Tag: books read

Monthly Digest

Monthly Digest | September 2021

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Reading

Total TBR Count: 35, Last Month: 33

Crochet & Crafting

This month I am thrilled to say I finished my first pair of knitted socks and I already cast on another pair. I don’t think I will be working on this second pair anytime soon because I have a few gifts I want to get through first before making something for myself. In addition to that I also finished my poncho/sweater I was working on for months. I feel like this month was really LETS GET EVERYTHING DONE! It really felt great to finish both of these because the socks are my first knitted project ever and the poncho is the first wearable I did in the round so it was challenging, but really rewarding because it came out wonderfully and I can’t wait to wear it when it gets colder.

Life

This month has been a bit of an adventure in a few ways, but I am happy to say I was able to go apple picking with my boyfriend and we were able to pick a few different kinds just to try and then enough to make some delicious treats! I love going to pick my own apples, but pick my own food in general. It is so fresh and the flavors are just so much better in my option because of it.

On top of that I decided take these monthly goals I have for myself and get a little whiteboard and put them up in the room to really make sure I meet the fun goals I have set for myself not just the adulting ones I need to do. I want to make the fun things I want to do a priority too. So, I picked up a cute little white board and decorated it a bit and picked up some fun colors to use. I am adding a section for the goals I have, my tbr, but also my current yarn projects. Turns out I was in the middle of more than I thought. I am loving having these things in one place so I can really focus and see what I have going on. Organization at its finest!

Sign Off 2020
Thanks for Reading! Sincerely, Luna

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Monthly Digest

Monthly Digest | August 2021

bookishluna1 Comment

Hello and welcome to my monthly digest where I discuss the books I read and hauled, crafts and crocheting I completed as well as random life stuff I did or tried. I have to say my reading was really flying this month, I read so much and I am so happy my reading mojo is back in full swing. It really has been a struggle this year and I am not quite sure why and what changed.

Some of the books read this month, sock I was working on and a blanket I finished crocheting.

Reading

  • Read Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann
  • Read Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • Read The Last Negroes at Harvard: The Class of 1963 and the 18 Young Men Who Changed Harvard Forever by Kent Garrett and Jeanne Ellsworth
  • Read Dark Archives: A Librarian’s Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin by Megan Rosenbloom
  • Read The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar
  • Read Treasure by Oyinkan Braithwaite
  • Read Snowflakes by Ruth Ware
  • Read Women in Art: 50 Fearless Creatives Who Inspired the World by Rachel Ignotofsky
  • Read Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb
  • Read Tokyo Ueno Station by Miri Yū
  • Hauled Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
  • Hauled Fresh by Margot Wood
  • Hauled The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig

Total TBR Count: 33, Last Month: 35

Crochet & Crafting

This month I tried something new, something I didn’t think I was going to be capable of. I knitted a sock! I have never knitted before, but I signed up for a sock class and I actually did it! I didn’t think it was possible, but I did it! I am really proud of myself because for me knitting is much harder than crocheting. I think I am going to continue to knit socks or little things along with my larger crochet projects because I have found they use different muscles in the arms and hands and it gives them a break while I still get to work on stuff.

I am almost done with my poncho, I am loving how it is coming out, but it is starting to annoy me. Four hundred stitches per row! I only have 6 or 7 rows left of the body and then the little sleeves. I also started and finished a blanket that I LOVED how it came out.

As for other crafting I didn’t do to much this month, learning how to knit took up too much of my brain power. I am thrilled with that I accomplished though! Organizationally, I bagged up all of my yarn and labeled them by project so they are protected from things that love to eat yarn. But, also great for when I want to start a new project everything is easily organized and I don’t need to dig through all my skeins.

Life

I tried making a London Fog Latte for the first time. I took a recipe from Gimme Some Oven. It is a really yummy latte, I have made it quite a few times since the first one and a great one to have instead of a cup of coffee. This month I focused on relaxing mornings and then productive days. I have done a lot of cleaning and getting rid of things I don’t use. I mainly focused on the storage bins under my bed, I ended up emptying an entire one. I also deep cleaned my office and got rid of about two bags of things and was able to donate one of the bags and the other was shredding since it was paperwork. It felt good to finally tackle those projects.

Sign Off 2020
Thanks for Reading! Sincerely, Luna

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Wrap Up

Wrap Up | March 2021

bookishluna2 Comments

Hello and welcome to my March edition of my monthly wrap up, I am sad to say that this month has not been the best reading wise, but I am hoping that April will knock this month out of the park. I am happy that I was able to finish a total of three books, one of which was a tome. Anyway, on to the books I read this month!

Royal Assassin: The Illustrated Edition (Farseer Trilogy, #2)Royal Assassin: The Illustrated Edition by Robin Hobb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am still very much enjoying my first read through of this series and my first jump into the world of Robin Hobb, I have the next one sitting next to me ready to go!

View all my reviews

The Unexpected Joy of the OrdinaryThe Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary by Catherine Gray
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am going to be posting a dedicated review for this book, but over all I liked it! Keep an eye out for the review for some of my specific thoughts.

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I managed to read a total of 3 books, 1,280 pages.2 of those books were fiction and the remaining book was nonfiction. I read 1 audiobook, 1 hard cover and 1 soft cover books. I have 1 4 star read, 1 3 star read and 1 2 star read this month.

What was your favorite book you read this month?

Sign Off 2020

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Bullet Journal Jottings, Writing & More

Bullet Journal | November 2020

bookishluna10 Comments

Hello and welcome! Today I am going to be sharing my monthly bullet journal spreads. This month I kept my layouts pretty much the same as previous months, but changed up the theme and colors used.

Supplies

  • Cabin images from Pixabay: #1 and #2
  • Tombow #946
  • Sharpie Pen
  • A5 Garden Slither Dot Grid Notebook from Olive and Archer
  • Scotch Adhesive Dot Roller
  • The Sacred Self-Care Oracle

My first few pages of the month are the introduction pages. I have really liked making these pages to give each month a definitive space. This month I felt like having a fall cabins as my theme so on the left I used a picture from pixabay of a cabin in the middle of the woods and mountains in the distance in the fall, all the trees are either a bright orange or red. I added a piece of ripped tan paper to add some dimension. On the right I I wrote November 2020 in script and highlighted in orange.

The next spread is just of a monthly calendar. I went really simple and plain with this months spread because I knew I would be adding a lot to it as the month progresses. I also highlighted the days of the week at the top of the calendar with the same orange color.

This month I am using a different oracle deck, the card that I pulled for the month was Sync with the moon and I added a quite from the guidebook that says, “I embrace my ebb and flow, my many phases, and the cycle of life. on a piece of brown paper. On the right hand page I added a description of each of the moon phases and when those moon phases are. The dates I added on a pice of brown paper to add some color to this page.

I wanted a page to keep track of my crochet projects I am working on so I just added the word Projects in script on top to fill in later on. On the right hand side I decided to add another picture of a cabin in the woods. This time it is still in the autumn, but this one is on a lake that reflects all the rich colors.

These two spreads I do every month. On the left I have my Month Ahead spread then one half is my tbr and the other is my monthly goals. I did not fill them in before these pictures are taken, but my TBR post is live if you wanted to see it. You can find that here: To Be Read | November 2020, Using a Prompt Generator. On the right hand side I added some shelve under the heading Books Read in script. Here I will place printouts of the books I read this month. I once again used the orange color to highlight the titles and subtitles.

Lastly, we have my weekly spreads, which I only did two weeks of because I am not 100% sure if I am going to be using them or not. But, I wanted to give myself some time to decide. My weekly spreads are the same as the past few months. Monday-Friday have their own boxes on the left side of the page, along with the weekend. On the right hand side of the page is open for me to add notes and memories. I used the orange color to highlight the day of the week and date.

Sign Off 2020

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Bullet Journal Jottings, Writing & More

Bullet Journal | September 2020

bookishluna8 Comments

Hello and welcome to my post where I am sharing my bullet journal spreads for September 2020. I don’t know about you, but September has really snuck up on me this year. I feel like it was the first week fo August and then I turned around and it was the last week already! Anyway, the only good news about time flying is creating some new spreads!

Items Used

  • Alphabet stamps
  • Scotch Adhesive Dot Roller
  • Tombow Brush Pen in color #912
  • Mechanical Pencil
  • Micron 01 in Black
  • Royalty Free Stock Photo: Pixabay
  • A5 Garden Slither Dot Grid Notebook from Olive and Archer
  • Amenti Oracle by Jennifer Sodini

Here is my dashboard for the month, as you can see by the picture on the right I am already feeling fall. I am not a huge fan of summer and the heat so I am one to always rush it out of the way. I really loved the picture of a walkway at a park with tall fall trees overhanging it and the addition of fog. I want to jump into the picture just like they do in Mary Poppins, I can feel the crisp air already! On the left I decided I would add a little script in the name of the month above the monthly calendar. I highlighted this page as well as all the others with a peachy orange color, Tombow Brush Pen in color #912.

On the left, I really wanted to keep the same month ahead spread I used over the past month. I really liked having a list of my TBR ready for me to work through as well as having a list of personal goals. I find it really motivating and allows me to focus my time instead of just wasting it. On the right I really enjoyed my bookshelf spread where I paste the picture of the books I have read throughout the month. Below you will find a picture from my August BUJO.

Here is my books read bookshelf for the month of August, this is not all the books I have read, but you can see I read You Were Born for This, The Secret River, Fever Dream (my favorite of the month), Smoke and Mirrors, The Comedy of Errors, G’morning, G’Night, After the Quake, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, and The Hunger.

On the left you will see my oracle card for the month, this month I picked I spread joy. Which honestly, I love! I will say the image on the card a woman almost in a ballerina post on her toes with a few triangles behind her confuses me, but I am going to explore it more throughout the month. On the right hand side I am going to be doing a self care tracker. I have not really been taking great care of myself so I really want to make sure I leave time to care for myself in a wide range of methods. I put a square for each day of the month and when I do a form of self care I will color it in.

Last, but not last are my weekly spreads. I have been using these weekly spreads where I only put a mini calendar on the left page and leave room for notes and memory notes. On the right I have a rectangle for every day of the week, apart from the weekend, which I combine. This really works well for me because I have room to add appointments and such, but also lists to check off for the day.

Sign Off 2020

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Bullet Journal Jottings, Writing & More

Bullet Journal | August 2020

bookishluna4 Comments

Bullet Journal

Hello and welcome to my bullet journal post. This month I am really in love with my spread. I think it is because I really made this month simple and removed a lot of fluff. I feel like this is going to lead to me having a really focused month! I also really feel like this months “theme” if you can call it that is warm and cozy, which is something I really crave right now. Even though it is the middle of the summer I have been crocheting a lot and it has reminded me about cuddling up with the blanket I am almost done with, a coffee and a good book. Anyway, on to my spreads for the month!

Items Used

  • Sharpie Pen size fine
  • Tombow Brush Pen color #992
  • Royalty Free Stock Photo Site: Pixabay
  • A5 Garden Slither Neapolitan Dot Grid Notebook from Olive and Archer
  • Amenti Oracle by Jennifer Sodini

Inspired By

My Bullet Journal Spreads

The above image shows my dashboard for the month. On the left hand side I decided to use a flowing script to write the name of the month and year and then highlighted it with my color of the month, Tombow #992, which is a warm light tan color. It almost looks faded, which I really like. On the right hand side I printed out a picture of a Scottish castle that was a similar tan color. The angle focuses on a rounded tower, it gives me fairytale vibes. As soon as I saw it I knew I needed to use it this month.

The next two pages are practical spreads, the first one on the left is my budget planner of sorts. I wanted a place where I could note my income, my account totals at the start and end of the month, a checklist to keep track of the bills I paid and then my current amount owed on my loans. I really wanted the headings to pop in this spread since there will be a lot of information as the month progresses I decided to put a line above and below each title as well as highlighted using the color of the month. On the right side I put my TBR and Goal spread I have used the last few months. Both are vertical lists each taking up half of the page as if folded lengthwise. At this point I have not decided which books are on my TBR or what goals I have for myself, but they will be added soon! I also decided to decorate the headings the same as the previous page to tie everything together.

The next two spreads will also fill out more as the month passes. On the lefthand side I have my monthly oracle card. This month I picked I Relate in Peace, the image that does along with this saying is an interesting one. It is a blue circle with blue hands reaching towards quite a few symbols such as a snake and an eye. I will be honest I am unsure of the other symbols at this time and will be looking into the guide book so I can figure out what they are. On the right hand side I added my Books Read spread where I doodled a few lines to represent shelves. I will be adding picture of the book covers I have read as the month progresses.

My weekly spread is the same as it has been for the past few months. On the left hand side I leave blank apart from a very small august calendar. I leave this area open to write what I am grateful for that happened that week. On the right, I have my rectangles where I write my appointments, to do lists, and notes for each day. I have them in a 3 by 2 grid, I really like how compact and organized this layout is. I never used to like combining the weekend into one list, but I am starting to really like it. I wanted to tie these pages into the read of the month so I highlighted the day/number by using the color of the month.

Well, that is my bullet journal for the month, I hope you like what I did! I am really loving the vibe that is given by the picture of the castle and the faded brown color. I feel that it is warm, welcoming, and cozy.

What is your favorite color? If you use a bullet journal, what is your theme? 

Sign Off 2020

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Wrap Up

Wrap Up | July 2019

bookishluna12 Comments

Monthly Wrap Up

Another month, more books read! I have to say I read a lot more this month than I thought I was going to. I think the main reason for this was the #24in48 readathon I took part in. I had such a blast spending two days just dedicated to reading and relaxing. I ended up reading a total of 10 books this month. I have not read that much in a while,  so I am super excited. Following the #24in48 I took reading a little slower due to the fact I did not want to put myself into a slump right before #NEWTsReadathon2019! Anyway, here are the books that I have read this month and a few mini reviews.

Read 2

Don QuixoteDon Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is quite long, but I laughed a ton. I had no idea how funny and goofy this story was before reading it. I wish someone told me this sooner because I would have read it a long time ago. I will say the audiobook really saved this book for me. While I did enjoy the story and the adventure reading it physically was a bit slower and blah. When I downloaded the audiobook from my library and followed along it really came to life. I am also surprised at how this book held up, I really was expecting it to be more of a relic and distant.

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Red, White & Royal BlueRed, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book made me laugh, tear up, grunt in frustration, and even sing some Panic at the Disco. This was a really enjoyable novel that is in fantasy land, but also showcases the hard discussions that people sometimes have to make. I was rooting the entire time for our main characters and for reelection.

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The Magician's Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #6)The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am so excited to have finally starting reading The Chronicles of Narnia series in its entirely. This is a great place to start and to see the birth of this magical world and story. The writing flows and I love that it is to the point and not dragged on. I am very much going to continue reading.

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Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a CityDeath in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City by Kate Winkler Dawson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very interesting account of both a serial killer and the great London Smog. Both of which, were killers. This was a very sad time for London and I think the author handled this topic very well. It gave equal attention to the effects of the fog on the health, safety, and the political climate. It also went into great detail of a serial killer who was targeting women at the same time. The book covered the crimes as well as the court cases, which I think she did a great job with.

Another thing I really liked was that the author really summed up the book. She noted how things changed after the fog and the murders. She followed how things changed decades later as a direct result on the families, political thought, and energy resources.

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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is really interesting how I have forgotten so much of the story since the last time I read this book, but it felt like I was going home to an adventure. It was great great fun to annotate my feelings this time around being in my 20s and being so many years after publication. While there were parts I can for sure see the time period very clearly in this book, I still very much enjoyed the adventure.

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The Mouse on the Mile (The Green Mile #2)The Mouse on the Mile by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, I have to say that I have enjoyed this second part of The Green Mile. I can also say that this book truly ends the build up and world building. At the very end things truly start to happen and I can’t wait to jump into part 3 to see what is going to happen on E-Block.

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Middle Mark Books 2

Beat the Backlist 2

Current TBR: 38

Backlist TBR: 2

What was your favorite book you read this month?

SignOff12:17

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