July has been a month of growth for me. It took me half of the summer to this blog into gear, but at least I have finally gained momentum before tackling the obstacle of going back to college. However, we are not going to think about the upcoming funeral for my free time because today is about my monthly accomplishments (and the fact that there actually are some) and the wonderful happenings around the blogosphere.
Posts Around the Blogosphere that I Loved
Noel @ Books with Noel accepted my nomination of the Mystery Blogger Award and she has some pretty great answers to my questions (plus she is an amazing blogger who is new to the community and deserves a follow!)
Laura @ Boats Against the Current shares an interesting perspective about the phrase "I'd love to read, if I had the time"
Veronika @ The Regal Critiques discusses how some of her favorite series are still problematic and how important it is to address both the good with the bad
Aimee @ Always, Aimee gives advice about the necessities for reading in public
Claire @ Clairefy defends libraries with an amazing list of reasons to cherish public libraries
Rain @ BookDragonism graciously shares some of her poetry for the first time (Spoiler Alert: It's really good and she deserves praise for courageously putting her work out there)
Holly @ The Writing Finch asks the all important question of what makes a good book, featuring some great answers from fellow bloggers
Blogging News
1. A Bookish Discord Chat
One of my long-term blogging goals is to become more engaged with the community. I am naturally a shy introvert so even putting myself out there on the Internet can be intimidating and draining.
However, I have found a great, low pressure way to get involved with more bloggers and readers--online chats through Discord.
More specifically, I joined the New Bloggers chat run by Evelina @ AvalinahsBooks. If you want to join, give her a visit and send her a message for an invite!
The chat is friendly to new bloggers, but experienced bloggers and everyone in between is welcome. We talk about everything from book recommendations to pets to common questions about blogging. If you need inspiration, motivation, or just have some time to kill, you should join!
2. Most posts in a month this year (so far)
As we learned last month with my celebration of this year's 21 posts, my blogging journey is about the little goals. So, I am proud to say that I posted 7 times in July, which is the most posts in a single month that I have had for over a year. I almost reached my goal of two posts a week (which I am now transferring to August) and it is progress. My focus for blogging has changed from desiring views and followers (even though those are still nice) to encouraging interaction and consistency. Please wish me good luck...
Things that I am Loving
1. Habitica
At this point, I think we all know that I am a procrastinator. Even if this is your first time on my blog, you have certainly noticed that I posted my wrap-up on August 2nd instead of August 1st or July 31st like monthly wrap-ups are supposed to. Motivation has always been a stumbling point for me, especially when it comes to the more tedious blogging activities.
However, thanks to Sophia @ Bookwyrming Thoughts, I have discovered a productivity app modeled off of RPG and video games.
Thankfully, Sophia also wrote an amazing and in-depth post about Habitica, so I don't have to try and explain its awesomeness. All I can say is that the app, even though it may seem trivial to level up and earn gear for your little avatar, has motivated (and reminded me) to get some more blogging done and even some real-life chores/errands/things that I should have done five months ago but didn't until offered a shiny, virtual sword as a reward (the little things in life are sometimes also the best).
2. Survivor
This obsession did not start of my own accord, but I have been initiated into the Survivor fan club. For those of you who don't know (and most of you probably don't) Survivor is a reality TV show that basically started reality TV in the US. The premise is that 16 strangers are dropped somewhere in the wild, split into two "tribes" and challenged to survive. In now-standard reality TV show style, a person is voted off the island (that phrase actually began with this show) every couple of days. For added drama, there are physical and mental challenges with rewards like food, actual shelter, and soap.
My mother has always watched the show and I have watched a few seasons with her as a kid, but I was never as invested as her (she has watched all thirty-something seasons). But now that summer is in full swing, we decided to watch Survivor as a family FROM THE BEGINNING. Half of the fun is watching a reality TV show from 2000 and seeing the changes in technology, slang, and the general culture (there is a huge difference for only 18 years). The other half is getting invested in the people, screaming during the physical challenges, and discussing everything with my family. It started as merely bonding with my family but ended up as an obsession with a slightly out-dated TV show.
Best Book
It took me a while (okay, too long) to read this super hyped book and I wish that I had gotten to it sooner. I plan to have a full review soon (when I can finally coalescence my raving thoughts into something coherent). For now, all I will say is that this book lives up to the hype in every way.
Runner-Up
Another great book and another review that I have to write in order to give this book the justice it deserves. As a stand-alone fantasy, this book is already unique as a story that creates an entire world within a single book, only 300 pages. Add in an awesome hate-to-love romance and I fell completely in love with this book.
Other Books that I Read
Even though I was intrigued by the premise and the promise of story inception, The Story Traveler fell short for me. Read my full thoughts in my mini-review.
Overall, I enjoyed The Cruel Prince. I wouldn't say that it fully lived up to the hype, but Holly Black could never write a story that I hate. Also, I am really looking forward to the novella, The Lost Sisters, since it could fill in the gaps that I had trouble with in The Cruel Prince. Read my full thoughts in my review.
Post that I Wished Got More Love
Since one of my favorite authors, John Green, finally finished his newest book after five years (and more importantly, I finally read it), I celebrated by comparing TFIOS with his newest creation. If you are a fan of John Green, or are just curious if the rest of his books live up to the hype, you should check the post out!
What did you do in July? Are you interested in joining the New Bloggers Discord chat? What TV show are you obsessed with at the current moment? Did you meet any goals? What books did you read? Which of your posts did you wish got more love (leave a link so I can give it some love!).
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