Friday 31 July 2020

Month in Review: July


Hey guys! I hope you're all having a good summer so far. I personally felt like July flew by. While I don't think I've had much of a fun summer at all I am loving the warm weather. Here's what went on in July:

What I Read: 

Ok y'all so I read a SHIT ton of books this month, so much so that listing them all would get boring really fast. So, I'm just going to list some of my favourite books that I read this month:

The Heroes of Olympus series by: Rick Riordan: Avg. Rating: 4/5 stars
With the Fire on High by: Elizabeth Acevedo: 5/5 stars
Foolish Hearts by: Emma Mills: 5/5 stars
Felix Ever After by: Kacen Callender: 5/5 stars
You Should See Me in a Crown by: Leah Johnson: 5/5 stars
Turtles All the Way Down by: John Green: 5/5 stars

Favourite book: All of these books really stuck out to me this month. However I think Turtles All the Way Down resonated with me the most. It was technically a reread for me, but the first time I read this book I barely knew what OCD was. I knew I had to reread it once being diagnosed with OCD to see if I could relate to Aza more. And I totally could. This book was everything I could have wanted in OCD representation. I felt so heard.

What I Blogged: 

My favourite blog post of the month would have to be revealing my Favourite Pieces of Media. This post was so fun! I got to fangirl really hard, and talk about some of my passions that I have never discussed on my blog before. It was nice to share different parts of my interests.

Favourite Blog Posts: 

Tessi talks about American Dirt 

Marie explains Why Trigger Warnings in Books Matter 

Sabrina shares A Bunch of Bookish Coincidences 

Cee discusses Hypocrisy and Performative Activism 

Life Stuff: 

I had a bit more of an active month than I have had in a while, thanks to COVID cases going down. I am still not comfortable going out in large crowds or going to restaurants, but I was able to go out to the mall and to a few farmer's markets. It was nice to have some more human interaction, and to get back into a somewhat normal routine.

The main life change that happened to me this month is that I have gone back to work. I was really toying with the idea for a while, but I ultimately decided to go back because I thought it would be good exposure therapy for me. Now my work is being super careful in terms of precautions, but that doesn't mean I have been without worry. My store sees a lot of tourists, and I just get nervous seeing so many people from different areas. Despite travel cautions, people just can't seem to stay home. Anyways, I'd be lying if I said that my contamination OCD hasn't suffered because of this. But I am working on this with my therapist, and hopefully I will be more comfortable in my working environment come this month.

In August, I am looking forward to having a few days off of work to just chill. I also have an exciting blog post planned for this month in which I discuss Book Tok, which I am looking forward to.

So that was my July! How was yours?

Emily @ Paperback Princess




14 comments:

  1. You seem to have had an awesome reading month, finally!

    I understand your uneasiness about going back to work (especially since your condition makes it worse), but I'm happy to hear you're making progress and keeping things under control.

    I didn't know there was a Book Tok...but books are at home everywhere lately! LOL.

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    1. This past month was so good in terms of reading! I’ve just been flying through books :D

      Yeah, I think what bothers me the most about working retail in a pandemic is people who have no consideration. They just need to understand that they need to be patient, follow rules, etc. But some of them just don’t make it easier on us.

      Booktok is a thing haha! I can’t wait to discuss it.

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  2. Thanks so much for the share Em! :)

    So glad that you got a lot of reading done, and that you're being awesome and going to work! Well done Em, seriously. Make sure you're ok though - you come first! <3

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    1. You're very welcome, Cee! Thanks for looking out <3 I have learnt over these past few weeks that self care is super important!

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  3. Ahh, I'm so happy to see that you loved Foolish Hearts, Felix Ever After, and You Should See Me in a Crown!! The first two are some of my all time favorites, and I also really loved the last one. :D

    I'm glad your work is being careful, and congrats on being able to go back, hoping August will be good for you! :) I agree, it's frustrating to see people not being able to sit still - I'm trying not to be too judgmental, but I've been seeing some of my favorite bloggers travel internationally, and it's just... really? You can't take one year at home? Either way, great post! :)

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    1. All three of those books really made my month. Felix Ever After was a really unexpected love for me. I didn't expect to relate to it as much as I did.

      Yeah, I don't see how anyone has the confidence to travel abroad right now, unless it's for essential purposes. *shrugs.*

      Anyways, hope you have a great August too, Veronika!

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  4. July DID fly by! And yay for reading a lot! Turtles All the Way Down sounds so good, and I'm so glad the OCD rep is spot on. I need to get that.

    Good luck with going back to work. It is really nerve wracking right now with everything going on. And Book Tok! I didn't know that was a thing but how cool!

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    1. I cannot recommend that book enough. And yeah! I was surprised Book Tok became a thing. It's been very interesting to say the least. Thanks Greg!

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  5. Wow you read a lot! I have barely read anything, which is terrible, haha. I blame COVID-19 induced anxiety ;)

    Hope you have a lovely August, Emily, and that you stay safe and healthy.

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    1. Thanks Amy! I think my anxiety has actually inspired me to read more lol. I’m like: I need escapism now! Haha. But I hope you’re doing well amidst all of this craziness. It’s been a while since we’ve talked. Have a great August as well!

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  6. I’m so, so glad to see you rated With The Fire On High 5 stars!! And I am hopefully going to be reading Felix Ever After and You Should See Me in a Crown soon enough so I’m happy you loved them too! Looks like you had an awesome reading month :D
    Thank you for sharing my post <3
    Happy August, Emily!! I hope you have a good one :)

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    1. I hope you’re not disappointed by Felix Ever After. Seriously it was amazing. Hope you have a great August as well, Sabrina!

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  7. July just flew by. In fact, I feel like this whole year has due to the pandemic. With my online classes keeping me busy, I only managed to read three books: Chain of Gold, Rebecca, and The 21 Balloons, with Rebecca being my personal favorite. I have heard Turtles All the Way Down is good but I have admittedly been hesitant to read another John Green book as I did not love the previous ones I read as a teenager. But maybe now I should give it a shot!

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    1. Turtles was way different than his other books in my opinion. It was a lot less melodramatic and more mature. I totally agree on July flying by, and I feel the same way about August. Hope you’re having a good August!

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