Since I’ve been back on my reading kick, my social media algorithms have been giving me a lot of material about potential new reads and people to follow. Librarywraith is someone on TikTok that I have really been enjoying watching. She has been posting a Weekly R.E.P.OR.T., where she shares a photo of what she is Reading, Eating, Playing, Obsessing, Recommending, and Treating. I thought this was such a cute idea and would make a good short blog post, since anything that can be a video can be a written as well, right?

I especially like this “Report” layout, because Fitz is trained to report to his trusted royal court after his quests in The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. It perfectly ties into the Medieval Fantasy theme I have been having fun with this month.

We are officially over halfway through July, can you believe it? I’ve been harping on how fast time has been passing every single month this year, it feels like. Let’s stop thinking about it and get on with the R.E.P.O.R.T!

Reading

Sadly, I am still on the wait-list for both of the books I wanted to read this month. Instead, I have been reading the letters of Abelard and Heloise. While learning about sending written letters in the Middle Ages, I came across a tragic love story told through surviving letters and Abelard’s own autobiography.

Abelard was Heloise’s tutor in 12th century France. They fell in love and Heloise ended up pregnant and the couple fled to marry. The letters began to flow between them after Heloise’s uncle hired thugs to, ahem, attack him (feel free to look up what happened haha), and the couple separated to become monk and nun. The passion in the letters was strong even though it had been years since they were forced to separate, adding to their iconic and tragic story.

Eating

This summer, Dylan and I have a ritual of going out to eat at Waffle House on Fridays. I have been struggling with appetite since Beef’s passing and Waffle House hashbrowns have helped a lot. I think their coffee is my new favorite roast, and it can get dangerous with the refills! Sometimes I leave and my head feels like it’s buzzing from the caffeine, but it’s worth it.

Playing

Dylan also got me the first Kingdom Come Deliverance game. It is praised for being one of the best “realistic” medieval worlds without fantasy elements. Dylan is playing the second one and is watching me slowly get through the first one.  I like taking my time and I absolutely suck at video games so this may take a while! I’m excited to keep playing, though.

I think I will roll “Medieval Month” into August, since I am still really into it and can stay mentally immersed in the game. Hopefully the books I’ve had on hold will be available as well within the next month.

Obsessing

I have been obsessed with Bardcore, or “medieval” renditions of pop songs. I particularly enjoy the instrumental only ones, such as Medieval Big Poppa and Sabrina Carpenter. I just imagine myself tearing it up in the Tavern.

Recommending

I have mentioned this before in a Monthly Wrap-Up, but I have had a lot of success selling my unwanted clothes for cheap on Vinted. If you have some clothes you need to get rid of and want to make a buck or two I’d highly recommend Vinted over Depop! I’ve already sold most of the things I want to get rid of, and a lot of my listings sell within a week of being posted which is awesome.

Treating

Warm weather brings about the best seasonal treat- snow cones! At the beginning of the month, I had a sudden craving for a Wedding Cake flavored snow cone. I found a place that had sugar free versions of every flavor they offer and I was sold.

I went once by myself and got the Wedding Cake I was craving, and I recently went again with my boyfriend and he got a regular Wedding Cake and I got sugar free Strawberry Cheesecake. Oh my gosh, the Strawberry Cheesecake was so gooooooood. If I go one more time before the season ends, I may just get the same flavor again. I want to try a Silver Fox as well. I don’t think I’ve heard of the Silver Fox flavor before, but it seems to be an almond vanilla flavor and that sounds good.

That was my R.E.P.O.R.T.! What have you all been up to in July so far? Do you have any recommendations or treats you’ve been enjoying? Let me know and I will see you all soon.