Hello friends, happy Thursday! I hope you’re all doing well and had a good month! I have to say, my summer has been pretty good and August was no exception, so let’s jump into my monthly recap!

Currently Reading:

Pet Sematary by: Stephen King. I’ve started my next King read! I’m not very far into it yet, but so far I’m looking forward to see what’s in store! It’s feeling a little bit like how the Shining did, but I liked that book so this could either be a copycat or go in its own direction, I’m curious to find out.

In Cold Blood by: Truman Capote. My next classic read! I didn’t realize going in that this was non fiction, that just makes it that much more chilling. I’m intrigued by this and curious to see how this plays out. I am liking how this has been broken down into different parts because it’s really setting the scene.

You Should See Me In a Crown by: Leah Johnson. I’ve seen this book everywhere ever since it came out and now I’m getting to it. I’m enjoying it and I can see why people love it. I didn’t realize this was set around prom so that’s been fun, plus all the friends have been so funny and supportive, which I love reading.

What I’ve Read:

81/100

Anne of Windy Poplars by: L.M. Montgomery. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This novel wavered for me in this series. I found the tone shifted and Anne is taking on a more mature role and moving away from Green Gables and I’m just not ready to let it go!

Before She Ignites by: Jodi Meadow. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was an alright start to a trilogy; I felt more confused than anything else, plus I wanted more dragons.

This One Summer by: Markio Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a darker graphic novel than I was expecting, but I still really enjoyed the coming of age story.

The Arabian Nights translated by: Sir Richard Burton. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I’m happy to have finally finished reading this after what has felt like an eternity! I enjoyed most of the stories in this, some were more memorable than others, but an all around good time!

Dandelion by: Jamie Chai Yun Liew. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was on the longlist for Canada Reads and it was such an impactful read that I thought was really important.

Need to Know by: Karen Cleveland. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a fast-paced, thriller novel, but I had a hard time with the main character – she seriously needed friends to help her see the choices she was making and the things she overlooked as ok.

Christine by: Stephen King. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really loved this book, my first 5-star from his 80s books and I just couldn’t get enough. I thought the pacing, the plot and the characters really came together so well, and his ending didn’t suck!

The Last Namsara by: Kristen Ciccarelli. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved this book on dragons, it was so good and I can’t wait to get to the next book!

Anne’s House of Dreams by: L.M. Montgomery. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was dark! I knew this was the book Anne got married in, but everything else I didn’t see coming. I liked the writing, but I really miss young Anne.

Links to my my blog posts this past month:

Links to posts I enjoyed around the blogosphere:

Zainab @Zainab Chats posted her review of Barbie

Tree @Words About Words gave a guide to saving money on ebooks

Briana @Pages Unbound talked about why readers don’t leave reviews on books

I can’t believe we’re winding down summer already! It went by so fast, but like I said at the top of this post it’s been a pretty good summer. I spent so much of it outside (and I still plan to for the month of September) and I’m so happy about that!

Highlights:

✨Continued with my brunching – went to the Beertown for brunch, yum!

✨Went out on a boat on the Toronto Islands, so peaceful!

✨Bought tickets to see the Maine for the 6th time in December!

✨Got tickets to see Taylor Swift in November… of next year 😅 I’m happy that we could get some for a decent price.

✨Saw Barbie for the second time – I loved that movie!

✨Went to the Cineplex VIP for the first time – comfy seats, lots of room, food and drinks served right to your seat, it was such a great experience!

✨Went shopping with some friends for a beach outfit for next month’s beach day!

✨Also went to dinner with the same friends to Reds and had really yummy pizza!

✨Went to the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) for the first time since covid. It was just nice to walk around, even if I didn’t ride any rides – I got my cotton candy, which is all I care about!

✨Took a boat ride to a concert venue

✨Saw City and Colour in concert for the third time – it was so much fun!

✨Celebrated a friend’s 30th birthday at a restaurant called Margo – yummy food, aesthetics and company!

What I’ve watched:

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; season 5. I figured since this is the last season I should just finish it after watching the first episode months ago and not caring for it. I have to say I didn’t hate this season, there were moments I liked better than others, but I thought it was a good season. This was all about Midge making it and breaking it in the business; doing everything in her (or Susie’s) power to get there. We got a bit of background on Susie, which was nice since her life is such a mystery, it was good to see the holes poked a bit. I wanted more, but I’ll take what was given. I didn’t care for the flash forwards because, to me, it didn’t feel like it added anything to the story – I guess it was to prove that she would make it, but ehh it was whatever to me. What really got to me was her father realizing how talented she was. He was so focused on the boys and how they had to amount to something and he never took in that girls could amount to anything, so that realization brought a tear to my eye – it was done really well. This last season was entertaining and overall well done.

The Simpsons; season 8. This was another long season, but I enjoyed it. What stuck out to me was seeing Sideshow Bob again – I like that we see him for one episode every season because it’s such a fun callback. I also really liked the finale where Lisa wants to go to military school because she thinks it’ll be the best place ever, whereas Bart, who is being sent there, doesn’t want to go. Soon Lisa realizes it’s not what she thought it would be and everyone hates her, but what I liked was how Bart showed up for her in the end, cheering her on. It reminded of the previous season and how that ended, which I liked.

Boy Meets World; season 1. It’s been years since I’ve seen this show but ever since I saw there was a rewatch podcast with the cast members who played Eric, Shawn and Topanga I knew I had to rewatch the show and it’s become my favourite thing. I love hearing them talk about the show and their experiences and I think it’s made me appreciate the show more too. I never realized as a kid just how funny this show is. I also didn’t realize that Topanga was barely in the first season, in my mind she was always around but this first season is all about Cory. I also didn’t know that Minkus was only in the first season because I remember him so strongly – I think it’s because his acting was golden, my gosh is he hilarious! I will miss him in the second season. I also thought the life lessons were really important and well ingrained into the show I can’t wait to continue with the show.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; season 7. I’m sad that I’ve finished this series of Star Trek; I think this one has got to be my favourite so far. I wasn’t really feeling the new Dax character (because I still can’t believe what they did to the old Dax) but I do like how she and Worf became friends, like true friends. Plus, I felt like Worf got funnier this season, which made me laugh. I liked the way this ended. We spent the season fighting the Dominion war and we saw the characters in the depths of battle and the choices they had to make. I like that, even though I could tell how this war was going to end, I liked that I still didn’t know the end of each character. It was so surprising to me how some of the character’s ends were, I would never have predicted it and that made it enjoyable. I’m going to miss this cast of characters, they hold a special place in my heart.

Prison Break; season 4. I didn’t hate this season and I’m glad it wasn’t a repeat of season 2 because I feared that’s what it was going to be. I liked the ebbs and flows of trying to figure things out regarding ‘the company’ and ‘scillya’. I think they were grasping at straws a little bit to bring in Michael and Linc’s mom back from the dead essentially. I didn’t really like it, but it did give us background to a lot. We find out why the two of them have 2 last names, I always wondered that and it explained why Linc was picked to take the fall in the very beginning. Their ‘mother’ never expected Michael to do what he did and it made me love the brotherly dynamic between Michael and Linc. I thought the ending was kinda weird. 2 epiosdes before the finale we get a ‘four years later’ and then we got 2 epiosdes to explain how we got there and I thought that was so strange. It felt kinda backwards, but I still enjoyed the season. All the characters really went through it and I honestly never knew when they were going to break, which made it engaging to watch because I could never predict what was to come.

List of Movies:

• Disney Movies:
  • Son of Flubber – this was interesting, a sequel to a movie that was funny and entertaining.
  • Miracle of the White Stallions – a movie about saving horses from the Nazis. It wasn’t bad, but it was a little on the long side.
  • Savage Sam – did you know there was a sequel to Old Yeller? If not, well now you do… and it sucks. I don’t advise watching this, it was just bad.
  • Summer Magic – this was a fun, musical. It was kinda long because I kept asking what’s the point, but the ending was good!
  • The Incredible Journey – a movie about 2 dogs and a cat traveling together to get home, wasn’t my fave but wasn’t the worst either.
  • The Sword in the Stone – this surprised me how much I liked it even of there were some weird parts; I found i pretty hilarious.
  • The Three Lives of Thomasina – a movie about a cat that I enjoyed; this portrayed grief really well.

13 Going on 30 – this was a rewatch for me and I honestly didn’t remember everything about this so it was a lot of fun to go back and watch, such a classic!
Barbie – I went to see this for a second time because I loved it so much. It was just as good the second time!
Christine – as soon as I finished the book, I watched the movie; it started out really good, and overall, I really liked it, but the last 20-30 minutes were different from the book that it threw me off – it felt rushed.

What I’m watching:

Star Trek: Voyager; season 1. I’m only a few epiosdes into this new series and it’s going to take me some time to 1) get used to the new cast of characters and 2) being on a star ship again. I’ve spent the last 7 seasons on the station so I look forward to going exploring again!

Boy Meets World; season 2. I just started the second season and wow does this feel like a different show. They’re in high school now and they’re obsessed with getting girlfriends that it feels like a teen show and less like a family show. I do like the addition of Mr. Turner and I’m curious to see where the rest of the season is going to go. I do remember the iconic hallway that most of the show takes place.

The Simpsons; season 9. Is Homer dummer this season? I honestly can’t stand his antics this season, I’m only halfway through the season, but gosh he’s not as funny as he was in previous seasons. I’m hoping this will turn around soon.

Riverdale; season 7. Here I go… the last season of this show. Since I’ve seen all previous seasons (and talked about them on my blog) I should watch it one last time (and talking about it on the blog). Wish me luck!

Instagram & YouTube videos from the month:

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