lately with lila august 2022 | august academia

Hello again, dear friends! I hope you are well and if not, I hope brighter days head your way soon.

Friends, we can all rejoice because I finally finished not one but two books after not having finished any books all year!! Can you believe it?! I’m so happy!!

Aside from reading two books (!!!), August was a super busy month. I got together with friends, blogged a bit, and went back to school for the Fall ’22 semester! Let’s take a look at how it went down…

what i posted

• Lately With Lila July 2022
• Deadly Dark Academia | The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake Review
• Mid Year Check In | Freaking Out Over All The Awesome Things I’ve Read, Watched, And Listened To

what i read

👁️ The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake (⭐⭐⭐⭐.5) Friends…I have finally finished this book…AND I LOVE IT!!! I’m not gonna rave too much here since I already did that in my review, but let’s just say I have a new obsession!

🐉 Tidesong by Wendy Xu (⭐⭐⭐) This is a super cute middle grade graphic novel from the illustrator of Mooncakes all about a young witch whose magic gets tangled with that of a boy who’s a sea dragon. It’s very cute, but I found myself just wanting a bit more from the story. That being said, I think it’s perfect for the middle grade demographic!

what i’m currently reading

🍋 This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede I’ve been reading this book since it’s release and I’m really enjoying it! As I’ve mentioned previously, I especially love the ADHD representation in the book—as an ADHD girly myself, I definitely relate! This Vicious Grace is about a girl with a deadly touch who’s supposed to be her kingdom’s savior along with her partner…but she keeps accidentally killing her partners. There’s a lot more that goes into the story, but I want y’all to read it and find out for yourselves!

what i watched

✨ The Sandman I started watching this stunning Netflix adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s beloved comic series after seeing so many rave reviews of it and I can confirm that so far it’s been amazing! I haven’t read the original comics, but after watching two episodes of the show, I did purchase and start listening to the Audible audio adaptation whilst watching along with the story. I can’t wait to see how the show plays out because as of now I’m so enchanted!

💜 Purple Hearts I watched this as a freebie choice for my Film Appreciation I course because I wanted to analyze just how bad it was, and, let me assure you, it really is THAT BAD! Thematically, this movie is… “messy,” to say the least. It’s about a romance between a liberal musician and a conservative Marine, and if you think that sounds awful, cringey, and problematic then, yep, you’d be correct! 0/10 high key do not recommend this movie.

what i listened to

high notes

🎶 “AUGUT IS A FEVER” by ella jane To quote Taylor Swift, “’tis the damn season”…

🎶 “Jhume Re Gori” by Archana Gore, Tarannum M Jain, Dipti Rege, and Aditi Prabhudesai I’m a simple girl…I hear song in Instagram Reel/Tik Tok, I become obsessed…

🎶 “Makhelaw magalou” by Manal I actually discovered this song through Fadwa’s July 2022 wrap up and I love it!

🎶 “MUTUAL FRIEND” by Jessie Reyez Hopefully we’re not surprised by now at my love for Jessie Reyez

🔍 Moriarty: The Devil’s Game I finally dipped my toes into the Audible podcast world with this one and, friends, I have not been disappointed! I started listening to Moriarty: The Devil’s Game and I. am. obsessed! It’s all about the backstory of notorious Sherlock Holmes villain, James Moriarty. In this podcast, Moriarty is a renown mathematician who becomes a suspect in his fiancee’s murder and who is trying to clear his name. The story and production is insanely good! Sadly, it’s only available to people with an Audible subscription, but if you have access definitely check it out!

what i bookmarked

• Amber wrote a really important post on the dangers of cancel culture in the bookish community and I encourage you all to read it
• Cari continued her Sarah J. Maas recap series by giving a two part recap of A Court of Mist and Fury. Check out part 1 and part 2 (Video)
• Andrew K. Hoe guest posted on Bookish Brews about what Olaudah Equiano teaches 21st century BIPOC writers about self-representation
• Marie gave book recommendations based on your favorite aesthetic
• Ashley discussed the problem with YA from the perspective of a teen librarian (Video)
• Jo interviewed Naseem Jamnia, author of The Bruising of Qilwa
• Clo recommended some entertainment media to make this heatwave more bareable
• Sage continued their series of book recommendations based on tarot cards
• Maddie interviewed Tanvi Berwah, author of the upcoming Monsters Born and Made
• Lauren highlighted 8 things you definitely don’t need to do before you turn 30
• Maria thought over liking one vs. two POVs
• Galatea explored masculinity, bad boys, love, and humanity (Video)
• Kit shared their thoughts on disability representation in books
• Cups And Cards And Books went over how to add book blogging to your resume
• Sophie spotlighted 10 YA books that should be Netflix films (plus aesthetics)
• Louise expained why she doesn’t read reviews
• Naemi recommended books based on weird Duolingo sentences
• Jocelyn pointed out 10 of the most relatable Letterboxd reviews ffor Uncharted
• Steph shined a light on author Melinda Salisbury
• Ellyn recounted how she let a TBR jar choose what she read and it put her in a reading slump
• Emma interviewed Jeff Zetner, author of In The Wild Light
• Lais paired books and songs from Harry’s House
• Steph reviewed The Maid and discussed unreliable narrators
• Elza looked into the “mean girl” trope and why it works
• Jocelyn hilariously compared middle school series to types of milk
• Michelle interviewed Chloe Gong, author of the These Violent Delights duology and the upcoming Foul Lady Fortune
• Flik examined the question, “is Kindle Unlimited worth it?“
• Debut author Zoe Sivak guest posted on Bookish Brews about the power of restoring history in fiction
• Amber answered the question, “are fairy tales a waste of time?“

what i did in august 2022

The beginning of August was pretty relaxing as I was still between semesters. During that period, I actually managed to meet up with friends a couple of times, which was really nice. I also met up with my high school IB Math HL teacher and it was so incredibly nice to catch up with him. Then on August 22, the Fall 2022 semester began and life got real busy! This semester I’m taking Calculus II, Film Appreciation I, and Choir, all of which I’m excited for. I did really well staying on top of my assignments this part Summer ’22 semester, so I’m hoping I can keep up that momentum this fall.

what i plan on doing in september 2022

Honestly, I’m planning on hunkering down and getting to work on school during September! Aside from studying and rehearsing/practicing singing, I’m not really sure what I’ll be up to. I’d also like to add some gentle exercise in starting this September, so I’m considering doing my college’s free weekly yoga class (which is actually taught by my Health professor from my Summer ’22 semester, so that’s nice). That’s really dependent on how much schoolwork I have and how well I do tackling it, though, so it’s still kinda up in the air.

spill the beans, friends!

• How was your August 2022?
• What have you been reading?
• Are you looking forward to anything in September?

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Learn more the author of this post:

Lila @ Hardcover Haven

Lila is a 30 year old anthropology student and lover of literature who's been book blogging for an eternity. Her hobbies include reading, singing, writing, arts and crafts, and snuggling her two cats, Snoopy and Clementine.