Hi guys, and welcome to my July wrap up!
As you may recall, I announced my first-ever semi-hiatus at the beginning of July. It was a tough decision, but I had been in a slump for too long already and I needed a little break and time to figure out a new blogging & life balance. And though I felt SUPER guilty about it, I’m happy I did it. I may not be 100% back yet, but I have a new-found drive to read and blog again. So please be patient with me over the next few weeks as I slowly but surely get back to blogging! In the meantime, let’s get into what I did during this hiatus:
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
It only took me about 7 years, but I finally, finally started this series! A big thank you to Uma of Books. Bags. Burgers for suggesting a buddy read to get me to finally stop procrastinating! You can check out her review here.
The writing style and the plot are similar to Percy Jackson. If you loved that series, I’m pretty confident you’ll love this book as well. I mean, what’s not to love about a couple of demigods going on a quest together, meeting monsters and gods along the way, getting themselves in lots of dangerous situations, with a ton of humor thrown in? Sure, the premise is pretty familiar, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. Though it’s not my favorite Rick Riordan yet, I’m pretty confident the rest of the series will only get better and better so I’m saving my five-star rating just a tiny bit longer.
Rating: 4 stars | Check out my full review here.
dEATH NOTE Volume 2: Confluence by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata
It’s no secret I absolutely love, love, love Death Note. This volume feautures some of my favorite story arcs of the whole series, but also the most heartbreaking. The entire Naomi Misora arc really showcases the lengths Light will go to to reach his vision of a world free of criminals. I think this is where I first started to think of Light as a villain instead of a hero. Also, we get more L here, which is great, because L is intriguing and adorable.
Rating: 5 stars
Well, this is a quick one. There were no blog features in July due to my semi-hiatus that turned out to be more full-time than semi…
My hiatus kind of extended to music in July so I didn’t listen to a whole lot. Not much new anyway. Let’s see, there was:
– Kpop. Yes, I’m still quite addicted to kpop. Nothing new here. BTS especially claimed my playlist this month.
– Legends by Sleeping With Sirens. One of my favorite bands released a new song this month so naturally I was all over that the moment it released. I like it fine and I like that it’s catchy, but it also didn’t stand out to me that much.
– The Descendants 2 soundtrack. What? Yes, I’m actually quite addicted to these Disney movies and their soundtracks. My dance club uses the songs for our Halloween show and I LOOOVE everything Halloween, so I guess it’s kind of natural that I’ve also become addicted to these songs.
– Linkin Park. I’ve been a Linkin Park fan for over half my life. Ever since I was 15, when I heard Crawling for the first time somewhere and fell in love. This band and their music wasn’t only my gateway into so many other genres of music, but they were also the soundtrack to my coming of age. They helped me through so much and they have always had a place in my heart. They’re number one on my all time favorites playlist for a reason. I’ve also been lucky enough to have seen them live three times in my life: once almost ten years ago when I went to London especially to see them, once 2 years ago at a festival in Belgium, and once more on the first of July of this year at the Werchter festival. They were so amazing. I had tears in my eyes when Chester did an acoustic version of Crawling. I didn’t take any videos because I just wanted to enjoy the experience, but luckily this video still exists:
So when I first heard the news of Chester Bennington’s passing only 3 weeks after that, I was devastated. I still am and still can’t quite believe it… It’s hard to fathom that artists can create music capable of helping and saving so many, but then it can’t help themselves. These artists may be our heroes, but they’re also only human. Just know that this band and this man will always be special to me and I can only thank them for that. If there is one band that owns my youth, it is Linkin Park.
COffee Prince
Coffee prince is one of the classic kdramas, telling the story of an unlikely romance between Go Eun-Chan, a tomboyish woman, who dresses like a man in order to get work, and Choi Han-Gyul, a young food empire mogul. Though I didn’t completely finish this drama yet, I am really loving it so far. If you love cross-dressing shenanigans, humor, lots of emotions and well,… watching people run a coffee store, I’d definitely recommend this one.
Spider-Man: Homecoming
I love everything Marvel. And Spider-Man has always been my favorite superhero. And though I’ve loved both previous Spider-Men, I was really curious to see Tom Holland’s take on my fave. Overall, I loved this movie. I loved Tom Holland as Spider-Man. I thought the humor was great and the diversity was just amazing. Also, Michelle is amazing and I applaud her so much. But, am I the only one who has kind of had enough with all these movies crossing over? Spider-Man did not need so much Avengers stuff. I do hope he’ll stick with being our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man in any future film.
Game of thrones
Winter is here! It feels like I’ve waited ages for this season and now it’s here and I’m not ready. The first episode was not really my favorite, though the opening scene was EPIC. The second episode reminded me again that this is not a show where it pays to have favorite characters. But I’m so loving this series and can’t wait to find out how it’ll end.
- I’m getting a bit more settled in my new job and though it’s been harder than I expected going from too much time on my hands to not enough time, I’m still super happy with this opportunity.
- I even planned a holiday! In September my husband and I will be going to Tenerife, together with my best friend and her family. I’m already looking forward to it!
I’M BACK!
Well, mostly…
Do I have any posts scheduled already? No.
Have I figured out how to balance blogging with a full-time job again? Well… no.
Have I completely kicked my slump’s ass? Not exactly.
Have I caught up with commenting and blog hopping? Yet another nope.
BUT… I miss you guys. And I’ve just been itching to blog again. I haven’t figured it all out yet, but I know I don’t want to be away from the blogging and reading world for too long anymore. So over the next few weeks I’ll slowly but surely be crawling back to a regular blogging schedule! And I’m pretty excited about it all! 🙂
Ahh, I’ve missed your posts Lindsey ? don’t feel guilty about needing to take a hiatus though!!
I’m really glad you enjoyed The Lost Hero! I hope you love the rest of the series.
Also, I was a little disappointed in the new SWS song, but I’m still pretty excited for the album! Hoping to like whatever they release next more. The news about Chester was devastating. Linkin Park is such an important band.
Glad things are going well at work for you too!
Thanks so much Lauren! I missed posting as well 🙂 And I missed your blog as well, I have a lot of catching up to do 😉 But it’s definietly been a great idea to take a hiatus!
I’m super excited about the rest of the Heroes of Olympus series as well! So glad I FINALLY started it 🙂
Yeah the new SWS sog wasn’t what I expected either. It’s not bad, just a tad generic and forgettable. But I’m still super excited about the rest of the album too and I’m just glad we get some new music 🙂 Yes the Chester Bennington news was so devastating. Linkin Park inspired and helped so many people, it’s a huge loss.
Welcome back Lindsey – I also ended up taking an unplanned hiatus throughout July too! But glad to hear you are inching your way out of your slump 🙂 Mine was just general laziness, I returned to England and something about being back with my parents zapped all my mojo… I think I’ve reverted to my teenage self lol. But glad to hear the new job is going well, even if it is keeping you super busy.
Looking forward to your posts!
Thanks Sarah! Glad you’re back too 🙂 Haha I can understand that that situation would zap mojo 🙂 Hope your mojo is coming back too though!
I’m happy your new job is going well, and you get to go on vacation! That should be fun! Trying to balance work, life, and blogging is something I think we all can relate to! Linkin Park was a huge part of my college years, I listened to them all the time; I was so sad to hear about Chester Bennington.
Thanks so much Angela! Yes, finding a right balance is definitely tricky! Luckily we all love blogging and reading so much we’re willing to try and figure it out constantly 🙂
Yes, Chester Bennington and Linkin Park influenced and inspired so many people as so many grew up with their music.
Some times a good blog break is definitely necessary. I get into blog/reading funks sometimes and it can be really hard to get yourself out of it. I’m glad you’ve been enjoying your time “off”. I was also really sad to hear the news about Chester Bennington. My husband is a musician and was really inspired by his music, so he took it worse than I did.
A blog break can definitely be necessary every now and then! I may not yet have figured out the right balance, but at least my motivation to read and blog is back a 100% 🙂
Yes the news about Chester Bennington has definitely been hard since he inspired so many people all over the world…
Glad to see you back on here, Lindsey! Sometimes we all do need a break and it’s nice to come back refreshed and with a new drive to blog for sure 🙂 I hope you’ll figure out how to balance everything between the job and blogging, it is always a struggle but you can do this 🙂 Glad to hear things are going good at work, and yay for holidays! 🙂
Sending you tons of love, have a great August! <3
Thanks so much Marie! Yes it was a tough decision to take a break cause I felt so guilty but it’s really a good idea and needed every now and then 🙂 I may have still not figured out the right balance, but my motivation is back a 100% so that proves it was a good idea 🙂 Hope everything’s going well with you too and hope you’ll have an amazing August as well! <3
Oh I’m loving our buddy reads Lindsey <3 And yay that you're managing to find time for the blog! It's okay to take small breaks now and then though 🙂 Have an amazing August 😀 <3
I’m loving our buddy read so much as well! It definitely helped me beat the slump 🙂 And as guilty as I felt for taking a break from the blog, it was a good decision cause now I’m back and motivated again 😀 Hope you’ll have an amazing August too!
Lindsey! You’re back!
I am in the middle of Season 5 Game of Thrones rewatch in an attempt to both prepare myself and extend this year’s GOT season. 🙂 I can’t wait to get to the new episodes and binge watch! 🙂
Glad you’re settling into your job! I hope life gets more and more organised and easier and easier. Your holiday in Sept sounds great too!
Can’t wait to see your upcoming posts! 🙂
Di! It’s good to be back 😀
That Game of Throne rewatch and binge watch sounds like a great idea! Beats having to wait a week for each new episode! But then I have no patience at all so here I am 😉
Thanks! It’s been a struggle and I still haven’t figured it all out but I’m sure it’ll get easier as I go 🙂
And I’ll definitely be checking out some of your posts that I missed!
Welcome back! Glad to hear that you’re getting settled in your new job and even have a holiday coming up. I’m watching GoT as well and can’t wait to see what happens next . Having favorites definitely makes the show even more gut wrenching than it would normally be.
Thanks so much Suzanne! It’s good to be back 🙂 AH yes GoT is definitely tough – especially when some of your favorites are on opposite sides 😀
Welcome back! I’ve missed you and your wonderful posts. And I am so glad you liked The Lost Hero – I’m a huge Rick Riordan fan so I can’t wait to see what you think of the rest of the series. 🙂 Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous recap! <3
Thanks so much Zoe! <3 I'm super excited about the rest of the Heroes of Olympus series too :)
Yes, Spider-Man: Homecoming was great! The reboot still feels fresh.
One of these days I should reread Death Note. 🙂
Yes the Spider-Man reboot still felt so fresh – I’m already looking forward to the sequel 🙂
I’m definitely on board with a Death Note reread 😉
Yay welcome back, Lindsey!! So glad the break was worth it. It’s always good to relax and ease up on blogging once and a while.
Spidey!! Ahhhh!! I’ve always been a huge fan of Andrew Garfield, but I do love Tom Holland in the role as well. (Although Andrew’s Spidey and Emma Stone’s Gwen will always be my OTP <3 Lol. Those two made the Amazing movies worth watching.)
Anyway. So happy you enjoyed it!
I hope your new job doesn't get too hectic, and that you have a wonderful holiday when it comes! Have a lovely August 🙂 <3
For some reason, my first comment never got published on this post 🙁 Weird…
But here I am again!
Yay, so glad you’re back, Lindsey!! Glad you were able to relax a bit. It’s always good to ease up on blogging once and a while.
Spidey!! Ahhh!! I am dying to watch it, even though Andrew Garfield will always be my Spidey <3 I do love Tom Holland in the role as well, though.
So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Hope you have a good week, and that your job goes smoothly. Also, YAY for the September holiday!! That's something amazing to look forward to.
Hi Amy! I’m so sorry but for some reason your comments ended up in my SPAM filter… so of course I un-spammed you the moment I saw!
Thanks so much! It’s good to be back! And even though I felt really guilty for taking a hiatus, I’m still super happy I did it. A break every now and then is indeed a good thing!
I so hope you’ll enjoy the new Spider-Man! I loved Andrew Garfield and am still a bit bummed we won’t see him as Spidey anymore, but I must say that Tom Holland’s doing great as well 🙂
WELCOME BACK! We’re glad to see you return. Hope you continue to settle into this new job despite the adjustment period. 🙂
Also *high five* from a fellow Marvel fangirl. Cannot wait to see ‘Homecoming.’ 🙂
THANKS SO MUCH 🙂 And OMG, I hope you’ll be able to watch Homecoming soon! *high five*