July 2018 Month in Review

August 1, 2018

Newsworthy

July was a shockingly calm month as far as social engagements are concerned. I did get to spend time with some of my favorite people for the 4th of July; many of whom I hadn’t seen in months. I went to a few meals with friends, and, of course, all my book clubs. But there was a lot of time at home. Why?

Farm season is at peak production. That means Farmer Husband is caring for chickens (he raises pasture raised happy birds), fruits, and vegetables. The chickens are 6 weeks old and we are preparing for batch number 2 to arrive. As far as food is concerned, this month we canned quite a few pickles, radishes, and green beans. We also dehydrated squash, kiwi, and tomatoes. Finally, I made some elderflower liquor, too! Keeping up with all the incoming crops has been a daunting and exhausting task. For example, last Monday they harvested 100 pounds of tomatoes. Let’s just say I’m getting quite good at food prep.

Attendance at Concerts on the Square has remained strong. Tonight is the final concert of the season, which is both super exciting for the content and heartbreaking because it’s over. This is my own personal trigger that Summer is ending. But that means fall is on the way! I couldn’t be more excited for cool evenings, crisp fall fruits and vegetable, and snuggling in with a good book. Bring it on.

Both non-profit boards I participate in had retreats this month. For one of them, this was my last interaction with them. It’s a bittersweet exit for me. They need all the help they can get, and this is a cause I love and support wholly– only I just don’t have the emotional bandwidth or time they need from my role. I’ll still be involved tangentially, which is good. It’s time for me to get some self-care in. Like most of us, I’m not great at that. XD

Work is getting intense. I love my job, but we’re changing how everything works. This is an awesome opportunity! I get to more-or-less build my job into whatever I want it to be. That said, the bar for success is constantly rising. I swear, if my role went on the market today I wouldn’t qualify for this job. There will be a lot of long hours put in over the next few months. It’ll be exhausting, but soooo worth it.

 

List of Reads

I don’t know how I managed to read 12 books this month! There have been quite a few ups and downs, for sure.

July Books:

Read – 12 total books

 

 

 

MUST READ this month:

Sweet Bean Paste – I’ve been wanting to read this for months since I saw reviews for Sweet BeanPaste on reviewed by both Evelina @ Avalinah’s Books and Dani @ Perspective of a Writer. A heart-warming story about finding yourself, your passion, and throwing off the assumptions and expectations of others, I highly recommend this book. There’s even a film! I am looking forward to watching that too.

Meh. I wasn’t into it this month:

Panel to Screen   Confession: I slogged through reading a few pages here and there over two years to finish this book. Why? Because it’s an ARC and I felt obligated to read it. Lessons learned. This book was far too academic for me and my interests. I was looking for a creative exploration into the thought process of converting comics to live-action. Instead, I got the technical aspects which make it possible for this transference to occur. Pass.

July TBR:

  • Our Shared Shelf  – Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
  • Kids Lit – Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit
  • West Side Stories – Janesville: An American Story by Amy Goldstein
  • Brunch Books – Hello, Universe! by Erin Entrada Kelly
  • VACB Book Club – A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
  • Science Fiction/Fantasy Book ClubDragon Wing by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  • The Great Newbery Challenge – Tales from Silver Lands by Charles Hawes
  • Buddy ReadThe Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

2018 Reading Goal Updates: 

  • Overall 2018 Reading Challenge: 64/80 (80% complete)
  • State of the ARC Reading Challenge: 8/8 (100%) (Stretch Goal: 12)
  • Total Non-Fiction Books Read: 7 (10% of total read books; goal = 10% of my overall reading challenge)
  • 2018 Great Newbery Challenge: 9/20 (45% complete)
  • Bonus Goal: Read-Along Participation 0/1

After worrying about my ARC reading goals and adjusting them, it seems I’ve blown it out of the water this month! I had originally set my goal to read 12 ARCs, reduced it to 8, and now I’m at 8 already?! Well, that’s because I took a long, hard look at my relationship with NetGalley. These are the results. (And, no, I didn’t count the DNF in this list.)

Just because I’ve hit my non-fiction goal doesn’t mean I can slack! My goal is 10% of my overall read books, meaning I need to at least read one more nonfiction book this year. But I’m on track to surpass my 80 books… I’ll keep an eye on this goal for sure.

I’m on one a quest to read two Newbery winners a month to achieve my goal for this year. I’m hoping that Bout of Books later this month can help me catch up with that goal! It’s my hope by the end of August I’m ahead of schedule a wee bit.

You can follow The Great Newbery Challenge over the years here.

 

Tsundoku Life

It wouldn’t be tsundoku if I didn’t have a gigantic pile of books and bookish things going on in my life!

On the Blog:

I feel great about the state of the blog right now. Things aren’t perfect, but posts are in a much better place. I’ve finally gotten into the swing of things a bit and I finally understand a rhythm for writing and publishing posts. Comments and book reviews? Well, not so much. But those will come in time.

Book Reviews

Death by Tsundoku Series Posts

Top Ten Tuesday

Other Posts

Blog Goal Updates:

  • 1/3 of blog posts are reviews each month  (July-Dec): 1/6 (16%)
  • New sets of discussion questions: 6/12 (50%)
  • Total series posts (July-Dec): 4/18 (22%)
    • Solving for Tsundoku: 2
    • Building Better Book Clubs: 1
    • Between the Lines: 1
  • Project: Blog = Solace and Joy
    • I definitely prioritized my blogging this month and worked on developing a schedule for reviews and posting. Here’s what I’m hoping to follow going forward:
      • Sunday – Blog for a few hours; draft posts for the week
      • Monday – Write a book review
      • Wednesday – Blog for a few hours; finalize any incomplete posts
      • Friday – Write a book review
      • Saturday – Write a book review
    • So far, I’m been really good about setting aside the time above, but not great about sticking to the topic. I’ve used that time for commenting, blog hopping, and writing posts instead of book reviews. It’s a good start, though!

 

Blog Projects and News

Annual Goal Refresh: I finished the Annual Goal refresh with Part 2 in early July. While I don’t feel as solid about my blogging goals compared to my reading goals, I’m glad I took some time to ponder these. I know that my blog goals will need more work in the future. But for now? They’re moving along the right path.

Um. Might my blog be fixed? Sigh. Well, I did some tweaking and I feel like I fixed absolutely nothing… but no one has provided feedback that my blog is a hot mess lately. So… I must have done something right? We shall see. Let me know if you see something weird! I don’t trust technology.

Second blog?! I made a brilliant life choice and I’ll be starting a second blog next month (we did a ton of prep work this month!) with my friend Nic. What is it about? Not books, that’s for sure. And it’s not helping my waistline. More details to come next month! This is either the best or worst idea I’ve had in a long time. XD

So many read along options! I couldn’t be more excited to see all sorts of read-alongs popping up! I’ve got a potential three stand-alone buddy reads set up with blogger friends, a readathon or two lined up for the end of the year, AND a serious potential reading commitment with another blogger friend who will no doubt challenge me and push me to be amazing reading 1.5 billion books (okay, only 12). It’s going to be amazing. I AM SO EXCITED. I want to do them ALLLLLL. A HUGE thank you to Danielle @ Books, Vertigo & Tea, Laila @ Big Reading Life, Evelina @ Avalinah’s Books, Melanie @ Grab the Lapels, and Annemieke @ A Dance with Books for being potential enablers for these efforts. I couldn’t be more excited to embark on these possibilities with you!

 

Over half the year has passed now and we’re descending towards the new year. It’s many moons away, but I always find from July-October to fly by and suddenly it’s the end of the year! Here’s hoping we can all take some time to slow down and appreciate the beautiful days and wonderful moments we have coming up. I know I’m going to be trying for that! Here’s hoping August is full of joy, books, and fun.

Happy Reading,

Jackie B.

Jackie B Forman


What do you think?

  • Have you noticed my blog acting odd or taking you to a weird homepage?
  • Did you discover any amazing new reads in June? What are your recommendations?
  • What is the last book you stayed up late reading because you couldn’t put it down?
  • What do you think of my Building Better Book Clubs menu?

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