Lost in the Memory

episode 16: a new bookshop, a new t.swift album, and snail's pace

Welcome to Confessions of a Bookaholic! I send out a monthly newsletter that includes everything I read and watched in the past month! I hope you enjoy it and come back for more.

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

Taylor Swift

Hello dear bookaholics! ✨

Welcome back! I am so sorry I have not written anything in the last month. I’ve been traveling all over in most of July, followed by extensive sleep and work the first bit of August. With a little bit of downtime, I will hopefully finish my current reads and get reviews out for your consumption; with the current heat DC is experiencing (literally and metaphorically), staying in to read sounds even more appealing than ever. We are are all safe here, just staying smart and keeping in while the city settles down. As you wait, I present some recommendations :)

READS FOR AUGUST ||

Normally, I would place some book recommendations here for you all to read, but to be utterly honest, they would be half-hearted recommendations. I have not finished any books since early July, and am simply not feeling it. While that might not be recommended for a book blog like this, it would be dishonest to recommend any literature that I am not utterly passionate about. If you are looking for some recommendation, please check out my Goodreads/Fable for my current reads (some are included below!). Trust me — books are being read, just at a snail’s pace. :)

WATCHES FOR JULY ||

i finally have some newer recommendations for you, my dear readers. with some time off between travel and school, so i’ve binge watched a few shows since July :) hopefully, you enjoy

the summer i turned pretty (an amazon prime original)

GOSH HAVE YALL WATCHED THE NEW SEASON YET?!?! And if you have, um, please tell me you are Team Conrad; otherwise, unsubscribe right now!!! (jkjk…). 5 episodes are out, and wow…….

three pines (an amazon prime original)

A newish detective mystery series on the market following CI Armand Gamache solving a series of murders in a tiny French-Canadian village. It was unfortunately cancelled after one season, but what we do have is a lovely compact season. Given the setting, the series deals with issues of the treatment of Indigenous tribes in Canada; unlike some media, the writers deal with the topics in a humanistic and subtle manner. The stories are well-intertwined and suited into the mysteries themselves. Watch! A hidden gem in the amazon original selections. Content Warning: death, generational trauma, mature topics, child abuse, institutional abuse.

schitt’s creek (amazon, hulu, disney+)

A lovely 6 season show following a wealthy family living in the town they purchased as a joke after devastating financial ruin. I was so happy to discover Schitt’s Creek on Amazon. It was my comfort show my senior year of college when I needed mindless TV while doing mindless chores. My college roommate could attest to the number of times she’s walked into our common space to find Schitt’s Creek on the TV and me vacuuming. Think the Office, but a chaotic, toxic family stuck in a close-knit, but funky backwater town. For my parents out there, a content warning: alternative relationships, foul language, sexual content, and other mature topics.

deadwater fell (amazon, acornTV, tubi, youtube, sling)

A surprising AcornTV original free on Amazon Prime. It is a mature and spicy one season mystery set in a small fictional Scottish town with David Tennant as a main character. The show follows two families in a tight-knit village following a tragic fire, killing a mother and her three children. With all the intensity, I enjoyed the dynamic energy of this media, complete with Tennant’s brilliant acting. For the parents out there, a content warning: sexual content, death, violence, intense and mature themes.

LISTENS FOR JULY //

A few fun listens for you ;)

folklore & evermore by t.swift

Ever since she released both albums in 2020, I have had an inexplicable compulsion to play both during the summer months. Although COVID lockdown was no cake walk, there was something simple in how being locked away reduced life to the core elements. Listening to these albums bring me back to a time when life was more straightforward and structured. And, Swift just announced a new album releasing soon! So, how fitting is it to include these albums ;)

summer 2020 playlist

In theme of 2020 lockdown, I present a little playlist made that same summer of other music I had on repeat. To be honest, there are songs on here I completely forgot about; it just shows ya how much I rotate through music each year.

CURRENT OR RECENTLY FINISHED READS ||

Here is my Goodreads if you would like to be reading buddies. I am trying out different structures with this section, so please excuse the dust ;)

Below are some books I have recently finished, or are currently reading! Of course, they are not utterly comprehensive, considering I am currently in a season of mood reading; this might be a benefit of adding me on Goodreads if to see my full list of current reads!

1. The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch, translated by Lee Chadeayne

   1. “Well,” Simon added, “if you don’t present the Landgrave with a good story, he’ll hunt down more witches and keep on until half the women in Schongau are burned at the stake. Remember the witch trials in your childhood, when dozens of women were burned. The council will support you and swallow a few small lies if you see to it that the past does not repeat itself. You alone have enough influence to persuade the aldermen and the Landgrave. Use it! I’m sure you know all the mean little secrets that each of them has, which you can use to persuade them if necessary.”

2. The Will and the Wilds by Charlie N. Holmberg

   1. “You and I, we'll always be different. There will always be something wild in us. Others will see what they want. It's always been that way.”

3. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

   1. “It didn't matter in the end how old they had been, or that they were girls, but only that we had loved them, and that they hadn't heard us calling, still do not hear us, up here in the tree house, with our thinning hair and soft bellies, calling them out of those rooms where they went to be alone for all time, alone in suicide, which is deeper than death, and where we will never find the pieces to put them back together.”

4. What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

   1. “Grief was like a memory keeper. It showed me moments I’d forgotten, and I was grateful, even as my stomach hollowed out. I never wanted to forget them, no matter how painful it was to remember.”

final notes ||

bookshop of the month: I visited a new cute bookshop in Northern Virginia named Bards Alley Bookshop! They had quite the selection of adult and children works for such a cozy little place. The parking was a bit funky to figure out, but worth a visit. While I did not purchase any new books, I snagged some new stickers for my waterbottle!