Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission if you make a purchase using any of these links. There is absolutely no additional cost to you, either! See my full disclosure about affiliate links here.

Monthly Wrap Up for August

Welcome back to another Monthly Books and Blogging Chat Sesh! In this segment, I’ll give a recap of all the books I read this month, what’s new on the blog, and anything relevant in my personal life.

Keep reading for all my August happenings.

☆ ☆ ☆

Monthly Chat Session Wrap up for August

Let’s Chat! A Wrap Up of My August

Say it ain’t so! Summer is already over (I swear, it was just New Years, like, yesterday!) It always feels like summer goes by way too fast while winter drags on with a dreary slowness. Or is that just me?

But, hey, other than time moving too quickly (which is ALWAYS going to be a sad fact of life), August went well for me and I have some great things to share with you all – starting with a wrap up of my personal life.

Vaxxed and Ready to Rock

I’m fully vaccinated, now! Obviously, there’s still a global pandemic and we all need to be mindful of that, but being completely vaccinated has made me feel a lot more comfortable going out.

I went on a few vacations last month and this month I was finally able to get back to one of my all-time favorite pastimes – concerts. I absolutely LOVE live music. I listen to music on i-tunes and the radio, but there’s something about the energy at a concert that really makes the songs come alive.

Being able to enjoy that feeling once again felt so freeing. I haven’t been able to see a concert in over a year and a half due to COVID and I realized just how much I took that experience for granted before.

New Job

Another thing that happened to me this month was getting a new job! Actually it’s a second job, but it’s still new so it’s worth mentioning.

So, right now I’m balancing two jobs and parenting and blogging – it’s a LOT but not in a bad way! Next month I’m sure I’ll have more to say about this, but for now, we’ll move on to the books and blogging wrap up.

Reading Wrap Up

I usually try to read about one book a week, but this month was super busy for me and I didn’t quite make that quota.

You Might Also Like: Best Books to Read This Summer

Where the Grass is Green and the Girls are Pretty • Lauren Weisberger

I’ll be honest, I went into this book really expecting to love it. It has a solid premise, a culturally relevant topic, and a well-known author.

Peyton, a morning news-anchor who seems to have it all, is suddenly thrust into the harsh glare of the spotlight when her husband is accused of paying a “college fixer” to ensure that their daughter is accepted to Princeton.

But, Weisberger takes an interesting, ripped-from-the-headlines story and turns it into a trite after-school-special. What disappointed me the most, here, too, was the fact that it could have been a great book. The whole college admissions scandal is still topical and it’s an especially refreshing idea to view that through the eyes of Max, their daughter who had no idea her acceptance to the Ivy League wasn’t legit.

Unfortunately, the execution of said idea just didn’t do it justice and this one really fell short for me.

2.5

Purchase Where the Grass is Green and the Girls are Pretty here

If you’re really in the mood for a Lauren Weisberger novel, here are some of hers that I would recommend:

The Other Black Girl • Zakiya Dalila Harris

I really enjoyed this book – it’s one that has been on my “highly anticipated reads” list for awhile now and I’m glad to say it didn’t disappoint.

It’s an interesting genre-blending read, part literary/upmarket fiction, part psychological thriller and mystery. There were some unexpected twists and turns, too, and it definitely left me wanting to read more from her in the future.

I’m also always a fan of any book that brings up important culturally relevant issues such as race or gender, so that was huge plus. I’m still not sure how I feel about the ending, but overall, I’d highly recommend this one.

4

Purchase The Other Black Girl here

Golden Girl • Elin Hilderbrand

It really wouldn’t be summer without another Nantucket-based novel by the queen of beach reads herself, Elin Hilderbrand.

As with all of her other novels, Golden Girl was a heady mixture of summer-y scenes, easy reading, and intriguing character development. She tends to provide books that could sometimes be considered chick-lit but that have more depth than you might otherwise expect and this particular one was no different.

I’ve yet to read something of hers that I didn’t love and once again, Ms. Hilderbrand did not disappoint.

4.2

Purchase Golden Girl here

The Many Personalities of Me • Bailey Gee

The Many Personalities of Me is a collection of poems based on heartache, perseverance, and living with mental illness.

It’s hard to really review a book of poetry, but I found that overall, this collection was raw and honest and I loved how vulnerable she was. My favorite poem in the book was titled Faded Memories – the fact that she doesn’t spell out the story but instead leaves you with your own ideas based on reading between the lines was really inspiring.

3.5

*Note: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Purchase The Many Personalities of Me here

Blogging Wrap Up

As far as blogging goes, August has been a really good month for me. I’ve seen a ton of blog growth – plus I’ve been able to start monetizing, which was a huge goal of mine.

Blog Growth and Domain Authority

At the beginning of the month, I had a Domain Authority score of 3 or 4. Within three weeks, it shot up to 9! I can’t even tell you how thrilled and surprised I was by that, and honestly, I’m not sure exactly what I’m doing to cause this spike, but I’m taking it as a sign that I’m doing something right with this whole blogging thing.

Monetizing My Blog

This month also marked the first time I’ve been able to monetize with one of my affiliate links! It was only one, which equaled about 50 cents, but still! It’s a start, right?

Meet the Advertisers!

Another month, another new blog series ?

The “Meet the Advertisers” segment is one that I’m really excited to have now. Initially, I wasn’t sure how many advertisers I’d even get, so I was planning to include them in my Monthly Blogging Wrap Up posts – but then I decided that as long as I have more than one, I’d make a separate, Advertiser-specific post.

I always love reading the Advertiser Wrap Up posts on other blogs so it’ll be fun to have one of my own. Of course, going forward, each month will depend on how many advertisers I get, but I’m hoping that I can continue with this set-up.

Here are some more “Meet the Advertisers” posts you might enjoy from other bloggers:
Jenny in Neverland
The Grumpy Olive
Of a Glasgow Girl

☆ ☆ ☆

That’s a Wrap!

Sure, the Monthly Wrap Up is a bit of a navel-gazing blog post, but I really enjoy writing them so I hope you find similar joy in reading them.

What new and exciting thing did August bring for you? Did you read any great books? How did you wrap up your Summer? Let me know in the comments below!

And, as always, thanks so much for reading.

xx
Katie

29 Comments

  1. avatar

    Really enjoyed reading this! Congrats on your new job! I wish you the best luck! xxx

    1. avatar

      Awe, thank you so much!!

  2. avatar

    So good to hear that you’re fully vaccinated! Also I’m glad to see your progress throughout the moth over blogging part! It’s really nice to hear this from you! Stay safe and awesome!

    1. avatar

      Awe thank you, Biren!

  3. avatar

    Congratulations on the new job! A second job is amazing. I’m glad you enjoyed The Other Black Girl, it’s well written for sure.

    1. avatar

      I did – have you finished it? If so, I got some questions for you about how you felt about everything (DM me though so I don’t spoil anything here)

  4. avatar

    I love this overview post! Congrats on the DA increase, that’s incredible news xx

    1. avatar

      Thank you!! xx

  5. avatar

    So impressed by your blog domain increase- so fantastic! Thanks for sharing this overview, it sounds like your blog is really going places x

    1. avatar

      Awe, thank you! I’m trying over here! I know that there are some bloggers I follow with way higher stats and I’m always envious of their progress. But it’s nice to know I’m doing something right.

  6. avatar

    Glad you had a good August! And woo on being vaxxed, I’m so happy I have both mine now. And congratulations on your new 2nd job, great news.

    1. avatar

      Thank you! So glad to see so many others on here getting their vaccines. I’m so ready for things to get back to relatively normal.

  7. avatar

    I love reading these kinds of posts and getting to know my blogging friends! Congrats on the new job, you seem to be some kind of superwoman juggling everything! And congrats on making your first affiliate sale – onwards and upwards from here 🙂

    1. avatar

      Haha! I wouldn’t say “superwoman” – I’d say “extremely tired and running on pure caffeine” ?

      I think next month I’ll have more to say about balancing it all but there are definitely days it’s drained me!

  8. avatar

    I love a good roundup blog post! ?

    I feel like Summer went too fast as well! I do prefer Autumn, but even I think Summer was over too soon.

    I am glad you have a good August. I’m also fully vaccinated now, as I had my second one on the Sunday just gone. I still have my mask and hand sanitiser on hand whenever I go out, though.

    I love concerts and gigs as well. I went to my first gig in over a year last week, and everyone was so enthusiastic. It was amazing. ?

    Congratulations on your new, second job! I can’t believe you are balancing so much; I applaud you.

    Your blogging growth for August sounds amazing! Congratulations on monetising your blog and increasing your DA.

    My August was varied; I went camping, to a wedding and started cooking from scratch more. ?

    I hope you have a lovely September. ?

    1. avatar

      I do still wear a mask most places, but it feels so freeing to have the option in certain places since I’m fully vaccinated.

      Cooking from scratch! ? That’s impressive to me (I’m a “whoops I burnt the toast” type myself lol)

  9. avatar

    Congrats on achieving some of your blog goals. xx

    1. avatar

      Thank you!!

  10. avatar

    I love the sound of the first book. It sounds right up my street. Congratulations on your new job.

    1. avatar

      I really liked the concept too, I just didn’t vibe with the execution. I’d be super interested to hear if you read it and what you think though.

  11. avatar

    Yay for being fully vaccinated and Congrats on the job! I’m happy to hear that it has been a great month for you in terms of blogging!
    xoxo
    Lovely

    1. avatar

      Thank you!! I’m happy about both of those things too – not a political statement, but being vaccinated really does put me at ease for getting back to “normal”

  12. avatar

    Congrats for being fully vaccinated! It sounds like you had a great month.

    1. avatar

      Thank you! I did but I’m a little bummed that summer is over

  13. avatar
    Michelle says:

    That was a great quick read. Very much enjoyed reading that. 🙂

  14. avatar

    Love to hear what happened during the month to fellow bloggers! Congratulations on the second job first of all and finally beating able to attend a concert live must be amazing, can’t wait!! I have the other black girl on my reading list too, so hope to read it soon x

    1. avatar

      I’ll be SOO curious about what you think – it was one of the more interesting books I’ve read so far this year.

  15. avatar

    Ooh i love this post! Just nice to hear more about you and what you’ve been up to!

    1. avatar

      Awe, thank you! I’m never sure if people will be interested in blog posts about me so it’s really nice to hear that you are!

Let me know your thoughts!

avatar
About Author

30ish Lifestyle blogger, relationship "expert," and modern-day agony aunt.
Sometimes humorous, always honest.