Tag: July

Posted in Monthly Wrap-Ups

July 2022 Wrap-Up 🫠

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles!

As you can see above, the melting emoji represents my slow melting, a la the Wicked Witch of the West, because July in Colorado always threatens to melt me into a slushy puddle. At least we got some rain. (And hail, one time? got enough that it looked like snow in certain parts of the yard…)

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

Hot as it was, I’d say that July was another good month of summer. I’ve had tons more time to read and relax, and even though college is always on my mind nowadays, the time off has been good to collect my thoughts. I’ve gone hiking a few times, seen some fun movies, and tried to exercise a little more.

I got to read tons this month, and although it was generally a mixed bag (a lot more books in the 3-star range than usual), I still found some gems in the mix. For Disability Pride Month, I tried to focus on books with disabled characters, and I’ve found some reads with great disability rep—including the first book I’ve ever read with SPD rep! (Thanks, Carolyn Mackler!!) Camp NanoWriMo is nearly over—it’s had its ups and downs (couldn’t find the stats page for a while and fell behind on my word count, hit command v instead of command b and accidentally pasted the whole Pinnochio trailer into my document), but I’m so close to 45,000 words now!!

Other than that, I’ve just been playing my guitar, recovering from the last two episodes of Stranger Things (OW), seeing Thor: Love and Thunder (pure Taika Waititi fun), drawing, and listening to an excess of Peter Gabriel.

Also, I figured I’d give everybody an update on Ringo, since I haven’t posted about him much since we got him; he’s 7 months old now and even more of a menace to society, but he has the sweetest face…

the face of a serial foot biter

READING AND BLOGGING:

I read 25 books this month! This is probably gonna be the most books I’ll be able to read in a month, since it’s the middle of summer. It was a mixed bag, as always, but I found a few amazing 5-star reads in the bunch.

1 – 1.75 stars:

Among Thieves

2 – 2.75 stars:

Fortune Favors the Dead

3 – 3.75 stars:

Breathe and Count Back from Ten

4 – 4.75 stars:

Not If I Can Help It

5 stars:

The Reckless Kind

FAVORITE BOOK OF THE MONTH: The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects – 5 stars

The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects

POSTS I’M PROUD OF :

POSTS FROM OTHER WONDERFUL PEOPLE THAT I ENJOYED:

SONGS/ALBUMS THAT I ENJOYED:

yeah spoiler alert I did listen to more Peter Gabriel
Kate Bush is hit or miss for me but when she hits it for me she HITS it
going through an 80’s period this month I guess??
HOOOOOOOOOOOWEE time go to back to my sad girl roots
I haven’t listened to much Japanese Breakfast but I fell in love with this one INSTANTLY
MORE PETER GABRIEL BC I LOVED SO
I really need to listen to more IDLES bc I’ve loved every song I’ve heard of theirs

DID I FOLLOW THROUGH ON MY JULY GOALS?

  • Read at least 20 books: 25!
  • Get through Camp NaNoWriMo: We’ll see about that later tonight…

GOALS FOR AUGUST:

  • Get through the first few weeks of college (AAAAAA)
  • Enjoy my birthday (which also happens to be on the first day of classes…yeehaw😀)

Today’s song:

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

Posted in Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: July 18-24, 2022

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope this week has treated you well.

I suppose this week hasn’t been terribly eventful. I’ve been able to read and draw more often, and I’ve been learning an unexpectedly challenging song on guitar (it’s “Held” by Smog if you’re interested—who knew that 4 chords could be so infuriating) Aside from a weird dream that I had yesterday (and waking up at midnight to screeching foxes in the backyard—welcome to Colorado 😀) that threw me off, I’d say it’s been a nice, peaceful week, one where I could soak up some more summer.

Reading-wise, I’d say it’s been a solid week. I started off with a fantastic book and the first book I’ve ever read with SPD rep (thank you, Not If I Can Help It!!), and while the rest of what I read didn’t get as good as that, I enjoyed the majority of what I read. I came back from the library with a few nice, thick books, so next week should be a promising reading week.

And now I’m a good three weeks into Camp NaNoWriMo! For most of the week, I got to a slower part in the plot of my WIP, and my motivation teetered off a little before I got excited again. There’s something invigorating to me about writing really tense scenes—I feel like my fingers just start speeding across the keys whenever the tension starts to ramp up.

Other than that, I’ve just been drawing, trying to play said Smog song on guitar (insert the sound of my finger squeaking on the high E string here), catching up on the new season of The Umbrella Academy, and listening to the new Superorganism and Jack White albums. (Superorganism was definitely hit or miss, but Jack White…man, as much as I want to hate him, Entering Heaven Alive is just SO GOOD)

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK:

Not If I Can Help It – Carolyn Mackler (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

The Final Strife – Saara El-Arifi (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Follow Your Arrow – Jessica Verdi (⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Fortune Favors the Dead (Pentecost and Parker, #1) – Stephen Spotswood (⭐️⭐️.5)

Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling – Lucy Frank (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Breathe and Count Back from Ten – Natalia Sylvester (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75, rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

POSTS AND SUCH:

SONGS:

CURRENTLY READING/TO READ NEXT WEEK:

She Who Became the Sun – Shelley Parker-Chan

Man o’ War – Cory McCarthy

The Blood Trials (The Blood Gift Duology, #1) – N.E. Davenport

Ophelia After All – Racquel Marie

Today’s song:

found this in episode 5 of The Umbrella Academy and I love it!!

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

Posted in Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: July 11-17, 2022

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope this week has treated you well.

Everything’s been coming into perspective as far as college goes (AAAAAAAAAA) this week, so there have been Feelings aplenty…but I picked out my choices for classes and I’m picking them officially tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll be able to get the ones I want. (There was a whole comics class??? need that) I’ve been able to hike a little bit more this week as well, so that’s always nice to get outside when it’s warm. And not getting mosquito bites this week from said hiking was a relief.

I read a whole bunch last week and my momentum slowed down a little this week. The first two books I read were good, but the last two I’ve read have been underwhelming. I got a big batch of promising looking books at the library yesterday, and I know I say that every single week, but one of them happens to be the only book I’ve managed to find with SPD rep (Not If I Can Help It), so I’m hoping that’s good.

I’m halfway through Camp NaNoWriMo now! It took me an embarrassingly long time to find the stats section of the website, so it turned out I’d gotten behind on my word count; I found it eventually, and I’ve been able to get back on my feet and get back on track.

Other than that, I’ve been drawing, playing guitar, rewatching Raising Arizona (insert John Goodman screaming here) and watching Thor: Love and Thunder (always fun), and continuing to listen to an excess of Peter Gabriel. (I listened to all of So while cleaning the bathroom yesterday…of course I ended up getting choked up listening to “Don’t Give Up” while scrubbing the sink down 💀)

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK:

Mean Little Deaf Queer: A Memoir – Terry Galloway (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75, rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

The King and the Corpse – Heinrich Zimmer, edited by Joseph Campbell (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

The Circus Infinite – Khan Wong (⭐️⭐️.5)

The Space Between Worlds – Micaiah Johnson (⭐️⭐️.5)

POSTS AND SUCH:

SONGS:

CURRENTLY READING/TO READ NEXT WEEK:

Not If I Can Help It – Carolyn Mackler

The Final Strife – Saara El-Arifi

Follow Your Arrow – Jessica Verdi

Fortune Favors the Dead – Stephen Spotswood

Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling – Lucy Frank

Today’s song:

my favorite song on So – lots of sweet memories of my parents playing this in the car when I was little

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

Posted in Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: June 27 – July 3, 2022

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! Hope this week has treated you well.

Whew, it’s definitely been an eventful week—good and bad. On the bright side, I went shopping for a bunch of stuff for my dorm room, and I had a lot of fun!! I also went to jury duty for the first time (nerve-wracking, to say the least), and I went on a hike on Friday…and we got charged at by a moose calf. Welcome to Colorado. (Don’t worry—it swerved into the woods as soon as it saw us lol)

As far as reading went, I’ve had tons of fun reading in the hammock, and most of what I’ve read has been decent, at least, save for one unfortunate DNF (as much as I enjoyed Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth was way more convoluted than necessary and just ended up being a chore to read). I got some more great books at the library, and they all look promising. And Camp NaNoWriMo started later this week, so I’ve been chugging along through my newest WIP!

Other than that, I’ve just been drawing, getting caught in the rain, listening to a bit too much Peter Gabriel, and watching the last two episodes of Stranger Things (NO SPOILERS PLEASE I’M WATCHING THE LAST EPISODE TONIGHT)

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK:

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea – Axie Oh (⭐️⭐️.5)

The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin – Kip Wilson (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25)

Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster – Andrea Mosqueda (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75, rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

The Atlas Six (The Atlas, #1) – Olivie Blake (⭐️⭐️⭐️.25)

Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #2) – Tamsyn Muir (DNF – ⭐️⭐️)

POSTS AND SUCH:

SONGS:

CURRENTLY READING/TO READ NEXT WEEK:

Bluebird – Ciel Pierlot

The Ghosts We Keep – Mason Deaver

Alone in Space: A Collection – Tillie Walden

Among Thieves – M.J. Kuhn

Today’s song:

good GOD I’m obsessed with this song

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

Posted in Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: July 26 – August 1, 2021

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles, and happy first day of August! I hope this week has treated you all well.

I feel like this week has been nice and productive – I read a lot, I finished up Camp NaNoWriMo and passed my word count goal, and I’m almost done with all my summer homework! As far as the reading itself, it’s all been in the 3-4 star range, which I’m not complaining about.

I had a lot of fun blogging this week too – I loved making my Popular YA Books that I Couldn’t Get on Board With post (linked under “Posts and Such”), and I had a lot of fun reviewing and cataloguing some of my books.

Other than that, I did some hiking on Friday, drew, and watched Yellow Submarine! (OKAY BUT THE “LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS” SEQUENCE AAAAH) I’m also going to go see The Green Knight this evening, which I’m pretty excited about!

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds from Yellow Submarine | Aesthetic animation, Beatles painting, Yellow submarine
I could go on and on about this movie

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK:

In Deeper Waters – F.T. Lukens (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

In Deeper Waters | Book by F.T. Lukens | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster

The Boy Who Steals Houses – C.G. Drews (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

The Boy Who Steals House by C.G. Drews – Great Escape Books

The Magic Fish – Trung Le Nguyen (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen: 9780593125298 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

Sorrowland – Rivers Solomon (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Sorrowland | Rivers Solomon | First Edition

The Iron Woman (The Iron Man, #2) – Ted Hughes (⭐️⭐️⭐️)

The Iron Woman by Ted Hughes

What’s Your Pronoun?: Beyond He and She – Dennis Baron (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Amazon.com: What's Your Pronoun?: Beyond He and She (9781631496042): Baron, Dennis: Books

POSTS AND SUCH:

SONGS:

CURRENTLY READING/TO READ NEXT WEEK:

The Fell of Dark – Caleb Roehrig

Amazon.com: The Fell of Dark eBook: Roehrig, Caleb: Kindle Store

The Tiger at Midnight – Swati Teerdhala

Amazon.com: The Tiger at Midnight (Tiger at Midnight, 1) (9780062869210): Teerdhala, Swati: Books

The Lifeline Signal (Chameleon Moon, #2) – RoAnna Sylver

The Lifeline Signal (Chameleon Moon, #2) by RoAnna Sylver

Queen of Coin and Whispers – Helen Corcoran

Buy Queen of Coin and Whispers: A kingdom of secrets and a game of lies Book Online at Low Prices in India | Queen of Coin and Whispers: A kingdom of secrets

Forgotten Star – Colin Weldon

Amazon.com: Forgotten Star eBook: Weldon, Colin: Kindle Store

Today’s song:

man I haven’t listened to this since…6th grade or something

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

Posted in Monthly Wrap-Ups

July 2021 Wrap-Up ☀️

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Saturday, bibliophiles!

Second month of summer? Hotter than I would’ve liked for it to be, but summer is summer. And this July was a good one, so I’m not complaining. (Except for when it’s 80 degrees in my room, even with the fan on and all the windows open…)

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

It’s been a fairly productive July for me, I’d say! I have nearly all of my summer homework done, and I had a lot of time to blog and do the things I like to do.

I got back into Camp NaNoWriMo this month as well! After a little trouble with fixing up my word count goal, I got back on track and reached my goal a few days ago! As far as that WIP goes, I’m nearing 250 pages, and I’m just past 66,000 words! It’s already a lot shorter than my first draft, which is…most certainly a good thing, because my first draft was nearly 600 pages long, and a good portion of it was filler. Guess I’ve learned from that…

writing a letter to you on We Heart It

This is also the first July that I had any idea that it was disability pride month! I looked around my TBR for some books with disability rep to read (and I’ll continue to look – always on the hunt for good disability rep!), and I’ve found some fantastic books as a result. And as always: AMPLIFY DISABLED VOICES 24/7/365. 💗

Other than that, I’ve just been drawing, watching Loki (AAAAAAAH) and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, going to the movies for the first time in ages, doing a little hiking, and attempting to cool down my room before I go to sleep. Also, after several years and at least 3-4 people begging that I watch it, I finally started watching Gravity Falls! Good stuff so far, I’m only about a quarter of the way through season 1, but I’m liking it, for the most part.

And it’s nearly August now! Leo season…

Leo GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

Also, I finally watched Yellow Submarine last night, and I LOVED IT! My eyes kinda hurt, but it was worth it for all the Beatles goodness.

Thebeatles Yellowsubmarine GIF - Thebeatles Beatles Yellowsubmarine - Discover & Share GIFs

READING AND BLOGGING:

I read 25 books this month! I think July has been my best reading month of the year, but at the cost of the first two DNFs of the year being among the ranks. At least I got to write a rant review about one of them. That was fun.

I also reached 450 followers recently, so thank you all!! 💗

1 – 1.75 stars:

Amazon.com: Off Balance (Aunare Chronicles Book 2) eBook: Erin, Aileen: Kindle Store
Off Balance (Aunare Chronicles, #2)

Miss Benson’s Beetle – Rachel Joyce (DNF – ⭐️)

Off Balance (Aunare Chronicles, #2) – Aileen Erin (DNF – ⭐️)

2 – 2.75 stars:

Amazon.com: The Gilded Ones (9781984848697): Forna, Namina: Books
The Gilded Ones

A Dark and Hollow Star – Ashley Shuttleworth (⭐️⭐️.5)

Circe – Madeline Miller (⭐️⭐️.5)

The Gilded Ones (Deathless, #1) – Namina Forna (⭐️⭐️.75)

3 – 3.75 stars:

Amazon.com: The Never Tilting World (Never Tilting World, 1) (9780062821799): Chupeco, Rin: Books
The Never Tilting World

Earth Abides – George R. Stewart (⭐️⭐️⭐️)

The Iron Giant – Ted Hughes (⭐️⭐️⭐️)

It’s My Life – Stacie Ramey (⭐️⭐️⭐️)

The Iron Woman – Ted Hughes (⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Fable (Fable, #1) – Adrienne Young (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Invincible: Compendium One – Robert Kirtman, Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

In Deeper Waters – F.T. Lukens (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

The Boy Who Steals Houses – C.G. Drews (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75)

The Never Tilting World (The Never Tilting World, #1) – Rin Chupeco (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75)

4 – 4.75 stars:

Gearbreakers (Gearbreakers, #1) by Zoe Hana Mikuta
Gearbreakers

Bookish and the Beast (Once Upon a Con, #3) – Ashley Poston (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Forest of Souls – Lori M. Lee (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Native Son – Richard Wright (for my school summer reading) (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

When You Were Everything – Ashley Woodfolk (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

The Magic Fish – Trung Le Nguyen (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Sorrowland – Rivers Solomon (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

What’s Your Pronoun?: Beyond He and She – Dennis Baron (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Spellhacker – M.K. England (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Gearbreakers (Gearbreakers, #1) – Zoe Hana Mikuta (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Sick Kids in Love – Hannah Moskowitz (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

FAVORITE BOOK OF THE MONTH: Sick Kids in Love – 4.5 stars

Amazon.com: Sick Kids In Love (9781640637320): Moskowitz, Hannah: Books

SOME POSTS I’M PROUD OF:

POSTS I ENJOYED FROM OTHER WONDERFUL PEOPLE:

SONGS/ALBUMS THAT I’VE ENJOYED:

This is a fantastic album
pretty solid for a debut EP!
CREEP 2 CREEP 2 CREEP 2
Soccer Mommy turning into a Mii wasn’t on my 2021 bingo card but here we are
✨transcendent✨

DID I FOLLOW THROUGH ON MY JULY GOALS?

exactly how i feel... | Funny gif, Chibird, Cute gif
  • Read at least 20 books: 25!
  • Get into Camp NaNoWriMo for the sci-fi WIP: did it, and I reached my goal!
  • Don’t melt into a puddle from the heat: …uh, debatable…

GOALS FOR AUGUST:

Star Wars Birthday GIFs | Tenor
  • Read at least 20 books
  • Enjoy the last few weeks of summer!
  • Start the school year off on a good note!
  • ENJOY MY BIRTHDAY (I mean, I never don’t enjoy my birthdays, but yeah, my birthday’s in August so)

Today’s song:

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

Posted in Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: July 19-25, 2021

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope this week has treated you well.

This week…could’ve been better for me, if I’m being honest, but it picked up in the end. It was mostly just Tuesday that bogged me down. Remember that writing contest I entered back in April? I ended up checking back on it (they didn’t send an email for some reason??) and the short story I wrote didn’t end up placing. I specifically remember saying that I was expecting not to win, and yeah, I tried not to get my hopes up, but…yeah, well, I’m not very good at handling these things.

Sound Gear GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY

Eh, well, all I can do is tweak that short story, keep on writing, and try again. I’m at least proud of myself for putting myself out there…

Reading-wise, I’ve mostly been reading some books that family friends lent to us (thank you!) and some stuff from the comic shop. I got a nice library haul yesterday, so it looks like next week will be promising!

Writing-wise, I’ve mostly stayed on track with Camp NaNoWriMo (I’m almost to my goal now!!), even though being depressed all Tuesday sapped my energy. I’m getting to a good place in my WIP though – I just passed about 220ish pages last night!

Other than that, I’ve been drawing a bit, getting the last of my summer homework done, learning some new songs on guitar, obsessing over my new bees in Minecraft, watching The Devil’s Backbone (Guillermo del Toro likes his Tennyson, huh?), picking back up in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and volunteering at the library.

Arrested Development Heavenly Fathers GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY
Two Gob gifs in a row…oops

And I just got to 450 followers! Jeez, I can’t believe it…THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH 💗

feelings, love and cat - image #6773437 on Favim.com

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK:

The Never Tilting World (The Never Tilting World, #1) – Rin Chupeco (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75, rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Amazon.com: The Never Tilting World (Never Tilting World, 1) (9780062821799): Chupeco, Rin: Books

Earth Abides – George R. Stewart (⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Earth Abides: A Novel: Stewart, George R.: 9780345487131: Amazon.com: Books

Invincible: Compendium One – Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Invincible Compendium Volume 1 – Get Ready Comics

Circe – Madeline Miller (⭐️⭐️.5)

Amazon.com: CIRCE eBook: Miller, Madeline: Kindle Store

The Iron Giant (originally The Iron Man) – Ted Hughes (⭐️⭐️⭐️)

The Iron Giant - Kindle edition by Hughes, Ted, Davidson, Andrew. Children Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

It’s My Life – Stacie Ramey (⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Amazon.com: It's My Life (9781492694526): Ramey, Stacie: Books

POSTS AND SUCH:

SONGS:

CURRENTLY READING/TO READ NEXT WEEK:

In Deeper Waters – F.T. Lukens

Amazon.com: In Deeper Waters (9781534480506): Lukens, F.T.: Books

The Boy Who Steals Houses – C.G. Drews

Amazon.com: The Boy Who Steals Houses (9781408349922): Drews, C.G.: Books

Sorrowland – Rivers Solomon

Sorrowland | Rivers Solomon | First Edition

The Magic Fish – Trung Le Nguyen

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen: 9780593125298 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

The Iron Woman (The Iron Man, #2) – Ted Hughes

The Iron Woman by Ted Hughes

Today’s song:

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

Posted in Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: July 12 – 18, 2021

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope this week has treated you well.

I’ve had another quiet week this week, for the most part. Just some summer homework, reading, all that. It’s been getting super hot over here, but I’ve been reading inside and outside.

Reading-wise, I’d say I had a pretty good week. I’ve only had one read that I didn’t like, and I finished the book that my English class assigned for summer homework (Native Son). I also got to go to the comic shop, so I got through a few single issues too! I have a really big one waiting as well…

As far as writing goes, I finally figured out the deal with the word count for my NaNoWriMo goal, so I fixed that up to a manageable level. I’ve been making a whole lot of progress with my sci-fi WIP though! It’s getting close to 200 pages now…

Other than that, I’ve just been drawing, screaming with my friend about Fargo, finishing Loki (AAAH THAT FINALE), and volunteering at the library. I’m going to see Black Widow this afternoon too! I’m proud of myself for avoiding spoilers up until now…guess I’ve learned my lesson from Infinity War…

Vote Loki Loki Series Coming To Disney+ in May 202... - Tumbex

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK:

Fable (Fable, #1) – Adrienne Young (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Amazon.com: Fable: A Novel (Fable, 1) (9781250254368): Young, Adrienne: Books

Sick Kids in Love – Hannah Moskowitz (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Amazon.com: Sick Kids In Love (9781640637320): Moskowitz, Hannah: Books

A Dark and Hollow Star – Ashley Shuttleworth (⭐️⭐️.5)

Amazon.com: A Dark and Hollow Star (9781534453678): Shuttleworth, Ashley: Books

Native Son – Richard Wright (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Native Son by Richard Wright

When You Were Everything – Ashley Woodfolk (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Amazon.com: When You Were Everything (9781524715915): Woodfolk, Ashley: Books

POSTS AND SUCH:

SONGS:

CURRENTLY READING/TO READ NEXT WEEK:

The Never Tilting World – Rin Chupeco

Amazon.com: The Never Tilting World (Never Tilting World, 1) (9780062821799): Chupeco, Rin: Books

Earth Abides – George R. Stewart

Earth Abides: A Novel: Stewart, George R.: 9780345487131: Amazon.com: Books

Circe – Madeline Miller

Amazon.com: CIRCE eBook: Miller, Madeline: Kindle Store

Invincible: Compendium One – Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley

Invincible Compendium Volume 1

Today’s song:

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

Posted in Books

YA Books for Disability Pride Month

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Thursday, bibliophiles!

For those of you who didn’t know, here in the US, July is Disability Pride Month! I myself didn’t know about it until this year, which is a little embarrassing, but better late than never, I suppose. I hardly see anyone in the bookish community talking about disability rep in books – especially where YA is concerned – so I wanted to make a post of my own with some YA reads with disability rep of all kinds. Unfortunately, not all of them are from disabled authors, but it seems like there’s such a dearth of disability rep in YA as a whole, so for now, I’ll share these ones, and I’ll always be on the hunt for more books by disabled authors in the future. But as with all of my posts like this, AMPLIFY DISABLED VOICES 24/7/365!

And if you’re looking for book bloggers who talk about disability, disability rep, and breaking down ableist tropes, I’d highly recommend checking out Luminosity Library and The Inside Cover. (They’re both amazing!! Show them some support!!)

So let’s begin, shall we?

Pride Wheelchair Sticker for iOS & Android | GIPHY
the fact that I can barely find any disability pride gifs…that’s depressing…

YA READS FOR DISABILITY PRIDE MONTH

Six of Crows – Leigh Bardugo

Amazon.com: Six of Crows eBook: Bardugo, Leigh: Kindle Store

GENRES: Fantasy, romance, LGBTQ+, adventure

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Kaz Brekker (otherwise known as the “morally gray” teen idol of the YA book fandom) uses a cane for mobility (and it’s a really snazzy cane, too), and his experiences are based off of Leigh Bardugo’s own experience with osteonecrosis.

Sick Kids in Love – Hannah Moskowitz

Amazon.com: Sick Kids In Love (9781640637320): Moskowitz, Hannah: Books

GENRES: Contemporary, romance, LGBTQ+, realistic fiction

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I just finished this one up a few days ago, and it was INCREDIBLE! I don’t usually jump for rom-com, but this was one of the most tender books I’ve read in a while. Gave me all the warm fuzzies…

The protagonist has rheumatoid arthritis, and the love interest has Gaucher’s disease. And lemme tell you, I GOT SO EXCITED THAT WE HAVE A DISABLED, BISEXUAL LOVE INTEREST. BI DISABLED CHARACTERS?? NO KIDDING, MY BRAIN DID THE “WOOOOOHOO” FROM SONG 2 WHEN I REALIZED IT…

Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens – Marieke Nijkamp et. al. (anthology)

Amazon.com: Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens (9780374306502): Nijkamp, Marieke: Books

GENRES: Anthologies (short stories), realistic fiction, LGBTQ+, fantasy, science fiction

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s been a while since I’ve read this one, so I can’t recall the stories that stood out to me, but this one has a whole load of perspectives from disabled authors, and there’s stories of all genres!

Mooncakes – Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu

Amazon.com: Mooncakes (9781549303043): Walker, Suzanne, Xu, Wendy: Books

GENRES: Graphic novel, urban fantasy, paranormal, LGBTQ+, romance

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THIS GRAPHIC NOVEL IS THE CUTEST. What’s not to love about a love story about a queer, hard-of-hearing witch and a nonbinary werewolf? The art is so lovely, I highly recommend this one for everybody.

Otherbound – Corinne Duyvis

Amazon.com: Otherbound eBook: Duyvis, Corinne: Kindle Store

GENRES: Fantasy, science fiction, LGBTQ+,

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Again, it’s been a while since I’ve read this one, but I LOVE how diverse this one is; we have the dual POVs of an epileptic Latino character with a missing leg and a mute bisexual girl who uses sign language to communicate. It’s an interesting blend of fantasy and sci-fi as well!

Love from A to Z – S.K. Ali

Amazon.com: Love from A to Z (9781534442726): Ali, S. K.: Books

GENRES: Contemporary, romance, realistic fiction

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Adam, the love interest of this novel, has multiple sclerosis, and both of the protagonists are Muslim; there’s a lot of great conversations about Islamaphobia and other pertinent issues in this one, but it’s also a really sweet romance!

The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily – Laura Creedle

The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily: Creedle, Laura: 9781328603661: Amazon.com: Books

GENRES: Contemporary, romance, realistic fiction

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one’s a romance between a girl with ADHD (the author has ADHD as well!) and an autistic boy, and like Love from A to Z, tackles a lot of discussions surrounding mental health and disability while still being a sweet romance!

Aurora Rising (Aurora Cycle, #1) – Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Aurora Rising: Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff: 9781786075338: Amazon.com: Books

GENRES: Science fiction, space opera, LGBTQ+, romance

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

(There is no escape from the Aurora Cycle-posting on this blog…)

Even though Finian’s disability is fictional (bc, y’know, he’s an alien), he uses mobility aids, and we get to see a lot of his inner thoughts surrounding his disability. Disability in realistic fiction is all cool and good, but it’s even better to see casual disability rep in fantasy and sci-fi too!

Queens of Geek – Jen Wilde

Amazon.com: Queens of Geek (9781250111395): Wilde, Jen: Books

GENRES: Contemporary, realistic fiction, LGBTQ+, romance

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Queens of Geek features a protagonist with Asperger’s and an anxiety disorder, and there’s lots of queer and POC representation in this one as well! If you love stories set at Comic Cons with lots of pop culture references, then this one’s for you!

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! What are your favorite books with disability rep? Favorite disabled authors? Any recommendations for me?

Girl Reading GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY

Today’s song:

Sophie Allison becoming a Mii wasn’t on my 2021 bingo card but I’m here for it

That’s it for this post! Have a wonderful rest of your day, take care of yourselves, and happy disability pride month!

Posted in Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: July 5-11 2021

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope this week has treated you all well.

This week’s been fairly quiet – lots of reading indoors and outdoors. I got through all of the books that I bought last week, plus a couple on my Kindle and a bit of my summer reading. Of course, I had another unfortunate DNF, which…why did I escape them in the first half of the year, only to have all of them in July?

Writing-wise, everything’s going fairly smooth! I think I’m…oh, maybe a third of the way through where I want to be with my WIP, and my word count’s steadily been going up!

Other than that, I’ve just been making some fan art, volunteering at the library, watching Loki, hiking, and watching one of my close friends get through Fargo. (She’s coming up on one of my favorite twists in season 3…) I also had my first in-person guitar lesson since the pandemic started, and it’s so good to be back!

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK:

The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75, rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

The Handmaid's Tale eBook by Margaret Atwood - 9780547345666 | Rakuten Kobo United States

Spellhacker – M.K. England (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Spellhacker by M.K. England

Forest of Souls (Shamanborn, #1) – Lori M. Lee (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Amazon.com: Forest of Souls (Shamanborn Series, 1) (9781624149245): Lee, Lori M.: Books

Gearbreakers – Zoe Hana Mikuta (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Gearbreakers eBook: Mikuta, Zoe Hana: Kindle Store - Amazon.com

Off Balance (Aunare Chronicles, #2) – Aileen Erin (DNF – ⭐️)

Amazon.com: Off Balance (Aunare Chronicles Book 2) eBook: Erin, Aileen: Kindle Store

POSTS AND SUCH:

SONGS:

CURRENTLY READING/TO READ NEXT WEEK:

Fable – Adrienne Young

Amazon.com: Fable: A Novel (Fable, 1) (9781250254368): Young, Adrienne: Books

When You Were Everything – Ashley Woodfolk

Amazon.com: When You Were Everything (9781524715915): Woodfolk, Ashley: Books

A Dark and Hollow Star – Ashley Shuttleworth

A Dark and Hollow Star eBook : Shuttleworth, Ashley: Amazon.in: Kindle Store

The Never Tilting World – Rin Chupeco

Amazon.com: The Never Tilting World (Never Tilting World, 1) (9780062821799): Chupeco, Rin: Books

Sick Kids in Love – Hannah Moskowitz

Amazon.com: Sick Kids In Love eBook: Moskowitz, Hannah: Kindle Store

Today’s song:

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