My Monthly Wrap-Up | August 2020

Posted on by Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes

Hello ladies & gentlemen,

The month has come to an end and it’s time to do a quick wrap-up of what has been done.

Reading Breakdown.

Novels read: 4 (↓2).
Comic books read: 15 (—).
Manga volumes read: 12 (↓7).

BOOK REVIEWS.

The House of Sacrifice by Anna Smith Spark.
The Symposium by Plato.

COMIC BOOK REVIEWS.

The Walking Dead: Compendium One by Robert Kirkman.
Digital Mini Reviews | Jeff Lemire Just Keeps on Writing!
Doomsday Clock Part 1 by Geoff Johns.
Green Lantern: Earth One (Vol. 2) by Gabriel Hardman.
Doomsday Clock Part 2 by Geoff Johns.
Watchmen Companion by Daniel Greenberg and Ray Winninger.
Batman: Creature of the Night by Kurt Busiek.
Bleach by Tite Kubo.
Digital Mini Reviews | Locke & Key.
Joker: Killer Smile by Jeff Lemire.
Batman: City of Crime by David Lapham.

TV SERIES/MOVIE REVIEWS.

Watchmen (2019) TV Mini-Series Review.
The Dark Knight (2008) Movie Review.

MISCELLANEOUS POSTS.

Blogging: Who Do You Follow?

TOP BOOK.

6465707. sy475

This compendium was part of my yearly resolution and I’m glad to have finally got around to it. It revived my interest in the franchise, especially after I slowly got tired of the direction of the TV series. Now I’m just looking forward to cracking open the second compendium. 🥰

Check out my review for more on my thoughts!

LEAST FAVOURITE BOOK.

37489668. sx318

It’s not the worse thing in the world but it failed to capitalize on an interesting premise by sticking to unoriginal coincidences…

Check out my review for more on my thoughts!

TOP TV SERIES/MOVIE.

The Lion King movie poster (1994) Poster. Buy The Lion King movie poster ( 1994) Posters at IcePoster.com - MOV_df747d66

I’ve been meaning to revisit this classic as an adult, to give it what I call a “proper viewing” and I’m really happy that I did.

The Lion King (1994) is a beautifully structured story focused on the cycle of life and the dominance of one’s own past to build a better future for yourself and others.

The songs featured in this animated musical are also brilliant and further embellished the outstanding word plays throughout the movie.

 5 stars outta 5.

CURRENTLY READING.

48754175

 The sequel to The Wolf’s Call is finally here. My thoughts on this one should be out soon! You can check out my review of the first book if you haven’t already here.

PERSONAL LIFE.

At the end of July, I hosted a secret giveaway to celebrate my five years of blogging. You can check out that post by clicking here, if you ever missed out on it. For the curious readers, I wanted to announce all three winners and confirm that they all safely received their awesome books! Here they are:

Prize #1: Nicki.
Prize #2: Maddalena.
Prize #3: Lois.

As for August. Holy sh*t. It sure didn’t feel like any month of August to me. I also felt like slowing down my reading and taking the month a bit more calmly too. I guess it was just one of those months where I needed to recharge myself for all the huge tomes I’m tackling before the end of the year heheh

For the first half of the month, it mostly flew by as I waited for the return of my significant other from her stay in Europe. On the same day when she was coming back, I also ended up going on a hike with friends for the first time in my life. It was quite the refreshing and challenging hike, if you ask me. We clearly didn’t know what we were getting into but we survived the journey and pushed our limits in terms of cardio! In fact, we were so into it, we did another one yesterday and enjoyed a much easier and quicker hike with a decent visual reward at the end too.

A view from Mount Ouareau.

Sometimes, you need these unexpected activities to remind you that life is more than just a pandemic. But never forget it once you’re back to reality. 😉

Dont Forget GIFs | Tenor

Thank you all for checking out my monthly wrap-up and don’t forget to check out any posts that might interest you or that you might have missed out on!

Stay tuned for my Monthly Anticipation post coming out soon. 😉

So what’s going on with y’all? What have you discovered this month? What are your thoughts on the books/TV series/movies I’ve checked out?

Yours truly,

Banner1

INSTAGRAM – FACEBOOK – GOODREADS – TWITTER – OUTLOOK

Published by Lashaan Balasingam @ Roars and Echoes

Reader. Reviewer. Researcher. Criminology Ph.D. Candidate. Montreal, Quebec (Canada). Want to know more? Connect with him!

38 thoughts on “My Monthly Wrap-Up | August 2020”

  1. The hike sounds really fun! I’ve been wanting to go on one but seeing the pictures of a hike trail nearby during the long weekend last week made it clear that I’m not the only one craving for some nature and so maybe I’ll wait 😅 I don’t think I’ll ever watch the Lion King- it’s such an amazing movie but it always makes me really sad 😭

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Hahahaah it can be quite intimidating but so much fun when you commit and do it! You just have to be prepared and pick a good day, and do it with good company and I assure you that you’ll have a good time! 😀 Ahhh, I still need to watch the live-action adaptation for now but I’m scared that it won’t live up to expectations though hahaha

      Like

      Reply

  2. Glad you had a good month, and wow that hike sounds both exhausting and exhilerating!😀😀I plan to read the Walking Dead’s first three volumes somewhere this month, as part of my VS. feature. I hope you will give the tv series another shot, especially as season 9 really feels like a fresh start and had some really good episodes again😊Also loved that final gif of Kirk😂😂 That was priceless😂
    Looking forward to what you have planned for us next, erm this month!😊😊

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Hell yes! I’m glad that you’re going to tackle those. The changes they made for the show are quite big when you read the comics and I loved discovering those! I hope you have a blast with it! 😀 You definitely made your case about the TV series and have me keeping the show on my watchlist instead of my ban list now hahahah I hope September will have plenty of great things for the both us, my man! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Well…it’s partly going to be a re-read as well, as I read the first two volumes and really enjoyed them. But want to go back to them, and dive into them fully to refresh my memory😊 And I don’t think I will ever get tired of the walking dead anyways lol😊

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Hikes are good for suburbanites like you 😉 You get to see the fake, pretty front that Nature puts on to make you all think she’s some nice pretty gal. Little do you realize just how evil and twisted she really is! Hahahaha.

    The month certainly did fly by. I’m not nearly ready to deal with the fact that we’re now in Fall. I like Fall, just not the season that comes after it 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Knowing how much you love to job around beautiful places, I’m sure you would’ve adored these places too! I know I’d want to do more hikes and explore more mountains around my place now but it’ll depend on the weather and my friend’s motivation now hahaha Thanks, Scarlett! Stay safe and happy reading too! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  9. I love hiking, though I don’t often get to do it in mountains. I do recall one, though, where I realized I’d bitten off far more than I’d anticipated. The quick elevation change and the rough terrain really hurt. Of course, it probably didn’t help I was carrying a heavy backpack because we were camping that night and I handn’t camped enough to learn how to pack light. Great memories, though, so I wouldn’t change any of it. Glad to hear you’re getting out and enjoying it. How long a trip is it to get where you hike? Fairly short, or a longer drive? Hope you have a great September! Weather’s getting good here. When does it start getting really cold up there?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Our first hike had a similar impact on us hahaha We clearly weren’t ready to climb so intensely so early but we got used to it as we got higher and the company just made it easier to enjoy the overall journey. I never camped before though but that’s a WHOLE other challenge that I’m not sure my friends or I are ready for hahaha We drove for an hour and a half to get there. Our city (Montreal) is an island surrounded by a lot of nature as we get further away from it, so there are really A LOT of places where we could go hike, especially with all of the protected natural grounds. Hmmm… Some would say that it’s already too cold for them right now hahahah We’re reaching for around 15-20 degrees (celsius) right now, and usually, October begins to get quite cold, and around the 1st of December, we see snow… And snow starts to drop earlier and earlier every year (probably because of climate change and all) hahaha Hope you have a fantastic month of September as well, Todd! 😀

      Like

      Reply

  10. The Lion King is a favourite of mine. I have seen the animated version several times, saw the live action movie (which I liked, but not as much as the animated one) and have seen the broadway musical twice. I am glad you enjoyed it as an adult Lashaan. Great month for you. And yes, we need to remember that life is much more than just this pandemic. Happy September.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Now, that’s a true fan to you! 😛 I’ve only had such vague memories of the animated movie from my childhood so I had to watch it properly now (as well as a lot of Disney classics). And I’m now convinced by how brilliantly it was made! I plan on checking out the live-action movie but I’m lowering my expectations a lot with all the mixed reviews on it! 😮 The musicals sound brilliant though! I’ll have to see if Disney+ has them like Hamilton? 😮 Hope you have a fantastic month of September too, Carla! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. Glad to read that you enjoyed the month of August and took some time to slow down and enjoy new activities like the hike! I used to hate walking so I always thought that hiking was really not for me, but I’ve actually really enjoyed the few I’ve been on 😁 The view is also amazing!! For me August was also a month of reading thanks to the holidays, and it forced me to slow down a bit too, which is always a good thing. Have a great month of September!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I used to find hiking silly when other Quebecers used to say that it was all they did during their vacations hahaha I now see why it’s so appealing and actually so rewarding too! Especially when you get to those observations points… The views are stunning! And the break was long due too hahaha 😀

      I hope you have a fantastic month of September too! And that you get used to getting back to work quickly! 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  13. “Sometimes, you need these unexpected activities to remind you that life is more than just a pandemic. But never forget it once you’re back to reality. ” << True that! And well said.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. LOL, I’m cutting, I’m cutting! I won’t write another word about Busiek’s horrible mutilation of Batman, promise! Though it makes you wonder, did he do it at the behest of Joker or rather Wonder Woman?? 🤔🤣🤣🤣

        Liked by 1 person

  15. I totally agree with you, August was such a short month! I feel like I haven’t done anything in particular, yet my days were always full! 😱😭 I can’t believe we’re already in September and that summer is (almost) over! 😱🥶 Maybe it’s going to be a hiking year!! 🥳

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  16. Wonderful view, you got from your hike. I’ve always loved hiking and I am one of those annoying people, who can’t walk slowly, but just have to get to the top quickly. 🙄 It has been a while since I’ve been hiking and I really miss it. Oh, you watched The Lion King… I never saw the movie, but watched the musical a while ago. That is actually very well done, with a nice scenography, which instantly transports you to the African savanna.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Right? It’s always so rewarding after a tough climb too. 😀 I like to go relatively fast myself, not only to get there quickly but to keep myself challenged throughout the track hahahah I hope you get the chance to go on one in the near future though.

      Whaaat? Never?! The musical really sounds impressive though. You’re the second person to mention it to me. I’ll really have to look into that one! But you should give the animated movie a try someday!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s