July in Life and Reading #MonthlyWrapUp

Hello Readers! I hope you all are well and had a joyful July. Will it be weird if I say I didn’t feel much about July? Nothing noteworthy happened and it was just a normal month like any other but I could read more than I expected. Check out how my July in Life and Reading has been in this monthly wrap-up post –

July Highlights-

My flat’s furniture work is going well. There have been some hiccups but nothing major and cannot be resolved. It’s going as per the timeline and if it proceeds in the same pace we might be shifting in first week of September. It’s funny I’m more excited to organize my bookshelves in new house than any other things. 😄

There was Rhyme recitation week in my kid’s school. On the last day, I told her if you sing rhyme I’ll give you ice cream and take you to the swimming pool (at our new flat). When she returned from school and I asked she said she sang the rhyme. I got a note from her teacher last week about her performance which said, “We tried making her sing the rhyme but she wasn’t willing to sing”!! 😑 So she had her ice cream and fun time in the swimming pool but didn’t sing rhyme! I’m so sure now she is like her father. 😂

I bought books on the prime day of this month. I’ll share my book haul on Instagram.

Social Media – I participated in #15DaysReelsChallenge hosted by Blogchatter. To complete the challenge I had to post 10 reels in 15 days and I manged to post 11. I could make a couple more but once I completed the target I got lazy. I haven’t been around on Twitter lately and couldn’t thank bloggers who tweeted my posts. I hope I can be more active this month.

Reading Stats –

Total books read – 10
Total pages read – 2987

Goodreads Challenge : As per my reading spread sheet in excel I completed 60 books challenge and in Goodreads it’s showing 59/60. (I hate it when I have to cross check what I missed)
I might extend the challenge to 80 now and I’m sure I can read more than 80.

Books Read in July

Ramón and Julieta by Alana Albertson –  heartwarming, entertaining, and romantic contemporary spin on Romeo and Juliet with amazing Latin American representation. Loved theme of gentrification, community, culture, resilience, right the wrong, belongingness, and love; also representation of Latin-American life, the history of Chicano activists’ protest, language, food, description of Barrio Logan, and festivals. However, I feel l Ramón forgave Julieta too easily and I didn’t like how harsh community was towards him for worngs of his father. He didn’t desrve that. I recommend this to romance readers. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kiss Me, Mi Amor by Alana Albertson – heartwarming, realistic, and well-balanced own voice Latinx romance. Plot is filled with Mexican culture, food, and romance. Loved the theme of ethical agriculture and healthcare in the farming industry, finding purpose in life, modern vs stereotypical views and beliefs, and traditional values. Cultural aspect is really amazing. But Carolina’s parents’ reaction was overboard for Carolina spending night with Enrique and their apology in the end didn’t feel satisfying. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

One Way to Love by Andaleeb Wajid –  short and sweet first book in Jasmine Villa series that focuses on the love story of Tehzeeb and Ayub. The plot is simple and felt very Bollywood style. I liked the way author represented arranged marriage in the Muslim community. I liked how both traditional and modern families and their different views were portrayed. Layers of class differences and women’s positions in society and in an arranged marriage are realistic and relatable. But Romance is disappointing. In fact there are more spicy scenes than romance. If you liked author’s previous book you can read this but this wasn’t for me. ⭐⭐⭐

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston – The best book I rea d this month and the best M/M romance I ever read in my life. I absolutely loved both ALex and Henry. loved the theme and layers of gender identity, racism, responsibility, ethics, abuse, homophobia, prejudice, and tradition. Even with the serious theme, there are many hilarious and fun moments. Romance is swoon-worthy, sexy, heart-melting and so very beautiful. Books like this is why I love enemies to lovers trope and it was excellent in this book. If you still haven’t read this book and you love romance, you should definitely read this book. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kolam Kanna by Vibha Batra – heartwarming, entertaining, and fun children’s fiction with the theme of inclusivity and disparity. I enjoyed characters and their hilarious pranks to teach lesson to bullies and idea to convince the apaprtment community to let Bharthi enter the Kolam contest. Best part is themes and layers that opens the discussion to breaking the gender and class barrier and seeing the person for who they are and appreciating the art and talent. I highly recommend this to kids Age 9+. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Magic in Marble: Building the Taj with Attaullah and Saving the Taj with Aradya by Arthy Muthanna Singh – this is fun and informative flipbook with two-timeline stories that focus on the preservation of the historical monument. I loved the format and how both story had same solution for preservation. The illustrations in both stories are beautiful. Writing is easy for kids aged 9 yrs or more. My only complaint is I wish there was more details about Taj or at least what was included in “About page” in the beginning of stories was included withing the stories. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Inni & Bobo Head to School by Soha Ali Khan, Kunal Kemmu – I still need to write review on this. It is lovely and adorable children’s fiction about the human-animal bond and kids having fun telling what they love about their pet on “Bring your pet to school Day”. My kid loved this. Illustrations are beautiful. It’s perfect for kids Age 4+ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Yogi Witch by Zorian Cross – This is most disappointing read of the year. Plot is interesting and engaging for the most part. Queer representation is the best part of the book. However, there are many things I didn’t like in this book to the point that I wouldn’t dare to read any urban fantasy by Indian author for some time. ⭐⭐💫

Fractal Noise by Christopher Paolini –  interesting, deep, and thought-provoking sci-fi about the journey to self-discovery. Plot  It focuses on ‘the journey’ and philosophical aspects about human’s place in the universe, with the theme of loss and grief, self-discovery, and Human VS Environment. I enjoyed the theme and also scientific aspect but the journey is sure slow and tiring. Biut I still recommend this book to fans of author.⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon – This was my reread with Toni @readingtonic. Toni is still reading the book. We were on the same page last weekends but then I couldn’t stop reading the book as last two parts have always been my favorite. Toni is feeling overwhelmed by this vast world and that is natural with the 800+ pages tome with such a vast world filled with characters and legends and so many things happening that are all interlinked and one has to pay attention to not miss any important scene or part. I read this in 2020 and naturally I didn’t remember some of the things and I noticed more small details that I might have missed the first time. I still love Ead and world and political intrigue and higher stakes but I was less inclined towards Tane’s chapters this time. I absolutely loved reading this book again. I would have felt intimidated to pick it up again if Toni didn’t ask to buddy read this. I highly reacommend this book.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Best Book of The Month

Isn’t it obvious? I’m also adding Inni & Bobo as my kid loved it.

Other posts of July –

I finally managed to watch Shadow and Bone show and review it on my blog.

2023 Mid-Year Freak Out Tag

Shadow and Bone Netflix Show Vs Books

Blog stats –

Again the traffic this month surprised me. All other months’ graph bars look so small in comparision. 😮 I’m still getting lots of views for Twisted series (🤔people really love looking it up). I just wish people will actually stop by to interect but no complaints for views 😉

Plans for August-

So we finally and reluctantly and on afterthought decided to do small puja (house warming ceremony but in traditional way with ritualistic prayers). I’m not religious person but my husband and our family believes in it so I wouldn’t like to go live in new house with all relatives saying bad things about how wierd we (read I) are for not doing any ritual prayers and call me atheist and I woudn’t mind that but you know how they say “don’t start something new by hurting other’s feelings”…

There is also Raksha Bandhan celebration in month end. My husband isn’t around at that time so he might celebrate it early. As for me my sister-in-law’s due date is in the same time so me and my brother might celebrate it in hospital! And if it’s a boy so will my kid.

There is also show and tell week near month end. looking at what happened with rhyme week I just hope my kid says at least 3 lines (5 in mendatory)!

I haven’t planned my TBR yet but I hope I can read at least 5 books.

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Thank you for reading! Let’s chat..,

How was you July? what are your plans for August?
Have you read any of these books?

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How was your July in reading? What are you planning to read in August?

Check out how my July in Life and Reading has been in this monthly wrap-up post ⬇️https://t.co/c5uI8UiMY6

— Books Teacup and Reviews (@BooksTnReview) August 3, 2023

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