Happy summer, everyone! The weather is finally hot. (Perhaps maybe a bit too hot), and things are starting to open back up in Canada. I kinda disagree with this because I think if you give humans too much freedom they tend to abuse it, but alas, only time will tell. Here's what went down in June:
What I Read:
We Hunt the Flame by: Hafash Faizal: 1/5 stars
How We Fight For Our Lives by: Saeed Jones: 5/5 stars
The Sea of Monsters by: Rick Riordan: 5/5 stars
The Titan's Curse by: Rick Riordan: 5/5 stars
The Battle of the Labyrinth by: Rick Riordan: 4/5 stars
The Last Olympian by: Rick Riordan: 5/5 stars
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #4 by: Jordie Bellaire: 4/5 stars
The Rez Sisters by: Tomson Highway: 3/5 stars
The Orenda by: Joseph Boyden: 2/5 stars
The Heir by: Kiera Cass: 4/5 stars
The Crown by: Kiera Cass: 4/5 stars
The Starless Sea by: Erin Morgenstern: 5/5 stars
Indian Horse by: Richard Wagamese: 4/5 stars
Dear Martin by: Nic Stone: 5/5 stars
As you can see, I got sick with the reading bug :D Reading just came so naturally to me this month, and this doesn't always happen. I read so much that I even heightened my reading goal to 75 books, because I've already hit 50 books! I'm hoping to continue this streak.
My favourite books of the month were How We Fight For Our Lives, and Dear Martin. Special shout-out goes out to The Starless Sea for being an overall mind trip, but I chose these books as my top favourites because of the powerful subject matter. Saeed Jones' memoir was heartbreaking, but so well-written. Dear Martin was also quite sad, but also stood out because of the intertwining of letters written to Dr. Martin Luther King, and the story of a Black boy trying to make a difference. Both of these books are written by Black authors, and I just think it is crucial that during this time period, we read books like these.
Side note, but I also decided to re-read the Percy Jackson series, because in this house we stan Rick Riordan as the superior middle-grade fantasy writer, more than She Who Shall Not be Named.
What I Blogged:
On the same note, my favourite blog post I wrote this month was my appreciation post for the TV Series Pose. Black Trans Lives Matter, and I felt I needed to share this wonderful series with people who may want to be engaged with more media depicting Black and Latinx people. There are also some resources in that post for those who want to get more involved.
Favourite Blog Posts:
Marie asks if Book Bloggers' Work is Really Valued
Veronika wonders if she's A Bad Reviewer
Erin shares her Favourite LGBTQ+ Characters
Sierra does the Nope Trope Book Tag
Life Stuff:
Like I said before, the weather is really nice now, and restrictions are starting to ease. I am too anxious to go anywhere, but I have been venturing out more in terms of taking longer walks and sometimes stepping into town (masked up) to run errands. This is a pretty big deal for me because normally I would be too scared to go anywhere where there are other people. But it's all part of exposure therapy that I'm doing with my therapist.
In June, I was able to get more virtually involved with my community in terms of speaking with the mayor about the town's next steps towards combating racism. The talk went surprisingly well, and I think this taught me that some people are willing to change. It was nice to know that the people in charge of my town are willing to hold themselves accountable.
I also got into watching booktube! I decided to subscribe to some diverse booktubers and see if watching booktube is for me. I've always been an avid youtube watcher but never ventured into booktube. I was surprised at how much I enjoy watching booktube videos. So far my favourite booktubers I've been watching are Myonna Reads, Olivia's Catastrophe and The Positive Writer.
In July, I will be participating in my first readathon! I'm doing the All the World's a Page readathon, which is Shakespeare themed. I'm really excited because Shakespeare can be very daunting for me, but I'm looking forward to challenging myself and hopefully I'll learn to just have fun with it.
So that was pretty much my June. It was a busy month for everyone, but hopefully we can keep the momentum going, keep making change in our communities, and stick together.
How was your June?
Emily @ Paperback Princess
I've been very hesitant to pick up We Hunt the Flame, and I have to say, after seeing that you rated it one star, I'm pretty sure it's not for me. I'm glad that your reread of Percy Jackson and The Selection went well in June, and that you still enjoyed these books so much. :) I feel the same way about the restrictions - we can now go to the cinema, and we don't even have to wear a mask, or keep the appropriate distance... it feels like (in Hungary) it's being done, well, not too soon per se, but without enough caution? I hope your July has been going well! (PS: Thanks for highlighting my post, I'm glad you enjoyed it!)
ReplyDeleteI had to read We Hunt the Flame for my book club, and a lot of us agreed that it was full of overused tropes. There wasn't much originality to it at all. It's unfortunate because I've been following Hafsah Faizal around the book community for a while and really wanted to love this :(
DeleteYeah, going out without a mask on seems a little too soon for me right now haha. Anyways, hope you have a great July as well, Veronika! Your post was awesome :D
I'm glad you were able to talk with the mayor and that it was such a positive conversation! Have a great month with loads of sun! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Esther! You as well :)
Delete"This is a pretty big deal for me because normally I would be too scared to go anywhere where there are other people. But it's all part of exposure therapy that I'm doing with my therapist."
ReplyDeleteI'm proud of you for challenging yourself, especially at a time like this (though you're wearing your mask of course!). And speaking with the major? I would have been SO anxious. How did you get involved? were you alone or with a group of people of likewise interests?
Thanks Roberta! <3 The discussion with the mayor is kinda a long story. It all started with me emailing her about the issue, which she responded to, but then a councillor on her staff also decided to get involved with the issue, which I was super happy about because it's good to know that people on her staff are willing to call out controversial opinions. It was really nerve wracking, but having that councillor on my side was obviously very comforting :)
DeleteI hope you'll write a blog post about the whole thing one day!
DeleteI should :D
DeleteIt's been hot here too! And I agree about the opening up. Things are happening way too soon, I think, and we can see all the bad news that's resulting. Glad you were able to have that conversation with your mayor though- how cool is that?
ReplyDeleteI've heard good things about exposure therapy, and I imagine it's tough to take that step but rewarding as well when it works? So go you! :)
It was very cool! Nice to know she knows I exist lol. Yeah exposure therapy is very tough, but also very needed for the type of OCD that I have. Thanks Greg :D
DeleteI also loved Dear Martin. Nic Stone has been doing some great interviews on IG Live that you can go back and watch. I highly recommend!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendation! :D I'll have to check those out.
DeleteLooks like you had a productive June Em! Well done on all the reading and the errand-running! That's awesome sauce! :) <3
ReplyDeleteI read Dear Martin a few years ago and it goes without saying - although I'll say it anyways - it's awesome. I liked the script form of some of the dialogue, cos, like, that's how people write stuff that happened to them! Lol.
Dear Martin was such a unique format for a YA book. I feel a bit late to the party with that read but I'm happy that I got to it now :)
DeleteThanks Cee!
I hope the opening up goes well for your area. I know here people were given an inch and took a ten miles, and now it's out of control. I am glad you had such a good reading month in June! Wasn't Dear Martin wonderful? I thought so too. I hope you have a great July! Enjoy the readathon. Stay safe and well.
ReplyDeleteThank you! So far so good in terms of opening. I start back at work in the next coming weeks so hopefully things will stay steady.
DeleteI’m so happy I read Dear Martin! Glad you loved it too.
Way to go with reading this past month. I hope Canada does a better job with COvid 19 then what were are doing in the USA. Otherwise stop on by and chat if you like https://nrcbooks.blogspot.com/2020/07/monthly-wrap-up-june-2020.html
ReplyDeleteThank you! Canada has been doing a better job, although there are pockets of towns that seem to have no guidelines and it's just getting a bit out of control.
DeleteMichigan is having issues after allowing bars and restaurants to reopen with conditions as well as people disregarding the limits on gatherings. Now that we have a mandatory mask order, I was hoping to see numbers go back down, but they aren't. I hope Canada is doing well with curbing this virus, unlike lots of places in the US. I'm so happy you had a great reading month! My June was really good too, mostly because reading has become my evening after dinner routine.
ReplyDeleteThere is a mandatory mask order in my town as well but I still have to remind people at work to put one on. We shall see! Anyways, I’m glad you had a good reading month! I have started reading more in the evening time as well and I agree that it really helps to get more reading in.
DeleteWow! You have really read a lot this month! In the contrary, I have book very inactive both in June and July (so far).
ReplyDeleteI'm really happy to see that you are actually doing something for your town and I hope that you reach an agreement! I wish that more people would take initiatives like this :)
I hope your August is a little better! And thanks :) I definitely agree that more people need to take action.
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