Hello friends, happy Wednesday! Summer is in full swing and I’m taking advantage of it. Let’s jump into my July wrap up!

Currently Reading:

IT by: Stephen King. I’ve finally made it to my re-read of this book. I read this back in 2017 and since then I’ve been excited to dive back in. So far, I’m 3 chapters in and we’ve met our 6 main characters. I like the way we’re introduced to them. Something has happened in their past and they’re all being called back to their hometown because it’s happening again. The fear that these characters have is palpable in King’s writing. He’s giving us just enough that we’re not bored and that we’re on the hunt for more. I can’t wait to dive in deeper.

Jane Eyre by: Charlotte Brontë. My next classic read and I’m invested. The first 9 chapters I really enjoyed. We meet Jane as a child and hear about her life, then it jumps to her older and she’s now at Mr. Rochester’s house and I’m kinda bored with it. Although it has slowly started to pick up again because Mr. Rochester is a strange man, but I’m curious to see where it’s all going to play out.

Salt Houses by: Hala Alyan. I’m reading this for my StoryGraph reading around the world challenge, for the country Lebanon. I like the writing, but I’m not 100% connecting with it, the first 25% was a bit of a slog, but it’s now really picking up for me!

What I’ve Read:

53/100

Sunshine Nails by: Mai Nguyen. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ As much as the beginning was really confusing with all the points of view, it really came through in the end and I really enjoyed this story of family and the things you’d do for them.

Skeleton Crew by: Stephen King. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I finished my another King read this month; the collection of short stories, where I liked the majority of the stories, some were meh, but most I’m like I want more!

Silver Nitrate by: Silvia Moreno-Garcia. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My third book by this author this year, and I thoroughly enjoyed this. It took time for me to get into this, plus I thought the pacing was a little wonky, but still a brilliant concept.

Le Morte D’Arthur by: Sir Thomas Malory. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ This, for the most part was a fun read; I enjoyed reading more on King Arthur as I haven’t before. It was an all around good time, even when I wasn’t 100% into the stories.

A Blade So Black by: L.L. McKinney. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I wanted to do this re-read via audiobook, but I couldn’t find it anywhere where I wouldn’t have to pay for it, so the traditional way of reading I went. This was still such a journey and I stand by my thoughts I had 4 years ago!

A Dream So Dark by: L.L. McKinney. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I’m glad I read the first book before reading this because it literally takes place right after. I loved this and I loved that we got to see more of Wonderland, what a wild ride!

I Am I Am I Am by: Maggie O’Farrell. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was this author’s memoir of her 17 brushes with death, which was quite the experience to read. I enjoyed this even though it could be harrowing; it also showed how precious life can be.

Tess on the Road by: Rachel Hartman. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I enjoyed a lot of this, but the length of it, is what really bothered me, because this just felt like it kept going. There is a sequel so I’m curious what could come after all this.

Undying by: Amie Kaufman & Megan Spooner. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I rated this 3 stars, but part of me wants to give it two… the ending just left me disappointed; like the stakes were all for nothing. Plus, this turned more romance than sci-fi.

Links to my my blog posts this past month:

Links to posts I enjoyed around the blogosphere:

The Orangutan Librarian talked about being a critic and if that makes you a better writer. Also her version of the Book Olympics was a lot of fun!

Dee @Life’s Love Affair talked about the certainties of life.

Marie @Drizzle & Hurricane Books talked about why she’s self-publishing a book.

After a bit of a sleepy June, July really ramped up! A lot of hanging out with friends, backyards, pools, beaches, exploring; I feel like this month had a little bit of everything.

Highlights:

✨Looked at new job opportunties

✨Went for sushi, yum!

✨Celebrated 2 birthdays in 1 day – a BBQ lunch, then a backyard evening party

✨Went for brunch a few times, 3 times to be exact!

✨Purchased more yarn for my next project

✨Booked an AirBNB for the long weekend coming up in August

✨Went for ice cream a few times, as well – especially July 21 for National Ice Cream Day!

✨Discovered the town of Grimsby, Ontario

✨Went to the beach

✨Went to dinner a few times

✨Got more film developed

✨Went to another Blue Jay’s baseball game (sadly, they lost)

✨Met up with a good friend, who I haven’t seen for a few months!

✨Became obsessed (even more so) with stickers and buying them for a scrapbook

✨Went to a pool party

✨Enjoyed the beautiful weather! ☀️

What I’ve watched:

The Simpsons; season 18 & 19. I finished season 18 at the beginning of the month and overall, it was an enjoyable season. I have to say the episode where they did a Simpsons version of the show 24 was great… it has put that show back on my radar because I forgot I wanted to watch that. I also thought the way they decided to end the season was an interesting choice. They were basically bashing Fox, which I thought was funny. They did a really good job of it. I also just learned that was their 400th episode! Damn! Then I jumped into season 19 and I loved that all the episode titles were puns or word play to other pop culture references. When they tried to kill off Sideshow Bob, I was actually surprised, but I liked the way that episode played out. I’m also skeptical that they killed off Homer’s mother; she’s so mysterious that I wouldn’t be surprised if she really isn’t dead. We’re also really moving into the future, the episode where Homer gets a rental car, I thought oh wow big moment, they’re actually going to upgrade… I guess not yet. It’s been fun to watch this, to see the different decades pass. I’m currently in the mid-2000s, so I’m curious where the show will go. Only 16 more seasons until I’m caught up!

Star Trek: Lower Decks; season 2, 3 & 4. I completely breezed through this show this month and it was so easy to do. These 30 minute adventures have been so fun to watch, I’m sad that we’re only getting one last season in October… but I get it, they can’t be Lower Decks forever. The second season was a lot of fun, we got to explore and discover a lot of the character dynamics as well as new planets and life forms. I love watching the bond between Beckett and her mom, the captain, and her relationship with Boimler. I like that we didn’t know if we were going to see Boimler again after he joined a new ship, but the way they brought him back was great. What I really like about this is how many of our old pals from different shows have made an appearance, from the Next Generation, to Deep Space Nine and Voyager, it’s been a lot of fun. Season 3 really tested the limits of our characters I think. Especially when it neared the end and everyone thought Beckett was going to do something incriminating… instead she was the most pleasant. Watching her mom chew her out and then have to take it back was really gut wrenching to watch. As well, seeing Rutherford learn more about his past and how he got the implant he wears was so great. I love how they incorporated that into the show. Season 4 saw the crew moving up in the ranks. They’re no longer Lower Decks but Lieutenant (Junior Grade), which means they can now lead on away missions and have more responsibilities. It’s been fun to watch, and to see how these new roles have really affected our characters and how they’re dealing with the pressures that come with it. I really think this show has had great pacing in leading up to all of this. Very interested to see what the last season will entail.

Bear in the Big Blue House; season 2. After what has felt like eons, I finally finished this season. 36 episodes take a long time to get through. This was a joy, for the most part, to watch. There were definitely episodes that were extremely juvenile, but this is a show for basically babies and toddlers… so I can’t fault it for that; if anything it did a really good job of talking about different topics for kids to learn and to grow. This had much of the same structure as season one, I wasn’t really surprised by that, as it works and is good for children. They did start to introduce some outside characters like Doc Hog and Grandma Flutter and Pip and Pop’s grandparents, but it’s mostly still our friends in the Big Blue House as they learn and go on adventures. I still laugh when Bear talks to the others because he’s the ‘grown up’ of the house and even he gets perplexed by what they’re doing. It’s like a secret thing for adults to chuckle at.

Angel; season 5. Can I get an Amen for finishing this?! Because woof, I didn’t think I was going to make it. I won’t lie, this was better than season 4, but I still lost faith in this show being good. Also, the way it ended?!?! I had to google ‘was Angel cancelled?’ because it just ends in the middle of the battle. I guess they found out it wasn’t going to be renewed mid-season and they didn’t think to wrap it up better. I mean, it was kinda like they gave up on the show… which felt that way after season 3. This season has the gang, minus Cordie because she’s in a coma… I like that they did bring her back… but I also hate what they did to her character. They really did her dirty, starting from last season, she deserved better. Apparently her death was the catalyst for the rest of the season and for Angel to look like he was against all his friends. But anyways, it has the gang now working and running the law firm they’ve been running from for the past 4 seasons. That makes sense. They brought Spike back since his run on Buffy ended, and I will admit, his banter with Angel was amusing and I enjoyed it. They gave Gunn all this knowledge to make him super intelligent, Wesley was well Wesley and Lorn used to be my favourite character, but he was so boring and useless this season I couldn’t have cared less, which is a shame. I also think they did Fred dirty, too. They killed her off, but they didn’t totally kill her off and I just thought that whole plot was dumb and not needed. All in all, the first 3 seasons are worth the watch, it just goes downhill so fast from there, unfortunately.

Kaulitz & Kaulitz; season 1: I’m not sure if there’s going to be another season of this, or if this is just a limited series, but as a huge Tokio Hotel fan back when I was a teen, and I saw this come up on my Netflix screen, I was very intrigued. I’ve seen things in passing on what’s happening with the band, but I no longer follow or listen to the band anymore, but when I saw this, I was like let me check it out. It’s 8 epiosdes, so it’s easy to watch. This took me back to being a 14/15 year-old, and I was so giddy watching the whole thing. I can’t explain it. I think you’ll only really enjoy this if you’re a fan of the band (or the twins) because it’s following the twins as they basically live their life, talking about their life in the spotlight. There’s definitely more talk of Bill than there is Tom, but you get that sense that this isn’t exactly Tom’s thing, to have a reality TV show, but it’s definitely Bill’s. This basically follows them from their birthday to the end of the year (September – December) of 2023 and all the things they get up to, while also getting a sense of who each twin is and what they mean to each other – how their lives are changing as they get older. I thought it was really well done and fun to watch.

List of Movies:

• Disney Movies (I think I got my movie groove back this month!)
  • The Castaway Cowboy – another movie with James Garner, which wasn’t that good at all. White people taming the Indians…
  • The Island on Top of the World – this was a strange movie. A guy on the search for his son, brings an explorer to an uncharted Viking village; I was engaged throughout.
  • The Strongest Man in the World – the third (and I think final) movie in this series where Kurt Russell plays Dexter Riley, there to save the day; this was predictable, sometimes funny, but just ok.
  • Escape to Witch Mountain – where there really aren’t any witches, this movie disappointed me.
  • The Apple Dumpling Gang – a western that I didn’t hate; it was quite charming and fun to watch!
  • One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing – a very bad, racist to the Asian community movie. It got 1 star from me because the nannies were the best part.
  • The Best of Walt Disney’s True-Life Adventures – I was never a huge fan of these ‘documentaries’ so a best of was just a whatever watch.
  • Ride a Wild Pony – I think I rated this harshly (1 1/2 stars), it was just really boring and felt like a kid wrote it.
  • No Deposit, No Return – omg I loved this! I can’t remember the last time I watched a Disney movie and enjoyed it so much. So much heart, and the acting was great, so was the plot!
  • Gus – a movie about a donkey who can kick a football… it was alright, but not anything noteworthy.
  • Treasure of Matecumbe – I was shocked this is on Disney+… it was just an all around strange film that went on for too long if you ask me. Just find the treasure already!

Mercy – this was an adaptation to one of King’s short stories in Skeleton Crew. It followed the concept, but went widely off course. I didn’t care for it.

The Simpsons Movie – it’s been years since I’ve seen this. I saw it in theatres when it came out in 2007, and this was just a lot of fun to go back and watch.

What I’m watching:

Bear and the Big Blue House; season 3. I’ve started up the next season, which has felt just like the previous season. More lessons for kids, in a fun way!

Boy Meets World; season 5. I’m actually shocked I’m here already, even though season 4 felt like it took forever to get through… but I’d like season 4 back. So far, this season has been trash. The episodes feel ALL over the place, we’re given a new character with Jack, but his introduction has been boring and his acting is flat. I’m sure it’ll get better, but man, 3 episodes in and I’ve not liked a single one, yet.

Dexter; season 1. I’m back at the beginning. The show came to Netflix last month I believe and I was toying with the idea of going back from the start so that I can watch season 8, since I never watched it when it first came out. My boyfriend has never seen the show, but wanted to… so here we are, 4 epiosdes in. He’s hooked, and I’m enjoying being back.

Instagram & YouTube videos from the month:

How was your July? Read, watch, do anything interesting? Let me know!