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: 2 (—).
Comic books read: 8 (↓1).
Manga volumes read: 2 (↓5).
BOOK REVIEWS.
The Past is Red by Catherynne M. Valente.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers.
COMIC BOOK REVIEWS.
Djeliya by Juni Ba.
100 Bullets Omnibus Vol. 2 by Brian Azzarello.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection (Vol. 2) by Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz.
Digital Mini Reviews | Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan.
TV SERIES REVIEWS.
MOVIE REVIEWS.
VIDEO GAME REVIEWS.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (2021).
TOP BOOK.
A huge one that took me a while to get through and only covered half of the completed series. A truly intriguing series with lots of crime noir and mystery. I look forward to completing this series!
Check out my full review for more on my thoughts! 😉
LEAST FAVOURITE BOOK.
It wasn’t bad per se but it was rushed in terms of execution with a pretty important battle that should have had more tact to its finality.
TOP MOVIE.
Out of the 13 movies I watched in July, Casablanca (1942) was my favourite. This was one of the 12 movies I told myself I’d watch this year and I’m happy to have finally gotten around to it! Imagine the balls of the people behind this movie to release it in the middle of WWII with all of its blatant political statements. I was super impressed by the end of it and not just for that audacity but the overall execution. No wonder it’s a classic.
The story is about a cynical expatriate American cafe owner who struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.
It’s a classic wartime romance that astonishingly captures the dreadful WWII era politics whilst exquisitely rooted in romanticism and patriotism..
CURRENTLY READING.
Just in time for its grand release! 🙂 I’m assuming it is born from a twist on the classic Kurosawa Seven Samurai/John Sturge’s Magnificent Seven concept and I can’t wait to see what author Cameron Johnston has in store for us with his soon-to-be-released new title!
PERSONAL LIFE.
What a month it has been! Summer has been relentless so far and I wouldn’t be surprised if this trend keeps up for August. The first week was mostly dedicated to finishing up essay #1 and seeing my pseudo-vacation time (from work) come to an end. The following two weeks was me getting back to my working groove with countless emails to go through and a bunch of catching up to do. On top of that, I was also focused on essay #2. Once I handed in that second essay towards the end of the third week, I then had to prepare and set off to Toronto to complete funerals with more family there. It was a fine journey there but I’d have preferred visiting the city in another context with more time to myself but it is what it is. Heading back to my city was a comforting thought until I realized that I have (and currently am) on a business trip to train another set of cops in the whole body-worm camera project. I’ve never been this busy in my life but I feel like these long stretches of business are much needed in my life. They really push me into understanding myself better than ever. To know what I want, what I need, and what I should strive for. And right now, I’m just dreaming for the period in my life where I can actually go on some sort of vacation and lie down in the middle of nowhere with a book and not think about anything else.
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,
Roars and Echoes 
read a little about the making of Casablanca–the hiring/leaving/rehiring of writers, etc.–and the fact that it came out to be so well executed…stunning.
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You got me intrigued. I have to look into the behind-the-scenes now. Reminds me of Apocalypse Now (another favourite classic of mine) and its own chaotiques development. Casablanca is definitely worth checking out!
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Wow, what a busy month Lashaan. I need to watch Casablanca again, it has been years since I saw it.
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It really was! I hope you had a solid, not too eventful, July, Carla! And yes! I know Casablanca is on my “rewatch” watchlist forever now. Truly well done cinema right there!
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wow you do sound super busy Lashaan, I really hope you get some time to stop and relax very soon. I’m glad you enjoyed Casablanca I’ve always wanted to watch it along with Lawrence of Arabia and Gandhi.
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Oh boy, it indeed has been and still hasn’t stopped being! Hahahah I plan on checking out Lawrence of Arabia, Gandhi, and The Sound of Music in 2022! So many great classics are over 3 hours long too!!!
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Wow Lashaan, you’ve never seen The Sound of Music? Or is there a new one coming out?
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I might have seen bits and pieces of it as a kid on TV but I never gave it a proper viewing! And no way would there be a remake of it hahahah People would go insane! 😛
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There really are more cheerful reasons to visit Toronto, but I hope you are doing alright despite your busy schedule. I’m glad you can see the potential of this busy time in helping you come to realizations about yourself, but I also hope you get enough downtime to relax and process. ❤ Happy August!
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Yep. I’ve been there a bunch of times throughout my life, living just beside it helps hahah Thank you for your kind words, Kat! I hope the same for you. Hopefully, we both get some peaceful periods in the upcoming weeks before Fall comes knocking at our doors! 😀
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Busy month indeed! I wish you happier occasions to connect with your family – maybe some weddings instead?🙂
I started reading Naruto – promising, but highly derivative of DB, at least in the beginning 😉 That said, I already have a favorite! 😁
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Hahaha I did assist to a friend’s proposal but it’ll be a year before he gets to the marriage part of things! 😀
So glad to hear how much fun you’re having with these classic shonens! Hope it piques your curiosity more and more now!
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Man, I’m bingeing on manga like crazy! And now I even started watching Demon Slayer anime 🤣🤣🤣
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Man, I’m tired out just reading this post!
Stay sane and stay healthy….
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Hahaha that’s the plan. I can’t dare do otherwise if I’m to enjoy life! 😛 Hope you’re having a good August so far.
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Looks like July has been a lot busy for you. I hope you get relaxing time once your work trip is over. Happy reading and wish you great August.
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I’ll have a couple of those road trips throughout August but at least they aren’t too far from my home; they very much feel like downtime for me. 😀 Hope you have a great month of August, Yesha! 😀
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Sounds like a productive August! I hope you get that vacation soon. Everyone deserves that reset time.
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Trudat. I can’t imagine people who never take time for themselves though. Scary stuff. Have a fantastic month of August! 😀
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Good on you to stay so busy, Lashaan.
Oh my Goodness, Casablanca is such a good film. All the characters and the wonderful actors that portray them are so endearing. Despite the grim nature of the content, there is always an underlining bit of humor that plays along with it. I think I’ll re-watch it.
Happy Trails!
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Oops, underlying, not underlining. 😦
The film was rushed into an early release in November, 1942 because the United States had just commenced ‘Operation Torch’, the three pronged invasion of Vichy French North Africa. … Timing is everything, you know.
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Definitely worth a rewatch. It succeeded in impressing me and I’m glad I went in blind, barely knowing what Casablanca was about, beyond the pop culture references to his love life hahah Hope you have a great month of August, my friend. 😀
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These massively busy and stressful times really do help us better appreciate that down time when it comes. Granted, I wish there were other ways to let us better appreciate it, but as you said, it is what it is. Glad to see you enjoyed Casablanca. It was so very long ago I watched it I only remember little snippets, and didn’t even remember the general plotline. Not sure I’m intereseted in a rewatch yet, but again, glad to see you enjoyed it. 13 movies in a month?!?! Wow! I’m about halfway through the 100 Bullets volume 3 that I have, which when finished should catch me up to where you are at the end of this mammoth first volume.
I hope you have a great month, Lashaan. And that you can get in at least a little downtime.
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It’s like back when I first got a full-time job: reaching the weekend always seemed like pure happiness! I went into the movie having no idea of the general plotline too. I just associated the name to men who are able to get plenty of women easily, a bunch of romantics or something. Really was surprised by how much more there was to the movie than that pop culture reference hahaah I usually always reach around 15-20 a month for a couple of years now. I cut down on TV shows just to make more room for movies. Wouldn’t surprise anyone that I consider myself a cinephile hahah Glad to hear about your progression into 100 Bullets! I need a second omnibus ASAP hahaha Have a fantastic month of August too, Todd. I’m sure you’ll surprise us with some really fascinating adventures. 😉
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Well haven’t you been busy! I truly hope that you will have that vacation time soon enough Lashaan!
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Thanks Sophie! 😀 I appreciate the kind words!
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Dude, me too! I’m hoping for a real chill vacation with just me and my books and sweet sunshine, not this brutal sun that be scorching me every time I put a toe outside.
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Tell me about it. We gonna break records this week too. And it’s rainy and thunderstorms… Hopefully, we won’t be seeing this kind of hell again for a while!
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