July 2020 Wrap-Up + 11 mini book reviews

July has been an interesting month,. A lot has happened: I started this blog, I finally finished a knitting project, I read a ton, and I think I watched a new favorite movie. So, here’s a post to sum up all that’s happened this month and a give a couple quick reviews.

BOOKS

Let me preface this section by saying I do NOT usually read this much in one month. I participated in two read-a-thons this month and that really encouraged me to pick up more books than usual. I don’t think I can reasonably maintain this reading speed, but I have definitely been having fun finishing so many new books. Who knows though, at the start of this month I deleted a bunch of social media so maybe I’ll keep reading a lot.

5 Stars

You Should See me in a Crown by Leah Johnson: 5/5 Such a sweet YA romance! This book is so good I finished it in one day, I just couldn’t stop listening to it. I hope more people pick it up. I can definitely see myself picking this up in the future to reread when I need a comfort read. This book warmed my heart and I can’t wait to see what Leah Johnson writes next.

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert: 5/5 AAAHHHHHH! I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!! I wrote a review all about my thoughts on it that you can check out HERE

Coraline by Neil Gaiman: 5/5 Iconic. I can’t believe it took me so long to read this considering the film was one of my favorites as a kid and Neil Gaiman has been one of my favorite authors for years. This book has such a spooky atmosphere it would be the perfect short read to start off October if your like me and like to read creepy books in the fall. If you have the opportunity to listen to the audiobook I highly recommend it!! Gaiman is an amazing narrator as usual and there is some music included that really enhances the reading experience

4 Stars

Deadman Wonderland by Jinsei Kataoka: 4/5 This was really interesting. I had no idea what this manga was about when I picked it up and it was really fun being surprised all the way through the book. This did everything the first volume of a manga needed to do. It introduced me to the characters, gave some backstory, clearly explained the world, and most importantly made me curious about what happens next. I don’t know when I’ll be able to continue this series because I usually get manga and comics from my library, but right now everything is closed for the foreseeable future.

Sourdough by Robin Sloan: 4/5 This book is probably more like a 3.75, but I don’t really want to break down my rating system beyond .5 so 4 stars it is. I have some mixed feelings about this story and I’m not really sure I can explain why. This book is a little weird, but in a good way. My favorite parts were Beoreg’s messages to Lois. I really enjoyed hearing about him and his brother following their dreams. While Lois was just discovering her passion, Beoreg knew what he wanted and his enthusiasm for cooking was palpable. I personally didn’t really like reading about all the technology being integrated into the food. I don’t necessarily hate having robots in the kitchen but I think it made the baking feel less personable and more cold. Overall this is a mixed bag of negatives and positives but in the end I mostly enjoyed it.

3 Stars

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang: 3.5/5 I was kind of disappointed in this book. It is a good book!!! I just really thought this was going to be a five out of five, so the fact that it wasn’t is kind of a bummer. I can definitely see why this book has become so popular though. The relationship is so cute and I really like Stella and Michael as characters. I just thought that some parts were quite repetitive and I didn’t really like the ending.

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins: 3/5 This book was really cute. I think if you’re looking for a sweet YA enemies to lovers book this is probably one of the best. Also, any book with Bisexual rep in it I like almost immediately. However, some of these characters really got on my nerves. I may have felt a bit differently if I’d read the book physically instead of listening to the audiobook, because all the accents the narrator did were kind of distracting. What really brought this down from a four stars to a three was the ending. It just wrapped up SO quickly, too quickly.

2 Stars

Heavy Vinyl Volume 1 by Carly Usdin: 2.5/5 I think this is worth reading for the artwork alone. I didn’t think there was anything special about the plot or the writing BUT THE ART OH MY GOD. Its stunning. This reads pretty young, kind of like a middle grade comic book, so everything’s pretty tame and fluffy. Which is fine, just not my thing.

The Truants by Kate Weinberg: 2.5/5 This was just kind of … boring. I think Kate Weinberg is a good writer and I liked a lot of the imagery, especially involving the hearse that one of the characters drove, but the plot was pretty dry. Nothing happens for most of the novel and when something does happen I didn’t find it very interesting. This would have been fine if I had connected more with the characters or found them compelling but unfortunately I didn’t really care about them them.

Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson: 2.5/5 This book had so much potential! Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like it delivered on much. The book focuses so much on the romance aspect, that the more interesting family dynamics are frequently ignored. I really wish Kwana Jackson had written more about the Strong family and their relationships with one another instead of including a romance. The romance also just fell flat. I didn’t think the main characters had very much chemistry and their interactions weren’t all that interesting.

1 Star

Rayne and Delilah’s Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner: 1/5 Under normal circumstances I would have DNF’d this, but it was the only book I had for the Reading Rush that matched one of the prompts. Also, I had an ebook copy of this so I did not realize how long it was until I was already half way through it and I’m far to stubborn to put down a book I’d already read 200+ pages of. I really do not like this book. Ugh. Everyone was annoying and unless you like fart jokes the humor in it isn’t for you. Seriously, so many fart jokes. Delia is a terrible friend, just awful. She actively tries to derail Josie’s future and career. I totally understand why she’s doing it, but just because she’s hurting doesn’t mean it’s okay for her to hurt others. I’m not even sure why these girls are friends. I mean its mentioned so many times that they are closer that sisters, but I didn’t really see that. Sure, they had some inside jokes and similar senses of humor but I just didn’t see them being best friends. The plot is so bizarre, and not in a good way like Sourdough was. Everything is so over the top in a way that I think was supposed to be comical by it misses that mark by a mile.

10 Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier: I don’t really have a rating for this one. I did like how Lanier approached the question of whether social media is good or bad. Because its kind of both. I don’t know if this book would actually convince you to delete all your socials right away, but it definitely encouraged me to be more mindful in the ways I interact with different platforms. This month I am taking a break from some social media again. I have left twitter in the past and I always feel better when I do. I don’t think I’ll be coming back until I know I can better manage my time and use it purposefully.

Movies

I hardly watched any movies in July. I just really wasn’t in the mood for anything on my watch list. I used to have a fairly consistent schedule so that I’d watch one or two films a week but the lack of classroom instruction and the odd hours my work has been giving out recently has completely destroyed the routines I used to follow. I did manage to watch 4 films this month, but I only want to talk about two of them briefly.

First up is Silence of the Lambs. I don’t know why I don’t love this movie as much as everyone else seems too, even my mom adores this film. I recognize that its good!! I am in no way saying that it was bad or that I dislike it, but I guess I just don’t get the hype. The movie is probably at it’s strongest when it’s just Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster on screen. Two incredible actors giving phenomenal performances side by side, it was captivating. I do always enjoy watching watching classic or iconic films because they are mentioned and referenced so much in pop culture that I feel like I’m finally in on the joke. I had heard online and from a couple of my professors that Clarice is a great example of strong female protagonists, but no one ever really expanded on why. Not only is she dealing with psychopaths and serial killers, but she’s also facing sexism at her job. I was pleasantly surprised to see just how much of the film focused on women entering male dominated fields like law enforcement. That dynamic adds another layer to the film that makes it thought provoking and I think has given it some staying power. Unfortunately, I think I was just a bit underwhelmed after hearing so much about this movie throughout the years.

The other movie I want to talk about is Moulin Rouge. I LOVED THIS MOVIE ADASBHFJKDVAKL. Okay I’ll calm down but oh my goddd it was so good. I recognize that this movie isn’t for everyone, in fact I know a lot of people who can’t stand this film but ugh I just adored it. The music was so fun and the story, while pretty corny and fraught with cliches, was super entertaining. I’m a sucker for a good love story with lots of drama and tragedy and Moulin Rouge holds no punches in that department. The editing was kind of insane. The cuts were so fast and everything moved so quickly that I’m not sure how I managed to keep up sometimes. I did like that aspect though because I could not look away, even if I wanted to. This movie demands your attention and I was happy to give in and get lost in the story.

Alright, this post is getting kind of long so I’m going to go ahead and cut it off here. Overall, July has been pretty successful. I’m really excited to post some more on here. I’ve got so many ideas for posts, now all I have to do is actually sit down and write them lol.

Have you read any of these books or seen either of these movies? What did you think of them and how did your month go?