July wrap-up!

Happy August, everyone! Every single month, I say “how is it already [month]”, and every time it’s true.

Books Read

• City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert: 4 stars
• And I Do Not Forgive You by Amber Sparks: 3.5 stars
• Yerba Buena by Nina Lacour: 4 stars
• Talking to Strangers by Marianne Boucher: 4 stars

I read all four of these books in I think the first 10 days of the month, and then have barely picked up a book since then. I’ve read the first chapter of so many things, and nothing is grabbing my attention. My favourites this month were definitely City of Girls and Yerba Buena.

Currently reading

• I’m currently listening to The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett, which is the first true European historical fiction I’ve read in a while, and I’m really enjoying it! I’m listening to the audiobook, and while I’m really enjoying the narrator, I do find it harder to follow in this format. But it’s very engaging and interesting, and I’m excited to keep listening!
• I have People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry and How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu from the library, so I plan on reading those ASAP

Things watched

• Survivor: San Juan del Sur (Blood vs. Water 2): my boyfriend and I started watching this season recently, and it’s really good! I’m really enjoying the cast and the drama so far.
• The Bachelorette(s): of course I started watching this season, and tbh I’ve been enjoying it. Still not sure if the format’s working at all, but reality TV is reality TV.
• I actually watched some movies this month! I watched Imagine Me & You and Palm Springs, both of which I really enjoyed! Palm Springs was such a fun take on the time loop trope, and Imagine Me & You was v entertaining. My boyfriend and I watched Midsommar FINALLY. I really enjoyed it (I guess that’s the right word?). It was very unsettling but super interesting.
• On Netflix, I watched Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, which is about the FLDS church, Girl in the Picture, which is a true crime documentary about a woman who was killed and who’s identity was a mystery for a long time, and Monsters Inside: The 24 Faces of Billy Milligan, which is about a serial rapist who claimed to have dissociative identity disorder. They were all very interesting and well done. Massive trigger warnings for all of them.

Reviews posted

• Book review: And I Do Not Forgive You

Other bookish posts

Books I recently removed from my TBR

Other news and highlights

• This was a pretty chill month tbh.
• One of my friends got married! Her wedding was very beautiful and personal to her and her husband, and it was really nice to be there.
• My boyfriend and I dogsat for my dad one weekend, which was pretty fun. We spent a lot of time with the dogs and went for lots of walks, did some shopping, hung out together. Overall, a good weekend.
• We also went on a couple of dates, which we haven’t done in a while, so that was nice. We bought dinner from a food truck and ate by the water one night, and then went for lunch another day. We wandered around one of the trendier parts of Calgary one afternoon, which was also very nice.
• I finally met up with one of my internet friends IRL! Her and her husband were in town, so we went to a board game cafe and played games, and it was a great afternoon!
• I went to Revelstoke, BC to help one of my friends move back to Calgary! It was super hot, but it was really nice to see her and hang out for a few days. I met her friends, we had dinner and ice cream, went for a lot of walks, and did the pipe coaster (and I got my favourite bagels), so overall a great weekend!

Anyhow, how was your July? What have you been up to? What’s been the most engaging thing you’ve read recently? Let me know!

Thanks for reading! xx

Ally xx

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