my fav historical drama is Downton Abbey, I’ve yet to watch one that made me feel the same way.
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I think this Christmas movie is going to be a lot of fun: Danica McKeller is going to play the female lead, against Sam Page, and that combination promises to be good entertainment 😀
I really do need to watch Downton Abbey! I’ve seen maybe 15 minutes of the first episode 😂 But I do know the whole general storyline, from keeping up with recaps as it aired originally. Maybe that will be my Winter project 😉
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