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august slipped away || days past: a july & august ’21 recap || life & literature ep. 6

maya rajesh65 Comments

“But I can see us lost in the memory
August slipped away into a moment in time
‘Cause it was never mine“

Starting one of my longest wrap-ups starting with the beautiful august by Taylor Swift (go listen to it just once if you haven’t and you will fall in love with her voice – do it.)

But honestly, how is it that July and August just disappeared? (Ignoring the fact that I question time practically every. single. recap, of course.)

July & August were beautiful months, and I did pretty well all through – in terms of school, reading, mental health & my online presence so I’m hoping that the second half of the year – which we’re already partially through – will be one in which all of us shall fare well in.

I read, watched, and listened to a lot these past two months and now I have a number of new favourites. Let’s talk books, movies, songs & life!

literature 📚

I read so many lovely books these past two months, and most of them were standalones. They were beautiful, poignant novels – some of which I buddy-read with my sister – and some dragged quite a bit throughout. Nevertheless, here are the most popular! The links will take you to their Goodreads pages where, if you’re following/friends with me you can see my rating & full review!

This is one of the most beautiful representations of mental illnesses in books I’ve read & that made me care for the characters so much. Finley Hart is an eleven-year-old child suffering from bouts of depression and anxiety, only, she doesn’t know it yet. She finds solace in living in her make-believe fantasy forest, the Everwood, and when she moves to her grandparents house so her parents can decide if they want a divorce or not. One word: perfection.

This book. Words cannot express how much I love these characters and how beautifully they were crafted. It has been so very long since I read a light, middle-grade book and I’m so glad I read this one (thanks for the rec, sis) because it was just so beautiful. This was set in world war ii starring a cripple Ada whose home is destroyed and she and her brother are taken in, as evacuees by a certain Ms Smith with a rather enigmatic past. Two words: read it.

I made the horrid mistake of watching the movie before the book and I do regret it. The movie was extremely well-made, followed the plot of the book and the main character arcs, but there’s still a joy of reading the book first. So, that’s something I definitely do not recommend doing. If you’re looking for a fast-paced, unputdownable read to get you out of a reading slump, this is it. It has everything: weirdly fascinating magic, villains ostracised from society and a LOT of plot twists with a little bit of sweet romance.

This definitely wasn’t bad but it wasn’t all that great either. I mean, it took me forever to finish it – it dragged like crazy in the middle – and was definitely not what I expected (I thought the first book was way better.) The romance felt forced, now that I think about it, and though I gave in four stars, I’m questioning that because there were many aspects of this that could be improved. I’m a little sceptical about starting the next book, but we’ll see, I guess!

I’ve been working quite a bit on my WIP, had a number of IRLs critiquing it and managed to plot it all the way through, for the most part. I think writing has taught me that characters based off of people you know fare better in book simply because they are realistic.

It’s nearly reached 80k now (hey, I’ve had a lot of exams going on so not a big leap) and sometimes I wonder if the teachers want to torture us. It’s barely been two weeks since our midterms ended and here we are again, studying for our half-yearlies. Torture I tell you. Well, here’s a little snippet without context (it’s not the best and keep in mind I’m still in the first draft stage – not even editing it yet.)

watching 📺

I have only been watching too much to add in here, but here are a few amongst my favourite movies & shows I watched these last two months (a lot of Robin Williams, even more Emily Blunt and an unbelievably large amount of Anne Hathaway.)

Into The Woods is one of the most creative takes on fairy-tales I’ve seen. If you’re into musicals or fairy-tale retellings, then this is for you! It’s a (slightly odd) mix of Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella and Rapunzel. What I liked most about it was the songs and the fact that halfway through, there’s a tropey ‘happily ever after’ and everything goes wrong right from there! It’s a lovely musical and totally something you should watch if you’re looking for anything.

Mrs Doubtfire is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. After a divorce, Daniel, the father, has been separated from his children and poses as a nanny – Mrs Doubtfire – to spend more time with them. BUT, when he gets caught, things go desperately wrong and leads to innumerable funny situations. (And yes, that’s Matilda poking her head out at the bottom. There’s James Bond, too.)

I’m so late to the party – trust me, I know – but I finally got to watching Season 13! I LOVED it beyond loving it, because it was just so full and amazing to watch. (That Finale definitely killed me, but still.) MasterChef is probably something all of you’ve heard of, but if not, it’s an extremely competitive cooking challenge. Out of all the MasterChef’s, the Australian one is by far my favourite – it’s got such a cheery attitude, no putting down other people & the food is brilliant.

THIS movie. It’s got to be one of my all-time favourites. I recently re-watched the original Ocean’s trilogy but never got to watching this one up until last week. Join Debbie Ocean as she assembles a team to pull off an impossible heist – think Six of Crows, but female version. Cate Blanchett played Lou so well (yes, Hela in Ragnarok & Lady Tremaine from Cinderella) but Anne Hathaway at the end – this movie was brilliant in all aspects. (I’ve been considering doing a Song-Movie-Book parallels post; what do you think? Drop some title ideas down below!)

camera roll crumbs – august edition 📸

There are a LOT of flowers, forgive me, yours truly went through a rather awkward photography phase. Some texts from my HSMTMTS obsessed friends (hi, Suhi, if you’re here thank you ♥), some friends quoting Shakespeare angrily at me and a lot of clear skies. Also, view the images in ‘gallery’ for they seem to be clearer there.

moments✨

// cycling outside as the sun sets & the birds swarm across the sky

// going to breakout rooms on Teams to do anything & everything because it feels a little bit like normal school ♥

// baking a chocolate cake, having my father take it out of the pan and watching it crumble (and eating cake crumble with frosting later on)

// making LOTS of lists on Notion and writing & receiving long emails about everything

// freaking out with my one of my besties because our library assignment this week was to make a gratitude journal & what’s to love more than that?

// pretending to be in an interview with ELLE while watching a song association video

// listening to ‘what makes you beautiful‘ on full volume and really feeling the vibe

// hot chocolate. that’s it, hot chocolate

// playing for hours on end on sundays on the bored button because I was plain bored

posts i read📖

I’m so glad to have such a large section for posts I read here because I loved being a part of the blogosphere & these are just some of my favourites! I really feel the need to thank everyone who’s put their content out into the world, because I’ve loved reading it ♥ (Also these aren’t only bookish or only lifestyle posts; sort of a mix-up.)

  • Lili reached over a hundred and forty followers! (Also read the affirmation at the end of this post – it brightened up my day)
  • Poorwa shares a beautiful poem: Strange Feelings and it’s so lovely! Show it some love!
  • The One and Only Ivan, one of my favourite middle-grade reads was reviewed by Millay & I loved her analysis so much!
  • Meg does a super fun Pura Vida haul (and Pura Vida’s getting so popular lately, I’ve got a shop 20 minutes from home & I’m definitely going soon because this review was amazing!)
  • Shrutika wrote an absolutely hilarious post of things we all do & it’s really relatable! I loved this one, haha.
  • Rayna reads her old posts & cringes which was so understandable because yes, I always do that and no, don’t read my old posts.
  • Saumya discusses why we should trust our insticts in a very relatable post, so go and check that out!
  • April decides which of the characters from her recent reads would be lion bait. And yes, I love Anne, but she’s lion chow.
  • Nehal does a six-word-story which is so funny (the theme is ‘drugs’ and I love what she did with it, haha.)
  • Vanya shares some beautiful information about the place she lives in and the rain’s impact on her surroundings.
  • Aparna shares a lovely verse she wrote
  • Flora talks about the pros and cons of blogging and if you’re a fellow blogger you have to read this one!
  • Divi continues her lovely ‘blog diaries’ series about what happiness is & I really enjoyed reading this!
  • Rania recaps July & her WIP sounds absolutely fascinating!
  • Jasmine talks about deleting social media & its impact on your life – really a very well-though out post
  • Liesel shares this post about faith & it really made me smile
  • Megan wrote this beautiful, beautiful piece ‘To the girl,’ and however late I am to it, I’m so glad I found it because it made me feel seen and that’s what I needed then.
  • Maith shares ‘A Little Beam’ which is so lovely, I really enjoyed reading it!
  • Saima shares her mid-year freak out book tag, and I loved all the new recommendations it gave me!
  • Cherelle does a double book review & I loved her review on The Infinity Courts because I’ve heard so much about it recently!
  • Sep reached 100+ followers – congratulations!
  • Alex shares her ARC (!!) review of Half Sick of Shadows (by the author of the Ash Princess series) and I loved reading it!
  • Adya shares her favourite reads from summer – go check it out!
  • Diamond shares some stuffie pictures & writes about her time at her grandma’s!
  • Writer advice! Sarah writes about things your character can do when in pain (besides “she howled as though she was a wolf”, of course.)
  • Emmie shares her process behind a DIY collage wall – it’s really cute! All you really need is Pinterest – check her post out!
  • Nashita does a hilarious review of Kingdom of Ash, and gosh, I couldn’t agree with it more.
  • Maggie shares posts she loves to read on others’ blogs & this really helps if you are in need of blogging inspiration!
  • Hreem shares Italy Through My Lens ™ with amazing photos – I wish I were there right now.
  • Chloe celebrates her 6-month-blogiversary – go show her some love (congratulations again!)

hello, september 🌆

Hello, September! I think 2021 will forever be marked as The Year That Flew Away(tm) because where has it disappeared? Last year took forever because the lockdown just dragged but September already?

I can’t tell you how amazing Spotify is. I just got it recently, and it’s been so much more helpful than YouTube music because I listen to a lot of music (the ads aren’t that annoying) and make a ton of playlists. (No, I am still not over evermore and no, I will never be over SOUR.)

I hope September will bring light & life to all of our days and though I’ll be under the crushing pressure of exams, I do hope to end up all right by the end of it. Here’s to watching re-runs of Modern Family, to listening to Taylor Swift on repeat and to looking at my Biology textbook but not studying (no, really, why do I do that?)

But this month, I’m grateful for family, for friends (happy birthday Isha, Suhi & Avni ♥) who never fail to put a smile on my face, for late-night readings with my sister and for the fact I’m privileged enough to have the amenities to write & attend school. I’m aware of what’s happening in Afghanistan right now and I do want to speak out but I’m just not sure how to. So just remember that after every sad day comes a glad day. So keep smiling.

seize. the. day.

(or the night in which case you will sleep)
Let's

How was your August? What have you been obsessed with lately? Have you read/watched/heard about any of the moves & books I mentioned? Let’s discuss them in the comments 💖

nshine

65 thoughts on “august slipped away || days past: a july & august ’21 recap || life & literature ep. 6”

  1. Wow amazing post. The war that saved my life is one of my favourite book of all time I am glad to know that you liked it. I haven’t read some kind of happiness but it seems like a great book. Claire Legrand is a great author I have read some of her other books. I loved your post..!

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  2. OMG, that Taylor Swift lyric is in the first paragraph of my wrap-up too, I haven’t posted it, but it’s there sitting ready to go!
    Also, The War that Saved My Life is one of my favourite historical fictions- glad you loved it too! And those flowers are so prettyyyy!!!
    Awesome post!

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  3. Oh yeah, you’re not the only one who is questioning where the fast few months slipped by, I mean, they almost felt negligible! And even thought that the second book in the ember quartet was kinda dull, it keep dragging on for forveer and nothing was happening, the romance did in fact felt forced. Helene was the only interesting character in it, I even did a book review. I hope you enjoy the rest of the books though, the third one is pretty good.
    Also, you mentioned my post!!!!! Wjehvfkal whoa, thanks a lot!!!! 😍😍

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  4. Oh, wow – I have a draft scheduled with the same title – “august slipped away”
    if you want me to, i can change it because i don’t want it to look like i copied your title..

    I loved reading through this post, especially the memories part ❤

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  7. Wow, Maya! Your August was so wondrous!!!! I love how aesthetically pleasing your photographs are!!! 🤗
    LOL, even I am guilty of watching Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, before reading the book. Why did they alter it so much!? 😶
    Into the Woods is so lively and it truly has a star-studded cast 😂
    Thanks a ton for the shoutout, you are extremely kind!!! 🥰
    Hope you have a stupendous September!!! ❤
    All the best for your WIP, excited to read it (if you publish🤭)!!!!

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    • Ahh, thank you so much Maith! Yes, reading the book before is always better & they always change it up for movies!
      Yess, I love Into the Woods!! Your posts are always so lovely to read ♥
      Aww, thank you ♥
      Have a great September too!

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  8. what a wonderfully detailed wrap up!! Taylor Swift was right, august really did slip away. congrats on reaching 80k words on your wip, it looks so interesting! hope you’re able to make more progress, and that your exams go well ❤

    thank you for including me in here 💛

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  11. I can’t believe today is August 30🤐
    Didn’t August just start like what? It’s ending already?
    Omg this post made me listen to August immediately ah! What an amazing song.
    SAINTS I USE NOTION TOO FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES AND JOURNALING AND WHAT NOT!
    NOTION. IS. AMAZING.
    Idk whether you’ll like it (I have a hunch that you’ll) but I recommend a movie to you. It’s called ‘Legally Blonde’ and it’s an amazing, empowering, motivating movie and I really want you to watch it (and review it if you can)♥️
    Ahhh amazing wrap up♥️ What better wrap than ‘August slipped away like a bottle of wine’?

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  12. I can’t believe today is August 30🤐
    Didn’t August just start like what? It’s ending already?
    Omg this post made me listen to August immediately ah! What an amazing song.
    SAINTS I USE NOTION TOO FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES AND JOURNALING AND WHAT NOT!
    NOTION. IS. AMAZING.
    Idk whether you’ll like it (I have a hunch that you’ll) but I recommend a movie to you. It’s called ‘Legally Blonde’ and it’s an amazing, empowering, motivating movie and I really want you to watch it (and review it if you can)♥️
    Ahhh amazing wrap up♥️ What better wrap than ‘August slipped away like a bottle of wine’?

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    • i TOTALLY agree – august just…disappeared. ahh, i hope you like august!
      i use notion for literally everything nowadays (no ofc i don’t copy templates *looks away*)
      ooh, i’ve heard of that movie so many times & i’m definitely watching it this month! thank you so much for reading & have a great September!

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  14. Aw thank you for reading my post!
    The way you edited this post is totally fab. It looks so prettyy 😭
    I love Master Chef Australia as well!! And heading over to check your playlist out <33

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  16. Hey-llo Maya! What a lovely post, and those pictures are pretty! Hahaha, I’ve been making so many schedules and lists on notion too, they’re gonna charge me for making so many things lol. And, my, thanks for the lovely mention! Ocean’s 8 is such a funny film, but I haven’t watched it in a while.
    Glad you had such a wonderful month!

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  17. Aww thank you so much for mentioning my post, Maya! I’m really glad you liked it. 💞 Ahhh august is such a perfect song, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to it this year. I’ve already watched the movie for ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children’ but I don’t remember the plot at all so maybe I’ll read the book too hahah. I always pretend to be on song association to omg. If I’m extra bored I’ll even pretend I’m a celebrity and give random explanations for the song I sang 😂 Dude your playlist is basically the exact same as mineee. I absolutely LOVE seven for some reason (we’ll move to India forever…), Carolina is super catchy and right where you left me is just a masterpiece. Are you excited for Red (Taylor’s Version) because I literally can’t wait to hear the ten minute version of All Too Well. Anywayss, good job on having the energy to write such a long wrap up post, I never can. 😆 xx

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    • Ahhh, thank you so much for reading, Hreem! I know, I’ve heard August more times than I can count and it’s so perfect for the ending of this month??! The book is nice but it’s quite similar to the movie you should totally read it!
      I know right :0 it’s so weird when someone walks into the room and sees me talking to the screen!
      YES, that’s my favourite part of seven! I’m so excited for Red (tv) to release!! I love red so much – State of Grace & All too well are going to be so amazing and ahh, the 10 minute version!!!
      I know these are exhausting to write xD Have an awesome September!!

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      • It literally is amazing to listen to, even now honestly. Ooh then maybe I will get the book.
        Hahah I KNOW and then you just have to somehow awkwardly play it off 😭 lol ik I was so surprised when she said India in the song I actually had to do a double take and look at the lyrics 😂 Dude yeaahhhh State of Grace is going to be so awesome!! I’m still just waiting for her to actually release the lead single, I think she forgot. You too!! Hope your September is great 💞💞

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  18. August by Taylor Swift is a very beautiful song, I love it!! And ahhh MasterChef Australia!!!!! I was watching it while it was going on, whom did you bet on when you started watching the show, to go in the finale? Because I changed my decisions every episode but the results were unexpected and as you said “That Finale killed me”😂😂
    Great to know that you had such a nice July as well as August. Wishing you an awesome September💖

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    • I totally agree! I did NOT expect Justin to win, honestly! He wasn’t even featured in the beginning! All the way long I thought either Depinder or Pete would win – Pete came to the finals though! What about you?
      Thank you so much for reading ♥ Have an amazing September, too!

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      • Even I did not expect Justin to win!!! I was betting on Depinder since the start….like, my whole family was!😂 And when Depinder got eliminated, I was on Team Pete because his recipes were really very creative and tasty, like the PB&J one – I just loved his idea of executing it so differently

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  19. OMG GREAT POST!! NAd Ocean’s 8 is one of my top fav movies. I’ve watched it a million times lmaoo. And I agree bout A Torch against the night? It wasn’t great and that plot twist made me cryyy whyy he was my fav character ahhaaa
    And thanks for the mention! Have a great Spetember

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  21. Thank you for the mention, Maya! This post was amazing! I haven’t watched Into the Woods, it’s a movie I know and I always plan on watching, but I never do! Also, all of the 1D songs you listed and seven by TS are really good!

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  24. It sounds like you had an awesome August. 🙂 I always love seeing your aesthetics and playlists, they are so beautiful. And that’s interesting that the movie of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is better than the book.
    -Quinley

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  28. I completely agree with your thoughts on a torch against the night! I seriously did not enjoy it after I first read it, but I reread it recently and ended up enjoying it a lot more than the first time around! AND OCEAN’S EIGHT WAS AMAZING AAAHHH I LOVED IT SO SO MUCH!! great post!!!💕💕✨✨

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