Hello friends, happy Monday! Summer is slowly winding down… and I refuse to let go of it just yet… looking at you September to be the last hurrah! But before we think about that, let’s jump into how August looked for me.

Currently Reading:

IT by: Stephen King. I guess because the first time I read this, I wasn’t reading it a chapter a week, so the progression of this has been v-e-r-y slow. Like the plot has barely moved in the 8 chapters and almost 400 pages I’ve read so far. We’ve barely scratched the surface of identifying what “IT” is, but I will say, King has kept me hooked, despite the slowness. Each character is getting their own time to flesh out and really be understood and I’m enjoying it. I look forward to continuing my re-read.

Aseop’s Fables. This is my next classic read and I’ve been enjoying this. I want to read it slow so that I can really understand and take in all the fables. I didn’t realize they were all really short (all less than a page), and that there were over 200 of them. I’ve decided to mark the ones that are my favourite because some have such great life lessons, that I think can be appreciated by more than just children.

Bookshops & Bonedust by: Travis Baldree. I decided to pick up the prequel because I loved the first one so much. I’m not very far into this so I don’t have a lot to say right now. I’m curious to see where things go, though!

What I’ve Read:

62/100

Salt Houses by: Hala Alyan. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a richly told story of generations having to flee their home due to war. It was beautifully written and so moving.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by: Toshikazu Kawaguchi. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Aside from being a little clunky to read, this had so much heart – I definitely see myself reading the next installments.

The City We Became by: N.K. Jemisin. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a re-read for me – I immersive read it (audiobook, while reading the physical book, love that experience), and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time. Such a unique story and take on the New York City boroughs.

The World We Make by: N.K. Jemisin. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was disappointing after rereading the first one. I gave it 3 stars because the character growth was really good, but the rest fell so flat.

Jane Eyre by: Charlotte Brontë. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I’m so glad I finally got around to this. What a memorable and wild read; I truly never knew what was going to happen next.

Legends & Lattes by: Travis Baldree. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ What a cute cozy fantasy about an orc who decides to open a coffeeshop in a place where no one knows what coffee is. Totally cute and adorable.

Meet Me at the Lake by: Carley Fortune. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My first 5-star read in a while! I completely fell for this book – books don’t usually make me really emotional, but my gosh, I was a mess. I get why people didn’t love this, but this was really well done, to me.

The Zookeeper’s Wife by: Diane Ackerman. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was very interesting and I learned things about the War that I didn’t know… but this was just an alright read for me.

Denison Avenue by: Christina Wong & illustrated by: Daniel Innes. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a really poignant read; I enjoyed it but wow was it just sad. I really enjoyed how they incorporated the illustrations in such a meaningful way.

Links to my my blog posts this past month:

Links to posts I enjoyed around the blogosphere:

Lisa @Bookshelf Fantasies posted about this really cool interactive puzzle she did

If I thought July was busy… well, August was crazy! My weekends were just packed with things, but you won’t catch me complaining. I spent so much time outside that I’m just so happy.

Highlights:

✨Went on a mini vacation to Dorset, ON – exploring the town

✨Took a boat cruise across Lake of Bays

✨Spent time on the water

✨Went to a family dinner

✨Made Rice Krispies, twice (my go-to dessert of the summer! 😋)

✨Went to high tea

✨Helped throw a surprise birthday party for a good friend 💖

✨Ate a lot of good food at a Latin festival, then the next day at Jerk Fest!

✨Got my hair cut

✨Went to a UFC watch party and met new people

✨Went to the Wild Cats exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)

✨Walked around downtown Toronto

✨Discovered Coburg, ON

✨Went to the beach

What I’ve watched:

The Simpsons; season 20. So halfway through the season, the intro changed. I’ve never seen this one, I’ve only ever seen the old one, so it was such a shock to me when it dropped, but I’ve definitely gotten used to it. Still miss the old one though; I wonder if they’ll ever drop it back in like a throwback. I like all the spoofs this season has taken, my favourite has to be when Patty and Selma kidnap Homer before his second wedding and pretend to be Jigsaw… that was hilarious! I’d also like to say that it’s been nice seeing Patty and Selma again, they kinda faded into the background a bit, but they’ve made a return. Now it’s Mr. Burns turn to fade into the background… haven’t seen him in a while. Also, we barely see Homer go to work so I question whether he even works at the plant anymore. But all in all another great season.

Star Trek: Prodigy; season 2. I had to find this online because for some reason it’s not streaming anywhere in Canada. It moved to Netflix in the States, but not here, go figure! Anyways! I loved this season so much more than the first. I think the first was really trying to find its footing and now that it has, they’ve really been able to take off! I also love that this is becoming a mini Voyager reunion. It started with Janeway, but now the Doctor is back and they’ve been looking for Chakotay, and we’ve had other guest appearances from other Star Trek franchises, which had been a lot of fun. This season has had a lot of time travel and it’s been so interesting. I’m on the edge of my seat every episode because it’s just so good. Plus, I’m loving the found family so much. Everything Zero goes through this season has been a joy to watch and I hope there will be a season 3!

Star Trek: Short Treks; season 1. I had to find this online, too because it was removed from Paramount+ in Canada, ugh. Anyways, I’ve seen the first season and I love being back in the Discovery world. I have to say, and I’m 100% being biased, Tilly’s was my favourite story. They were all really good (the last one wasn’t the greatest for me) but Tilly’s was just so good. They almost reminded me of episodes of Black Mirror in the way they were shot and they were just individual stories, not the actual content. Although the second episode could have qualified. I digress, I look forward to watching the second season to see a more indepth look into the characters I already love. I’m sad that this got canceled, but happy that these exist.

Dexter; season 1. This was a rewatch for me… but I hardly remembered everything that happened when I watched it 8 years ago. I haven’t seen season 8 so I decided to go back to the beginning to watch it fresh. My gosh, season 1 was so good. The writing, the directing, the acting, everything is so good. You’re always on edge… and of course you love Dexter… even though he’s a serial killer. I remembered the ice truck killer, but everything surrounding it, I completely forgot. It was honestly like watching it all over again. I wrote my thoughts out back in 2017 that I think are still pretty relevant today.

List of Movies:

• Disney Movies
  • The Shaggy D.A. – this wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. I like watching Dean Jones so that was fun.
  • Freaky Friday – the O.G one… and I liked it more than I thought I would. There were some interesting choices, but still a solid movie.
  • The Littlest Horse Thieves – just a few English kids who want to save the ponies… it was really wholesome and sweet… but kinda long.
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – my childhood, I had way too much fun re-watching this. Completely stole my heart.
  • The Rescuers – this was an alright movie, I thought I remember liking it more
  • Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo – Herbie is back, and what a time he’s had; I really enjoyed this one; it was goofy, but very amusing.
  • Pete’s Dragon – in my mind, I loved this as a child… but I honestly didn’t remember a lot of it, but for the most part I enjoyed it as an adult – I just didn’t care for the musical aspect.
  • Candleshoe – this was better than I went in thinking and I love movies like that. Jodie Foster is spunky and I love it!
  • Return from Witch Mountain – I liked this one better than the first; this had actual plot direction, even if it was weird and kooky!
  • The Cat from Outer Space – this was so strange and completely weird and clunky, I didn’t exactly like this, but the cat was cute!
  • Hot Lead & Cold Feet – another western that I wasn’t totally into…
  • The North Avenue Irregulars – this was such a funny movie, I don’t know why it’s not on Disney+ because it’s just a riot to watch

What I’m watching:

Bear and the Big Blue House; season 3. I’m actually making really good progress with this… I’m almost done… which a change compared to the second season. Again, I’m having more fun with this.

Boy Meets World; season 5. I’m still plugging away at this… I’ve finally gotten to the good episodes of season 5, it only took 7 episodes. Shawn and the purse, that episode was golden. I don’t remember it, but watching it I had so much fun. I look forward to more episodes like it.

Dexter; season 2. I just started the second season and it’s picking up right where the last season left off… Dexter disoriented. It’s very interesting to watch… or in my case rewatch.

Instagram & YouTube videos from the month:

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