Life

I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty happy that August is over. It was a really tough month for me, even with all of the amazing Taylor Swift news. I talked a little bit about it in my mental health post (linked below), but things have changed in my life again and I am no longer acting as the driver for my brother and sister-in-law. So this means I am now pretty much have no purpose to my days, and am no longer earning grocery money by driving them. I still drive mom to her appointments and the grocery store, but that is only once a week on average. I’ve cut my meals back significantly and am now counting calories to ensure that I eat enough during the day, pretty much the opposite reason most people count calories lol. It’s been a huge blow to my self-worth, but it is what it is, I guess. At least I still have somewhere to live.

I’m honestly surprised how many books I actually read in August, considering there were days I never touched a book and others when I got through maybe a chapter or two. I’m still not sight reading because the eye strain is still really bothering me, and some days it’s hard enough to focus on computer work (job searches, blogging, etc.) It’s frustrating for so many reasons, not the least of which is a lot of books that I want to read aren’t available in audio from my libraries and I obviously can’t afford (the evil) Audible or Librofm. But for now I will focus on what I can read, then find ways to read what I can’t.

My new blog posts and editorial calendar go into effect today (9/1), so this post looks a little different with the addition of my challenge progress. For all the changes that you will see, the post A New Direction… of Sorts linked below has all the details.

Books

Read:

I finished 19 books this month:

All the Stars Align by Gretchen Schreiber ****
No One But You by Brenda Novak ****
Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich ****
Everything’s Coming Up Rosie by Courtney Walsh ****
Zhara by S. Jae-Jones ****

American Street by Ibi Zoboi ***
Hot Target by Suzanne Brockmann ****
Wolf Unleashed by Paige Tyler ****
Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott *****
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn ***

The Partner Plot by Kristina Forest ****
American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera ****
Past, Present, Future by Rachel Lynn Solomon ****
10 Truths and a Dare by Ashley Elston ****
Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli (re-read *****)

Hold Your Breath by Katie Ruggle ****
Plum Lovin’ by Janet Evanovich ****
Beauty and the Besharam by Lillie Vale ****
Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment by Arushi Avachat ****

Series:

Completed: 2

Progress: 6

Started: 3

Added to Shelves:

I was approved for 3 eARCs through Net Galley

Live, Ranch, Love by Emma Lucy
Heartsick by Kristina Forest
Girl Next Door by Rachel Meredith

Plus 6 eARCs for the Fall Harlequin Books Tour

The Dating Prohibition by Taj McCoy
Higher Magic by Courtney Floyd
Julia Song is Undateable by Susan Lee
Otherwise Engaged by Susan Mallery
Not You Again by Erin LaRosa

Dawn of the Firebird by Sarah Mughal Rana

Blog

Reviews:

The Guncle Abroad
Under All the Lights
All the Stars Align
Everything’s Coming Up Rosie
Past Present Future

Spotlights:

I Know How This Ends
The Second Chance Bus Stop

Discussions:

Bi-Erasure in the Book World
I Don’t Know Narrators
Finding My Place in the Bookish Communities
Is Blogging a Thing of the Past?
Reintroducing Myself
Happiness Project Month 1 Recap
Happiness Project Month 2- Career
A New Direction… of Sorts
Summer Reading Check-In #2
Capitalism as a Failed Experience
Titles That Remind Me of Taylor Swift Songs
What the Loss of IMLS Could Mean

Uplifting Voices:

Sandhya Menon
Jennifer Dugan

Features:

July Wrap Up
July Challenge Update
August Currently Reading
August TBR Stats
Mental Health Check-in~ August
State of the Resistance~ August
Recommended Reading August
September Calendar

Challenges

Round 1~Title: Need: J, K, U, V, X, Y, Z (20/27) Round 2 Round 1 Complete!

Round 1~ Author Last: Need: I, Q, U, X, Y (21/26) Round 1

Round 1~ Author First: Need: H, O, Q, U, W, X, Y, Z (18/26) Round 1

States: Need: AK, AR, ID, IA, KS, KY, MS, MT, NB, NH, NM, ND, OK, RI, SD, TN, VT, WV, WY, PR (32/52*)

Countries: Australia, Canada, China, England, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Kazbekistan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam (12/20)

Diverse Reads: 82 (Goal 50%, actual 50%)

ARCs: 53 (no specific goal)

1000 Books: 33 (no specific goal)

Series: 23 completed, 21 started, 33 progress (no specific goal)

Total Reads: 163 (Goal (met) 100, stretch goal 133; on pace for 244)

I’ll be linking up to The Sunday Post with The Caffeinated Reader and the Monthly Wrap Up Round Up with Feed Your Fiction Addiction and It Starts at Midnight.

Covers link to Bookshop.org (affiliate*)