From Mockingjay to Vampire Conqueror – A Busy Bookish Week! (18/8/’25 – 25/8/’25)

This post is a day late—yesterday was pure chaos—but since I had the draft ready, I figured late is better than scrapping it. Last week was a busy bookish week, I managed to read 2 books and had plenty time with family as well. So here is my reading and life log for the week 18/8/’25 – 25/8/’25

Reading and Life Log

Monday : We were feeling dead tired. My kid didn’t want to wake up and go to school. It took almost 40 mins for us to get her ready for school. If we think legs were stiff on Sunday, they were painful today. putting legs on the ground hurt too. I definitely skipped workout today and so will tomorrow. I can’t think of doing 2 reps of 20 squats with so much pain in calf.

I started reading Mockingjay. I was so immersed in reading it that I couldn’t stop reading until evening for blog post and Instagram post. It definitely didn’t give me time to edit YouTube video so I skipped regular Monday posting. I ended up reading 40% of Mockingjay by the end of the day.

Tuesday: Up to 70% of Mockingjay! I would’ve finished if editing my YouTube video didn’t eat up so much time. Seriously, why doesn’t InShot have a free “cut silences” tool? I know there are online editing tools, but that means uploading to Drive, downloading on my laptop, editing, then re-uploading. Ugh. Too much hassle and too time consuming. I’m determined to stick to phone-only editing.

Oh, and had an argument with my kid about food. Honestly, sometimes it feels like I’ve got a rebellious 17-year-old in a 7-year-old body. The way she turns everything into a debate is a mystery I can’t unravel.

Wednesday : A day of YouTube and Blog posting. I also blog hopped for hours and caught up with all missed posts since Friday. I started working out again and as it had been more than week of break I was exhausted after the workout.

Wednesday: Full-on YouTube and blog day. I even caught up on all the posts I missed since Friday—lots of blog hopping! I worked out again after more than a week’s break, and wow… I was wiped. But guess what? I finished the last 30% of Mockingjay. That ending still hits hard.

Funny thing—I had way more questions this time than when I first read it. Like why didn’t Katniss talk to Haymitch about Coin and Prim’s death? He clearly knew she was planning something when Coin suggested the Hunger Games for Capitol kids. And how did Haymitch not see through Coin’s plan when she sent Peeta into the Capitol? As for Gale— I actually agree with him now: “She’ll choose whoever she can’t survive without.” Brutal, but true.

Anyway, I’ll save the rest for the review, but I did go down a rabbit hole of Hunger Games analysis videos. Found this amazing channel if you’re interested → Rachel A Ramras on YouTube

I finished remaining 30% of Mockingjay and that end still hit hard. Surprisingly I had so many questions after finishing the book than I did when I first read the series, like why Katniss didn’t try to talk to Haymitch about Coin and her hand in killing Prim before or even after her trial. He sure saw she was upto something when Coin told them to vote for Hunger Games for Capitol children. Also, how Haymitch didn’t see through Coin’s plan when she sent Peeta during infiltration of Capitol. As for Gale he surprisingly felt less guilty than I remember. I now see his love for overthrowing Capitol was stronger than his love for Katniss and he kind of knew she wouldn’t choose him after Quarter Quell and I was surprised to agree with him, “she would choose whoever she cannot survive without”. He knew her so well.

Anyway I’ll leave further discussion for actual review but I couldn’t help finding answers on internet and I stumbled upon this youtube site that analyzed the whole series and absolutely loved watching videos.

Here is the link if you’re interested –> https://www.youtube.com/@RachelARamras

Thursday: Day two of workouts is always worse, but I survived. My wireless microphone (bought with Rakhi money!) arrived, and oh my god, the audio quality is amazing. I immediately tested it out and loved it. I also started Slaying the Vampire Conqueror (book 2.5 in the Crowns of Nyaxia series), but only made it through three chapters.

Friday: Fantastic day! I read 60% of Slaying the Vampire Conqueror. My brother-in-law’s family came to town, and my kid is over the moon—they’re planning an aquarium visit on Sunday.

Saturday: Finished Slaying the Vampire Conqueror and spent half the day at my mom’s. Found out my brother’s wife is really sick, so our planned trip might get postponed until September.

Sunday: Aquarium day! My kid had the time of her life with her cousin. She was so worn out that she passed out five minutes after we got home at 7 p.m. We actually had to wake her for dinner.

Overall, a good, productive week. With in-laws staying in town, I doubt I’ll get much reading done next week, but we’ll see!

Video Published On YouTube

What I Plan to Read Next –

How was your week in reading in life?
What did you read last week or plan to read this week?

Just in case you missed,,,

• The Songbird and the Heart of Stone (Crowns of Nyaxia #3) by Carissa Broadbent – emotional and mesmerizing vampire fantasy
• The Rainfall Market by You Yeong-Gwang – enchanting Korean Fantasy
• Such a Bad Influence by Grace Demyan – Fun contemporary with second chances & found family

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