Wrap-up: August 2021

August felt like a long month to me, and yet here we are now, two thirds of the way through the year. It’s a cliche to ask, but where has the time gone??

Unlike the past few months, I watched a lot more in August and read a fair bit less (I think it was my least big month in terms of reading so far this year). I also went on a walking holiday, had a job interview, and applied to yet more jobs. It was, in all, a pretty busy month in comparison to the rest of the year.

The key:
🐝 = favourite
🕊️ = reread/rewatch/relisten
☀️ = 4 or 5 stars, highly recommend
☁️ = 3 or 4 stars, enjoyed/had fun reading
🌧️ = 2 or 3 stars, was alright/not for me but someone else might enjoy
🌩️ = 1 or 2 stars, bored out of my mind/it was awful

Wrap-up: July 2021

I don’t have that much to say for this opening. It was July. It was a month. I read a bit, I watched a fair bit more than I usually do. Sent off some job applications (to no response yet). Yeah. Much of a muchness.

The key:
🐝 = favourite
🕊️ = reread/rewatch/relisten
☀️ = 4 or 5 stars, highly recommend
☁️ = 3 or 4 stars, enjoyed/had fun reading
🌧️ = 2 or 3 stars, was alright/not for me but someone else might enjoy
🌩️ = 1 or 2 stars, bored out of my mind/it was awful

Wrap-up: May and June 2021

After failing to post April on time, I doubly failed and didn’t post May either. And then went away on holiday, leaving only a few reviews scheduled. BUT. I’m back, and I have a two-for-one offer for you: May and June wrap-ups! I know, it’s exciting.

I had mixed months reading for these two. I read some really good books in May, then June hit and so did a sort of slump? Like, I was reading, but I wasn’t really loving anything I read (with the odd exception). And then I read Sistersong and Piranesi back to back and my reading slump was cured! In all seriousness, if you ever need a book or two to knock you out of a slump, those are now my go-to recs.

The key:
🐝 = favourite
🕊️ = reread/rewatch/relisten
☀️ = 4 or 5 stars, highly recommend
☁️ = 3 or 4 stars, enjoyed/had fun reading
🌧️ = 2 or 3 stars, was alright/not for me but someone else might enjoy
🌩️ = 1 or 2 stars, bored out of my mind/it was awful

Wrap-up: April 2021

April’s wrap-up is…late, I think it’s safe to say. I blame a combination of work and busy weekends myself… But anyways, here’s how April went.

Better late than never, right…

The key:
🐝 = favourite
🕊️ = reread/rewatch/relisten
☀️ = 4 or 5 stars, highly recommend
☁️ = 3 or 4 stars, enjoyed/had fun reading
🌧️ = 2 or 3 stars, was alright/not for me but someone else might enjoy
🌩️ = 1 or 2 stars, bored out of my mind/it was awful

Wrap-up: March 2021

After two months of 2021 unemployment (on top of the previous 9 months of it), I finally ended up with some sort of a job in March (testing schoolkids for covid, but we’ll take it), and so my reading went dramatically downhill. Not because of having no time — given how many days I have a three-hour gap with nothing to do, I still get a fair bit done — but because waking up early to cycle into work and then coming back absolutely wipes me out in the afternoon.

Hence, also, why this blog somewhat died over March. But I’ve got used to it now (I hope)! April will be a whole new month. In theory.

The key:
🐝 = favourite
🕊️ = reread/rewatch/relisten
☀️ = 4 or 5 stars, highly recommend
☁️ = 3 or 4 stars, enjoyed/had fun reading
🌧️ = 2 or 3 stars, was alright/not for me but someone else might enjoy
🌩️ = 1 or 2 stars, bored out of my mind/it was awful

Wrap-up: February 2021

February passed in the blink of an eye and I, still unemployed, read a shitton. A little less of a shitton than January (although at a greater rate), and definitely less than in December. But still. Since I now have temporary work though, this is probably going to be the last month where I read over 50 books for a bit (we can live in hope).

Also if you happen to look through the music section… I know, okay.

The key:
🐝 = favourite
🕊️ = reread/rewatch/relisten
☀️ = 4 or 5 stars, highly recommend
☁️ = 3 or 4 stars, enjoyed/had fun reading
🌧️ = 2 or 3 stars, was alright/not for me but someone else might enjoy
🌩️ = 1 or 2 stars, bored out of my mind/it was awful

Wrap-up: January 2021

For the most part, I had an excellent reading month in January. Besides that single one-star book — which, if I could have rated lower than one star, I really would have been tempted — everything else, for the most part, I enjoyed. So, I know I said that I would maybe… chill on the reading front a bit, but I still got through 54 books in January (and, really, when I said chill, it was more about not forcing myself to finish books in a single sitting. Which I have started doing).

I watched a bit less this month than last (although I did binge a whole series about the history of swear words with my mum…in a single sitting). As for music? Well… probably the less said about that the better.

The key:
🐝 = favourite
🕊️ = reread/rewatch/relisten
☀️ = 4 or 5 stars, highly recommend
☁️ = 3 or 4 stars, enjoyed/had fun reading
🌧️ = 2 or 3 stars, was alright/not for me but someone else might enjoy
🌩️ = 1 or 2 stars, bored out of my mind/it was awful

Wrap-up: December 2020

It’s a new year so I figured, why not shake things up a bit with my wrap-up style. So here we are! Instead of just having my favourite books on here, you get everything I read (a mistake on my part because I read a lot last month), everything I watched, and the music I listened to. Hopefully, this is a bit of a nicer post for you to read then.

A little key:
🐝 = favourite
🕊️ = reread/rewatch/relisten
☀️ = 4 or 5 stars, highly recommend
☁️ = 3 or 4 stars, enjoyed/had fun reading
🌧️ = 2 or 3 stars, was alright/not for me but someone else might enjoy
🌩️ = 1 or 2 stars, bored out of my mind/it was awful

Best of: November 2020

It’s finally December (which feels like it shouldn’t exist this year? I don’t know), so it’s time for a wrap up post. This is probably the last of the ones I’ll do in this style because it’s getting a little boring, to be perfectly honest. Plus I figure it’s better if you actually get a bit more than a list of books…

But, anyway. This month I once again had no concept of time and couldn’t even remember I read half of these in November. It’s starting to become a theme.

Total books: 56

Novels: 38
Nonfiction: 4
Novellas: 5
Graphic novels: 5
Poetry: 1
Classics: 2
Short story collections: 1

Best of: October 2020

Full disclosure: I don’t actually remember reading a lot of these books in October. Like, I went through my list like was it really only this month I read these ones? Yes. Yes it was only this month.

Really though, I had a kind of meh month of it. I don’t think I rated many books (that weren’t rereads) 5 full stars (This is What it Feels Like was the only one I think, though there were a few 4.5s, again a couple of them rereads).

Then again, I did also read enough that I will happily rec over* half of the books I read in total, so was it really that bad?

*Some of what I’d rec I still wouldn’t say was the best of what I read. If that makes sense.

Total books: 55

Novels: 39
Nonfiction: 1
Novellas: 10
Poetry: 4
Short story collections: 1