Thursday, August 4, 2016

July Wrap-Up


July Overview


July was entirely devoted to school stuff. Seriously, I spent so much time researching, reading, and writing that I barely left the house. On July 4th we ate hamburgers, and the neighbors shot off fireworks all night. My poor, stupid mutt Butch-Kiera is convinced that fireworks are a sign of the apocalypse.



I learned that it’s disconcerting to wake up to something giant crawling around under your bed in the middle of the night. But, under-the-bed is the only place that’s safe from fireworks.

While I was working on school stuff, I listened to the Planet Earth TV series. It made me wish I could be a nature photographer, even though I’m terrible at photography. So, one day when I really needed to get away from the computer, I took my camera out in the yard to find some nature. I found a toad, but Butch-Kiera also found the toad, so instead of toad pictures, I got dog-trying-to-eat-toad pictures.



Then I found this weird bugger. I think it’s a larval moth.



Basically, July taught me that my yard nature sucks, and I’m not cut out to be a nature photographer. Back to the school stuff, I guess.




Books I Read


In July, I read 10 books and DNFed 1.




I’ll Meet You There – Heather Demetrios
Terrible Typhoid Mary: A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America – Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Dracula – Bram Stoker
Say You’re One of Them – Uwem Akpan (DNF)

I also made some progress on my reading challenges. Click here to see how I’m doing.




Best Books Of July


My three favorites of the month:




3. Terrible Typhoid Mary: A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America – Susan Campbell Bartoletti




Most-Viewed Reviews


The reviews you clicked in July:








Most-Viewed Non-Reviews


Everything else you clicked in July:





Tentative August TBR


Right now, my life is severely lacking spontaneity, so I’ve decided to let a random number generator pick what I read in August. The generator will choose a number, and I’ll count along my TBR shelf. My August TBR will be a surprise to everybody, including me.






All The Things


All The Things (AKA my TBR pile) = 26 books.

I’m currently reading The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough.













16 comments:

  1. Aw poor puppy!! Surprisingly my dog isn't bothered by fireworks. Planet Earth TV series is great!! Looks like a pretty good month in books with all the school stuff going on. Hope you have a great August!

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    1. Thanks! Most of the dogs I’ve owned haven’t been bothered by fireworks. Butch is just a giant baby.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  2. I really was nervous about how my two puppies would deal with all of the fireworks but they did ok. It can be really bad for a lot of dogs. I am horrible at taking pictures. I now just tell my daughter to take them and text them to me. It looks like you read some great books in July. Have a great August!

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    1. I know what you mean about taking pictures. I always get excited when I take one that isn’t blurry.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  3. Wow! I hope your school work load slows down a bit soon. That sounds really stressful! My dogs were the same way on July 4th. :/ I HATE holidays with fireworks for that reason! Poor puppies. :( Good luck with your August TBR!

    Tracy @ Cornerfolds

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    1. My school work will slow down when I graduate in November. Right now, I just have to be a maniac. I’m not a fan of firework holidays because the dogs always get so clingy. It’s hard to get things done with an 80-pound dog on my lap.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  4. I'm sorry that you have little time due to all your school work. But all the studying will pay off in the future. Your dog looks like a sweetie! Enjoy your spontaneous August!

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    1. Thanks! Butch is sweet. She’s also dumb and afraid of everything. LOL.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  5. Aw, your dog is so cute! Mine hates the fireworks, so it's difficult to calm her down when she hears them. Glad those are over! Sorry you had so much school work too - I hope August is a bit calmer on that front.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks! I have no idea how to calm Butch down during fireworks. She mostly just hides or gets clingy.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  6. Aww, your poor puppy! I hope she doesn't have to hear any more fireworks until next year!
    Do you have evidence for your photography skills being bad? The ones you provided were pretty good and I especially loved the one with the caterpillar. Show us some bad ones to convince us you can't take good pictures. ;)

    Glad you liked Misery, it's one of my favorite King books, though I haven't read nearly as many as you have so I can't say what his best books are, haha.
    Nimona is on my TBR, I bought it recently and hope to read it soon. :)

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    1. I hope you like Nimona when you read it. I thought it was a lot of fun.

      Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  7. I still haven't read any Sedgwick, and the Typhoid Mary one sounds like something I might want to read as I resolve to spend more time with nonfiction.

    My dad was a professional photographer--news and travel--and I take crappy snapshots on my camera phone. My only advice is take a ton of pictures and only share the best, so people think you're pretty good. It usually works for me.

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  8. Your caterpillar picture turned out nice - at least the dog didn't try to eat all of your photographic subjects! :-)

    I prefer books that make me think more - though sometimes a light read is just what I need in the moment! This book sounds like it delves into some serious issues, but also does it with humor at times - could be an interesting mix!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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  9. I read that Uwem Akpan book when it first came out. I liked it. I hope you will push through and read it another time.
    One of my dogs is afraid of fireworks too. Well, any loud noise really. She's small though. I laughed when I saw the size of yours in hiding... lol

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