June 2023 Wrap-Up 🏳️‍🌈

Happy Friday, bibliophiles!

And just like that, we’re halfway through the year…I don’t want to jinx it, but I feel like it’s been a good one so far. Other than being sick for all of April, basically, but that’s in the past. Now the pollen allergies are kicking in!! Whee!!

Let’s begin, shall we?

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

June has been on the busier side, but in a good way, for the most part. I got my very first job as a page at my local library (!!!), and I’ll be working there part-time until school starts back up. As of today, I’ve just gotten my first paycheck!!

Right after that, I went on vacation in Olympic National Park! Washington is the prettiest—I loved seeing the rainforest and the ocean, and all of that nature really got my creative juices going.

I also went to my very first pride parade last weekend!! I only stayed for an hour to watch the parade itself (that’s on sensory issues), but it made me so incredibly happy to see my community gathered there and spreading so much joy. Unforgettable experience.

Now that I’m off school, I’ve tried to get back into my writing routine. I started on the first draft to the sequel of my main WIP. I’ve made some good progress so far, but I’m planning on taking it to Camp NaNoWriMo tomorrow! I’m shooting for the full 50,000 this time, so wish me luck!

Other than that, I’ve just been drawing, practicing guitar, seeing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Shakey Graves live (both of which were AMAZING GAAAH) binging even more Taskmaster (just finished season 6, looking forward to seeing how unreasonably angry James Acaster gets in season 7), watching Across the Spiderverse (can’t remember the last time a movie changed my brain chemistry THIS much, so beautiful) and Asteroid City (another win from Wes Anderson), and trying not to inhale every single mote of pollen in my room. Allergy season is a real Fun Time.

READING AND BLOGGING:

I read 16 books this month! June wasn’t off to a great start (see the DNF below), but I ended up reading a ton of fun books for pride month! You’d think that vacation would’ve given me more time to read, but I ended up buying three books on my Kindle, all of which were rather chunky, so…

1 – 1.75 stars:

• Agent Josephine: American Beauty, French Hero, British Spy – Damien Lewis (DNF – ⭐️)

2 – 2.75 stars:

• The Drowned Woods – Emily Lloyd Jones (⭐️⭐️)

3 – 3.75 stars:

• Flowerheart – Catherine Bakewell (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
• The Art of Saving the World – Corinne Duyvis (⭐️⭐️⭐️)
• M is for Monster – Talia Dutton (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
• The Stars Undying (Empire Without End, #1) – Emery Robin (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
• Something Like Possible – Miel Moreland (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)
• If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come – Jen St. Jude (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75)
• Forever Is Now – Mariama J. Lockington (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75)

4 – 4.75 stars:

• Only This Beautiful Moment – Abdi Nazemian (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
• The Girl from the Sea – Molly Knox Ostertag (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
• Even Though I Knew the End – C.L. Polk (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
• Cloud Parliament – Olivia A. Cole (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
• Meru (The Alloy Era, #1) – S.B. Divya (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
• Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure – Lewis Hancox (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
• Painted Devils (Little Thieves, #2) – Margaret Owen (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25)

FAVORITE BOOK OF THE MONTH – Painted Devils – 4.25 stars

POSTS I’M PROUD OF:

• I had fun reviewing If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come, Meru, and Flowerheart!
• More music rambling! Here are my Sunday Songs for 6/4, 6/11, and 6/25.
• It’s that time of year again! Here are my YA pride month recs for 2023.
• I had a ton of fun with the LGBTQ+ Historical Icons Book Tag!

POSTS FROM OTHER WONDERFUL PEOPLE THAT I’VE ENJOYED:

• Chris @ Biblio Nerd Reflections posted about his favorite LGBTQ+ books since last year’s pride!
• Gauri @ A Book and a Chai made a great list of 2023 books by queer Asian authors!
• Regina @ Bookish in Bed had a great take on the Book Adaptations Tag!
• Casey @ femaleinferno wrote a great review of The Disasters!

SONGS/ALBUMS THAT I’VE BEEN ENJOYING:

Today’s song:

That’s it for this month in blogging! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!