August Wrap Up!

Welcome to another post, here’s my wrap up for August: books, music, TV and more!

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I read 14 books this month, which is insane for me. I was only aiming to read 6 books, but somehow I managed to more than double that. I think it was mostly down to my holiday and procrastinating from all the work I’ve meant to have done already oops. I also took part in the Indian readathon (check out my TBR and wrap up if you’re interested). It definitely made me want to take part in some more!

Let’s start with the good books first:

5 star reads

The Poppy War: I’ve never properly talked about The Poppy War on my blog and what I liked about it. Well, I loved Rin as a morally grey character and how her decisions could be horrible and unforgivable but also understandable? I did not realise it would get that dark though, at first we’re in an academy with a mortal enemy, best friend, crush and wacky teacher, and then suddenly it’s all war and death (a lot of death). I really appreciated how Kuang explored elements of history in a fantasy setting too: it’s based off the Sino-Japanese War and includes some horrific events like the Rape of Nanjing. Just a warning, there’s a lot of dark content, so here’s a list of trigger warnings if you need it.

Circe: I’ve already talked about this in my Greece holiday post. Still not over it. 😍

Small Island: I wasn’t expecting to like this so much! I wrote a review very recently about that, so you can check it out and I’ll leave it there, but I definitely recommend it.

Heartstopper series: Okay, so I ended up binge reading all of Heartstopper in one day. It was such a cute and light read which I really needed. However, it does explore lots of issues really well, like homophobia, biphobia, consent and eating disorders. And there’s so many sexualities and identities represented, I was so shocked and pleased to see it (every author needs to step up to Alice’s level).

4 star reads

After Dark: This was a short and strange read, which left me with lots of questions – just the kind of book I love. It was a good introduction into magical realism and I want to dive into some of Murakami’s most well-known books now.

Mythos: A great introduction into the crazy world of Greek myths, with horny gods (Zeus I’m looking at you), cruel goddesses and arrogant humans. It’s a mix for disaster and I loved seeing it all unfold.

The Namesake: I actually rated this 3.5 but I’m not about to make another section just for this. It gave me a better insight into the immigrant experience which I really value, but I didn’t like the structure or characters enough to give it more.

Aru Shah and the End of Time: I loved this middle grade. It is quite rushed and the humour is hit and miss (obviously I’m not the intended audience but some parts were actually really funny), but the characters are so precious and it was really fun to read. Indian mythology too!

3 star reads

The Mercies: I originally rated this 4 stars, but I think it’s more of a 3/3.5, just because it was a bit slow and I didn’t get loads of the romance I was promised. Still, I did enjoy it!

Sea of Poppies: I’m still unsure of my rating, because I read it through audiobook and I forgot half of the story oops but it was okay. It did explore colonialism so I think it’s an important read, just not a very interesting one.

The Shining: I rated this 3.5 as well. I’m sorry but it just wasn’t that scary. I liked how it was very character driven though, so you got to know each character well and really root for them. However, it did drag in some places and there was lots of unnecessary racist language. I just watched the film too and it’s a bit scarier but I really hated how the portrayed Danny’s shining (but you can’t cut it out because it’s literally the title?) and they killed off a character who was crucial to the book ending so I’m mad at both of them!!

2 star reads

The White Tiger: Another one that I changed later on, but I just really didn’t like it so sadly I couldn’t rate it more than 2.

I read a mix of genres this month, with lots of books I wouldn’t normally read but tried thanks to the Indian readathon and my library! I’m really happy with August, and I know September is going to be a lot busier and I’ll have less time to read, so I’m glad I got a chance to read now.

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Other: Music, TV etc.

A few TV shows I’ve been watching this month are: Control Z, Kingdom, The House of Flowers and Canada’s Drag Race. I’ve watched a lot less Netflix than I normally do but I definitely want to start some new shows next month, like The Umbrella Academy and Hollywood!!

My favourite album released in August is Creeper’s Sex, Death and the Infinite Void, which I’ve added to almost all of my playlists. I haven’t talked about music much on here but I love it so much. 🥰

Another thing I’ve discovered is Tapas, which is kinda reading but let’s pretend it’s not. Tapas is an app/website with loads of comics and graphic novels. The ones I’m reading right now are: Buuza!!, Fangs, Finding Home and The Sea in You. The art is so amazing I wish I was that talented.

I also went on holiday to Greece for a week! You can read my experience here. Apart from that, I’ve seen a few friends on the beach and reluctantly started revision for mocks in September. It’s been a busy and chill month?

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Thanks for reading! How was your August?

—ella♥