This bodes the question of whether I’m alive or not.
Spoiler alert: I AM!
I’m sorry for not being alive on this blog for over a week. I was busy, but I promise that I’ll be active this week, and I’ll try to post more to make up for it!
Anyways, July was Camp Nano. Which I died during. But I have high hopes for August (my birthday is in August!) and I’m going to be doing… five million read-a-thons so I can FINALLY get over ten books*.
*JUST WATCH ME READ 1.5 BOOKS AND CALL IT A SUCCESS.
{everything is linked because I LOVE LINKING THINGS.}
BOOKS I READ
Fairest by Marissa Meyer ★★★★★
- Okay, can we agree that Marissa Meyer can do no wrong? Because I loved this book so much. [no review]
Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter ★★★★☆
- This was perfect magical realism and I loved it! It was a bit confusing at times but this world sounds so cool. [no review]
The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F. C. Yee ★★★★★
- Cue my fangirling heart because this is one of my Favorite Books of All Time™ and it had Chinese mythology and angry asians and I cannot wait for the sequel. [review]
Traveler by L. E. Delano ★★★☆☆
- Well, this had an amazing premise and I quite liked it, but the magical system made no sense. I DNF’d it. [review]
All the Forever Things by Jolene Perry ★★★☆☆
- I liked this? But there was about NO plot. So…? [review]
As you can see, I have failed. I wanted to read 10 books this month, and hahahahaha NOPE. I was busy with other things.
(I’ve noticed a pattern in my reading? I always read books near the first days of the month and just… don’t read for the rest of the month.
AUGUST ANTICIPATED RELEASES
The Color Project ––– August 17th
- So many people on Twitter are so excited for this, and everyone says it’s super cute and I LIKE CUTE BOOKS.
Mask of Shadows ––– August 29th
- Sal is a genderfluid main character, and there’s a competition! And in the pitch it says this book is similar to Bardugo and Maas’ work, and I LOVE THEM.
Wonder Woman: Warbringer ––– August 29th
- LEIGH BARDUGO. I mean, I don’t even read comics or anything but that cover is stunning. And also LEIGH BARDUGO.
The Dazzling Heights ––– August 29th
- This is the sequel to The Thousandth Floor and I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
STATS
Well, I didn’t post in the last week, which might have contributed to my lower stats..
(GUYS WHY ARE MY STATS GOING DOWN THIS ISN’T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN)
I have 218 followers right now! (I passed 200 followers and THANK YOU MY POTATOES)
- 6 posts (three less than last month)
- 76 new followers
- 944 views
- 412 visitors
- 272 likes (5 less than last month) (but to be fair I had less posts)
- 244 comments (but to be fair I haven’t replied to a lot of comments yet WHICH I WILL DO)
I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN MYSELF. AUGUST IS MY BIRTHDAY MONTH, I NEED TO DO BETTER.
THINGS I PARTICIPATED IN
- Do Twitter chats count?
- Camp Nano!
- #24in48 except I didn’t actually do it. Welp.
I was GOING TO READ but then I didn’t.
THINGS I WILL PARTICIPATE IN
You have no idea how excited I am for May’s project to start *screeches*
It’s a writing project where we have to submit responses to May’s prompts and we get feedback on our writing! My lovely partner is Sarah and I can’t wait to get started soon!
ARC August + #TheReadingQuest!
I neeeeeed to finish off all of my ARCs and I will do it. Soon. *nods convincingly*
And for the Reading Quest, the art is so cute. There are four different character classes, and I’m choosing to be a knight.
my tbr for this month #smushingthings
- The Midnight Queen {#Quest}
- Kissing Max Holden {#Quest + ARC}
- Mask of Shadows {#Quest + ARC}
- (I’ll figure out the rest of them after I finish these)
HOPEFULLY I WILL READ MORE BOOKS THIS MONTH. *glares at self*
Oh, and if you guys are interested in learning about more of the challenges I linked them! Here’s a handy list that Liza made of the read-a-thons in August!
THINGS I CHANGED
- I have a new profile photo? It’s me sitting on the railing of my back porch with a book in my face. AND ALSO MY BACKYARD IS SO BUSHY YOU GUYS. I never go back there and there are like plants everywhere.
(Sitting on the railing was scary tbh you guys don’t know what I do for you)
- I have a posting schedule! Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday!
THINGS I WANT TO CHANGE
- A LOT OF STUFF.
- I will make a Blog Button page in August. I PROMISE. I WILL DO IT.
- I want to change my look, and edit a couple of things, and also change my name eventually.
POSTS I LOVED
Ilsa talks about awkward moments she has faced while blogging and #relatable because we are all awkward souls on the inside.
Swetlana gives us eight tips for new book bloggers which is SO helpful.
Marie teaches us how to write blog posts, because who actually knows how to write?
Balie discusses making money from blogging and tells us three ways to do it!
Analee discusses blogging disappointments and unsuccessful posts vs. successful ones.
Jackie gives us some VERY HAPPY NEWS (*cue my screaming*).
May talks about if we should trust book reviewers/reviews because CAN YOU EVEN TRUST ANYONE ANYMORE???
Mikaela asks us what our blogging schedules are and discusses pros and cons.
POSTS WITH ME
Dani appreciated my post about Idea Originality in her 13th Weekly Appreciation feature. (You’re too nice to me, Dani.)
May mentioned me in her post about how blogging has changed her life and gahhhh this post made me emotional.
Michelle mentioned my post about organization in her weekly wrap-up and I AM NOT THAT ORGANIZED GUYS. SERIOUSLY.
POPULAR POSTS
Apparently everyone thinks that I’m super organized or something? I’M NOT THAT ORGANIZED, YOU GUYS. I just… like having documents and tracking everything, I guess.
Also look at the photo for 10 Times During Life To Read!! It’s RAINBOW YOU GUYS. I MADE MY SMOL SHELF RAINBOW.
FAVORITE POST
CAMP NANO
So… I failed Camp Nano.
Y’know, I was so excited for it.
smol description of Camp Nano
Me before Camp Nano: DANG I WILL WIN THIS THING AND FINISH MY NOVEL.
Me during Camp Nano: Wait what
…
Well, I didn’t win it. BUT, I did outline. And I kind of reached a point where I thought that it would be near the end of the book? But I DON’T KNOW. So I’ve just been planning to start actually writing and see where it takes me later on.
STORY IDEAS
I’m just going to include short ideas of stories I want to write and just #squish everything in this post.
I kind of want to write a lot of contemporaries because you don’t have to worldbuild and I think it would be awesome to have a Chinese main character.
- A contemporary set in Canada? THIS WAS TOTALLY INSPIRED BY ANALEE’S POST ABOUT HOW MORE CONTEMPORARIES SHOULD BE SET IN CANADA.
… - I also kind of want to write a collection of poems. Or a whole story just written in poetry.
… - I want to write a historical fiction set near the time of Julius Caesar because he’s INTERESTING*.
…
Okay these are all just different genres of books I’m SORRY FOR BEING INCONSISTENT?
*I’M SORRY YOU GUYS I ACTUALLY LIKE HISTORY AND SCHOOL AND STUFF.
Well, you guys. I’m not including a life update in this post because I’m already at 1.2k words*.
*I actually love when my posts are over 1k words?
So, what happened to you this month? Have you ever skipped out on blogging for over a week? Do you like reading? Do you like writing? Did you do Camp Nano? Did you fail Camp Nano?
Aw, thanks so much for sharing my post about blogging schedules! ❤
I’ve missed your posts lately! And ooh, what day is your birthday; that’s exciting! I haven’t skipped out on blogging for a week; I’m too set in my schedule to stop myself. I think it’s an addiction??? 😂
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Well, Mikaela, your posts are so wonderful, how could I not share them?
Aw, thank you! My birthday is on August 30 (the end of the month XD) and I WISH I had your skill with posting schedules.
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I loved your wrap up!! Seriously I wish I was as organized as you (even though you deny it..)
Also I am SO EXCITED for the Color Project to come out!!!!!
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AYY HELLO LOVELY PARTNER! i cannot wait for scribbler’s asldkjflkj
AHAHAHAHA DUDE. I’ve skipped blogging for multiple weeks in the past. So you’re good. XD And omg?? Julius Caesar story?? PLS TELL ME MORE. ROME = COOL. (and sometimes very messed-up. but ya knowwww.)
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HI PARTNER *waves* I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE SCRIBBLER’S CHALLENGE EITHER
Well, knowing that you’ve skipped blogging for multiple weeks comforts me 🙂 and AGH I DON’T KNOW I HAVEN’T FIGURED IT ALL OUT YET. Yes, I LOVE ROME, even though there aren’t… the best aspects XD
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I WANT TO WRITE A COLLECTION OF POETRY TOO!!! And what the heck are you talking about with changing your name. DON’T YOU DARE. I WILL ONLY CALL YOU JU.
I’M SO EXCITED FOR WONDER WOMAN!!! I don’t know if/when I’m going to get it, but hopefully I’ll have it by the time Warcross comes out. FALFJAL;DKJFASD I’M MORE EXCITED FOR WARCROS LOLOLOL.
Also wowowowowow Ju, you totally set out to complete lots of things and ACHIEVED it!!! Yay for blog button page! I’m going to update mine soon lol. And happy birthday!!! (I keep needing to remind myself — the 30th.)
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I did Camp NaNo! And also failed miserably lol so now I just have to find some motivation to finish whatever it is I was trying to write in the next couple months, or just wait for November.
Also, I wouldn’t worry about not blogging in over a week. I wasn’t here for like a month and a half so people probably think I totally dropped off the face of the earth. But it will be okay haha.
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YES I FOUND OTHER PEOPLE WHO FAILED AT CAMP NANO LIKE ME. (I apologize for being happy at your failures XD)
I think that I’ll just be a mood writer? I don’t think schedules really fit me XD
WOW you were absent for a month and a half?
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I can agree to that. I always attempt NaNo events since they are helpful in forcing you to write, but tbh if I’m not in the mood, it’s just not gonna happen. When the inspiration’s there though, it’s awesome.
And yes, a month and a half away from blogging is pretty bad, but that hopefully just means I can’t get any worse than that
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Ha! The gif depicting disappointment at not accomplishing things… So accurate. Oops. 🙂
I love reading and writing but my eyeballs sometimes hate me for it. I am too hard on them, I know. I tried doing Camp NaNoWriMo ONCE…and I failed utterly. But that doesn’t mean I have failed at life, so I am not dead yet.
So far I haven’t had any non-blogging lapses, but I can’t be too proud of myself yet because my blog is little more than a month old. I have plenty of time to crash and burn.
I think that writing lots of different genres is awesome! I love it when authors can do that, so why try to write consistently in one genre? Write some of everything!
I commend your bravery in facing the railing, my friend.
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😀 Thank you, I take MUCH pride with my gifs 😉
I LOVE READING AND WRITING TOO AND MY EYEBALLS HATE ME ALL THE TIME TOO.
Yes you failed Camp Nano too? We can be failures together!
Really? You like writing different genres? Haha, I thought people usually liked when authors stuck in one genre XD but yeah, I HAVE TOO MANY INTERESTS.
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Having fellowship in failure is a meager solace, but it is better than being alone in it.
Yes, I love reading and writing in so many genres! I have too many interests as well, and I am proud of it. 🙂
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I HAVE TONS OF INTEREST TOO! lol, and I LOVE to share those interests on my blog… I’m glad you have a life too Julianna, as much as we’d luuuuvvvv to spend every second reading or blogging… and I ADORE your new picture! ♥️ (And a Canadian set book would be very cool…)
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GAHGAHGAH. Thank YOUUU for my profile picture, SITTING ON A RAILING IS HARD OKAY. (MAPLE SYRUP I GUESS. I mean I’ve been to Canada like once in my lifetime BUT I STILL WANT TO WRITE A BOOK ABOUT IT.)
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Yay I died during Camp NaNo too!! Twins!
Omg Novellas scare me which is why I haven’t read Fairest or even bough it D: but I want to??? But at the same time not????? WUT IS LIFE.
Who can know.
OMG those book ideas sound awesome!! I like the roman idea *heart eyes*
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YAY I LOVE DYING DURING CAMP NANO.
Honestly? I neverrrr read novellas except for when I NEED more. Like with Cinder. YOU SHOULD READ FAIREST THOUGH. IT’S SO GOOD AND I CAN’T EVEN.
Thank youuuuu
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I totally understand wanting to write a contemporary bc no world building! I’m working on a contemporary and a high fantasy at the moment and the high fantasy one takes SO MUCH MORE WORK!
I really should sign up for the reading quest thing… (is it too late?) I keep seeing people talk about it but I don’t really know much about it…
I AGREE WTH ALL OF YOUR ANTICIPATED RELEASES! I didn’t know The Dazzling Heights was coming out this month! I didn’t love the first book but I’m curious what will happen. I can’t wait to read The Color Project and I got approved for Mask of Shadows on Netgalley so I’m reading that one right now! 🙂
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I THINK YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR THE READING QUEST THING. YOU SHOULD. (I have no idea when there’s a deadline though.)
Gahhh I got approved for Mask of Shadows too *high fives* but I won a giveaway apparently and I’M NOW WAITING FOR THE BEAUTIFUL PHYSICAL ARC.
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I’ve decided against joining the Reading Quest bc I’m busy 😦 I hope you do great tho!!!
Ahh! I hope you enjoy your beautiful physical ARC!
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Congrats on passing 200 subscribers!
I also failed Camp NaNo but…really…is there such a thing? Simply participating makes you a winner, right?
Please write a book of poetry yes. I feel like it’s more and more underappreciated and we need more poets in our world stat.
PS I’m glad you liked Fairest! Marissa Meyer is the queeeeen.
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Thank you ❤
Haha… that's true but I kind of… gave up at the end XD
AHHH YES. I heard of so many good poetry books and I really need to read more poetry???
YES FAIREST WAS HONESTLY SO GOOD. I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T READ IT EARLIER.
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I DID CAMP NANOWRIMO!!! I’m actually doing ALL OF THE NANOS this year, and so far I have won both April and July. Although I’m not exactly sure I can count July as a win, because I didn’t actually finish EDITING my book, which was my overall goal. But I did edit 90 pages, sooooo…?
Also, those read-a-thons look REALLY nice… I’d love to participate (I’ve never done a read-a-thon before???) but I’m currently still trying to edit mah book, and so I would obviously fail at reading ALL OF THE BOOKS if I were to try… XD
AND OH MY WORD MY BIRTHDAY IS IN AUGUST TOO!!!!!!! *high-fives*
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Either you’re just a lot more organised than the rest of us, or you got us all fooled into thinking you’re a really organised person 😂
Sorry to hear you didn’t win Camp NaNo! I lost and won at the same time? Like I changed my goal two times during Camp NaNo and in the end won with my 10k goal, but my initial goal was 25k so in that case I lost xd Those story ideas all sound awesome! Good luck 🙂
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I’m participating in the Scribbler’s challenge too! And so excited for it!
I’m also reading Mask of Shadows this month haha
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OKAY YOU KNOW HOW BAD I AM AT BLOG HOPPING AND STUFF BUT I’M GOING THROUGH MY OLD UNREAD EMAILS and i kept all the ones that said that i was tagged in something so HERE I AM AND THANKS FOR TAGGING ME AND GETTING EXCITED FOR ME ILYSM
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