I try not to say this every month, but July truly felt like it went by super quickly, probably because I had a decent amount of things going on. Now that summer is in full swing I also spend more time gardening, which passes the time. I felt kind of restless this month, so most of my reads are via audiobook. But there’s a good selection there. So feel free to check out my July 2025 book blog wrap-up below!
Book Reviews
I posted three book reviews in July. From earliest to latest they are:
- Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me by Django Wexler
- Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon
- Mailman by Stephen Grant
Blog Statistics
Every month I share some statistics from Google Analytics because I think it helps put expectations into perspective for other micro-bloggers like me who are out there. These statistics are from Google Analytics 4.
My top five posts for total page views are (as of the evening of July 30):
- 2024 Mid-Year Freakout Book Tag: 494 views
- Arthurian Retellings Reading List: 487 views
- Book Review: Gild by Raven Kennedy: 392 views
- STEMinist Romance Books: 237 views
- Book Review: The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake: 207 views
I finally broke 7,000 views again after Google’s algorithm update sometime in the first quarter of 2025. Apparently they did another one within the last few weeks and I think for once it’s actually benefiting me. I usually see a drop in views for months afterward, but this time I saw an uptick, which is awesome. Well, it’s an uptick to where I was in early 2025, but I’ll take it.
I gained 4 followers and now sit at 258. Welcome, newcomers!
#BeattheBacklog
I finished six books that were on my TBR prior to 2025. So, basically the bulk of what I read this month! This is really good for me. Those books are LOVELY ONE by Ketanji Brown Jackson, FIERCE FAIRYTALES by Nikita Gill, GENDER/FUCKING by Florence Ashley, BLOOD TEST by Charles Baxter, THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS by Pat Barker, and BEASTS AND BEAUTY by Soman Chainani.
Other Bookish Items
I finished 11 books in July:
- LOVELY ONE by Ketanji Brown Jackson (audiobook)
- A WIZARD’S GUIDE TO DEFENSIVE BAKING by T. Kingfisher (audiobook)
- FIERCE FAIRYTALES by Nikita Gill
- GENDER/FUCKING: THE PLEASURES AND POLITICS OF LIVING IN A GENDERED BODY by Florence Ashley
- MY LOST FREEDOM by George Takei
- BLOOD TEST by Charles Baxter (audiobook)
- THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS by Pat Barker
- BEASTS AND BEAUTY: DANGEROUS TALES by Soman Chainani (audiobook)
- MAILMAN by Stephen Grant
- SASHA MASHA by Agnes Borinsky (audiobook)
- ROLL FOR LOVE by M.K. England*
*Assuming I finish this by the end of today.
As you can see, audiobooks came in clutch for me this month. They were a real help when I just couldn’t sit down and concentrate on anything! I may not have read a lot of 300+ page books in July, but they still count.
Other Media Wrap-Up
ONE PIECE: This was not a show I would’ve picked out for myself. But we kept seeing it pop up on Netflix, so we decided to try it out. I enjoyed it, but my husband definitely enjoyed it more than me. I’ll probably watch a second season if Netflix continues it.
SHENG WANG SWEET & JUICY: This is a stand up comedy on Netflix. Overall, it was ok. The humor was a little too simplistic for my style. I prefer the styles of Ali Wong, Trevor Noah, and much of the late night show hosts.
AMY SCHUMER EMERGENCY CONTACT: This is another stand up comedy on Netflix. I liked it more than Sheng Wang’s. However, I thought this was tamer compared to her other sketches (or maybe I’m misremembering her older shows).
Non-Bookish Items
Thank you to everyone who continues to visit and interact with my blog. I know I’ve recently gone through periods of needing short stints of time away. I’m dealing (for several years now) with a lot of mentally/emotionally challenging things behind the scenes. And lately that’s manifested into me needing to prioritize my free time in a way that doesn’t require more work. (Because let’s be real, blogging isn’t easy and it’s a major time sink.) I’ve finally decided not to go into the details here on my blog, mainly because there are a lot of followers who I don’t know and who never interact with me. It doesn’t feel “safe.” That said, thank you in advance for still standing by me and my creative outlet while I work through things in my personal life. <3
Anyway, on to lighter things. My garden is doing well. I’m so thrilled to have five butternut squash growing from one plant. And I didn’t even plant it! It was a “donation” from our homemade compost. I’m still battling the vine borer beetle…I hate that pest. I made three jars of fridge pickles. Some tomatoes are starting to ripen and the corn is getting close. I’m also excited that my husband is going to build another garden bed that I can designate as my medieval herb garden. It’s in an area that doesn’t get enough light to grow tomatoes and peppers, but flowers and herbs should do well there.
We did a short weekend trip to Boston mid month. As always, it’s nice to visit there. This time we checked out Japonaise Bakery, which has Studio Ghibili-inspired treats. I bought a Totoro pan, or a sweet bread that looks like the character Totoro. In addition to visiting family, we also checked out the Hammond Castle Museum and nearby Rockport, Massachusetts.
And that’s it for my July 2025 book blog wrap-up. Feel free to link yours below!
Congrats on reading so many backlist books! I read one this month and it’s my first of the year😂 I’m intrigued by the medieval herb garden, which I will now go look up. And yay for butternut squash😁
Thank you! I don’t often get to that many backlist books in a month! Medieval herbs are some of the standard stuff you see today like thyme and rosemary, but I already have those planted elsewhere. So it’s going to consist of chamomile and lesser known things like mullein, clary sage, toothache plant (I don’t know if this is medieval–more like medicinal), and a few other things.
Well done on getting through so many of your back list books this month. I love Nikita Gill’s poetry so need to check out Fierce Fairytales.
It sounds as though your garden is doing really well and I look forward to hearing about the medieval herbs
Thanks! I started on the medieval herb garden last weekend. I’m trying to do it all from seed, so there’s only a few things in it right now: toothache plant, chamomile, clary sage, & a couple of bergamots. Trying to germinate some of these things takes patience and luck.
Good job on the backlist books! I hear you, summer is always a slower reading time for me with the kids. I have been doing a lot more audio! I hope you have an amazing August. I love that your garden is doing well!!
Thanks! I’m pretty pleased with that backlist progress.
Looks like an interesting reading month! Here is my July recap: https://bibliophilebree.blogspot.com/2025/07/july-2025-recap.html
I’m sorry so much of the rest of life has been heavier lately, Celeste. Please know I’m thinking of you and holding you in my heart through it all! All the good vibes I have to spare are coming your way, too :). Though I do appreciate your naming it here because I think too many bloggers feel the need to generate new content above all else. But if we’re to keep doing this AND keep enjoying it AND do it for free, as a hobby, it needs to be able to ebb and flow like other facets of life. So I always love and respect when bloggers name that. Thank you for doing so and for being AMAZING.
Also, you have all my respect on your gardening efforts. My gardening motto is: “If God has it growing there, it’s good with me”…much to my family’s chagrin XD. But I’m always impressed by people who can garden! I just don’t have it in me. Reading about your battle with the vine borer beetle has me thinking of my aunt who had to wage war with chipmunks for years. I think they just started being intentionally rude because, in addition to messing with what she planted, they started taking apart her porch furniture. So go them for waging psychological warfare.
Also also, I love that you mentioned a few standup specials here! I’ve not had Netflix in ages but I got it again recently to rewatch Taylor Tomlinson’s standup and have kept it because they have such a great standup library and laughing makes life easier :).
Thank you, Michael! What a thoughtful comment you’ve left here. I’m definitely a more private person when it comes to sharing online for a number of reasons, but I still think it’s good to acknowledge that not everything is all hunky dory. We all have things going on behind the scenes. That’s a good point that a hobby needs to be able to ebb and flow like other facets of life; that’s an apt way of putting it.
Thankfully we haven’t had any trouble with chipmunks, but this morning my husband ran outside to chase a squirrel away from our cute little decorative pumpkin that was surprise growing out of our compost, lol.
There’s tons of standup comedy specials on Netflix. They make them relatively easy to look through since I believe they have a comedy section you can just look through. Laughter does help relieve some of the hardships of life. 🙂