As it turns out (even though no one is particularly surprised) I have succumbed to the laziness of summer. On one hand, this means that I spend a lot of time laying around my house with a book. On the other hand, writing posts for me is not exactly a leisurely activity, so it hasn't been getting done.
If anything, this summer so far has been an important lesson about how difficult blogging is and how much dedication is required. Blogging takes more than just free time; it requires hard work, motivation, and the will power to avoid procrastination.
I didn't completely fail with blogging this month though, I just missed a few of my targets for the beginning of summer. Fortunately, I still have about two months to make up for it! In the meantime, I still have a few milestones to celebrate with you guys and a ton of blogger love to share!
Posts I Loved From Around the Blogging Sphere
AJ @ Read All the Things shared the comedy gold that she finds in her email inbox
Rashika @ Xpresso Reads combated the recent political nightmares by listing her favorite books about the immigrant experience in the United States and her #MuslimShelfSpace recommendations
Vera and Clare @ The Regal Critiques showed that reviews are not dead with their thoughtful and entertaining discussion review of A Thousand Perfect Notes by C. G. Drews (aka Cait @ Paper Fury!!!)
Puput @ Sparkling Letters returned from her hiatus with a discussion of the things she missed the most about blogging (and the wonderful community, aka us!)
Nori @ ReadWriteLove made me add a thousand books to my TBR with her roundup post about the #Novel19s and all of the fantastic books I have to wait like a year to read (but I already know it will be worth it!)
Aimee @ Aimee Always shared the love about the bookish community with her compliments about why the bookish community is so awesome
Blogging News
1. Reaching the milestone of 300 followers on Twitter
After a school year spent completely neglecting my Twitter, I actually put some effort into my tweets. As it turns out, efforts brings rewards and I was able to finally reach more than 300 followers on Twitter! To me, that is merely a number of followers, but a sum of friends and fellow bloggers that I love to interact with. That being said, I am grateful for all of you, whether or not you are following me on Twitter, subscribed to my blog, or if it is even your first visit here. If you are reading these words, then I am extremely grateful that you are taking a part of this reading journey with me.
*insert shameless plug here* If you want to help me reach 400, you can find me @Crazyfor_YA.
2. This is my 21st post of 2018
To most bloggers, this isn't a milestone. To most, 20 posts can be reached in a single month, two months at the most. Even though it has taken me six months to reach this point, I am still extremely proud of myself because this is progress for me. In 2017, I only posted 19 times. I ended 2017 disappointed in myself and on the verge of throwing in the towel on blogging forever. I thought that 2017 was the last year that I would be able to call myself a blogger.
So, 21 posts isn't a lot and it isn't my goal either. I want to do more, so much more than that but I also want to acknowledge the progress that I have made. I already have two more posts than last year and I will only be writing more in the upcoming months. This is growth, however slow, and I am happy with it.
3. New guest reviewer
This piece of news is still in the works and might take a little while to finish (and convince) but I should be having a guest reviewer soon who might be familiar to you. I don't want to give anything away, but I am super excited to have another blogger share my little spot of the Internet for at least a couple of posts again. It's times like these--the lazy days in the summer and the crazy school days and pretty much all days--that I miss having co-bloggers. So I am stealing another great reader to share her amazing thoughts and hopefully liven up the blog a little bit!
Non-Bookish Things
1. Panic! at the Disco and Shawn Mendes
I am not into music nearly as much as I am into books, but I have been listening to more music lately with the influence of my knowledgeable friends and family. Even though I have heard a few Panic! at the Disco songs on the radio, I never fully listened to any of their albums. Thankfully, that changed with the release of Pray for the Wicked this month. I already loved Say Amen (Saturday Night) from the radio but I also discovered the neglected songs that never made it to the radio. I particularly love "Dancing's Not a Crime" and "The Overpass". This dive into their new album quickly turned into binge-listening (if that is even a thing) their past albums. I am still listening to all of them and trying to figure out favorites, but I have liked pretty much everything I have listened to.
On the opposite side of the music spectrum but still on my favorite playlists is Shawn Mendes. He recently came out with a new album, but I have been a fan of his for a longer time. I like Illuminate more than the newer album, but I have been listening to all of his music on repeat. My older favorites are "Lights On", "Patience", and "No Promises" from Illuminate as well as the popular radio favorites.
2. Making Jewelry
I know that this is surprising so please sit down for your safety; I have other hobbies besides reading and blogging. When I am in the mood to be creative and crafty, I pick up some thread, needles, and beads to make some jewelry. Recently, I have been making a ton of beaded and braided bracelets as well as a few necklaces. I just love being able to wear a piece of jewelry with the knowledge that I made it from scratch.
Here's some proof:
3. The Expanse
Since I am almost caught up with Criminal Minds on Netflix, I am avoiding the inevitable end of the (available) series by procrastinating with a new series. Now the problem is that I have finished the first season of The Expanse, loved it, and now I am afraid to finish the second season because that is the last one available on Amazon Prime. The series follows a crew of a spaceship as a war brews in the throughout the now inhabited solar system. There is a lot of space talk and science stuff which would normally turn me off. However, the action, intense characterization, intertwining plotlines, and the sheer awesomeness of imagining life in outer space makes up for it. If you are a fan of The Martian by Andy Weir or the Illuminae series by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, then you should definitely give it a shot!
Best Book
Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf4.5 Stars
Read my Review!
A dark twisted fairytale with a healthy serving of sass, Bring Me Their Hearts easily earned the best book of June. There were adequate amounts of romance, action, magic, and sarcasm all combined together to make a story as delicious as cake (more like devil's food cake than angel food cake though).
Post that I Wish Got More Love
I know that I already bragged about my amazing Twitter skills in this post, but I need to do it again. This month I shared how you can as successful as I am on Twitter (and most likely even better because I still have some work to do too). I carefully detail the 8 reasons that I follow people on Twitter and how to get me to follow you too! I even give some shout-outs to my favorite tweeters who will serve as much better role models than myself.
What did you do in June? Since it was halfway through the year I would love to know how you are doing with your goals for 2018! What was your favorite book of the month? Your favorite posts? Also, please drop me some new music and TV show recs because I need to move on to something new after obsessing over the same things all month long!
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