Hello, my bookish friends! 🙂 August was such a weird month. It passed very quickly, I didn’t do even half of the things I wanted to accomplish, but at the same time, I stayed busy throughout the entire month!
Looking back on the past 4 weeks, I honestly wouldn’t be able to remember what I did and what I liked, if I didn’t write those things down somewhere. Basically, what I’m trying to say is that it was a blur, and I’m happy that it’s over and we can move on and start fresh in September!
| THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY IN JULY |
|---|
- Staying productive! (and doing tons of blog prep for the rest of the year)
The month started very well. I learned from July to not leave tons of things to do for the weekend and tried my best to stay on top of everything during the working week, which is not easy at all as, besides the normal 9 to 6 job, there was very little time for me to do anything else. But I’m glad that it all worked out at the end.
The key, for me, was breaking tasks into smaller ones that wouldn’t take long to accomplish and take each task one step at a time. First of all, that helped my brain to recognize those tasks as “easy”, which in turn reduced the hours I spent procrastinating on certain tasks. 😀
I had to cut the reading time this month to prepare as many posts for the next 3 months as possible. I’m still not quite sure that my exams will be this year, but if they will be, my blog is all set and I won’t need to worry about it during the intense study sessions.
- Studying, studying & studying!
In August I made a couple of goals for myself that can all be summarized in “getting stuff done”! I wanted to finish this summer strong by (1) finishing the books that I’ve started months and months ago, (2) catch up on ARCs, (3) and most importantly, organize all of my internship reports and studying so I know exactly what I need to read, where I can find the information and how long it will take me.
Overall, it went pretty well. Even though I did a lot, there is still just as much to be done, but I feel calmer and more organized about all of it.
- Receiving a physical ARC of «Hadley & Grace» by Suzanne Redfearn!
The author of one of my favorite books of this year («In an Instant»), Suzanne Redfearn, reached me out this month and asked if I wanted to read her new book that is coming in January 2021! I cannot explain how excited and thankful I was! And to make things even better, she even sent me a physical copy of her ARC!!!!!!
Her new book is called «Hadley & Grace». You can see it on my photo at the top of the page. I know it’s going to be just as good (maybe even better!) than «In an Instant»!
- Watching “A Quiet Place”
I never even knew this movie existed, but I think I just found a new favorite! It’s so fascinating (and slightly scary at times)! I loved the concept and will be watching the second one as soon as it comes out.
| MONTHLY READING STATS Total Books: 8 read, 2 currently reading Total Pages: 2611 ARCs: 4 |
|---|
Just like I planned, August was the month of catching up! I’m so happy that I finally finished «The Toll» after starting it in May or June. But the highlights of the month were definitely «Challenger Deep» (also by Neal Shusterman!) and «The Bone Shard Daughter» by Andrea Stewart.
| AUGUST TOP POSTS |
|---|
| AUGUST BOOK REVIEWS |
|---|
2020 MONTHLY WRAP UPs:
January 2020 Wrap Up | The month I learned how to stay on top of things!
February 2020 Wrap Up | The month I was too busy to learn anything new!
March 2020 Wrap Up | The month I fought my way out of a reading slump!
April 2020 Wrap Up | The month I read too many books!
May 2020 Wrap Up | The month I didn’t read all the books on my TBR!
June 2020 Wrap Up | The month I learned how to enjoy little things!
July 2020 Wrap Up | The month I traveled through books!
August 2020 Wrap Up | The month I read classics & nonfiction for the first time in ages!
I hope July was a good month for you! Did you find any new favorite books? Let me know in the comments below!
Connect with me on GoodReads | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
WhimsyPages 
Looks like you had a good month! I hope September is just as good!
(www.evelynreads.com)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much, hun! I’m very excited for September. Hope you’ll have an amazing one as well! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved The Bone Shard Daughter too, the magic system was so much fun!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah! I think the magic system was one of the most interesting parts. Although, I did love Jovis’ PoV a little bit more than others 🙂
LikeLike
I’m so happy you got a physical arc, that’s the international blogger dream! And A Quiet Place is such a GREAT MOVIE, I loved it and it was so sad to see the sequel postponed indefinitely, I can’t wait to watch it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! I always get so excited about physical ARCs, I always save all return addresses for them 😀 (there are only a couple in my little box of treasures now, but hopefully the number will grow over the years ^^)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve been hearing so much about The Bone Shard Daughter! I’m definitely curious to check it out 😀 Ah, you’re so organised, Alex, it’s so admirable haha 😍
Also, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, your aesthetic is *chefs kiss*! I loooove it 😍😍😍
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ahaha, I try I try 😀 But there is definitely room for improvement. Besides, when the making of to-do lists is taking longer than the actual tasks, that’s when I know that I’m just procrastinating and avoiding studying 😀
Thank you so much 😊 I love making diff graphics in photoshop, just wish there’d be more time to play with different ideas.
LikeLike
Incredible wrap up! ❤️ Congrats on the physical ARC, that’s great & I need to read Challenger Deep, I love how it sounds, it’s already on my Goodreads TBR. 😊
Have an amazing September 🥰✨
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much, honey ❤ I was beyond excited for the physical ARC!! I didn't even know it was coming and then it showed up at the office! The best day of August for sure 😀 Here's to an incredible September!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Can’t believe August is almost over! I love your tip on how breaking tasks into smaller units helped you stay productive, this is something I need to try!
LikeLiked by 1 person
August was such a weird month. I’m kinda happy it’s over, although I wouldn’t mind for time to slow down a bit… 😀 The smaller tasks thing definitely helped me a lot, and when I still procrastinate on my tasks, I try to break them even further to see if that helps. 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
It looks like you had a very productive month, I’m glad to see that it brought you joy. It’s really the little things these days that bring joy!
I read 8 books too! It seems to be my magic number because I believe I’ve read 8/9 books each month this year.
Here’s to a wonderful September! 💞😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, hun ❤ I just finished my 9th book of the month 😀 I read Sofi's wrap up and she also read 8! It seems to be a magic number indeed 😀
I hope September will be just as good for both of us 💕🎉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes! I just read hers too! That’s funny, we’re in the magic 8 books club! 😃
I’ll probably finish the book I’m reading tonight, but I’ll add it to my September list as I just posted my August wrap up!
Thanks, I hope so too! 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
August WAS a blur! 😉 I was excited Suzanne Redfearn reached out to me, too, on Instagram and sent me an eARC of Hadley & Grace. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it! I still need to read In an Instant, but I have your glowing review to thank for introducing me to her. 🙂 We saw A Quiet Place in the theatre when it was out, and oh my. It was scary! I hope you have a great September! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay!!! I’m very very excited for the new book by Suzanne Redfearn! In an Instant was incredible, and have very high hopes for Hadley & Grace. I hope you’ll love it too 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s so great that you were able to stay more productive. I really need to get better at that. I tend to always leave everything for last minute until I have so many things to do in one day and it drive me insane haha. That’s also great that you were able to prepare a bunch of posts for the next few months! 😀 Nice job!
Amazing reading eight books in August! And even more amazing that four were ARCs! I am so behind on ARCs right now and I feel insanely guilty about it, but this year just hasn’t been the greatest for me as far as reading and everything goes.
I am hoping to finally read The Toll ASAP! I’ve been putting it off for way too long now, haha. I have Challenger Deep and have been meaning to read it. That’s awesome that it was a five star read for you. I am looking forward to finally reading it. I hope you have an amazing September! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I probably sound very organized but maaaaan… I still struggle with the same, i.e. leaving tasks for “tomorrow” 😀 We can both do it! Stay productive and find the motivation to do more and more! (if I tell myself this enough times, it might actually stick, right? 😀 )
2020 has been very difficult in so many aspects. I’m happy that I was able to overcome my mental block when it comes to reading, but it’s so frustrating when your brain can’t seem to focus on the words on the page… I hope you’ll find the way out of it as well and read some incredible books this month! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
It seems you had a great August!! And YAY for getting that physical ARC, that’s super exciting 😀 Also, I’m in awe you managed to keep up with working, studying AND blogging XD
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ahah, me too! 😀 I’m feeling exhausted though. But now I’m so happy that I don’t need to worry about blog posts for the next couple of months. It’s so liberating to have a little bit of free time on the weekend and not have to worry about posts 😀 I really should do it more often. Lol
LikeLiked by 1 person