Hello, lovelies! Welcome to another Bookish Breakdown post, my monthly wrap-up where I talk about last month’s reading, as well as life musings, blog hopping links and intention updates!
So, July was a Month™. I think I’ve prolly said that about most of the months in my wrap-ups, yet it hasn’t changed the truth of that statement. July was the second month of orientation during my day job, which left me more drained, overworked and overwhelmed than it was rewarding. On top of that, I’ve had some new health flair ups that finally reached the point of me needing to go to the doctors. Hopefully, the next round of tests will help find answers and relief.
What I did:
- I hung out with two of my best friends and it was glorious.
- Snuck in a therapy session I didn’t think I’d get to have, after they took away Zoom options!
- Met up with my oldest friend and her new fiancé and was asked to be her bridesmaid!!
- Discovered new health flair ups that have been challenging to deal with, both physically and mentality, particularly in relation to my eating disorder
- Got caught up on client work for freelance editing!
- Saw 55 more students on top of the 60 I saw in June.
- Had to say goodbye to my second family dog, Shadow. #FuckCancer
- Attended online seminars to help try to figure out how to budget.
Let’s check in and see how I did creatively this month.
What I Read
The Jasmine Throne (finished)
Moonglow by Kristen Callihan
The Harp of Kings (started)
What I Hauled
ARCS
Thank you to Orbit Books!!
Arm of the Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft
The Hod King by Josiah Bancroft
Purchased
The Name of All Things by Jenn Lyons
The Helm at Midnight by Marina Lostetter
The Councillor by E.J. Beaton
A Hero Born by Jin Young (translated by Anna Holmwood)
Star Eater by Kerstin Hall
What I Posted
In this section, I like to share posts that I personally wrote this past month that I either really enjoyed writing, am really proud of or wish might have gotten a little more attention.
🏹 Intentions Check-In 2021
🐉 Social Media: Or, the Lack of Boundaries, Safety and Nuance
🏹 From The Desk: No. 1
🐉 Mass Effect Legendary Edition: In Pictures
Reading Challenges Update
2021 Discussion Challenge: 13/24
StoryGraph: 27/50
ARCs: 8/12
Backlist Books: 3/12
Monthly Diverse Reads: 1 versus 2 (Goal: Every month, read equal to or more diverse reads than those written by authors who (or feature characters that) match my identity, listing diverse books first.)
Intentions Update
Sharing where I’m at on my yearly intentions, all of which I detailed in this post.
Writing ✔️
BLOOD PRICE EDITS ARE DONE! Now, time to prep to query.
Reading ✔️
Still didn’t read as much as I wanted to (nor have a routine down), but with the month it’s been, it’s still a win.
Freelance Editing ✔️
Proofed a client’s book that I’m so excited to get published in September/October!
Blogging ✔️
Really enjoyed the posts I wrote this month, especially those linked above.
Self-Love ✖️
This continued to be hard.
Allyship and Activism ✔️
Stayed engaged through email newsletters and petitions, but didn’t read another non-fiction read like I wanted to.
Other ✖️✔️
Readjusted some of these focuses and actually wrote a few letters. Look at me!
Posts I Enjoyed
Curious what blog posts I really enjoyed around the blogosphere this month? Check them out here:
⚔️ Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books shares a fantastic resource on how to make your blog stand out!
🛡️ Learn more about racism in publishing through the survey results conducted by research from the People of Color in Publishing and Latinx in Publishing groups.
⚔️ If you aren’t following Crini’s blog yet, what are you doing? Best queer recommendations, hands down.
🛡️ This article from Senior Agent Andrea Brown depicts what professionals in publishing have gone through during the pandemic. I think many can relate.
⚔️ Sumedha @ The Wordy Habitat shares her blogging journey!
🛡️ Kate @ Your Tita Kate writes an important post on the lack of boundaries in bookish social media.
⚔️ Chuck Wendig @ Terrible Minds shares this writing advice after publishing for 10 years. It gives me a lot to think about!
🛡️ Kal @ Reader Voracious shares an incredibly helpful guide on affiliate programs for book bloggers!
⚔️ MY FRIEND JOYCE IS PUBLISHING HER BOOK!! Read more about it at her blog, Writes of Passage!
🛡️ May @ Forever and Everly shares her writing processes for reviews and it was fun to see her perspective!
⚔️ Malka @ Paper Procrastinators shares a cool discussion on whether blogger burnout is inevitable or not!
For August, routine will be the focus and might finally be a reality, since I’m being forced to go back into the office full time. Perhaps taking away the limbo of hybrid and the uncertainty of the past year+ will help with the routine (even if we shouldn’t be going back yet).
I hope you all have a wonderful month! 🖤
![I'm so excited to stop by today and share a client highlight. This time, celebrating the publication of Veo Corva's novel, THE BEAUTIFUL DECAY, out today!
I had the pleasure of proofreading this earlier this year and when I tell you I have been dying for it to release to hype it up!! The second book in the Tombtown series, it is set in a queernorm world where our main antagonist is creepy fungi. 🍄
From the characters to the queer rep to the amazing world building of building a society surrounded by necromancy, this is a series you don't want to miss and an author you should absolutely support!!
Buy a copy here: https://veocorva.xyz/books/the-beautiful-decay-by-veo-corva/
[Image description in alt text.]](https://thoughtsstainedwithink.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
I hope August gives you some answers reg your health, so you can focus on healing. Always here to talk if you need to!
You got so many amazing books. I’m very interested in Star Eater and The Councilor!
Thank you so much, Camillea!! <3
Yeah, I accidentally splurged a little bit. 😅 But I'm really excited about all of them!
Ugh, health problems are the worst, (especially when you don’t fully know what’s going on), hope you get through it! I’m so excited for you to read THE NAME OF ALL THINGS, I think you’ll LOVE Janel! This book is her story and Kihirn only mildly figures into it (don’t worry, he’s not going anywhere in the long run).
Thank you so much, Caitlin!! It’s definitely annoying and bloody confusing, but it’s manageable, albeit frustrating, so I’m lucky in that regard! Oooh, with your glowing recommendation, I’m even more confident I’ll love it. I just need to find a refresher on the 1st book first…
I think Tor posted a recap, and the book I believe includes a summary written from a character’s perspective. Saying this, I have also accepted generally being confused about what’s going on in that series lol.
Thank goodness for this (though yes, I think I’m going to also be okay with just being lost :P).
Thank you so much for sharing my post!!!
I hope you’re able to find some answers to your health issues soon; not knowing fully what’s going on makes dealing with it so much worse in my experience. Sending you healing and happy vibes!
Dude, I sometimes have to stop myself from sharing only your posts. I seriously love them so much!!
Thank you so much, Kal! <3
😭😭😭