What’s on Your Nightstand is a monthly meme hosted by 5 Minutes for Books on the last Tuesday of every month that summarizes what you’ve read for the month, what you’re currently reading, and what you plan to read next. For my posts, I also include articles, music, art, TV shows, and whatever else I did in the month.
Things started to take a turn for the better in August after a stressful July. I won a copy of Stay With Me by Ayòbámi Adébáyò in an IG giveaway that I was happy for and that set my month on a positive tone. I went to my first baseball game this month and was super excited about it though I didn’t understand shit about what was happening. The only thing I know is home run and that didn’t happen until after I left the game 😦 . But I’m glad to have participated in this quintessential American experience of attending a ball game and eating a hotdog there.
I also attended the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., but it wasn’t as great as I expected. I was glad to see Roxane Gay speak, though I haven’t read any of her books yet; and I really enjoyed Leigh Bardugo’s session. She was very funny and made me want to immediately start reading her books (I’ve only read Shadow & Bone so far). I wanted to stick around to see Celeste Ng, but I was hungry and disappointed with the festival, so I left.
Reading-wise, it was a good month. I read six books, which I think shows how stressed I still was from July. I didn’t want to deal with the world, so I dunked my head in books to avoid it. I didn’t read as many articles as I wanted to though, but I’m slowly getting back into them. It’s been a weird summer overall and I hope that my year will get better and end on a positive note. So, reading is good but life is…unpredictable as always.