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August 2015: Recap + On My Shelves


Adios, August! I know I say this every month, but where is the year going?! I can't believe we're this far into 2015. August was mostly slow with a few fun things mixed in! Now, if only I could get my reading mojo back...

1. Signed Books - I shared this picture on Instagram for the signed books tag, and it was fun to look through my books. I feel so lucky to have met so many incredible authors - and to have some bookish fairy godmothers looking out for me, too! These are a few of my favorite signed books, and I didn't even realize I had this many. 

2. #OTSPSecretSister - On the Same Page's Secret Sister Project started again in August! I was thrilled to come home to a lovely Austen-inspired note from my sister one day, and then I got an AWESOME package from her a week or so later (see the What I Acquired section!). I'm having so much fun already!

3. Mindy Mail Day - I adore Mindy Kaling. If I could have one celebrity friend, I'd pick her. I pre-ordered her upcoming book, Why Not Me?, and received some awesome goodies because of it. I love the Mindy pin and the licorice! Since I've got a few weeks before the book is out, I'm tiding myself over with The Mindy Project.

4. Painted Nails + New Ring - I love painting my nails, but I haven't done it in a couple months. I kept thinking about doing it this summer, but it was always right before bed and I didn't want to bother. Since I bought a new ring in August, I finally sat down with this polish and got to work. Why did I wait so long?!

Read 11 Books | Favorites:
Circling the Sun by Paula McLain
Bounce by Noelle August
Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead
Wild in the Hollow by Amber Haines

Challenge Progress:
3 Fantasy for Flights of Fantasy Challenge
3 Re-Reads for The Re-Read Challenge
3 Diverse Read for Dive into Diversity
2 Series for Series a Month
"We're all of us afraid of many things, but if you make yourself smaller or let your fear confine you,
then you really aren't your own person at all – are you?"
Circling the Sun by Paula McLain

"Who's the real you? The person who did something awful,
or the one who's horrified by the awful thing you did?
Is one part of you allowed to forgive the other?"
Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead

"Life is where you sleep and what you see when you wake up in the morning,
and who you tell about your weird dream, and what you eat for breakfast and who you eat it with.
Life isn't something that happens to you. It's something you make yourself, all the time."
Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead

"Guilt is anti-peace, and without the fruit of peace, there’s no real freedom and no real home.
Instead, there’s only the chasing of other, new desires we hope will fill the hollow."
Wild in the Hollow by Amber Haines

"But when we really delve into the reasons for why we can't let something go, there are only two:
an attachment to the past or a fear for the future."
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
[Most Popular]
Review: Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Discussion/Feature: My Biggest Book Buying Quirk

[Personal Favorite]
TTT: Top Ten Auto-Buy Authors (My Austen syllabus was actually my favorite!)
Review: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
Discussion/Feature: Favorite Factor: August 2015
1. The Myth of Blogging Turf by Nina from Nina Badzin - Estelle texted me a link to this article, and I knew immediately I'd be including it in my monthly recap! I love what Nina has to say about blogging turf - and the fact that it doesn't exist. Her point about bringing your perspective to everything you write is excellent!

2. 5 Tips for Talking to Authors at Events by Cristina from Girl in the Pages - I've gotten to meet a number of authors since I started blogging, and I always feel like I've missed the opportunity for a meaningful conversation because I just babble about my love for their books. These tips are so helpful - I'll be keeping them in mind!

3. Review Writing: How to Stop Hating It by Lauren from Bookmark Lit - I don't hate writing reviews, but I'm definitely not good at staying on top of them. When I get in the mood to binge read, I can end up with a HUGE backlog of reviews to write. I'm going to try to use these tips to help when I fall behind and feel unmotivated.

4. Nerding Out: Culling the Shelves by Lisa from Bookish Broads - I've been in such a book culling mood this year, so I enjoyed reading about Lisa's experience! I loved that she shared tips for culling your physical and virtual shelves - and makes a case for why it's worth doing. I'm definitely hoping to break free from my TBR!

Favorite Song #1: "Carry On" by Coeur de Pirate on Roses
Spotify's Discover Weekly playlist introduced me to this artist, and I'm so glad.
I had this song on repeat in August. The whole album was recently released - I need to listen!



Favorite Song #2: "Powerful" by Major Lazer feat. Ellie Goulding & Tarrus Riley on Peace is the Mission
This was another Discover Weekly find - probably because I listen to Ellie Goulding all the time.
When I wanted something with a little more energy, I turned on this song! SO GOOD.

Sherlock, Seasons 1-3 - I technically binge watched this is July, but I somehow forgot about it in my recap. Unforgivable, I know. Why didn't anyone tell me to watch this show sooner?! I'd been telling my husband we should try it, and we were hooked from the very first episode. It's so fantastic, and I adore Sherlock and Watson.


Suits, Seasons 1-4 - After binging Sherlock, we wanted to find another TV show fill out time during the summer slump. We decided to give Suits a try, and we were quite pleased with that decision. I enjoy the office dynamics, the cases and the tension created by Mike's lie. And I love Harvey and Donna's relationship!

Bought / Gift Card: Circling the Sun by Paula McLain, The Song of the Lioness Box Set by Tamora Pierce, Percy Jackson and the Olympians Box Set by Rick Riordan (for Nick), To Win Her Favor by Tamera Alexander and Wild in the Hollow by Amber Haines

From Alexa: A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan, Six Impossible Things by Fiona Woods and If Only You Knew by Kristan Higgins AND A PEETA'S BAKERY SOUVENIR

From Rachel: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

From #OTSPSecretSister: The Storyspinner by Becky Wallace (and other fun goodies!)


Kindle: Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari and We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie


For Review: Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers, A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro and The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig 


8 comments

  1. I'm freaking out that you watched and liked Suits. I almost never find anyone who watches it. My mom and I love that show. It's probably the most stressful show I watch, but also so worth it! It sounds like you had a great month and I really like that nail polish you picked out.

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  2. YAY! I hope my review-writing post helps. I feel like there are people allll over the board when it comes to writing reviews: some people hate it, some people don't mind it but tend to procrastinate, and others who like it and do it ASAP. I'm glad to see the different "types" of people it can help! <3

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  3. I am totally jealous over the Mindy pin. It looks adoraabblleeeee. (I need to own all the bookish lapel pins.)

    I am sooo into Powerful. (Major Lazer's "Get Free" is an A+++ song that you should definitely listen to!)

    I really need to catch up on Suits because I think I haven't watched the past two seasons? I need to know what's up with Harvey and Donna's relationship. (Such a sucker for them.)

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  4. Thank you for the shout-out, Hannah! You're always so eloquent and polished blogging that it's hard to imagine you as anything other than that when speaking with authors :) Glad I could provide some tips!

    -Cristina Girl in the Pages

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  5. Where did you order Why Not Me from to get all that awesome stuff?! I was planning on ordering it thru amazon but I'm kinda obsessed with Mindy Kaling, so I def want in on the swag!

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  6. I would love to know how you highlight quotes in your books. Do you actually, physically, write in your books or do you flag them with post its? I always debate whether or not I should write in my books.

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  7. The photo you used for this post is so, so cute! And I love your nail color and those gorgeous rings ;) I also demand that you (a) read Alanna and (b) read Percy Jackson, as those are two of my all-time favorite series. It looks like it was certainly a chill August for you! Here's to hoping for an amazing September for us both <3

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  8. Normally, I'm all about USA's series except Suits. My son and I could not get into that show no matter how many times we tried watching it. I think it is Harvey that I really dislike. Nice eye-candy but I don't like his character. I need to try Sherlock. So many people recommend this series.

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