I’m back! June quite literally flew past in a blur of exams and coursework, but now they are all out of the way, and I can refocus on some serious blogging. July, I am ready for you!
The Books:
My #otspsecretsister out-did herself yet again, and made me feel super spoiled during a stressful month, how awesome are those Little Mermaid PJ bottoms?? I’m really excited to get to Daughter of Smoke and Bone now that I have free time to immerse myself in a series. I picked up a few other bookish treats this month, which have yet to arrive. I got SPQR because I’ve heard so many amazing things about it, Speeches That Changed The World and The Literature Book for some interesting coffee-table reads, The Butcher’s Hook because it’s had rave reviews, and Black Box Thinking because who doesn’t love a little personal development? I can’t wait to add these to my ever-expanding collection.
Movies and TV Shows:
I had coursework due at the end of June, so I didn’t get as much reading done as I would have liked, and I hardly had time to blog at all. However, I did make the time to binge-watch Season 4 of Orange is the New Black in about 2 days. Before it came out, I was SO ready for Season 4, after watching it, I was NOT ready. At all.
I had watched, and loved, Season 1 of Orphan Black, but for some reason never got around to watching Season 2. So I made up for it by playing it in the background while I was writing my coursework last month. Highly recommended!
Wrappin’ It Up!
- Andi @ Andi’s ABC’s created the Fantasy wardrobe for A Court of Mist and Fury (and it’s on-point!)
- Cristina @ Girl in the Pages talks abuse and assault in A Court of Mist and Fury, and declares herself a Potter purist
- Megz @ Barefoot Whispers shares a passionate post about protest and how it affects the medical profession in South Africa, and her views on Doctors’ working hours
- Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction discusses the perils of growing a bigger blog, and asks is celibacy shaming a thing?
- Dani @ Dani Reviews Things compares three UK bookish subscription boxes!
- Stef @ Caught Read Handed made a Pride Library Display that was taken down
- Becky @ A Fool’s Ingenuity asks, does romance ruin books?
- Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense discusses the perils of the Twitter grapevine
- Ceilidh @ Bibliodaze talks about why the “Outlander isn’t a romance” is a problem, and discusses the importance of female critics
- Trish @ Between My Lines shares the 7 things no one tells you about blogging
- Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookworm asks is the series ending more important than the rest of the story?
- Sunny @ A Splash of Ink advises what to do when you disagree with a book
- Laura @ Books Against The Current wants to know, do you reread books?
- Claire @ Cover to Cover thinks YA definitely needs more military kids
- Emz @ Paging Serenity asks how realistic do books have to be?
In the aftermath of the EU Referendum in the UK, Nicole @ Bitches with Books shares Jean from Jean’s Bookish Thoughts video recommending books to inspire positive change and political action, along with a few of her own recommendations. I have many, many thoughts and feelings on this topic, which I won’t go into on this post, but I was a passionate “remainer”, and I’m suitably anxious for the future of the UK right now.
In Case You Missed It:
This month I did very bloody little! Do not fear, regular scheduling shall be resuming shortly. Work, exams and coursework got the better of me for the past while, but I have reviews aplenty to write, and discussions brewing in my head. July will be the come-back month!
In June I reviewed The Second Love of My Life (4/5), and interviewed the lovely author, Victoria Walters. I also shared an exclusive excerpt of Frayed, by fellow book-blogger-turned-author, Kara Terzis.
My most popular post in June was my rant called, What is the POINT of pre-ordering?, and my most popular review was for The Noughts and Crosses series by Malorie Blackman.
What did you get up to in the month of June? Were you more productive than me? Share with me in the comments!
Confessions of a Book Geek 
Love the package you got from your opsister. I imagine you will enjoy your reading and blogging time even more this month after such a hectic month last month.
I really like your wrap up posts, as it gives me a chance to go back and see any posts I missed.
Happy July and enjoy the free time to read read read and blog blog blog! I will be doing the same.
Amanda. xx
LikeLike
Hi Amanda!
My secret sis is doing a great job of looking after me! I’ll be sad to see the end of this round, it goes in so quickly. I’m loving it already! I have a week’s worth of posts scheduled, and I have some time off for public holidays next week, so hopefully I’ll be inspired to do a few discussions as well, fingers crossed!
I’m really pleased you find it useful. I used to check Oh! The Books monthly wrap-up every month to see what I’d missed out on, though theirs was much more detailed than mine!
Really looking forward to getting stuck into some great books this month! Let me know when the giveaway prize arrives! R xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re super nice to link to my posts. Thank you!
LikeLike
Not at all ❤ R xx
LikeLike
Wow, your month has gone so well. Your OTP secret sister gifts are amazing. I can’t wait for you to read DOSAB because I loved it. It’s great you have some free time again, it’s always nice when all the pressure of deadlines and studying are out of the way so you can just relax and get back to doing things you enjoy.
I know how you feel about the referendum, there is a strong sense of disappointment at the result but we’re stuck having to make the most of what happened and hoping for the best possible outcome.
LikeLike
A bit of a weight has been lifted getting that Diploma out of the way. I think I’ve more posts scheduled for this month so far than I’ve done in the year to date! Lol I’m really enjoying reading at the minute, and trying to clear up my backlog of reviews before I forget all the details completely!
The number of people I know who are shocked and disappointed! I’m beginning to wonder who voted out at all! R xx
LikeLike
Glad you get to relax a bit after your flurry of exams and such! Thanks for sharing my discussions!
LikeLike
No problem, Nicole. I’ve had this week off work and I’ve managed to do some blogging, reading and relaxing, it’s been wonderful! R xx
LikeLike
Ohh, I love Victoria Walters! I’ll have to read your interview with her now! 😉
LikeLike
There is NO POINT TO PRE-ORDERING!! It just makes the wait seem that much more excruciating. I am going to have to check out your rant, and agree with every word, most likely!
LikeLike
I tend to pre-order and then completely forget about it. It’s a nice surprise when it lands through the letterbox! My rant focuses more on pre-orders that don’t get to you until 2 weeks after the book has already been released, so you could have picked it up in person quicker! R xx
LikeLike
Love, love, love your Secret santa sis package you received! I also cannot wait to get into Daughter of Smoke and Bone, it’s been on my TBR list since forever! Hope your July blogging is going well!!
LikeLike
It’s a great project, are you signed up to do it? July has been going pretty well so far, thanks! Hopeful I can keep it up! R xx
LikeLike