July… What happened in July? Honestly, I ain’t got a clue. It was my first month on a retainer contract (meaning I have 3-days of work per month) and “suddenly” finding myself with a heckuva lot more free time resulted in me getting very comfortable very quickly with doing nothing particularly productive every day. 😅 *big sigh* I guess you can say that I have a very lazy + avoidant personality, so I tend to really stick to my comfort zone, which means that I (mostly) allow myself to shove my head in the sand and just exist in ignorant bliss. I am the question hound in the “on fire” comic strip turned meme where the house is burning down and the hound is sat at the table saying “this is fine” (at least for now).
In other news, well, there really isn’t much other news. I managed to be productive a few times over the past month by doing a spot of spring cleaning here and there, but otherwise, I’ve just been languishing the days away… I’m trying not to be too hard on myself cos this is a big life change and I’m very much a creature of comfort and routine, so it has messed me up a bit. But I hope that August will see a turn around at some point. 🙂 Here are some photos from gaming, bookstagram, book mail, and my catto. 🐈
Well, with all of the extra time that I now have, you’d think that I’d be reading heaps again, but alas, that’s not the case. Granted, I did read 13 books this month, but only because the last four books I read were short stories. If we’re talking about full-length novels, I read 8 books. But it’s quality, not quantity, right? Happily, it’s another month where the majority of my reads were above 4-stars! ✨ Despite feeling quite indecisive about my favourite this month, I think I have to give the honour to The Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne. Such a satisfying conclusion to such a epic trilogy!
In terms of blogging, it’s still been a tough one for me. I’m still gaming more than I am reading and blogging, but I tried to make a bit more time to participate in different things. We had our Let’s Talk Bookish post of the month about participating in bookish discussions, and coincidentally, I’ve just joined the Fantasy with Friends weekly discussions. It’s been a lot of fun!
TEXTis linked to my review (if available)
4.5 & 4.75 pandas
Mini Book Review: Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher
4 & 4.25 pandas
Book Review: Of Owls and Oolong by Shari L. Tapscott
3.25 & 3.5 pandas
Miss Gentle and the Case of the Very Flat Monk by Travis Baldree (3.25), Arcana: The Cursed Fate by Sam Prentice-Jones (3.5)
3 pandas and below
The Wednesday Witches Book Club by Sarah Beth Durst
I totally dropped the ball with my reading challenges and didn’t intentionally pick out books to fill up my prompts, but coincidentally, two can fit for the Buzzword and the Year in Aeldia. I still need to write my review for the Aeldia 5-star prediction though! And yes, I’m counting Paladin as an occupation cos in the world it’s set in, it’s practically an occupation, lol. I also read a lot of my backlist so yay for that! ✨
✔ Goodreads Reading Challenge: 64/100
✔ Beat the Backlist 2026: 📚 6 backlist books // 📱 0 backlist ARCs ⇢ 0 bingo spots
✔ 2026 Buzzword Reading Challenge: July (“occupations”) ⇢ Paladin’s Hope
✔ Year in Aeldia 2026: July (5-star Prediction) ⇢ Paladin’s Faith
And that’s it, friends. I can’t believe it’s already August. Don’t know what this year is running from, but I kind of wish that it would slow down a little. 😅 How was your reading month? I hope everyone is doing as good as can be and taking good care. Hope August treats you well! 🫂
dinipandareads 
Paladin is definitely an occupation😀
I can quite see how suddenly having less to do makes you feel like doing even less. I get round it by making lists. It’s so satisfying ticking things off even if they’re only tiny things that take hardly any time
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