August 2021 Wrap-up: It’s Almost Fall!

Happy September! Now that we’ve reached the -ember months, aka the best time of the year, we can start celebrating fall without being judged!

*This post was supposed to go up on Wednesday, but my power was out so…. Friday it is*

Life Updates

• I went to the beach for the first three weeks of August!
• …and then I went back to school, and I have never been more excited to be waking up at 5 AM and getting on a humid bus. I am so much happier in-person…
• but I’m also drowning in homework. Why, again, did I decide to take six AP classes in senior year? And why specifically did I pick both physics E&M and chemistry? Well, though it’s definitely a lot at least my classes are good and I like all my teachers. Also, it’s actually proving to be extremely interesting to be taking physics and chem concurrently, because we’re learning essentially the same things but from different angles.
• I have been working on my blog and even toying with the idea of starting a YouTube channel. I’m not great on camera, so maybe video essays is the way to go. I’ll see.

Now for the actually relevant part of the wrap-up…

Reading

I managed to read 10 books this month, which is pretty good for me, but I’m not surprised because August felt like it lasted forever.

Fiction

(This month I for some reason read TON of sci fi)

3 stars

All-American Boys by Jason Reynolds (YA, contemporary)-

The second book I read for my banned books week challenge– Goodreads review

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (historical fiction, romance, drama)-

I read this book since it’s so popular on the blogosphere, even though romance is not my thing, and I thought it was okay/good. Definitely chicklit-ish but that’s not an entirely bad thing. The idea of looking into the inside scoop of a celebrity’s life was really interesting, and I appreciated the moral grayness of Evelyn herself. But I hated the ending.

The Institute by Stephen King (thriller, sci-fi, horror)–

My very first Stephen King book! I heard this is not his best book, so I don’t know why I started with it, but… I did start with it, so…

I was intrigued at the beginning when Luke was trying to figure out where he was and what was going on with the Institute, but then it just started dragging on and on and on. I definitely need to read more Stephen King books. I was too chicken to pick up any of the “legit horror” ones, though. Do you all challenge me to read The Shining closer to Halloween? Maybe I will do it. I always see pop culture references to it and never understand them.

4 stars

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (YA, contemporary)-

One of the books I read for the banned books week challenge I’m doing! Goodreads review

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury (classics, short stories, sci-fi, fantasy, horror)–

Goodreads review!

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke (classics, sci-fi)-

I read this after watching the (extremely creepy) movie for the first time. Goodreads review!

5 stars

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (sci-fi, thriller)–

I knew I was going to like this even before I read it– review here!

Nonfiction

In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park (memoir, politics, history)–

I reviewed this book in a Monday Mini-Reviews post

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli (science, physics, philosophy) – Carlo Rovelli has become my favorite pop sci author now because he has such a way of turning physics into poetry. (And English wasn’t even the original language of this book)

Monday Mini-Reviews review

The Interstellar Age: Inside the Forty-Year Voyager Mission by Jim Bell (science, science history, engineering)– I reviewed this one in a Monday Mini-Reviews post as well

Blogging

Yay, I actually reached some milestones this month! I reached 1,000 blog + Twitter combined followers and 700 on the blog alone.

I also posted… a bunch of times:

Monday Mini-Reviews: The Rose Code and Passing | Brand-New Historical Fiction and an Underrated Classic

The Feelings Book Tag

The Political Bias in Modern YA Literature

Monday Mini-Reviews: In Order To Live and Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

5 Oddly Specific Categories of Fiction Books You Have Definitely Read | Recent Bookish Trends

Monday Mini-Reviews: Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and The Interstellar Age

Everything Wrong With Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism and You by Jason Reynolds

The Reader Problems Book Tag

TV Review: The Mysterious Benedict Society

I Kinda Want to Throw My Book Across the Room | 5 of my Bookish Pet Peeves

Book Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

5 Nostalgic Childhood Books I Need to Re-Read

Goals

Last Month’s Goals:

1) Publish my new iOS app– well, it is not published, but it IS pretty much finished. I just need to test it to make sure it completely works and then create my App Store listing.

2) Get organized for school– Yep

3) Begin my college applications– and yep, I did manage to start my college applications and obviously I will have to continue working on this goal

This Month’s Goals:

1) Go to bed before 10 PM– this is going to be difficult for me as I’m used to sleeping past midnight, but I know for a fact that the only way I’m going to be able to stay on top of everything I have this year is by making sure I am not sleep-deprived. I have to wake up at 5 every day for school, so I want to prioritize going to bed before 10. It’s annoying, but so far it’s been working pretty well.

Update: I failed at this goal starting on the third day of school, but I’ve still been clearing 11 PM. It’s all right. I’m mostly just trying not to be sleeping less than six hours every single night like I was during the pre-pandemic era because I could not manage my time

2) Write my common app essay and draft supplements– I’m actually a little excited to start my essays now. After all, it is the most fun part of the application, and there’s a lot of room for creativity.

3) Continue to write blog posts consistently- I’m not going to say I’m going to disappear from the blogosphere because I know if I say, “Oh, I might not be posting during school” then I definitely won’t be. I’m going to try my best to continue reading books and posting three times a week, but school does take priority. I’m a bit worried I won’t have time to read much; it’s looking like I’ll only have time on weekends, but I’ll do my best. However, if you want a review of the overwhelming emotions and literary brilliance of Chemistry: AP Edition I will be happy to oblige….

That’s it for my August 2021 wrap-up! How was your August? Are you excited for fall? Did you read any of my August books?

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