Everything I Read, Watched, & Played in August 📖📺🎮
The shock of #Scandoval has ruined me this month!
Although the media I’ve been enjoying lately isn’t super high in the numbers sense, the ratings I’ve been giving to stuff this month have been pretty high all-around!
AUGUST FAVORITES:
✨ Sinners was my favorite movie this month, with Final Destination: Bloodlines being a close second!
✨ Season 10 of Vanderpump Rules has absolutely blown my mind, omfg.
✨ I’m almost finished rewatching Charmed & need suggestions for the next show to start over again: Star Trek (which?), X-Files, or something else?
THEME MUSIC by T. Marie Vandelly | Horror / Mystery | First Read
A thriller / horror story about the lone survivor of a family massacre at the hands of her father - this was surprisingly gory & I really liked it, although I figured out the “big twist” about 30% of the way through the book and kept hoping it would switch direction to be less obvious.
BULLET & HIT LIST (Anita Blake #19 & #20) by Laurell K. Hamilton | Urban Fantasy | First Read
I’m so deep into my Anita Blake readthrough that I can’t stop now, even if the books have become way, way more smut than plot. I do think these last couple have been shorter, but also seem a bit more focused on the actual executioner aspect; I did a quick online search about this and people suspect that the author was given free reign after her initial success up until this point, with them taking full editing control back (there’s lots of talk of her “no edit clause”, which explains why the last 9-10 books were so… well, if you know, you know!).
HAIRPIN BRIDGE by Taylor Adams | Thriller / Mystery | First Read
A very fast-paced psychological thriller about a woman’s journey to expose the truth behind her sister’s alleged suicide of the book’s titular bridge. I’ve read one other book by the author & have enjoyed both of these as solid 3ish star books - tbh, they’re perfect for end of summertime reading!
FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES (2025) | First Watch
I’m a huge fan of the Final Destination series and have been since the first movie released - like many other people, I’ll never be able to feel quite the same about driving behind a giant log-carrying truck. This last entry was honest probably my favorite next to the original; it was so entertaining and I loved the Tony Todd appearance so much. There are lots of little Easter eggs throughout this that fully wrap up the series and other movies canonically, including family members of people from the other movies, newspaper clippings, & more. It felt like a very clever addition to the franchise, I was so happy to have loved it!
SINNERS (2025) | First Watch
SPEAKING OF MOVIES I LOVED, this is probably the best one I’ve watched all year. I’m obsessed and could (will) watch it a hundred more times. I didn’t know anything going into it besides that there were twins in the same way The Parent Trap had twins (lol), and think it was a great way to watch it: I enjoyed every second and was solidly absorbed the entire time!
THE TRUMAN SHOW (1998) | Rewatch
I rewatched this one for the article I wrote about Autism & The Truman Show, and I realized it was probably my first watch of it since hitting my 30s and getting more invested in figuring out the Autism diagnosis I was given as a teenager. Being able to see things through that lens has been a really interesting way of watching things, and noticing why I found the movie (and Truman himself) so comforting as a kid makes a lot of sense to me now. Loved it then, love it now!
CHARMED | Season 7 | Rewatch
I’m almost finished with my latest rewatch of one of my most favorite shows, and it has been a blast! I honestly don’t really like the last season, the whole Billie & Christy storyline is very silly to me, but I do like the finale so I’ll see it through!
VANDERPUMP RULES | Season 8-10 | First Watch
I HAVE REACHED THE #SCANDOVAL EPISODES AND OH MY GOD I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING, WOULD NOT HAVE EXPECTED IT FROM THE ACTIONS, BUT LOOKING BACK AT CERTAIN THINGS NOW IT’S SO OBVIOUS AND I CAN’T BELIEVE I AM SO LATE TO THIS SITUATION BUT HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS!!!!! Lmaooo. My bf & I have been literally nearly YELLING at our screen when watching, we are solidly #TeamAriana forever.
ASSEMBLE WITH CARE | Steam
I liked the idea of this, but it felt way too easy and simple for my liking. I think it’s great for kids, especially a child interested in building things, learning how stuff works, etc. But for me it was a little disappointing, although I did like the music!
BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM | Steam
Love this so much, finished the game & really liked it! The other games are a little too open world for me, although I am going to try to finish them all. This one however is perfect, and I have so much fun trophy hunting for the Riddler stuff!
BLOONS TD6 | Steam
Still obsessed with this, it’s so much fun and such a quick little thing I can jump into for a game or two and then pop back out without worrying about losing progress, finishing a storyline, etc.
CAT CAFE MANAGER | Steam
This was honestly so cute in theory but extremely, extremely grindy to fully unlock everything and get all the achievements. I’m not sure if the days are unbalanced or what, but it was not as fun for the last few hours as at the beginning, and there wasn’t enough emphasis on the different cats and decor.
Did you binge anything this month? Let me know everything!
