Stories in a Thousand Words: July Recap 2016

Hey, bookworms! With both excitement and nervousness, I acknowledge that July has come to a close. It seems like I celebrated the fourth and charted monthly goals just yesterday. As the next school year rapidly approaches, I'm working to finish my summer assignments and prep the blog for a vastly different schedule. Still, I'm happy to celebrate July's events and conclude a great month in book blogging and other activities.

New York day you can be a new man

Yes, this is a Hamilton quote. I had to.
For me, this July marks new opportunities in book blogging.

• As many of you may know, I formally returned from a three-month blog hiatus at the beginning of this month!

• This month, I created a bookish snapchat! It's a new platform for my reading endeavors and I'm gradually learning the ropes. To keep up with my bookish shenanigans, you can add me at covertocover!

• I'm currently brainstorming two major book blogging events with some lovely and talented bloggers! Stay tuned for updates!

            

• I started making use of a library card. Although using a library card might seem mundane and boring, I hadn't visited my local library much since starting high school. In July, however, I've visited the place almost religiously, sometimes arriving to study or check out books six times a week. Requesting books has saved me a lot of time and money, for which I am incredibly grateful. (Plus, there's nothing like showing up to the library with a stack of *personalized* books just waiting to be read 😄!)

Wanderlust

“We are torn between nostalgia for familiar and an urge for the foreign and strange. We are homesick most for the places we have never known.” -- Carson McCullers

• I traveled to Canada this month! My family and I visited some beautiful locations in Niagara Falls and Toronto. Those who follow me on Twitter were the first to see my travel photos💕

            
            

Books, books, and more books

July offered some truly epic reads.

• I've been using that aforementioned library card to read all the books I can! This month on average I've been clearing about a book a day, a great improvement over my school-year average, a book every five months 😂.

• As I thought about the books I've read across 2015 and 2016 so far, I realized that only one of these books featured a military child. So, earlier this month I discussed why representation of military kids in YA fiction is incredibly important!

• Slowly but surely, I'm chipping away at my Goodreads challenge! This year I overambitiously pleged to read 100 books, a goal that seemed reachable until the school year began. I still have hope, though, and while I remain behind in the challenge, this month I've reduced my numbers from 38 books behind to less than 20 books behind!

            

• I'm also slowly completing my summer assignments, many of which involve required reading. I begrudgingly admit that these assignments are *tentatively* making me appreciate required reading. 

• Some of my favorite books of 2016 so far include Six of Crows, A Study in Charlotte, My Lady Jane, The Unexpected Everything, The Hidden Oracle, The Glass Castle, A Darker Shade of Magic, and How it Feels to Fly. I talked about six of these awesome titles on the blog a few weeks ago!

Stories in a thousand words

"A picture is worth a thousand words."

• I participated in my first continuous bookstagram challenge, #julywithcj this month! I had a lot of fun seeking ways to fulfill the prompts within my theme.

• After posting on bookstagram consistently throughout the month and growing to love the community, I penned a post with 7 reasons you ought to join bookstagram! 

            

• A few bookstagram shoutouts to:
• Alex [@thebooksbuzz] and Salma [@seaofbook] for helping me to reach a milestone of 400 followers. Although the number may seem small to some, I'm grateful for the support.
• Maha [@ayounicornreads] for providing me some awesome feedback on some of my photos when I was hesitant to post them for the challenge.
• Clara [@claraxlala] for leaving the sweetest comments on my photos that open discussion and brighten my day.

I'm siriusly in love with the Harry Potter series

That bad pun was riddikulus.

• The script of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child releases today! I can't wait to find out about Harry and the others post-battle of Hogwarts. Just thinking about the Cursed Child makes me want to re-read the entire series.

• This month, the wonderful Aentee @ Read at Midnight hosted a #potterheadjuly event to celebrate the release of the Cursed Child! To commemorate, I shared ten of my favorite Harry Potter quotes and the invaluable life lessons they have taught me.

• With the upcoming release of a Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film and new updates on Pottermore, Ilvermorny, the American equivalent of Hogwarts, has been all the rage. I'm curious: what's your Ilvermorny house? 

            

But enough about me; here are a few of your highlights

@ccovertocover I've gotten lots of books read and in July I hit 280 followers which is close to my goal of 300! 😃

— Claire (@BlankSlaters) July 24, 2016

@ccovertocover so many amazing reads! And I've taken part of tons of chats and discussions, which is my ultimate goal!!

— Kaeley Scrugglesen (@KaeleyScruggs) July 24, 2016

@ccovertocover i've been watching tv shows (mostly Sherlock), and obsessing over Calligraphy :)

— m a h a (@younicornreads) July 24, 2016

@ccovertocover I haven't read any books this month😞 but I did see my favorite band in concert & I got to see my best friend again😌

— liv the llama (@GrangerLiv) July 26, 2016

@ccovertocover I just got my license & it was my blogiversary earlier this month ☺️

— ☾ jess ☽ (@PrincessicaOB) July 26, 2016

What was your favorite part of July?