July felt like one of those months where everything blurred at the edges – warm days, wonky sleep, unfinished to-do lists… but also: finished books! Some excellent reads! And Jannik Sinner winning Wimbledon, which absolutely deserves its own category of joy.

Honestly? The sheer glee of watching him lift that trophy – the relief, the celebration, the happy sobbing in the group chat – kind of set the tone for the whole month. It reminded me why I love following stories, whether they’re played out on a tennis court or the pages of a book.

🌟 What I Read in July
A strange, satisfying mix this month—equal parts bones, witches, wolves, and weather:

📖 Ancestors by Alice Roberts
Burials! Rituals! Deep time and funerary pots! Absolutely one of my nonfiction highlights of the year.

🌬️ Windswept by Annie Worsley
A poetic, deeply personal meditation on nature and climate from a northern UK landscape.

🐺 Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
Werewolf urban fantasy and early 2000s girlboss vibes. Chaotic, nostalgic, absolutely devoured.

🧙 Weyward by Emilia Hart
Feminist witchy lineage! More birds than expected! I cried a little in a Costa.

🦴 House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
Southern gothic, with creepy vultures and weird roses and vibes like you wouldn’t believe. Loved it.

⚡ Mythos by Stephen Fry
funny, engaging, like being told bedtime stories by your cleverest gay uncle.

📝 Overall July vibe: witches, weather, wolves, and bones — I didn’t plan that, but my subconscious clearly did.

🧵 July Goals Recap:

📖 Finish at least 6 books (starting with ones I’d already begun)
✅ Done! Six books finished — two of which were already underway — and I feel good about the balance of fiction and non.

📚 Tackle my library loans before they boomerang back
❌ Look. We’re not talking about it. I returned them all and we’re calling it ✨closure✨.

📸 Actually post some reviews on Instagram — even the short ones
✅ Yes! I’ve let go of the backlog guilt and started fresh. (Ancestors review? Loved writing it. More of that energy in August.)

🧘 Prioritise joy reads over pressure
✅ One thousand percent yes. No obligation reading here — just vibes.

⏳ Continue the “read for 20 mins a day” mindset
✅…ish. Office days = an hour of reading on lunch. WFH days = chaos goblin energy. Might need to ritualise reading time a little more on those days.

✅ Books I’d hoped to finish:
Stephen Fry – Mythos ✅
Alice Roberts – Ancestors ✅
Ali Hazelwood – Love on the Brain ⏳ 66% done and absolutely loving it!
Mira Grant – Into The Drowning Deep ❌ not yet
Emilia Hart – Weyward ✅
Gail Honeyman – Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine ❌ postponed — vibes weren’t right

The big reading theme this month was letting go of guilt. I didn’t force myself to catch up on reviews, or “read the important book first”, or stick to the TBR when my brain was craving something softer. And honestly? It helped. Every book I finished brought me something — wonder, insight, escapism, or comfort. And that’s the whole point, isn’t it?

🎾 And Speaking of Joy…
Did I mention Jannik Sinner won Wimbledon?

Just in case you missed the SCREAMING: JANNIK SINNER WON WIMBLEDON.
It was glorious. It was chaotic. I cried. My group chats lit up. My heart did a backflip. We’re not over it, and we’re not meant to be.

It was the kind of narrative arc sports fans dream about, and it gave the whole month a golden glow of victory. Like yes, I’m tired, and yes, my TBR is out of control, but Jannik won Wimbledon, so actually I’m thriving.

🔮 August Reading Goals
August is a transitional month — I want books that let me sit with that a little. A mix of mystery and magic, books with bones, books that bite, and books that feel like coming home.

🎯 Goals:
Finish 6 books
Finish Love on the Brain
Read Frankenstein
Finish either False Value or The Last Olympian
Keep going with lunchtime reading

📚 Books I’m Hoping to Finish in August
Ali Hazelwood – Love on the Brain
Mary Shelley – Frankenstein
Ben Aaronovitch – False Value
Mary Oliver – A Thousand Mornings
Sophie Austin – The Lamplighter’s Bookshop
Dan Jones – Essex Dogs

I’m not promising I’ll be focused in August – we’re in our cozy chaos era – but I’ll keep reading, keep enjoying the stories, and maybe finally finish one of the books lurking on my shelf since April.

Until then: soft stories, good snacks, and a permanent highlight reel of Jannik in full glory. 🏆✨