Let’s Rewind: August 2021

Hmm… I wonder if last year’s August was as good as this one for me… probably not.

Let’s Rewind is 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 was such a rejuvenating month for me. What can I say? I had fun and I enjoyed it. I mean, yea, I had some really low moments and even a health scare, but it ended on a high note and the health scare turned out to be an unnecessary worry, so great month! 😀

I also did some travelling to my usual place and saw some family and celebrated a milestone with my cousin and visited with friends and had a wonderful time. The weather was either sweltering or storming, but I tried to soak up all the bright, sunny days anyway so that memories of them will sustain me through the cold months that are coming soon.

Anyway, I don’t have much else to say other than it was a good month…

Oh! I also got out of my blogging slump and now have a voracious appetite for high fantasy novels, so August really had a wonderful ending for me.

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I completed much more than expected in August because of the variety of formats I used for reading.

First up is The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix, an odd historical horror novel I read for a book club. It’s set in the 1990s and is about a member of a women’s bookclub trying to protect her suburban neighborhood from a vampire. It’s one that has received a lot of buzz. I thought it was okay.

I also read a couple children’s picture books by Akiko Miyakoshi (illus.). Tea Party in the Woods calls to the fairytale Little Red Riding Hood as well as the classic Alice in Wonderland and is about a girl on her way to grandma’s house who happens upon a tea party in the woods attended by woodland creatures. The Storm is more of a contemporary about a boy whose weekend plans to visit the beach with his parents seems like it will get delayed due to a storm, and the Way Home in the Night is about a little bunny preparing for bed and imagining the lives of the neighbors while doing so. All are sweet stories accompanied by cozy illustrations that fit the tone of the stories.

Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña, illus. by Christian Robinson, is a contemporary children’s picture book. It’s about a boy drawing what he imagines the lives of his fellow passengers on the train to be. I think it carries a wonderful message, and I think the illustrations are cute.

The fantasy bug began to bite me, so I reread A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin by listening to the audiobook, which is narrated by Roy Dotrice. I enjoyed the reread. It’s still one of my favorite books, and Dotrice does a great job with the audiobook.

I completed Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray. It’s a YA historical paranormal novel set in 1920s NYC and is the third novel in the Diviners series, which I am loving and buddy-reading with Rachel at Life of a Female Bibliophile. This was one was just as great as the previous two but spookier.

The Adventures of Rama by Milo Cleveland Beach was next. It’s a children’s picture book that retells the epic Hindu tale the Ramayana. Unfortunately, I didn’t like this retelling as much; however, I appreciated that the story was accompanied by illustrations from a 16^th-century Mughal manuscript.

After that, I reread A Clash of Kings, the second novel in the Song of Ice & Fire series by George R.R. Martin, and again I listened to the audiobook narrated by Roy Dotrice. I enjoyed this reread as well and was so hooked that I’ve decided to reread the third book as well but via e-book (since I was travelling). I couldn’t help noticing further similarities to the Wheel of Time as I reread. Is it just a coincidence that the pyromancer dudes practice a mysterious craft and are called Wisdom? (There was something else too, but I forgot it.)

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For These Comic Artists, Heritage and Folklore Are Superpowers (npr.org)

— The article takes a look at diversity in the comic book industry.

“For many years, the traditionally white comics industry has not widely published stories by creators of color rooted in their own experiences or histories. When that first changed, publishers often just wanted realistic stories grounded in the creator’s identity. But these new books draw from family lore and deep mythologies to make graphic novels with fantastical genre touches.”

Caribbean Reefs are Dying from a Mysterious Disease (vice.com)

— A mysterious disease is affecting coral reefs in the Caribbean. Hard corals help to provide protection against flooding and hurricanes.

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Around the Blog-o-verse

One More (onemore.org)

— SciFiMonth, a month-long celebration of all things scifi hosted by the Wyrd & Wonder crew, is coming! Check out Imyril’s announcement.

Peat Long’s Blog (peatlong.wordpress.com)

— Peat posted 2 great interesting articles about the fantasy genre. The first takes a look at the nature of early American epic fantasy novels, and the second explores some British adult fantasy from Tolkien to Abercrombie.

Corner of Laura (thecorneroflaura.wordpress.com)

— Laura listed 6 deadly reader sins that many of us are guilty of, I’m sure. Vanity and greed are my top ones.

Coffee Bookshelves (coffeebookshelves.com)

— Shade recommended 17 Black romance novels and 15 MG and YA novels with Black male leads.

SOME STUFF I PUBBED

Review

— Two Illustrated Books on the Ramayana

Discussion

— Horror Movies vs. Books — Which Is Scarier?

Book Tag

— “Count to 10 With Me” Book Tag

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Video break

This is how I watched the Olympics — with Snoop Dogg and Kevin Hart, lol! Other than that, I spent the entire time cheering for and celebrating all of Jamaica’s wins! 😀

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Chuck Close, Artist of Outsized Reality, Dies at 81 (nytimes.com)

— Close was an American painter and photographer whose work I admired. I loved the large hyper-realistic portraits he made using dots and squares on a grid. He passed on August 19.

We Asked, You Answered: Your 50 Favorite Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of the Past Decade (npr.org)

— NPR Books conducted a poll of readers’ 50 favorite SFF books of the past decade. This is the resulting list.

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Green Knight

Liked it but didn’t understand a thing; a friend had to explain it. But the visuals were stunning, and I’d certainly see it again when it hits Netflix.

Punisher, season 2

This is expected. I loved season 1. I’m not too crazy about the first episode, but Billy Russo’s story really got my attention this time around. I wonder what’s gonna happen when he gets his memory back… and something’s up with that psychiatrist lady. I don’t trust her. And Agent Madani needs some help. She really needs to talk to someone.

SAS: Rise of the Black Swan

It’s an action flick. It’s supposed to be exciting, have me on the edge of my seat, but I was SO bored the whole time.

Supernatural, seasons 9-10 and now starting season 11

Why do I love this show? The Winchester bros basically make the same decisions and mistakes over and over, never learning from them. That’s the gist of the show, and I love it.

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Yep, that’s how August went.

What did you get up to?

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