Friday, August 7, 2015

July Wrap-Up and August TBR


Sorry for the delayed wrap up!  It’s been a crazy month. 

What have I been up to?
In the beginning of the month, I was on vacation.  I had a great time, and got to read many amazing books.  So, during that time I didn’t post almost at all. 
July just felt crazy.  I didn’t post as much this month because there were a lot of weekends when I was away and some day trips. 
To be honest, I really slacked off in July.  I kind of hit a reading/blogging slump and it was TERRIBLE.   Reading slumps are bad enough, but I hit a patch where I wasn’t blogging much either.  Which I hated.  I’m back now, however. 
I am going to try to make sure that doesn’t happen again, especially as I start school at the end of the month.  Writing and scheduling posts ahead is crucial. 
And so I also kind of decided to cut back a little.  I’m pretty sure I’m dropping Waiting on Wednesday.  I may start doing it again eventually, but for now I’m stopping.  Also, I dropped the weekly wrap-ups.  I liked them, but it was kind of a lot to do every week.  From now on, I’m just going to be doing the monthly wrap ups. Since the school year is starting up soon, I think this will really help to simplify things.  I feel like these changes will help me to be able to focus my energy on more reviews, discussions, and tags.  Which are what I really love to do. 
*note* just to let you guys know, I’ve been linking the covers to Goodreads in my reviews, so that’s why there’s no button anymore.  

What books did I read?

I read 10 books this month.  It really isn’t too bad, since more than half of them were read within the first week of July and I was kind of slumping the rest of the month. 

Legend by Marie Lu // 4 stars  //  I really liked Legend!  It was different than I thought it would be, but definitely in a good way!

Prodigy by Marie Lu // 4 stars //  More awesomeness.  Also, I LOVE DAY. 

Champion by Marie Lu // 4 stars // Great conclusion!  THAT ENDING THOUGH.

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins // 4 stars // Cute and kick butt all at the same time.  Fantasy mixed with contemporary all in a southern setting makes for awesomeness.

Confess by Coleen Hoover // 4.5 stars // Another great book by Colleen Hoover.  Definitely recommend this!

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour // 5 stars // THE CUTENESS.  MORGAN MATSON IS THE QUEEN OF YA CONTEMPORARY.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson // 5 stars // GUYS.  I FINALLY READ BRANDON SANDERSON.  WHERE HAS THIS SERIES BEEN ALL MY LIFE.  If you couldn’t tell, I adored it.  Those 700 pages just flew by ;)  But seriously.  I’m in love.  If you like fantasy, read this book now please.  Review coming soon.

Alive by Scott Sigler // 3.5 stars //  Alive kept me guessing at every turn.  I will be continuing on because I NEED to know what’s going to happen next.

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson // 4 stars // More graphic nolvels!  This one was super cute and action packed.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline // 5 stars // Another book that I’ve heard nothing but FANTASTIC things about.  Reading this book was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I fell in love with it and I can’t wait to read Armada.  I can’t emphasize enough how great this is…so just go read it please.  Review coming soon

I have reviews up for *almost* all of these books.  So, click on the links to go to the reviews to get more of my thoughts on all of these lovely books.  

What else did I post about?

What other posts did I write except for the above reviews?  Well…

I did Waiting on Wednesday #12 and #13(which will be my last for a while)

I reviewed Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas, which I read at the end of June.  Heir of Fire was the best ever and it’s the most fun I’ve ever had writing a review. (also the longest, which is kind of fitting considering the size of the book)

I was nominated for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers award.  I always have the best time doing these and answering the questions, so thanks so much Anjie!  (I also nominated some people, so go check it out)


I discussed “Do books get "lost" in your TBR?”  This was super fun and I absolutely love doing discussions.  (although sometimes I’m bad at replying…I’m working on it guys, I promise.  Thanks so much for your wonderful comments! I appreciate it immensely.)


I did the “Find Me” book tag, in which I attempted to take pictures of books and actually make it look good.  How did that turn out?  See for yourself.  (Spoiler: not good.)

August TBR
Am I even still trying to do TBR’s?  Apparently, I am.  Though I’m not sure why I bother. 
But, first an update on my July TBR!  I had set aside 7 books that I wanted to read on vacation and I ended up reading 5.  That’s pretty good.  The only thing is that I changed my TBR pile like 5 times before I actually packed them.  So, the TBR in my June Wrap up isn’t really what I packed.  Oops.
Still, though, in terms of a TBR, I’d say that was a success.  
This month I NEED to read A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.  I’ve had at least five people tell me just this week how much I need to read it.  And I agree.  IT WILL HAPPEN.  HOLD ME TO IT, GUYS. 
Ideally, I’d like to read Cress by Marissa Meyer, too.  But we’ll see.  I don’t want to be too over ambitious here.    

And that’s all for this wrap up!  Leave me a link to your wrap up, so I can check out what you were up to this month!  Here’s to a great month of reading in August! 
Olivia

10 comments:

  1. Ooh, vacation! That sounds fun. Gah. Reading/blogging slumps ARE THE WORST. But I'm glad you liked Mistborn! I didn't seem to love it as much as everone else for some reason though. A Court of Thorns and Roses is on my TBR for this month too! I'm hoping I'll love it as much as the ToG series <3 <3 AND YES TO CRESS! That one was my favourite of the series. Have a lovely month!

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    1. Same here! ToG is incredible and while i'm not sure if I can love ACOTAR as much because I love ToG so unbelievably much, i'm still hoping I love ACOTAR.
      Thanks! you too!

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  3. I dropped Waiting on Wednesday as well. Even though you were in a slump, you still read a lot of books. 10 books is really good! I really need to read Ready Player One soon.
    ~Chioma @ Blue Books and Butterflies

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    1. Yeah, 10 is still good. I've just been slumping this summer.
      Yes you do! Ready Player One is amazing - I can't wait to hear what you think.

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  4. Yay Mistborn! Love that series so much. I can't wait to read more (ALL) Brandon Sanderson books. Ready Player One, as well. That book has been in my TBR for a really long time.

    Haraiah @ Random Things In Action

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    1. <3<3 I am in the middle of Well of Ascension now and i'm loving it.
      Same with me. I'd been meaning to read it for a long time, but never got around to it. Once I did, I was just thinking HOW did I not read this sooner?

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  5. It seems like a lot of us are just falling into slumps. Here's to much great reading!

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    1. Thanks <3
      My reading has just been all over the place so hopefully I can get back into the swing of things soon.

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  6. Olivia!!! I'm in a reading slump right now, so I definitely feel you on that. It's completely awful. This is a great post though!! I am so happy that you got to read so many amazing books in July! I'm SO happy you liked Amy and Roger's, because that is one of my favorite books ever, along with Ready Player One! I've never read any Colleen Hoover, but I just bought Confess, and if you really enjoyed it, then I need to move it to the top of my tbr pile! thanks for sharing :)

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