Friday 1 July 2022

Month in Review: June


CW: This post will discuss COVID 

Well, this month was a rollercoaster! What started out as a really fun month ended in COVID for the whole family. As I write this on June 30th I am still testing negative, but everyone else in my house has been out for the week. I feel like I'm starting to get it, but there's so many unknowns so we're all just living in one big isolation ward at this point! It's been a tiring week for all full of disinfecting, testing, and finding the right medications, but I'm confident we'll make it through. Besides that, here's what I got up to this month: 

What I Read: 

Delilah Green Doesn't Care by: Ashley Herring Blake: 4/5 stars 

Elektra by: Jennifer Saint: 5/5 stars 

Reckless Girls by: Rachel Hawkins: 2/5 stars 

Memphis by: Tara M. Stringfellow: 3/5 stars 

Daughter of the Deep by: Rick Riordan: 3/5 stars 

Interview with the Vampire by: Anne Rice: 2/5 stars 

Right Where I Left You by: Julian Winters: 4/5 stars 

Favourite book: Jennifer Saint continued to add to my love for feminist Greek mythology retellings with Elektra! I loved her work on Ariadne, and Elektra did not disappoint. Told from the perspectives of Cassandra, Clytemnestra, and Elektra during the Trojan War, I was very happy with how the story came together. 

What I Blogged: 

To celebrate Pride Month, I listed some of my favourite books with 2SLGBTQIAP+ representation! Check it out and let me know your recommendations for Pride Month. 

Favourite Blog Posts: 

Marie shares 10 YA Books Like The Summer I Turned Pretty To Read Next 

Greg discusses the topic of Cloning in Books 

Shayna shares Bookish No-No's 

Life Stuff: 

June was a fun month until the end! I got to go into Toronto for a few days, see a Toronto Blue Jay's game, and last week before COVID struck, my sister and I got to go to our first concert since the pandemic: The Arkells. Although, the concert may have left us with a parting gift in terms of sickness haha. I also got to celebrate Pride Month in our city and even got to meet one of my favourite drag queens, Brooke Lynn Hytes. Overall, I think the high's of the month outweigh the low's, though it is disappointing that July is off to such a rough start. Still, things could be a lot worse, and I'm looking forward to all the fun stuff this summer has to offer once the sickness is away! 

That was my June, how was yours? 

Emily @ Paperback Princess

17 comments:

  1. Oh I'm so sorry to hear that! I hope you stay negative! It is nervewracking for sure, especially when everyone is trying not to pass it to others.

    Elektra sounds fabulous, and seems like I heard good things about Ariadne too. I love all the revisiting of Greek mythology that is going on these days. I need to get into some of it.

    Oh and thanks for the shout out! :) I hope July is awesome for you (and Covid free).

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    1. Thanks for the well wishes, Greg! Good books have definitely been keeping me going. I hope you give some of Jennifer Saint's retellings a try! She also has another one coming out in I think 2023 about Atalanta from the Argonauts myth. It sounds pretty cool!

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    2. Oh that sounds awesome!

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  2. I hope your negative streak continues, and your family's getting better! Covid apart (and barring a couple of 2-star book), it sounds like you had a nice month. I'm glad you got the chance to celebrate Pride...I hope Canada isn't following in the US path when it comes to civil rights...*shudders* Have a great July!

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    1. My family is definitely getting better. I think today was by far my worst day symptom wise, but I still don't know if I have it or just a common cold that came at a weird time! With rapid tests, you can never be sure, so I'm just keeping to bed today.

      Canada does have its own issues...especially when it comes to our treatment of the Indigenous populations. Yesterday was actually Canada Day but a lot of folks chose not to celebrate because of our country's abuses on Indigenous Peoples. I hope this kind of awareness continues!

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  3. Hope you're still OK Em! And that if you're not, then you're not too bad. And I hope your family aren't too bad either! I'm beginning to think concerts may be the major spreaders, due to the amount of anecdotes I've heard ;)

    (And you gave Interview with the Vampire 2 stars?! *gasp*)

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    1. Thanks Cee! I was able to get a proper PCR test this morning and will get the results tmrw to see if I actually have it. So far, we've been managing, and that's all I can hope for. Stupid concerts, lol! I have a few more lined up for the summer and just hoping I can actually enjoy the weeks after said concerts haha!

      As far as Interview goes... Cee I'm gonna be honest I was so excited to read this, it's such a pinnacle of vamp literature, but I just could not get into it. I loved the movie, but the book just went way over my head. I appreciated the attention to themes such as sexuality and the style of the book, but I just could not connect with these vamps the way I have with other vamps lol.

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    2. We don't really get PCRs here any more - lateral flow only. Fingers crossed you'll be negative!

      *gasp* - I love Lestat so much!!!! Lol.

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    3. PCR's are pretty restricted here, I was only able to get one since I have asthma, but, it did come back positive :( It's interesting because as soon as I got the results, that's when the real symptoms kicked in lol. Been coughing pretty badly, but I'm keeping my head held high! I know healing just takes time :)

      I'd be willing to give Rice's other books a try! Maybe this vamp novel just wasn't a good fit.

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    4. Oh no! *hugs* - I hope you feel as good as you can as soon as you can!!!!

      Not gonna lie, Rice's vamp books are her best - but they're also *so* different from each other that you might find you like, for example The Vampire Lestat, which tells things from Lestat's perspective. I'm a fan of Violin as well, though, which isn't about vampires - so maybe try that? Up to you, ofc! :)

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    5. Thank you Cee and Roberta! I'm on the mend, which is good :) My cough has significantly improved, so I'm really happy!

      Cee, I might give The Vampire Lestat a try! If they are quite different from each other then I'm definitely not opposed to giving her another chance :) I'll try any vamp book at least once lol! Thanks for that helpful info.

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  4. Oh no! I hope that you're doing okay and that your family is doing better by the time you're reading this. Sending you and them all the healthy vibes! <3

    So glad you enjoyed Delilah Green, I really want to read that one! And thank you so much for sharing my post, it means a lot! <3 I hope July will be lovely for you! <3

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    1. Thank you so much, Marie! I hope you'll get to it soon! It's a fab book :) Happy July!

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  5. OMG OMG YOU MET BROOKE LYNN HYTES?! That's amazing!

    Hopefully you're not going to catch the COVID and just feel great all July :)
    Is your family feeling better?

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    1. Yes!! She was so lovely, but the meeting was quite short as the lineup was long haha! Still, it was a June highlight for sure :) My family's doing better, thank you for asking :) I did end up testing positive, but I think I'm starting to turn a corner too, but I know with this virus, it'll just take time to heal up completely.

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