Wrapping Up July 2022

July was a month full of picture books, volleyball, icebox pies, and 100+ degree weather. Here is my reading and goals overview!

Books Completed This Month

📚 Once I Knew by Victoria Lynn Fantasy

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Read my review here!

📚 Alice Austen Lived Here by Alex Gino Middle Grade Contemporary Fiction

⭐⭐

📚 Turtle in Paradise: the Graphic Novel by Jennifer L. Holm and Savanna Ganucheau Historical Fiction

⭐⭐⭐

and a horde of picture books to prepare for storytimes

Average Rating: 3.3 ⭐s

Goals Recap

Originally posted here.

Finish my capstone project – It’s so close! I turned in the rough draft (which really could be a final draft if I wasn’t as particular and wanting it to look more visually appealing) on the 24th. The final is due in about a week and I am greatly looking forward to having it completely done.
Participate in the blog tour for Once I Knew – Yes! You can see my review here.
Post 2-3 times per week – including at least 2 book reviews – Not quite
Continue to enjoy being outdoors when possible, and document the highlights of that ✔
Try to catch up on some mending that I’ve had set aside for longer than is reasonable – I mended one vest that had multiple holes in it, but I’m not really thrilled with the quality of it. And there are still several other things I have set aside.
Listen through season 1 of the Authentic Christian podcast – To be honest, I kind of lost track of where seasons started and ended, but I did listen to several episodes. Instead of listening in order I’ve been skipping around to topics that sound interesting. I’m sure I’ve listened to the equivalent of a season, though.
Finish watching season 1 of The Chosen and reserve season 2 from the library ❌
Find a groove with the children’s programs I am helping with at the library. This month will be my first time leading programs on my own. ✔

Other July Highlights

Music of the Month: I just discovered Hollow Coves and am loving their sound. Beauty in the Light is probably my favorite song at this point.
Movies Watched This Month: I honestly cannot remember if I watched a single movie this month. I spent more time working on my capstone and making desserts for church functions and friend hangouts.
Podcasts Enjoyed This Month: The Radically Christian Bible Study Podcast and The Authentic Christian Podcast
We won two volleyball games! Okay, one was a forfeit because the other team didn’t have enough girls show up (league rules say co-ed teams have to have at least 2 girls on the court at all times). But still! It’s progress 😂
The church that I’ve placed membership with continues to be a blessing in so many ways. I’ve made more new friends in the past few months than in the previous three years since graduating from undergrad, and it is so refreshing to interact with more than a few people on a regular basis who are willing to have the meaningful conversations I crave and also just have fun together. We’ve had potlucks, game nights, played volleyball together, and spontaneously gone to dinner in various groups, but we’ve also sang, studied, and prayed together in a way that I think to some extent I always knew was possible but hadn’t expected to experience. There is a depth to friendships built around truly worshipping God that is both comforting and exciting.
Made several no-bake desserts including multiple icebox pies (key lime, cherry, blueberry, and strawberry) and a chocolate mousse pie. I also attempted lemon cookies, but the substitutions that I tried for some of the ingredients did not turn out great.
I found time to make a few Instagram posts @reviewsfromthestacks this month, and they turned out well! My bookstagram audience is not very large due to my inconsistent posting activity there, but it’s still fun to dip into from time to time.
Stepped down from leading the Staff Association. I’ve been Chairperson for about three years, and decided not to run for re-election. Instead I ran for Secretary. I’m very grateful for the experience of being Chairperson and the trust that others put in me, and I’m also looking forward to remaining involved without being the face of the group.

So that was July! It was a lot of fun, even if most of that was not directly book-related. Getting to lead some of the children’s programs has especially been fun. It’s also a nice chance to see firsthand what it’s like to fill the Children’s Librarian role in case I decide to apply for that kind of job in the future.

What were the highlights of the month for you?

Until the next chapter,

Jana