Monthly Round-Up for July
July has been a crazily-busy month, as the last month of the school year always is. I met my new class for September on Transition Day which was very exciting, but it is also hard to let go of my current class as, every year, I feel like I’ve gotten to know them really well they’re where I want them and we can do loads together…and then I have to give them to someone else!
I am in the process of moving classrooms, prepping my old classroom for a new teacher and moving the library…phew!
See my monthly round-ups for January, February, March , April. May and June.
How has your July been?
Books read
Total: 40
Picture books: 15
Graphic novels: 0
Middle Grade: 9
Young adult: 9
Adult: 4
Non-fiction: 2
Poetry: 1
Both the non-fiction books I read were aimed at children (Herstory and Welcome to Our World) and were fantastic – watch out for full reviews coming soon! I will be getting copies of both for our school library.
My favourite YA books of the month were Shadowblack and Sanctuary. I did enjoy Defy the Worlds but not as much as the first book in the trilogy, Defy the Stars.
For MG, my favourites were The Girl Who Drank the Moon and The Light Jar, although I think the Murder Most Unladylike series is getting better with every book.
My favourite adult novels were Spinning Silver and The Light Between Us. I’m glad to have finally read The Lost Words from cover to cover, despite dipping into it numerous times before – this is definitely a book to be savoured and enjoyed over and over again.
I was spoilt for fantastic picture books this month by The Day War Came, If All the World Were and A Perfect Day were all excellent at evoking emotion, whilst The Night Dragon and Magpie’s Treasure had some of the most beautiful illustrations i have seen.
What were your favourite reads this month?
Sources of books
Library: 25
Bought/Owned: 9
Won: 0
ARC: 11 (9 e-ARCs from Netgalley)
July Posts
Book Reviews: The Storm Keeper’s Island, Run Wild, Time School, A Bad Boy Stole My Bra, Sanctuary, The Day War Came, Spinning Silver.
Author Interviews: Catherine Doyle, Nikki Young, Gill Lewis, Caryn Lix.
Multilingual flashcards/Language Learning: None (oh dear!) I have been listening to podcasts and music, as well as studying a little, but haven’t written any posts.
Other posts: The Storm Keeper’s Island Extract, Happy Publication day – islands, mermaids and bras!, Nerd Poured Candles Crate: For the Love of Books Review, An Evening with Catherine Doyle.
Reblogged posts: Question time with Sophie Anderson, Interview with Rebecca Cobb, illustrator of The Day War Came by Nicola Davies.
I also took part in:
Waiting on Wednesday: The Girl with the Dragon Heart, Empress of All Seasons, Tempests and Slaughter, Grim Lovelies.
Six for Sunday: Books that made me cry, Books that made me laugh, Books that made me want to shout.
July Achievements and Highlights
I haven’t done as well on the blogging front as I had hoped this month as I did not manage to post every day, but I do feel like I am posting quality content so I hope not to lose readers even if I miss a day here or there! I am also hoping to get ahead with scheduling a few posts which will take the pressure off me somewhat when life or work gets busy or I have a residential, reports, etc.
Attended the book launch for The Storm Keeper’s Island at Waterstones and met Becky Chambers at an event where she talked about the third book in the Wayfarer’s series, Record of a Spaceborn Few. This was the first time I had attended the #ScifiSessions at Gower Street Waterstones and I loved it, even if it was exceptionally hot!
Went home to Ireland for a few days for a good friend’s wedding and it was amazing to catch up with everyone!
July Favourites
Food/Drink: I have just discovered a cheddar cheese and chive dip which is incredible. I may or may not have eaten my weight in tortilla chips and dip since then…
Skincare: Loving the ANEW Sleeping Cream from Avon which is designed to make you look as if you have had 8 hours of sleep, even when you haven’t. I have also bought some of the 80p face masks from Primark because I have heard good things about them so will let you know next month.
TV/Film/Games/Music: Haven’t really been watching anything on TV – we have only managed a further two episodes of Stranger Things! We have been playing co-operative mode on Don’t Starve and Stardew Valley which has been great fun though. I am also completely addicted to Hogwarts Mystery, despite the flaws.
Also, listening to The Greatest Showman OST on repeat even though I haven’t yet seen the film…
What did you think of my monthly round-up for July?
How did your month go?
What was your favourite post this month?
(Link it below and I will read and comment!)
Would you like to see more posts like this?
Let me know in the comments!
Also, please link your monthly round-ups below so I can catch up with your blogs!
I will read and comment on all!
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Thanks for reading!
Chrikaru Reads 
I read a meagre 4 books in July but it was rather busy with friend meet-ups and YALC. Even so, most of the books were 4 stars so they were solid reads at least.
I’m curious to know what your thoughts are regarding The Graces. I read it last year, maybe two years ago and it’s one I have rather mixed feelings about because it wasn’t the easiest book for me to get into. However, I did pick up a chapter sampler for the sequel so I’m wondering whether it is worth trying to re-read The Graces at some point.
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I liked it, although it isn’t without its faults. At first I struggled to get into it too, because it seemed a bit paint-by-numbers contemporary YA. Then, as the narrator becomes more and more unreliable, I was fascinated. I saw one of the twists coming and had an idea for the other, but I still really liked it. I think a lot of people really struggled to like River as she is such an unreliable narrator, while others didn’t like how the twist with Wolf was handled. Considering how it ended, I am guessing it might be important for the second book, but it might be better just to recap the plot if you don’t want to read it again. (I also missed all the hype for this book which probably helped!)
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I think what got me is that I found River’s obsession with The Graces to be too similar to Bella and the Cullens in Twilight, and not in a good way. However, I think the unreliableness of River is what kept me intrigued up until the final third of the book, because it was after that I did truly get into her as a character and the rest of the story in general.
Hype does often make me dislike a book that everyone loved but although it was hyped, I don’t remember it being one of the most hyped books at the time of its release.
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I have had lots of people tell me to read it, but was out of the country when it was released so assumed I had missed any hype, lol. I totally agree with you about the obsessiveness – at first I found it quite frustrating, as she changes herself to meet the approval of the Graces. Then, as it beame clear that there was more to it and her, I became more interested. The ending makes the book I think!
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Yes I agree. I think the ending was the book’s saving grace.
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Pun intended of course!
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Of course! 😁
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Thanks for all these recommendations!!
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I love reading and have always enjoyed the escapism of it. but now I’m so busy I never know what to read next! I always end up randomly choosing books from the shelf. i will now use some of you recommendations! You can find my blog here: cornishmaidblog.com 🙂 x
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Thanks for including your link – I will have a look at your blog! I am trying to make reading a priority because it is easy for life to get full of everything else. I hope some of my recommendations are good reads for you!
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Well done on reading so much, and there are lots I really love in there too, such as the MMUseries, Alex Sparrow and St Grizzle’s! (As well as a couple on my TBR like Geekerella). I read 14 during July, which I was pretty pleased with
Amy x
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Well done! I am really enjoying the MMU series and loved the first book in St Grizzle’s . I liked Alex Sparrow but didn’t really like the names Alex used for Jessica. I know it;s a minor thing, but I spend most of my day trying to persuade kids that name-calling is never okay! Geekerella was one I put off for ages because I was worried that it would be a let-down but it really was very good! What was your favourite read of July? x
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It was a tie between tye Elephant Thief and the Elsewhere Emporium 😊
Amy x
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I loved the Nowhere Emporium so looking forward to Elsewhere! I will order The Elephant Thief from my library if they have it!
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