The Best Books of 2021

 At least, the best in my opinion, lol. I don't know about you, but I had a pretty fantastic reading year in 2021. I ended up reading 105 books, and my average rating was 4.4 of 5, so I'm very happy with those results. And shockingly, the choosing of the ten best wasn't too difficult? It was really just the ten that made me the happiest, that stuck with me the longest, the ones I already want to read again.

Let's just jump right on into the list, shall we?

10) Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis

Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair rage, ruin and decay. But look for Christ, and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.

Lewis is my favorite author, not just from writing my favorite series (that's Narnia if you don't know), and I've had several of his non-fiction works sitting on my shelves for a few years. I really wanted to get through some of them in 2021, and I absolutely loved starting here! It's not perfect, but it was a great way to see re-examine the bare bones of what we believe. 

9) Promise Me Aloha - Taylor Bennett

"Face it, Brander Delacroix. You're stuck with me."

"For life?"

"For life."

I've adored Taylor Bennett's "Tradewinds" series for years now, and seeing it come to a close was super bittersweet! I laughed, I cried, I had a wonderful time, and I'm definitely going to be reading the series again someday!

8) We The Wild Things - Brian McBride

Perhaps in relegating things to atoms and molecules, we lose sight of the heart of the thing itself. Maybe things are just wonderful, and that's all they ever have to be.

A story of friendship, grief, forgiveness, and healing, this book broke me in the best way. I will say that the tears I shed were happy ones at seeing where the characters ended up, which is always good.

7) More Than Words Can Say - Karen Witemeyer

Choosing a husband was much like choosing a good baguette.

When a book has a first line like that, you know you're in for a good time, lol! While I really enjoyed "More Than Meets the Eye", it was the second Patchwork Family book that really stole my heart this year. It's no secret that I'm a sucker for a marriage of convenience trope, but add to it humor, heart, and baked goods, and it's a winner in my book.

6) The Lost Girl of Astor Street - Stephanie Morrill 

"To love anyone is to risk."

I was very much in a murder mystery mood this year (I have Agatha Christie to thank for that), and since this one had been on my physical TBR for a long time, I decided to give it a go. The vibes are immaculate, the characters are excellent, and I really enjoyed the mystery! I'd absolutely watch a movie adaptation of it, and yes I am still wondering where one might get a Detective Mariano Cassano in real life... asking for a friend. ;)

5) Death on the Nile - Agatha Christie

"It often seems to me that's all detective work is, wiping out your false starts and beginning again."

Speaking of Agatha Christie... I ended up reading 16 of her novels this year (which is like... a crazy number, I did not realize it was that many, haha!) While there were others that I enjoyed more overall, the mystery of this one was so well written that it has to claim my number 5 spot. I also listened to the audiobook narrated by Kenneth Branagh, who, as always, did an incredible job.

4) The Dragon Keep Chronicles - C.M. Banschbach

"That's the glorious thing about hope. There's always plenty to spare."

This duology was just... everything. It's a story of redemption, brotherhood, loyalty, and adventure, and I loved every second of it. The second book picks up right where the first leaves off, making them super binge-worthy, and so, so good.

3) The Law of Finders Keepers - Sheila Turnage

Dale studied my face. "Take your time, Mo," he said. 

"Sometimes you got to wait for your heart to catch its breath before you know which way to go."

Dale reads me like footprints across snow.

Mo, Dale, and Harm mean the absolute world to me, and I don't expect that will change any time soon. I'm definitely looking forward to reading this series again and again, and probably finding something new to love every time. If you're a middle-grade fan at all, I can't recommend these enough!

2) A Midnight Dance - Joanna Davidson Politano

"All I had to do was be still, cease striving, and know.

Know, as I knew breathing and gravity and Mama's love."

An absolutely enchanting, deeply moving, haunting story of how God has His plan for us in place before we can see it, I fell madly in love with this book. Honestly, I still haven't stopped thinking about it. If you love dance, mysteries, and melancholy stories that move your spirit, this is definitely one I recommend.

1) Dearest Josephine - Caroline George

"Poets use countless words to describe the pain,

but I only need three: I miss you."

The quote is relatable because tbh, I miss this book, haha! I don't know why or how or what it was that Caroline George put into this book to make it so addicting, but once I started I could not stop until I knew how it ended. A lot of the themes and messages rang true for me, the writing style is everything, the characters were so good. Is it for everyone? No. But it was perfect for me, and for that, it takes my top spot this year.

And there's the list! Have you read any of these? What were your top reads of 2021? Let me know! 

~ Abby

Farewell, May and June

June just flew by and I don't know where it went.  I meant to post a full May wrap-up, and got part of the way into writing it, and then just... didn't... oops...

While April was a month of "there's not too much to do other than hunker down in quarantine", May and June both kind of changed that.  We're on to the next leg of this "moving in with Grandmother" mission, which means purging and packing up her whole house in addition to trying to find one for us all to move into together.  Which means going out and seeing houses with the realtor, which in today's world means masks and gloves and occasionally shoe covers.  I'm still confused by that last one, tbh.  (But seriously though wear a mask please and thank you)

In addition to that, I ended up in a weird creative slump where binging shows and listening to music were all I felt like doing.  And yet, I technically managed to read 31 books and pretty much completely binge two shows between the two months.  So... I really can't complain.

Anyway, let's jump into the wrap-up.

- reading -

Like I said, technically, I read 31 books in May and June. But at least half of those were under 200 pages.  A loooot of re-reading went on these past two months, which was great for my heart, and not quite so great for my TBR shelf.  But I'm still really happy with the results, so there's that.

I re-read the series of several American Girls, Kit and Samantha in May, and Kirsten in June.  And some History Mysteries too.  It was a grand time.  (Samantha's family are the lights of my freakin' life, okay?)  Going back to my childhood is always a good time for me, so the Childhood Favorites Readathon that I helped host over on bookstagram was maybe my favorite thing reading-wise to happen.  I managed to read 11 books in 4 days and felt just a little bit like my old self, haha! 

Two first-time favorite reads this month, though, were Conceal, Don't Feel by Jen Calonita, and A Grief Observed by my fave, C.S. Lewis.  For more info on the books I read over the past two months, here's my Goodreads shelf for May and for June!

- watching -

Yet more binge-watching went down this month.  The reading slump gave way to preferring to watch the stories I consumed rather than read them xD  But this did lead to watching some pretty fantastic stuff, so, I'll count it as a win, haha!

I watched the BBC mini-series adaptation of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (aka one of my newest favorite books) on Netflix in May, and had a grand time.  It's a fantastic adaptation of the story, and while the spooky parts were even spookier seeing them, the cast was perfect, the writing was on point, and I cried at the end even though I knew what was coming, lollll.  ((also I would die for Jonathan and Arabella Strange... that's all))

My mom and sister decided to re-watch all the Signed, Sealed, Delivered content they could in May, which meant the show and like... all of the movies.  And once I started watching with them I couldn't stop because genuinely these movies are 10x better at explaining Christianity than like... most of Christian media?  They're so good for the soul, the ships are SO cute, they're just great, okay?

Most of June for me was spent binge-watching both Boy Meets World and Girl Meets World. I'm planning on writing a whole post on my thoughts and kinda reviewing it, ish, so we'll see if that post ever sees the light of day, pfft.  But just know that I really loved BMW, and GMW continues to be one of my favorite sit-coms.  I already can't wait to re-watch them in the future.

((listen, Cory is the Most Relatable, okay?))

- listening -

A bunch of my faves have been releasing music lately, mostly to do with everything going on in the world right now, but it's all excellent.  So here's my May playlist, and here's June, if you want to see what I've been listening to obsessively.

- doing -

The quarantine brain is real, y'all.  What day is it?  Where am I?  I've only left the house maybe a dozen times since April, partially because I'm blessed to not have to, and partially because our state keeps spiking in positive cases?  And no one seems to care but us?  Which is really annoying??  Since my body already isn't great at fighting off infections and since we really don't want our grandmother to get the virus, it's been better for me to stay home as much as possible.  Which my introverted self is still perfectly fine with. 

But having nothing to do outside of the house means that every day runs together.  And the days when I do have to go outside can cause me a little anxiety.  I think part of why I've been consuming as much fiction as I can is because the reality is a lot to handle right now.  But really, I'm very blessed, and God is still good to us.  And I hope that you all are staying safe and sane with everything right now. <3

- blogging -

Blogging didn't really... uh... happen in June.  Most of my posts in May were pre-written, but the slump hit hard in June, and with everything that's been going on, it felt weird to just write the happy posts I wanted to.  But you know what, this is my blog, and I want to write whatever I want to write.  Whenever I actually get around to writing it.  But here's what I posted, anyway:

- readers (and star wars) -
- never say goodbye (blog tour + book review) -
- i won a short story contest! -
- recent reads - quarantine edition #2 -
- top 10 books of my childhood -


Okay, phew! The wrap-up is done! I missed this blogging thing, I really did.  How was your May/June, friends?  I hope it was more productive than mine, lol!

Also, considering what day this is going up, happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans!

~ Abby

Farewell, April

Well, look at me.  Posting a wrap-up.  And more than that, posting it almost on time!  Wow!

Let's be honest, there's not much going on right now.  Or at least there shouldn't be.  But in typical me fashion somehow I feel like I'm almost busier than I was before any of this?  Although maybe it's because I've been sleeping so late, lol.  Anybody else?

Anyway, let's get into the wrap-up.

- reading -  

I managed to read 7 books this month, even though I initially planned to read about a bajillion books.  Because my brain didn't want to let me read.  But I think maybe I've broken the slump?  I'm trying not to jinx it, lol.  And for what it's worth, I gave 6 of those 7 books 5 stars.  So I really have nothing to complain about, pfft.

 

I talked a lot about what I read in April in my recent reads post, but I also got to the modern classic Wonder this month.  And read the whole thing in less than 24 hours because it was so beautiful.  Auggie's story was so sweet.  I didn't full-on cry, but I fully expect to when I watch the movie, haha!

I also got to revisit my Hundred-Acre Wood friends this month, both in the form of The House at Pooh Corner and by rewatching one of my forever-favorite movies, the 2011 "Winnie-the-Pooh".  It was so good for my heart.

- watching -

A lot of binging went down in April.  I expect it's the same for you, lol.  With plenty of time on my hands and a reading slump for the ages, I both rewatched some old favorites and discovered some new ones.

I started out the month with a rewatch of Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street, an Amazon Prime original that I adore with all of my heart.  It's so nostalgic and lovely, about childhood and change and things we all go through, and it's just pretty darn perfect.  Even though there are no gifs of it anywhere on the internet.  What's that about?

Playbill.com finally (FINALLY) streamed the proshoot of the Broadway musical Bandstand this month and while I already adored the show just from the cast album, seeing it was so much more. It's such a beautiful, heart-wrenching story and "Welcome Home" is always going to make me cry, okay?

I decided to start Boy Meets World this month!  I've loved "Girl Meets World" for a long time, and I thought it was finally time that I see where it started, especially now that it's streaming on Disney+.  Cory Matthews is an icon, the humor is fantastic, and I get why it's such a well-loved show.  I mean, I'm only on season 3, so who knows where we'll go from here, but I'm really enjoying it so far.

Also my sister and I just had a binge of a bunch of Barbie movies and it was maybe the best decision we've made in quarantine so far.

Anyone else watch these obsessively as a kid?  (and yes, I still know all the lyrics to the songs from Princess and the Pauper and yes, I'm thinking about putting that on my resume xD)

((can you tell I did a lot more watching than reading this month? Oops, haha!))

- listening -

I spent most of the month listening to my WIP playlist, tbh.  My April playlist is so small, lol.  And I spent a lot of time just listening to Jillian Edwards' new song "Heaven's Eyes" on repeat. Go listen to it, okay, it's so beautiful.

- doing-

Okay let's see, where do I start?

Life is weird.  But at least everyone's is.  I'm actually quite happy at home, so social distancing hasn't been that bad for me.  Rolling out of bed at 9 to go to Sunday School in the living room is pretty sweet, I'm not gonna lie.  The hardest part is having my extroverted family members home all the time, lol. 

Dance has moved to our living room, which is very strange and not something I'm totally loving.  Like, it's fine, and it's really not anything to complain about.  I'm blessed that my teachers have decided to try and keep us in shape.  Recitals have been moved back to July, and leaps don't really happen in our tiny space, but we're doing the best we can.  Oh, and since I'm super talented, I actually managed to sprain my ankle during Irish dance.  *pats self on back*  I typically like to sit with my feet tucked up under me and I keep forgetting that my ankle hurts when I do that... please send help.  Or cookies.

I also started using the planner my mom and sister gifted me for Easter, and I'm absolutely obsessed with it.  It's got pages to track reading and writing and all the good things, plus spots for blog post ideas, and places for me to make myself daily checklists.  Guess who's finally gonna get her life together?  This girl... maybe... idk...

Also, does anyone else feel like it took 5 years to get through March but April was over super fast?  Or is that just me.

- blogging -

So a couple of weeks ago, while I was lying in bed staring at the void of the ceiling and trying to will myself to sleep (who has a sleep schedule? not me, that's for sure), I was struck with the urge to blog.  I typed up 4 (yes, 4) blog posts at 2 in the morning.  So if my recent posts have seemed kind of ramble-y and confused, that's why, lol.  So I'm gonna try this at-least-one-post-a-week "schedule" and see if it works.  We'll see.  But there are a lot of really exciting books coming out soon and I'll be doing my best to write reviews of them and that should keep us settled at least for a little while, lol.

- 10 books that need adaptations -
- recent reads - quarantine edition -
- the narnia writing tag -

wow, look at that little list.  It has been a hot minute since I've had a list like that.  But anyway...


How was your April, friends?  How's quarantine treating you?  I hope you're staying safe and sane, and never forgetting that we're all on this wild quest together.

- Abby

Farewell, November

Hello, it's me, your friendly neighborhood girl who keeps forgetting to write blog posts.

Or, to be more precise, girl who keeps starting blog posts and never finishing them.

^ all four (4) of my braincells, wondering what I've been doing

Seriously, I have like four posts that are half finished. Will I ever finish them? Who even knows?

But I'm here today and I'm going to turn this around.  There's a ton of life updates I could give you, but for today I will just say that there's a LOT going on right now, and I've been super scrambled lately.  Like, we moved house for the first time since I was really little and I don't know what I'm doing, scrambled.  But here we go, let's hit this wrap-up.

- reading -

I read 10 books in October and 12 in November, and that's what tells you I've been ~stressed~.  Because when I'm stressed, I read.  It's kind of my thing.  But I've read some really great books in all of that, so that's fun.

I re-read 4 out of 7 Narnia books this month, after re-reading the other three in September and October.  It was so nice.  I almost wish I hadn't read them quite so fast. 

God never fails to use this series to teach me things.  I might just make a whole post about how much I love these books, but for now, just know - The Magician's Nephew is my favorite, both the creation and end of Narnia scenes made me cry, and Edmund Pevensie's arc is a straight-up miracle story.

In other bookish news, I got my new bookshelves set up and I loooove them!

^ actual footage of me in front of all my books

I've had so many years of most of my books being in boxes that seeing most of them on shelves instead is so good for my soul.  Books are my happy place, y'all, they just are.

- watching -

DISNEY. PLUS.  and pretty much nothing else, lol!

No but seriously, November was the month of Disney movies/tv shows and I'm thriving, tbh.

The new Lady and the Tramp was pure happiness and made me want puppy snuggles so BAD. ;-;  We've had two Cocker Spaniels in my lifetime and seeing Lady just made me miss ours so much oh my goodness. 

((look at them they're so PRECIOUS AHH))

I, like so many on the internet, am obsessed with baby Yoda (or Yo-yo, as my brother has nicknamed him) from The Mandalorian.

Hopefully, this will encourage producers that yes, audiences want some pure softness with their epic fight scenes.  Because let's be real, we all do.

OH and I can't forget Frozen 2! Because seriously, y'all, this. movie. is so important to me.

There are a lot of reasons why it's probably going to be one of my favorite movies of the year, but lemme just tell y'all, God has been moving in the media I'm consuming lately and I'm HYPED.

- listening -

November was a real mixed bag of music.  A little Broadway, a little bit of my pump-up jams, a lot of "this seems random but okay". xD  Enjoy!

 

- doing -

A lot has happened in the last couple of months, which is most of the reason that this blog has gone so far back on the burner.  The biggest change is that we're moving, for the first time since before I can remember, about 40 minutes away to be close to my grandmother.  Which is good, it needs to happen, but it's also coming right at the start of our busiest season of the year, which means we're all pretty much dead inside at this point.  But the good news is, in this rental house, I get my own room!  My sister and I have shared since our brother was born, so now I have my own, carpeted, solitary space, and my introvert self is thriving, tbh.  I could just lock myself in with some snacks and my books and my bed and never come out. 

((which is pretty much my plan for January, tbh))

YouTube has taken up a lot of my time this month, in trying to balance a consistent posting schedule with my life.  Somehow a consistent editing/uploading schedule is easier to maintain than a blogging schedule?  I don't know why?  I'm not complaining, it's been a good ride, but it is exhausting.  Speaking of which, I gotta go edit a video.  So I'm going to wrap this up.


Let me know what you've been up to!  Anything particularly exciting?  What did you think of Frozen 2?  Favorite Narnia book?  I wanna know all the things!!

(oh, and in case I disappear again [I'm trying not to, just covering the bases] [[yay sports terms!]] - may you have a wonderfully happy and blessed Christmas!!)

~ Abby

Farewell, September

September has come and gone and I'm kinda sad, tbh.

But look!  I'm doing a wrap-up, and it's on time.  I'm winning at life.

While August wasn't the best month ever, September showed up and turned that around.  I had a pretty great month, all things considered.  I read and watched some awesome stuff, celebrated my 21st birthday, and God showed me a lot of things that I'm pretty sure have changed my life.  So.  That's exciting.

- reading -

I only finished 5 books this month, which is a far cry from last month's 11.  But that's okay, because they were all great.

I started out the month by re-reading Prince Caspian and having an absolutely magical time.

I've always been a self-proclaimed Narniac, but it's been years since I read this book.  But when I got my Pixie Dust box, I watched the movie again with my siblings and was caught up in ALL the nostalgia, so I dove into the story again.  And gosh, it was great.  My review is all ramble-y and fangirl-y, but you can read it here if you'd like. (Also Caspian is my sweet baby angel boy and I love him a lot)

The September pick for the book club that I host was As Old As Time and wowww.  I didn't expect to love it as much as I did.

Beauty and the Beast mixed with a murder mystery mixed with a social commentary that I didn't hate = a winner in my book.  The characterization was perfect, it filled in plot holes without changing the story, and the castle life scenes were so PURE and SOFT and I'm really happy.

- writing -

I'm loving this story so much, y'all.  I've finished the first draft of chapter 3, so here's where the adventure really begins, yay!

Here's a nice little Clyde aesthetic because he's my best boy and I love him.

- watching -

This month brought with it some amazing movies and shows, some recommended by friends and some I found while scrolling Netflix.  aka the best time waster next to YouTube.

I have to gush for a minute about Mystery 101, my newest favorite Hallmark Movies & Mysteries series.  Amy and Travis are the //softest// and I adore them.

((you'll find me sobbing in the corner over this gif))  The mysteries are awesome, the characters are great, and it quickly worked its way up to my top spot of HMM series.  Clearly I just really love a good murder mystery.  No one is surprised.

Early in the month, my friend Jenni (go check her out, she's pretty awesome) and I had a bit of a movie night and watched her favorite movie, Much Ado About Nothing.  And it was ICONIC.

The sheer number of times I thought "I LOVE this trope" is reason enough to recommend this movie.  It's classic comedy, quick witted and snappy, with a sweet love story to boot.  Definitely going to be watching this one again.

While on a random Netflix browse, I came across The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and as I feel like it's a cultural icon, I decided to check it out.  And yes, I sobbed through the last half hour and I'm not ashamed.

This movie is really stinking sweet, okay?  The diversity between the girls, their friendship (it's so PURE), the family relationships and the struggles they all go through, I just.  I'm emotional, okay?  (There's some content, but really only in Bridget's parts, lol.)

And finally mom introduced us this month to Remington Steele, which is sometimes frustrating but overall completely charming.  I'm always a sucker for con-man stories, and this one has murder mysteries on top of it.  (It's not squeaky clean, jsyk, but it is a barrel of fun)

Yes, that is baby-faced Pierce Brosnan. And yes, his hair is fabulously fluffy.

- listening -

Here's my September playlist, it's a complete mixed bag of music, but I kind of love it. xD

- doing -

A lot of Disney and a lot of TV watching, haha!  My sister had a surgery this month that's taken her awhile to recover from (she's okay, but she's been couch-ridden for two weeks) and thus, I've been watching a lot of TV with her. xD  Which has been pretty chill and nice, tbh. 

- blogging -

Two whole posts this month wooooo

- the seven questions book tag -
- 13 reasons why blog tour + freedom review -

But hey, I really like those two posts, so. Who's really winning?

((it's not me, I'm not winning))

I do want to blog more, I do!  And I hope to this month.  I have a few ideas for some blog post series that hopefully I will actually get to writing.  xD

But no matter what happens, I'm glad this blog exists.  Because even though I never seem to actually post on it more then twice a month, I really love this little piece of the internet.  And I can't give enough thanks to y'all who stick with me through everything. <3

(and hey, look, Psych gifs are back in action. all's right with the world xD)

- Abby



Farewell, August

It's been almost a year since my last wrap-up post.

Is it weird now?

Do I care?

All fantastic questions for another day.

Remember that whole ~ I'm going to post something once a week ~ speech I gave in April?  Well, basically life said "LOL" and threw me under the bus of busyness.  But!  At least for today, I'm alive, and God is good. (well, God's good every day, but you know what I mean)

August was a month of anxiety, but also one of music, family time, and lots of reading. and making breakthroughs in plotting my novel. which is always exciting.

- reading -

Indie August happened!! And brought with it a new favorite book, yay!

Dandelion Dust was so good it put me in a reading slump for the rest of the week.  I wish I could say I was kidding.  It was so PURE and so SAD and I teared up TWICE.  I finished on the first day of the readathon and nothing else felt like it would compare and so nothing else got read lolll.  But if you like contemporaries at all, you definitely need to read this book.


I FINALLY read Romanov and y'all?

I'M STILL SHOOK.  Nadine has done it again.  This book was stunning.  I read it in 4 hours in the middle of the night (oops) About halfway through, this was my face:

I gasped OUT LOUD at 2 AM because WOW.  I'm not going to spoil it if you haven't read it, but you should read it. *shoves it into your hands* GO FORTH AND ENJOY, FRIENDS.


And the last one I'm gonna shout-out (I read 10 books this month, y'all!!) is The Con Job.

If you've been around this blog for any length of time, you might know that Leverage is my favorite show.  My mom has had three Leverage novels for a long time, and recently when she purged her personal book collection, I snagged them for my own.  This month I finally picked up this one, and I loved it so much??  The crew were each perfectly in character, including lines like this one:

"That put Eliot right back to remember who she [Parker] was to him,

the crazy thief with the wild ways and the private heart.

The little sister he'd never had."

*cue my distant sobbing*

I love this little found family so much and seeing them in a new adventure was something I loved so, so much.  ((A little warning should you wish to pick this up for yourself, there is a good bit more profanity than the show, which makes me sad but oh well))

- writing -

Parker and Barrow is coming along swimmingly, thanks for asking. xD

No but really, I'm enjoying writing this book so much.  I really got to work on the magic system this month, which is always a fun part of writing fantasy.  I'm so ready to get to the part where the plot really gets going, and I'm almost there, but writing dialogue (particularly one-sided dialogue) is my nemesis, thus my characters always seem trapped in this limbo of half a conversation because I have social anxiety I don't know how to have a conversation like a normal human. *sigh*

But I can make pretty aesthetics so here, have one of those for my little traumatized beans.

- watching -

Dick van Dyke strikes again.  Diagnosis Murder has been playing on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and having only seen a few episodes before, my sister and I started watching it and oh my gosh?  It's so good?  Mark Sloane is an ICON.

And let me say, it's very helpful that they're all doctors.  They can actually help people who have been hurt which is nice.  Also Jesse is my fave and also my son.

((I DIED reading this oh my gosh))

And of course, my good ol' tried and true, Murder, She Wrote was a staple this month.  It calms me down and makes me happy like no other can.

Jessica taking down the bad guys feels like I can do anything, and she's who I aspire to be in life, tbh.

((Also I'm forever sad that these two never had a crossover))

- listening -

 I rediscovered old-school Michael W. Smith this month and it's been a great ride.  "Rocketown" is my favorite song of the moment.

Here's an August playlist if you'd like to see what else I listened to obsessively this month.

- doing -

Dance started back full-force this month and I'm gonna be honest... my whole body HURTS.  Because let's be real, I'm old.  I'm creaky.  I need some oil in my joints, can I do that?  (but no really, I've loved going back, I missed it a lot.  especially tap.)

In other news, I can't WAIT for fall, y'all.  I'm sick and tired of 90+ degree weather and feeling like a steamed vegetable when I walk outside.

- blogging -

I put up 3 whole posts this month, be proud of me.  xD

- 5 indie books you should read (+ 5 on my tbr) -
- kees & colliers blog tour -
- midnight's curse blog tour -

Also, I randomly got a bunch of views in the past week from Canada and France, of all places.  So hi there, if you're new here.  Give me a follow if you wanna see me get a handle on my shenanigans, lol.

Will I get a more consistent schedule in the coming months?

(me, knowing I'm probably making more empty promises to myself)

We'll just have to see, won't we?

I really wanted to put together a wrap-up post this month, so here it is.  Did you like the layout?  Shall I do more like this in the future?  Let me know in a comment below!

(And yes, this month's regularly scheduled Psych gifs got highjacked in favor of Murder, She Wrote gifs instead, but let's face it, Jessica's always #relatable)

~ Abby