This week was super busy! My self-imposed art challenge is actually very time consuming, but on top of that, we had a lot of preparations and final details for my grandma’s 80th birthday, which is TODAY! I am glad she enjoyed the day and liked her presents as everyone tried their best with creative input and such. But it also means I once again almost forgot about trailer day, yet here we are. Let’s go!
I don’t know what it was at this point, cause it could be a number of reasons if we are being honest, but June was also just yet another weird month. I didn’t read as much, but I am still very much on track with my Goodreads reading challenge (probably, because for once I didn’t overshoot with the goal), so let’s start with the usual – the books I’ve read:
As per usual, click on the covers to get re-directed to Goodreads, where you are always welcome to add me as a reading buddy! My own reviews you’re able to find by clicking on the titles in the list above.
So, what else is new? My country, like many others, has mostly reopened … everything (?) now. Numbers have gone up since then, but mostly in certain clusters and not everywhere. Considering that I am living in a city with about 2 million citizens, we’re doing okay? I’ve just lost all ability to gauge how things are going, because it’s been going on for so long now. I’ll just have to continue to be patient and try to be kind to myself and others.
Because June was so utterly unmotivated in terms of creativity, I decided to set up a challenge for myself. I am doing a 30 Day Art Challenge (daily updates on my Insta and Twitter account if you want to follow them). It’s nothing too out of the ordinary, basically I’m challenging myself to write and draw SOMETHING every day for 30 days. I don’t think I will count blog posts towards the word count, as I am trying to really actively work on the Football WIP, but I don’t need to do a full on watercolor portrait every single day. A simple pencil sketch will also do. I’m going to use the #Kats30DayArtChallenge, if anyone wants to join in or needs motivation.
If you missed the art I posted this past month, here’s a selection of the ones I did (and yes, I know that I am not great at taking pics of my art):
There were a couple of really, really great shows this past month and I had a lot of fun binging them. My brain is still trying to process the fact that Dark is now over, but I intend to talk about it in an upcoming post. However, I think, my greatest TV obsession is currently Stargirl.
It’s this mix of CW ridiculousness and DC aesthetic, but it actually has great character exposition and moves along at a speedy but not rushed pace. I am really into it (hence, the upcoming Stargirl portrait series I am working on).
As almost per usual, I’ve unfortunately still not been as active as I would have liked to be on everyone else’s blog. If you are up for it, feel free to share one of your own posts that you consider one of your faves from this past month in the comments below! I’d love to check it out!!
I hope you have a great start into the month of July! Let’s chat about June if you want to! I’ll see you in the comments section.
It’s so hot right now and I am so tired from this day, I almost forgot to do the post! But, I didn’t, still going strong with my Trailer Sunday streak for a couple years now and shall not fail in 2020. Anyway, here’s the stuff I found.
I have not done this tag regularly, but a lot of my friends are apparently way more devoted to (book) blogging than me and are blessing my timeline with their takes on the Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag every single year, which is a look at our reading so far! So, I wasn’t technically tagged this time around either, but I saw so many people do it, that I just decided to join in on the fun (as I tend to do bi-annually). I have seen the questions vary a bit, but simply went with the ones I used in my 2018 version of this.
I didn’t give Normal People the highest rating, but it sure is the one book that just sticks with me. I’ll just go about my day and be reminded about it in some way and then find myself thinking about the characters for hours again. It sure has made an impact. (Read my review here)
I haven’t read very many series this year so far, which thankfully makes answering all the easier. I read both the first book in the series, Wicked Saints, as well as the sequel, Ruthless Gods, in 2020 and I have no regrets. I don’t know what exactly it is about these books that fascinates me so much, but I am having the time of my life getting tortured by them.
Alright, let’s not pretend that I am not always perpetually late to the party when it comes new releases. I almost want to call myself the queen of backlisted reads, but that would also not be entirely correct. I just don’t keep track of when things release, but just trust that I will find the right stuff eventually?
Anyway, I want to read A Song Below Water! I mean, yes please, set it in one of my homes away from home (Portland, Oregon) and fill it with sirens. I am so here for that!
There are a couple, but not a huge amount, of auto-buy authors out there for me. Nina LaCour is someone I’d read anything from. Give me a shopping list and I’d gladly take it. However, we are getting lucky and will have another emotionally charged and character driven release of hers coming up this year – Watch Over Me! I seriously cannot wait!!
It wasn’t the worst thing on the planet, but I really expected more from Again Again by E. Lockhart. Having read several of her previous books, this was such a letdown in comparison. Something about it just didn’t connect. (Read my review here)
Describing why this was a surprise is a little difficult, but having neither watched or read Anna Karenina before and associating with an old-timey classic had me surprised how much I liked Anna K. But it was always obvious to be set in modern day and just be a fresh take in general, so I don’t know why I was a bit nervous? (Read my review here)
Ben Philippe totally charmed me with his Field Guide to the North American Teenager and had me fall in love with his easy-flowing style of writing. He has another book scheduled to release later this year (Charming as a Verb) and yet another one for early 2021 (Sure, I’ll Be Your Black Friend) and I am just here for all of it. I am so glad I picked up his book!
Sorry to have to double down on an answer, but I kind of fell hard for Connell from Normal People. He was quiet and kind, genuinely just wanting people to like him and being afraid of what others might think of his choices. Sure, he had his flaws, but that just made him more real. The fact that they cast him perfectly in the TV adaptation with newcomer Paul Mescal was just the cherry on top.
I don’t make character aesthetics (except for my own peeps) very often these days, but Darlington from Ninth House got one. That means A LOT in my book! I just like charming boys with the potential for darkness they don’t want.
There’s a lot of other characters I liked too, such as Serefin from Wicked Saints, Madison from The Field Guide to the North American Teenager, Pepper from Tweet Cute … I am bad at picking faves.
I don’t think I cried because of a book this year yet, but Tyler Johnson Was Here had me close to tears multiple times. The subject matter is bound to do that to you for sure. (Read my review here)
Tweet Cute made me so happy. I found it during my peak obsession with Bon Appetit videos, so, the food component, twitter feud and flirty banter was EVERYTHING to me. The characters were so funny and I just had a great time with that book. (Read my review here)
I watched Little Women this year and even if I haven’t read the book, it’s my favourite adaptation and film and overall story. I just love it with all my heart.
I loved doing a series of posts where I talked about which book, movies and TV shows I made you watch and read. It reminds me that what I am doing here isn’t just shouting into the void, but actually talking to people and sharing interests. It warms my heart every single time.
Excuse me while I lust over the cover for Aphrodite Made Me Do It. Poetry collections often have the prettiest designs! Obviously, this book is also great on the inside, but I find the cover to be a real eye catcher.
As always, I continue to work on the physical copies I have at home. There’s books that might remain unread on my shelves forever, but some I REALLY want to get to this year are If We Were Villains and Dark Age. Let’s hope that Dark Age doesn’t actually take me the entire year …
I tag whoever wants to do this as well! YOU!!!
What did you think of my answers and the general mid-year reading recap? Let’s chat!
Not gonna lie, I almost forgot the trailers this week and that even though I had seen some really fun one this week. So, without further ado, here are the ones I found!
This hasn’t been my most productive week on the blog, but I have spent my time learning and reading and listening. I hope all of you are well and as safe as can be expected during these times. Let’s talk about some trailers, even though this really wasn’t the week for new releases!
I usually start these posts by just jumping right into what I have read, but it wouldn’t sit right with me to do that amidst everything that’s happening. If you follow me on Twitter, the social media platform I’m probably most active on, I hope I’ve made it clear and obvious where I stand. I stand with Black Lives Matter and all intersecting identities and I beg of you to educate yourself and support Black people during this time. We are now entering Pride month, which obviously also deserves attention, but you can do both! You can show up for the LGBTQ+ community as well as people of colour!
Also, please, don’t add to the exhaustion and pain by demanding more emotional labour from them, but instead look up resources yourself. Staying silent in the face of oppression is complicity. There are so many links and threads all over the internet for you to get information from. Click here for ways to help right now and here for tips on allyship! (This is by no means all there is out there, but it’s a start.)
No one can do everything, but everyone can do something!
Having said all that, I’m now not so smoothly transitioning to the books I read. It wasn’t the most productive month in terms of reading, but my mind was really occupied with other things. For the first time since June 2017, I’ve actually reviewed an ARC though, so I don’t know if you want to count that as a win or not?
As per usual, click on the covers to get re-directed to Goodreads, where you are always welcome to add me as a reading buddy! My own reviews you’re able to find by clicking on the titles in the list above.
I’m not going to lie to you, May was a tough month. I felt like there was blowback after blowback on a personal as well as global level. My country is actually reopening pretty much everything mid-June though and I’d like to think we are ready for that step. Still, I feel like this year will stay with a lot of people and no one will be able to escape it unscathed entirely.
Wow, I’ve rarely sounded this glum, but I’ve tried to stay as busy as possible, just finding activities for myself to do since I didn’t have a job to bury myself in. Like the month before, I’ve continued writing my Football WIP and am currently at 21.5K words. It’s not exactly double what I had last month, but’s progress and I’m very proud of it.
I actually did a thread of aesthetics for all my characters, even the ones that hadn’t been mentioned at the time. You can check it out here:
And then, on top of that, I also started drawing my own characters from the Football WIP. Some looked better than others, but I’m generally really pleased. It’s only three so far, but I think I’m going to continue with the rest of the Football team and other side characters.
I did some more drawings of various actors and actresses. You can check them out on my instagram account here. I am not too happy with the quality of the photos I take sometimes, as the colors often look washed out and less vibrant or clear than in real life, but I’m learning and maybe going to share close ups or random shots of my notebooks in the future, instead of a head on photo.
I’ve unfortunately not been as active as I would have liked to be on everyone else’s blog. If you are up for it, feel free to share one of your own posts that you consider one of your faves from this past month in the comments below! I’d love to check it out!! But here are a couple I liked:
I hope you are all taking care of yourselves and allow yourselves to take a step back when things become too overwhelming! Whatever June will be (let’s hope it’s good), we’re going to get through it!
I was happy to have blogged some more this week. I have also managed to surpass the 20K word count mark for my WIP. In addition to those two things, I started an eArc that I received and will likely be able to review soon/before its release date. All in all, I’d call that a fairly productive week! But now it’s time for some relaxation on Sunday and that always includes trailers!
Not the most productive blogging week, but I have been on a creative spree regarding my writing and drawing and even a little bit of reading – so, I can’t complain! Let’s check out some trailers from this week! (honestly, there’ve been way better weeks)
Another week has come and gone, time stops for no one. Today it’s Mother’s Day where I live and even if it might not be everywhere around the world, I wish all mothers and guardians a very happy Sunday. Now, on to the trailers! (which are much better than last week!)
