Monthly Recaps

JULY RECAP // beating the reading slump, bookstagram mania, booktube videos & back to uni

August 4, 2020 / 51 Comments

Friends, this post is actually on time and I am just living my best life tbh.

July… was a bit all over the place. Which was unexpected. Unfortunately, I fell into a bit of a physical reading slump so… am behind on reading a little bit. But it’s fine, I’m slowly getting back into it and I’m looking for quality, not the quantity you know.

But some other great thigs happened. Anyways, let us just get into it!!

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson {★★★★★}: No, I do not know why it took my an entire month to listen to a 5-hour audiobook. I just don’t make sense that way. Truly it should not have taken me so long because I was absolutely loving it. This book is SO GOOD and one I think literally everyone needs to read. It was narrated by the author, which made the reading experience so much more personal. This one is a YA memoir-manifesto that deals with topics like sexuality, race, the intersection of being black and queer and also navigating your way through life. George is also gender non-conforming, so it also handles misogyny and gender roles. And it’s so well done and a very important read. I need to get a physical copy because there are so many passages I want to highlight. Highly recommend this one. Big thanks to Macmillan Audio via LIbro.fm for the ALC!

✎

Space Struck by Paige Lewis {★★★☆☆}: I’ve had this audiobook on my phone for ages and I just had never got around to it. This is a poetry collection and it’s literally only like 40 minutes long. Impressive Ruby. So I listened to it and… I was very confused. It was in no way a bad book, I just felt very dumb and didn’t exactly understand what the poetry was about. So yeah, I just couldn’t understand it and had no idea what I listened to. It’s in no way the book’s fault, I think I need to read it physically. Also, I don’t think it was brought up but I wanted to mention that the author is non-binary. Thank you to Sarabande Books via Libro.fm for the ALC copy!

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall {★★★★☆}: I’ve done an entire blog post review on this already, I know, I’m so timely now. Not. Anyways, don’t talk about this book too much, but all you should know is:  you need to read it for all the fun and adorable times!! Because this book is so great and I loved it a whole lot. It’s just one of those books that I have no idea why I can’t rate it 5 stars, so I’m rating it a 4 but still I still HIGHLY recommend. Especially the audiobook, which is amazingly done. Truly SO GOOD, the narrator does all these different British accents and it’s like watching a movie. If you love Red, White & Royal Blue then I think you’ll like it. Huge thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca for the eARC & ALC via Netgalley & Libro.fm <3

✎

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord {★★★★★}: 2020 is Ruby’s year of rereads and apparently not even I can stop it. It’s fate and destiny. Apparently both fate and destiny are out to ruin me this year but eh. Hi, I love this book and I’ve talked about it a million times already on this blog. But it’s of course still great and here are two things I loved even more: 1) how well internet culture is executed, as well as 2) how the family dynamics and pressures are represented. That is all. Good day. Click here for my blog tour review from a couple of months back.

As we mentioned, I’ve been in a bit of a slump. Like I finished 3 books right at the beginning of Jule and didn’t read for two weeks. So I’d like to get back into it in August. The month is going to be busy because I’m back at uni but I think this is manageable.

  • The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
  • With The Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo
  • Mirage by Somiya Daud
  • A Torch Against The Night by Sabaa Tahir (I’ve been buddy rereading book one with Kerys for like a week now *sweats*)
  • The Fever King by Victoria Lee

Also, I don’t have a TBR set yet, I’m going to do it closer to the time, but my lovely friend Noura is hosting a readathon and it’s going to be amazing!! Click to go to the blog post announcement for prompts etc.

Mirage Readathon (6)

I’d also like to participate in the Nostalgiathon, hosted by the lovely Tiffany, Alexandra and Breana which is going to be very cool and is running from August 7th to 16th.

Click the images to be taken to the post : )

If you missed the announcement, hi I STARTED A YOUTUBE CHANNEL!!

And I uploaded quite a few videos at the beginning of the month. Then I think I burnt out for like a week and had another planned and it failed. However, I should be getting another up this week and I’m going to try come up with a good system for on there so I can have a semi-consistent upload schedule

Blog hopping has been a TON of fun recently so I just want to scream about all the amazing posts!!

Love how I cannot for the life of me remember ANYTHING that happened last month. I think I watched things but nothing is sticking out to me. Not that it was bad? I think I’m just in a weird mood today oh well.

I watched like 8 out of the 10 Love, Victor episodes. Unfortunately, I haven’t really felt the need to continue it because if we’re being honest, I’m not that invested. I went in thinking it would have more queer romances and I do have two more episodes left, but there’s only one gay romance out of like 4 others. Basically there’s a lot of straight drama and it wasn’t what I was expecting?? It’s fine but it’s not what I thought the show would be about so eh. The only part I’ve loved was Bram and Simon’s appearance. Love that for me. The only other character I do like is Felix, just not his romance. Yelp.

Also have been passing the time by doing a Gilmore Girls rewatch. No self-control on this blog. It continues when I also rewatched all the Hunger Games movies again over a few evenings with my family which was cool. No one is surprised tbh. It’s slowly becoming my brand to be a THG freak.

And then I almost decided to put myself through every pain imaginable and watch The Kissing Booth 2, and then I saved myself when I realised I also made the dumbest decision of my life. Watched like 3 minutes and COULD NOT so clicked right off.  The general consensus is that it gets worse so maybe when I really hate myself I’ll watch it.

I watched other things too but I’ll send you over to my Letterboxd for that.

And idk what music I listened too, oh well. I played the piano, listened to folklore and I think like Counting Crows and The Vamps.

As I write this, I’ll be starting my second semester of uni in the next few weeks, so vacation didn’t last all that long. So I had a vacation in July but it’s over now welp. I just spent a lot of time doing content creation really, as you saw with all the posts.

I’ve been really active online, making lovely new friends on here and it’s been great. Otherwise not much. My mental health has been… okay?? Up and down really. Mostly up, only a few mishaps, but manageable I guess.

WHAT DID YOU GET UP TO IN JULY? WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE READ? DID YOU WATCH ANYTHING FUN? WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE POST? HAVE YOU READ ANY OF THE BOOKS I TALKED ABOUT? LET ME KNOW!

xo

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51 Comments

  • theonewhoreadit

    August 4, 2020 at 3:04 pm Reply

    YEES I want to read All Boys Aren’t Blue soo badly, it seems soo great! I’ve also been more into Bookstagram lately which totally messed up my schedule so yeah… AND folkore is sooooo soooo good! I hope you’re going to have fun in participating in these two readathons! And ohh I didn’t know you started a BookTube channel! I will definitely go watch it! Anyway, I hope you’ll have a great reading month!

  • Stephen Writes

    August 4, 2020 at 6:23 pm Reply

    July was a slow month at the start for me too, but I’m glad you read two five star books! Congrats on setting up booktube and also good luck for your August TBR. I loved With The Fire On High.

  • Sumedha

    August 4, 2020 at 6:51 pm Reply

    First of all, all the best for uni!! I have my last ever finals this month and I’m so glad to be graduating haha. The years were good but I’m ready to move on. Also, you started a YT channel?! Omw to subscribe.

  • erin from rinsreads

    August 4, 2020 at 7:03 pm Reply

    Ohhh okay I have Boyfriend Material AND Tweet Cute both sitting on my shelves waiting to be read…which one should I pick up first?? I’m about to start a new book and it was originally going to be Boyfriend Material but now I’m super conflicted….

    Totally get what you mean about Love, Victor – love Felix but like Lake is NOT good enough for him?? It’s definitely v dramatic, but Bram & Simon’s appearance was the cutest thing, so happy to see them living their best gay lives thriving in NYC, can’t beat it.

    I hope you have a great second semester of uni, hopefully you can still find some time to relax and take care of yourself!! Looking forward to seeing what you get up to in August!! ❤️

    • Ruby Rae Reads

      August 4, 2020 at 7:09 pm Reply

      Rin I NEED MORE INFORMATION HERE. Okay lemme try my best. If you want snark and fun and laughs, plus an adult romance, then Boyfriend Material. But if you want a teenage rom-com that also deals with other relatable things (in my opinion) then Tweet Cute. Hope that helps. I def rec Tweet Cute more bc it meant a lot to me when I first read it but they’re both great xx

      YESS I DONT LIKE LAKE. I hate those “I’m popular can’t reveal I like someone unpopular” storylines. Plus I do just find her annoying and nothing special. I thought there’d be more character development there, but so far nope.

      THANK YOU! Sending all the love too <3<3

  • Emily

    August 4, 2020 at 7:29 pm Reply

    The amount of times I pause whatever I am currently watching to start another Gilmore Girls rewatch… lol. I completely understand!

    I think Tweet Cute is available at my library! I’ve been looking for more good YA contemporaries recently, so I’ll have to check that one out.

    Hope you have a good August!

    • Ruby Rae Reads

      August 4, 2020 at 7:46 pm Reply

      OMG RELATABLE!! GG just never leaves hehe

      ahh PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read Tweet Cute! You won’t regret, it’s just so well done.

      Thank you so much for your lovely comment xx

  • Mel

    August 5, 2020 at 12:37 am Reply

    Congrats on starting your channel!! I’ve been getting into booktube more lately and I’ll definitely check out your videos 🙂🙂

  • Caitlin @ Caitlin Althea

    August 5, 2020 at 8:31 am Reply

    same i only read four books in july and now i’m super close to being behind on my goodreads challenge :(( but four books is good and as long as you’re enjoying what you read, you’re winning!! i haven’t had much luck with memoirs (even becoming by michelle obama was just ok for me lmao), but i’ve been hearing so many good things about all boys aren’t blue that i might just pick it up! i really need to support more Black and nonbinary authors!
    ahh, i’m currently read the starless sea & it’s good so far! hopefully i can finally finish it this week 🙁 hope you have an amazing august <33

    • Ruby Rae Reads

      August 5, 2020 at 6:48 pm Reply

      Oh no Caitlin but YOU CAN DO IT!! yes, as long as they’re good books. Quality over quantity amirite??

      Ah I’ve been trying to get my hands on Becoming but its a pity you didn’t like it. ABAB is a bit different I think, because its a manifesto. It’s not just George’s life as they share other messages. Crossing my fingers that you like it hehe

      omg yay SO SO SO glad you’re enjoy The Starless Sea. I absolutely CANNOT wait to read tha one. WIshing you an amazing August too <3<3

  • El

    August 6, 2020 at 4:30 am Reply

    With the fire on high is definitely on my TBR for this month! I’m hoping it’ll be a great summer read ☺️
    Honestly I’m a little scared I’m hyping up my August TBR too much but I just wanna enjoy them so bad! 😅

    • Rain

      August 6, 2020 at 3:28 pm Reply

      sounds like you had a pretty busy month! my heart is with you because i know uni is going to be a pain, im dreading september bec i’ll be going back to uni by then 😭

      oh and welcome booktube! i hope you take some rest to avoid even more burnout. wishing you a great august 💖

  • Olivia @ Purely Olivia

    August 6, 2020 at 8:44 pm Reply

    Eep this post is reminding me that I need to read Tweet Cute! I feel like it just came out, and then you said you reread it, and now I’m realizing that it’s been out for quite some time and yet I still haven’t read it- hopefully I can remedy that soon because I love a good fluffy rom com YA novel!

    HOW DID I NOT KNOW YOU STARTED A YOUTUBE CHANNEL?? This is very exciting news to me and I can’t wait to watch your videos!!🥳 I’ve been getting into watching more booktube videos lately so obviously nothing could be better than watching videos from THE amazing Ruby Rae Reads.

    Thank you so much for mentioning my post!! I’m very happy you loved it and please know that I absolutely adored all of your posts this month. <33

    Good luck with starting back at uni, I hope it goes amazingly!! Sending you all the love and positive energy for the month ahead and I hope it's amazing❤️

    • Ruby Rae Reads

      August 7, 2020 at 5:21 pm Reply

      Olivia YES you do need to read Tweet Cute!! It is… brilliant and I think right up your alley. I read an eARC last year and adored it <3<3

      OMG NO STOP IT. YOU are amazing. Booktube is just so... easy to watch? I need to upload again soon and its different being behind the scenes but I like it 🙂 Eeeppp you're actually the best ilysm xxxxx

  • Tiffany @ String of Pages

    August 7, 2020 at 2:04 pm Reply

    Tweet Cute is amazing indeed! I read it earlier this year and I love every page of it <3 I also would like to read All Boys Aren't Blue, I've heard great things about it. We're also pretty much the same in life, to be honest. I'm also going back to uni next week, so best of luck for both of us!

    p.s. your booktube looks great!!

    • Ruby Rae Reads

      August 7, 2020 at 5:23 pm Reply

      Eeeeekkk another Tweet Cute lover!! We love to see it lmao. It’s just SO GOOD right?!?!? Ah yes read ABAB, it’s so brilliant and such an important read. I SHALL PRAY… that uni does not destroy us although no promises I guess. Thank you so much xoxo

  • Lais @ The Bookish Skies

    August 9, 2020 at 9:51 pm Reply

    ruby, i am wishing you all the luck with your readathons this month! i feel like readathons always serve as motivators for me to pick up books whenever i am in a slump or feeling intimidated by certain titles, so i really hope they work well for you this august!

    also can i just say that you conquering book blogs + book tube + bookstagram like a QUEEN is just!!!!!! impressive doesn’t even cover it. i am constantly bouncing back and forth in should i create a bookstagram because i find SO hard to take matching pictures and all of that + i don’t owe a lot of physical books and just a bunch of other things, but mostly it’s super time-consuming and i already spend a lot of time in my blog, so really PROPS TO YOU for conquering every single app and social media so wonderfully!

    i haven’t watched love victor yet but i really want to. i’m sad to hear there’s so much straight drama though 🙃 like as if i don’t already have to deal with that in every single other show i watch.

    (also: a warrior that watched the kissing both 2 for FULL 3 MINUTES??? hahaha i watched it kind of because i watched dylan is not in trouble’s movie commentary and i was shook by how cringey the movie could be. like…. they really served the cringe you know? lol)

    thank you SOOOO much for the shoutout! hope you have an amazing august & all the luck with uni this month!

    • Ruby Rae Reads

      August 10, 2020 at 7:15 pm Reply

      Firstly, Lais have I mentioned how much I love you? Because its endless amounts!!!!!

      Secondly, THANK YOU. I,,, have not been reading anything these past few days welp so that needs to happen. But I’m hoping that these readathons will boost me a lil bit hehe

      omg stopppp itttt YOU are too kind and amazing. Also PLEASE start a bookstagram, I want ALL your photos eeepp PLEASE. You’re photos are all so stunning (just post all the ones you’ve posted and you def don’t need a ton of physical books). I SHALL BEG YOU!! Obsessed with all your edits *insert heart eyes*

      ahhh yes love victor… I watched a reaction (wasn’t intending on watching the final part but I did whoops) and I just?? idk some LOVE it but I’m not and idk if its worth it. There are 2 m/m romances going on, Simon & Bram and the MC’s love interest has a bf (who is lowkey not amazing anyways) but it like doesn’t have all ~that~ much to do with the story which is why I say like I feel there’s too much straight drama? So like idk I should finish it and give more comprehensive and non-judgemental ops but yeah.

      Lmao, I watched Trin’s commentary to both TKB2 (& Love Victor) and I’m just not yikes. My mum watched it too and I saw bits and just yeah no thanks.

      Sending you all the love and I hope you have a wonderful August also xoxoxo

  • bookish_heights

    August 10, 2020 at 4:35 pm Reply

    Can I just say…you’re amazing, you have a bookstagram, blog and booktube?! I can’t even juggle my blog and life 🤣
    Amazing wrap-up! I loved Boyfriend Material and All Boys Aren’t Blue. I hope you love The Starless Sea, it’s one of my fav books!

    • Ruby Rae Reads

      August 10, 2020 at 9:53 pm Reply

      Ahhh thank you so so so much, you’re too kind xoxox

      Yess very glad you loved Boyfriend Material, it’s just TON of fun. And All Boys Aren’t Blue was just WOW so incredible. The Starless Sea pressure is on lmao

  • aina

    August 12, 2020 at 1:07 pm Reply

    Omg I LOVE With the Fire on High!!! And I’ve been wanting to read The Starless Sea for a long time now. Would love to know your thoughts on these books once you finish them!! And I’ve heard lots of good things about Boyfriend Material. Definitely will keep an eye out on this one 😉

    I only watched one episode of Love Victor and umm while I enjoyed it I just don’t feel the spark to continue watching it…? To be honest I don’t really like straight drama in a show that’s supposed to be queer 😅

    • aina

      August 12, 2020 at 1:13 pm Reply

      Nooo I accidentally hit the reply when I’m not done yet writing my comment!! 🙈 I’ll continue here.

      Congrats on having a booktube channel!! Seriously how do you do that?? I only have a blog and bookstagram and I can’t even juggle them without abandoning the other 😂 You are a superhero!!

      I wish you all the best with your uni 💖 And may August be a good month for you both life and reading wise!

      • Ruby Rae Reads

        August 12, 2020 at 3:38 pm Reply

        Hehe omg, you’re the cutest!! I,,, honestly don’t know how I’m going to juggle them all tbh but THANK YOU <3<3 I hope you have an AMAZING August too. Thank you for the kindest comments xoxoxo

    • Ruby Rae Reads

      August 12, 2020 at 3:36 pm Reply

      Oh yay, the fact that you love it makes me very excited. Ah just SO MANY books!! EXACTLY my thoughts on Love Victor. It just felt like any other random teen show when I thought it was going to be all about being queer. I don’t watch a lot of tv but that topic just doesn’t interest me so… *sighs*

  • Marie

    August 18, 2020 at 10:29 am Reply

    I’m sorry you fell into a bit of a slump this past month, I hope this month will be better! I’ve heard amazing things about All Boys Aren’t Blue, I need to check it out sometime. and I am so excited about your TBR! I loved with the fire on high so much and the fever king SO MUCH as well 🙂
    Thank you so, so much for sharing my post, so happy you enjoyeyd it <3 Have a lovely month and take care!! <3

    • Ruby Rae Reads

      August 18, 2020 at 12:16 pm Reply

      Marie, you’re literally the best! Thank for you saving my butt, because otherwise, I would never have seen your lovely comment xx Tbh, I’m lowkey still in this slump and I,,, am just waiting for it to end welp. Eeep I hope you LOVE All Boys Aren’t Blue, it’s such a phenomenal read!! And I also literally just started WTFOH on audiobook and that narration is *chefs kiss* Hope you have an amazing month too xoxox

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