Let’s Rewind: August 2020

I can’t believe I spent so much of the year working from home. It’s something I’ve wanted to do, but not under these circumstances.

Let’s Rewind is my version of a monthly wrap up but instead of talking about only books, I include all types of other stuff, like articles… bookish news… commercials… random-ass links… movies… art… podcasts… cartoons… and whatever else happened to me in the month. You know, the usual stuff that people talk about in monthly wrap ups. So read on to see what I did and read this month. You might stumble upon something that interests you.

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August… It was a bit like July. I don’t remember much of it to the point where I’m wondering if I should try again to maintain a journal, maybe a weekly journal; but I wonder what would I write in it.

There’s much to record about what’s going on in the world right now, but I don’t really want to re-experience certain things by writing it down after seeing or living through it. I just think all I’d write in such journal posts would be bleak things about what’s going on in the world and aimless thoughts about what I wish I could be doing.

….

A bright spot in my August: movie night with family and visiting an art museum with friends. 🙂

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I’m debating whether or not to do a wrap up post for the NEWTs readathon. I missed my goal by one book, which I could have managed to complete in time, but, maaan, certain things I really don’t care about right now.

The first book I completed in August was the audiobook of Robin Hobb’s Ship of Destiny, narrated by Anne Flosnik. It’s the third book in her Liveship Traders trilogy, a fantasy story about a merchant family that owns a liveship (a ship that is alive). Of course, I enjoyed listening to this and was glad to revisit the tale.

I also read Rocket Says Look Up! by Nathan Bryon, illus. by Dapo Adeola. It’s a sweet children’s picture book about a Black girl who wants to be an astronaut when she grows up. The story is about her urging everyone to watch a comet’s passing. I liked the illustrations and loved the interactions between Rocket and her older brother, who takes her to see the comet.

Next was Ocean Meets Sky by the Fan Brothers, who are illustrators Terry and Eric Fan. This, too, is a wonderful children’s picture book. It’s about an Asian boy who travels to a fantastic place his grandfather told him about — where ocean meets sky — so that he say a final goodbye to his grandfather. The illustrations are stunning.

I also read Picky Eaters by S.J. Higbee, who blogs over at Brainfluff. It’s a fantasy short story about a great dragon babysitting his grandkids. I had fun reading it. The protagonist Castellan was entertaining to read about.

Feed is the first novel in the Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant. It’s a horror novel set after the zombie apocalypse has happened. The story is about a journalist Georgia, who runs a blog with her brother Shaun and friend/co-worker Buffy, covering an upcoming presidential election. It was a good read and I liked that it shows how blogging and journalism has grown in this dystopian world, but I wish it was more focused on the zombies.

Cartography of the Void is Chris Abani’s entry in the Face series — short works by authors talking about their face, or their heritage, as in Abani’s entry. It’s a nonfiction book, of course, and a quick read. I liked it.

Sobek is a comic book by James Stokoe (illus.) about a great crocodile god, who comes down off his dais to save his people — but not in a way they expect. It’s a very short read. The story was okay. I read it for the illustrations, which are very detailed. I love them and wish the story was longer.

I then read Tony Sandoval’s graphic novel Watersnakes, illus. by Lucas Marangon, which, to me, is a weird story about a girl who teams up with a ghost to save a king, who came from the sea. It was a weird story, but I didn’t mind it. I love the cover but wasn’t a fan of some of the inside illustrations.

I’ve wanted to read this for a long time and now that I have, I wish I’d read it in the middle of winter during a blizzard or something. Klaus: How Santa Claus Began is by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Dan Mora. The title is self-explanatory. The story gives us a very fit, good-looking, bad-ass Santa, who has a wild white wolf as a pet. The story wasn’t what I expected, but it was okay, and I loved the art.

I read the manga How to Treat Magical Beasts: Mine and Master’s Medical Journal, Vol. 1 by Kaziya (illus.), transl. by Angela Liu. It’s about a girl named Ziska, who’s an apprentice to a veterinarian of regular animals. However, Ziska has magic abilities and wants to treat magical animals too. I wasn’t too fond of the story because it seems as if there isn’t much to the plot, and the illustrations weren’t always easy to follow.

After that, I completed Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb, narr. by James Langton. It’s the first novel in the Tawney Man trilogy, which is my FAVORITE of Hobb’s collections of books. My absolute favorite of her books is in this trilogy and I’m SO excited to be rereading it all. SO excited! It’s about Fitz and the Fool reuniting for another set of adventures. (So excited!)

I quickly got hooked on this manga — Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1 by Kamome Shirahama (illus.), transl. by Stephen Kohler. It’s about a girl who’s fascinated by magic and gets the chance to become a witch but at the cost of her mom’s life. I really enjoyed reading this and wish it was in color and that there was an anime for it. I can’t wait to read the next volume.

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I didn’t read any longform articles in September or anything noteworthy.

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AROUND THE BLOG-O-VERSE

Should Reviewers Go “Easier” on Self-Published Authors? (pagesunbound.wordpress.com)

— Briana discusses how self-published books are reviewed.

3 upcoming reading events:

Coming soon: the Kushiel’s Dart Read-Along #ReadAsThouWilt (onemore.org)

— The Wyrd & Wonder team is hosting a readalong for Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey this month. The hosts for the discussions will rotate each week, and I’m hosting it for the third week!!! 😀 I’m so nervous and excited. I’ve never done something like this before.

Spooktastic Reads: Wyrd and Wonder Gets Creepy (onemore.org)

— For those of you interested in horror or supernatural reads to celebrate Halloween, the Wyrd & Wonder team is a hosting a casual event for it over the 13 days leading up to Halloween.

SciFiMonth 2020: the Future is Calling (onemore.org)

— November is SciFiMonth for the Wyrd & Wonder team. They’ll celebrate by diving into nothing but sci-fi reads. Check out the announcement if you’d like to partake in the event.

Judging a Book by Its Cover: Hansel and Gretel (milliebotreads.com)

— I was able to join in another Judging a Book by Its Cover post over on Milliebot Reads. This time the post featured Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm, illus. by Matteo Gaule, transl. by Sallyanne Delvino.

STUFF I PUBBED

Best Books So Far in 2020

— My favorite books I’ve read so far this year.

“Ocean Meets Sky” by the Fan Brothers (illus.) — Terry & Eric Fan

— My review of a stunning children’s picture book that was a bit of an emotional read for me.

“Shaman’s Crossing” by Robin Hobb

— My review of a Robin Hobb book that’s NOT part of the Realm of the Elderlings series.

Bookshelf Tour, Pt. 18 | Middle Grade (continues)

— My bookshelf tour continues.

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Get Lit(erate) Podcast

— Someone I know started a podcast!! 😀 😀
— This podcast is hosted by Cass the bookseller. She speaks with a variety of people about books and bookish things. I HIGHLY recommend you check it out! 🙂 Here’s the link to it on Stitcher, but it’s available on Spotify and iTunes and wherever you listen to podcasts. Also check out the Instagram page.

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More Schitt’s Creek, Avatar: the Last Airbender, and Z Nation

— I’m on season 4 of Schitt’s Creek now. I’m loving it, but I keep taking breaks from it because I don’t want it all to end. I’m dragging it out.
— I got distracted from Avatar: the Last Airbender. I want to finish my rewatch before moving on to the Legend of Korra… not that I need to since I know the entire show by heart!
— Z Nation is my new Supernatural. I watch it whenever I can’t make up my mind about what to watch next.

Never Have I Ever

— It’s so weird, but I LOVE THIS SHOW!!! I didn’t expect that to happen. I thought it would be a silly teen show, but Devi kept me watching and I love the humor in it and the similarities I could see between Devi’s Indian family and upbringing and my Caribbean one.

Umbrella Academy

— Season 2 was fantastic. I loved every minute of it. Klaus is my absolute favorite of them… and Number 5. I guessed the twist about Sir Reginald Hargreeves but was still surprised when it happened. I can’t wait to see what happens in season 3. Now I’m debating if I should actually read the comic book. I plan to, but I wonder if I should wait a bit more.

Black Panther

— Of course I had to rewatch this magnificent movie in honor of Chadwick Boseman, who passed in August.

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THAT’S IT FOR MY August.

HOW ARE THINGS WITH YOU? WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO?

 

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