August has been a strange month. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs with my anxiety and bipolar disorder. I ended up missing a lot of work because I mentally couldn’t do it. I didn’t read or blog quite as much because I had trouble concentrating.
Things are looking much better, though. My boyfriend and I did an intense cleaning and decluttering of our apartment, and it lifted my spirits right away. Having a clean space that makes you feel good and relaxed can do absolute wonders for your mental health.
A few things I’m currently loving about our space: lots of candles, a beautiful and reorganized bookshelf, a decluttered kitchen counter, freshly cleaned windows, and a new plant in our bedroom. They’re all small things, but they’ve made me so happy.
At the beginning of the month, I had a very ambitious TBR. Out of the twenty-seven books I had planned to read, I only read five. So, yeah, definitely didn’t stick to my TBR this month. I think I’m going to skip posting a TBR for September because I want to choose my books this month based on my moods.
For a while, I’ve only been posting articles and reviews Monday through Friday, which worked really well. However, due to my work-related stress and bipolar disorder-related mood swings, I’m going to start posting whenever I feel like it. Until I can transition into my dream job (which is freelance writing and blogging, while working from home), I’m going to have a looser posting schedule here on the blog. My job has been sapping my energy and good vibes and has just been mentally exhausting.
Also, one last thing – I posted a reader survey last week and it’s still open. If you haven’t already filled it out, please consider doing so. There are only 10 questions and people have spent less than 2 minutes filling it out. I want to see what you guys want more or less of on Read Yourself Happy!
Reviews
- Lost You by Haylen Beck
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
- Doctor Who: Nothing O’Clock by Neil Gaiman
- Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
- Off the Grid by Robert B. McCaw
- Vicious by V.E. Schwab
- Doctor Strange: A Separate Reality by Steve Englehart
- Healthy as F*ck by Oonagh Duncan
- With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
- Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- The Transformation by James Gordon, MD
- Different Dances by Shel Silverstein
- All the Water in the World by Karen Raney
- The Land of the Beasts by S.F. Claymore
Articles
- 10 Fantasy Series I Want to Read
- A Toni Morrison Reading List
- August Book of the Month Unboxing
- I Have Too Many Books on My TBR
- Interview with Author Robert McCaw – Friday Favorites
- The Best Merch for Doctor Strange Fans
- The Winners of the 2019 Hugo Awards
- 10 Books to Help You Celebrate National Women’s Equality Day
America in Books
As I mentioned in this project’s introductory post, my goal is to share a list of books set in every U.S. state and territory. This has gotten a lot of positive feedback so far, and I’m so glad you guys are enjoying it! Here are the states we’ve looked at so far:
Read Yourself Happy 
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