July Recap || Is This All A Fever Dream?!

Posted August 1, 2020 by Sammie in monthly recap / 38 Comments

This month has been such an utter roller coaster ride that I can’t even tell you if it was good or bad or if I dreamt it all.

I don’t think anyone predicted that 2020 would turn out the way it has on a global level, but even on a personal level, man, I didn’t expect any of this. I’m not even going to talk about everything that happened this month, but needless to say, it’s been stressful.

So let’s get on with it, shall we?

  • Hubby and I celebrated our 11th anniversary. We didn’t actually do anything for it, because 11 years ago, we vowed to be with each other until we died, and that’s hopefully another 30 – 40 years, so really, we’ve got a loooong way to go. This is more of a marathon than a sprint. So we just said happy anniversary and then gamed all day. You know, like a proper couple.
  • My good friend (and also assistant director of the library I work at) was in a car accident and passed away. Obviously, this was out of the blue, and it absolutely destroyed … well, everybody. She was such an active member in the community, helped everyone, loved everyone, and was so beloved. It’s still so hard to believe she’s gone. I really want to thank all the wonderful people in the bookish community on Twitter who reached out to me, though (and especially Annemieke, who sent me adorable GIFs until I felt better).
  • I officially have a book coming out in 2021 with an Indie publisher! I can give you exactly none of the details yet … well, except for what I just said. Needless to say, I am so freaking excited and can’t wait to have people read my book. But also, people are going to read my book and I need, like, two weeks to go hide in the woods because the thought is terrifying. Will definitely be updating y’all when this progresses and I can actually give some sort of details!
  • I did my first author interview on this blog, and it was with T.J. Klune! In case you haven’t heard me shout about it enough, he wrote these little books called The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Extraordinaries. Being able to make author interviews a regular thing on this blog was one of my goals for 2020, and I was super nervous, but I love how this first one turned out! I’ve got another two author interviews coming up in the next few months that I’m really excited to share with you!
  • I’m working on a diverse book drive for my library! Keep an eye out for more news about this on my blog. I meet with my director next week to hash out the details. I’m super excited about this, because it’s something I believe whole-heartedly in, and the county we live in is majority white with a high poverty rate, so sometimes they don’t get to travel and see other people’s cultures and experiences. I’ve had some of my older friends (50-ish) tell me they hadn’t even seen a black person until they were 18 and finally left the county. That’s not the case anymore, as the county is slowly diversifying, but there remains a lack of diverse books in the library. Even that’s getting better since I started working there, since I go over the catalogs and recommend MG and YA books I think we should buy, but we still have a lot of work to do, and with budgets being cut next year, it’s basically postponed for now. So … a drive, yes. More details to come, but I’m super excited about it!

Now that that’s over, let’s get on with the books! Which will be as much of a surprise for me as it is for you, I’m sure, because I … have no idea what even went on this month. I don’t know. I just need to sleep for about a week at this point.



#AmReading Update

Books Read This Month: 13

The Jumbies     The Faith Machine     Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air     Knightmare Arcanist     Sorcery of Thorns     Ship of Shadows     This Is My America     The Menagerie     Saving Fable     Stamped     The Mulberry Tree     Raiders of the Lost Archive     Blazewrath Games    

DNFs: 1

A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians    




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Blogger Post Love

Here are some great posts this month from other bloggers:

✦ Belle @ Belle Can Read talks about the pros and cons of starting a YouTube channel.

✦ Koo @ itsKoo Reviews gives a thorough, thoughtful review of The Girl and the Ghost.

✦ Briana @ Pages Unbound talks about whether we should hype books we haven’t read yet, and Krysta @ Pages Unbound talks about why she doesn’t really care about star ratings.

✦ Cait @ PaperFury provides us a list of YA books with disabled characters. She also did a fabulously helpful post about how to edit book covers into Bookstagram photos.

✦ Emma @ Never Judge A Book By Its Cover gives some fantastic tips for requesting ARCs to celebrate eight years of blogging.

✦ Noly @ The Artsy Reader did an interview with Maria Kuzniar, author of The Ship of Shadows.

✦ Andrew @ On My Bookshelf provides 10 very on point reasons for why he loves The Write Reads. After you give that post a read, definitely check out The Write Reads on Twitter.





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Happy 4th of July to the American bookwyrms among you! How are you celebrating your holiday? . Since the fam still has to work today, we did our fireworks and food last night. Today? I’m tucked on the couch and just digging into SORCERY OF THORNS, which is a buddy read with Keri @ Are You My Book. I’m super excited to start this! . Curious about this book? Here’s its opening lines: “Night fell as death rode into the Great Library of Summershall. It arrived within a carriage.” . This book has it all: ✦ Sorcerers (evil and otherwise) ✦ A Great Library (and which library isn’t?) ✦ Sword-wielding, tough librarians as heroes ✦ Demons! ✦ An escaped grimoire that might doom everyone and everything. . Not sure why it’s taken me so long to pick this up, but boy am I looking forward to it! . #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #books #booklover #bookworm #booknerd #bookaholic #bookblogger #readersofinstagram #booksofinstagram #instabooks #igreads #booksbooksbooks #booksofig #bibliophile #bookish #bookishlife #bookreview

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My husband has been trying to get me to read this for at least 6 years. Recently, he passive aggressively bought it & sent it to my Kindle without telling me. I can take a hint. Our 11th wedding anniversary is July 11th, so now seems like a good time to finally do the thing. …. I’d like to think there’s a reason it’s taken me this long to read it, but I’ve got nothing. I love Sanderson’s work. I’m sure I’m going to love this, and will probably breeze through it, despite its length. Honestly, it was probably just to spite hubby, because the harder he pushes, the harder I push back. Because … I love him? And also, what else are we going to argue about, if not books? Pffft. Gotta keep a marriage fresh somehow. . #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #books #booklover #bookworm #booknerd #bookaholic #bookblogger #readersofinstagram #booksofinstagram #instabooks #igreads #booksbooksbooks #booksofig #bibliophile #bookish #bookishlife #bookreview #brandonsanderson

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38 responses to “July Recap || Is This All A Fever Dream?!”

  1. Lauren @ Always Me

    I can’t wait to read your book, Sammie!

    I also really need to read Jackson Ford’s newest book – the first was so awesome.

    I’ve been working on more a more diverse and up to date teen section at my library since I’ve been there as well. Same goes for the adult fantasy and sci-fi section.

    Reply
    • Sammie

      Thanks! You totally do need to read it! I’m already dying for the third Jackson Ford book now. xD

      I love it! I’m so glad to see more people making this push!

      Reply
    • Sammie

      Yeah, it’s been absolutely bonkers. Thank you for the condolences.

      I signed the contract last week! Lots of human sacrifices and very little sleep. I mean … gosh, I don’t know why people in the area are going missing. *backs away slowly*

      Reply
  6. Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits

    OMG! Congrats on the book deal!!!!

    I’m sorry to hear about your friend’s passing, I hope you and the library team were able to grieve together somehow in these weird pandemic times.

    But it looks like you had a good reading month in July! Here’s to a good August.
    Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits recently posted…Reading Wrap-Up: July 2020My Profile

    Reply
    • Sammie

      Thank youuu! I’m excited.

      We were. We attended the funeral virtually together (since social distancing, you know). The whole community was able to grieve together, since it seemed like she touched everyone’s lives, so it was nice to have all that support and to see her legacy.

      Reply
  7. Amy Winfield

    Congratulations on your 11th anniversary and your upcoming book! Can’t wait to hear more about your book! I’d also like to extend my condolences for the loss of your friend. We wish you and her family peace during this time.

    Reply
  8. Holliehocks @ My Thing About Books

    It seems this month has definitely been both a great and trying time for you – no wonder it doesn’t seem real. Congratulations on your book deal! I wish you the best of luck with everything around it, and I can’t wait to hear more. Happy anniversary to you two as well! I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your friend, but I hope it brings/brought the community closer together and that you are all able to honor her memory and find comfort in each other.
    Holliehocks @ My Thing About Books recently posted…July Wrap UpMy Profile

    Reply
    • Sammie

      Thanks so much! I’m looking forward to being able to share more about it in time. 🙂

      We were, thank you! She was loved by so many, and it was nice being able to see everyone honoring her memory and sharing their favorite memories of her.

      Reply
  9. Leslie

    Wow, what a roller coaster!! I’m so sorry about your loss. What a terrible loss for you all. <3 Also, Happy Anniversary! We didn't do anything for ours this month. We did order from a fancier restaurant for take out but that's it. It's also a marathon.. hehe.. 🙂 CONGRATS on your book!!! That's absolutely amazing!! I can't wait to read it. 🙂 I hope that August is a much more calmer month for you. <3
    Leslie recently posted…July Wrap Up!My Profile

    Reply
    • Sammie

      Thank you. Take-out from a fancier restaurant sounds perfect to me. xD We might’ve done that if we were closer to anything, but we were too lazy to drive the 30-ish minutes to get food from anywhere we might have wanted haha. So laziness won out. You shouldn’t have to drive on your anniversary, darn it. xD Let alone have to put proper pants on.

      Reply
  16. Dini @ dinipandareads

    Wowow, I’m so happy for you and everything that you’ve got going on because you are absolutely SLAYING it, Sammie!!! Gaming for your anniversary sounds amaze and A BOOK!!! Must has plz. But I’m also so sorry for your loss 😔 That sounds horrible. I hope you and your library co-workers are staying strong and supporting each other 💜 Big hugs to you and I hope August goes on the up for you all!
    Dini @ dinipandareads recently posted…Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUpMy Profile

    Reply
    • Sammie

      Thank you. We’re hanging in there. The dynamics at work are a little weird and we’re all trying to pick things up as we can to fill in. It’ll take a while, but we’re getting there, and thankfully, we were all already close so coming together was easier.

      And now for a total 180, YES, A BOOK! Ahhhh. I don’t know what’s happening, but I have so many emotions. Also, gaming is always a win in my book. (Speaking of which, are you still at it with Animal Crossing, or have you moved on? haha).

      Reply
    • Sammie

      Thank you! 2020 has been all the post-apocalyptic books we’ve loved and didn’t realize were prophetical. Except, like, 8.4. Wait … did I just jinx us?!

      Reply
  18. Annemieke

    You are welcome love. I’m always here for you <3
    But wow so much congrats on the book being released. I can't wait for it! And the diverse book drive sounds awesome too.

    Reply
    • Sammie

      Thank you! There’s so many exciting things happening all at once that I just don’t know how to process it right now. xD

      Reply

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