july 2021 update

if you’re subscribed to my newsletter, here’s most of what you missed! (but do get on the list if you want dibs on new etsy items & sales & things!)

this week on patreon:

i wrote a new short story (grammar nerds, take cover!), read a chapter of a book aloud for you, and june's wallpaper downloads are making everyone's month happier and a bit more magical!

learn how to support me on patreon!

my favourite books i read in june:

here are four YA novels across the genres that stuck with me.

  • a million suns, by beth revis. the second in her across the universetrilogy, this one was daresay even better than the first book! brace yourself for more spaceship and planet-colonizing, murder-solving survival-ethics drama. i'll be flying through the finale soon!

  • the nature of witches, by rachel griffin. this was my june indie pre*order: and congrats to the author for hitting the new york times bestseller list on release week, too! it's a world where humans depend on the witches to help control the changing environment. there's magic school and storms and a very handsome botanist who comes to train her, the only elder witch (with the power of all four seasons) to be born in the past 100 years.

  • mister impossible, by maggie stiefvater. another second book in a trilogy! (alas, the finale isn't out yet!) this series follows art forgers and dreamers who can call things into reality. there are people fighting to stop the dreamers, and our dreamers are fighting to enhance their magic: both sides think they're going to save the world. plus, lots of visits to the isabella stewart gardner museum in boston, which is on my travel bucket list! yay books to get me there in the meantime!

  • the downstairs girl, by stacey lee. i rarely read historical fiction, but this one was unputdownable. it's atlanta after the civil war, and asian americans struggle to find which side they belong on during the growing segregation regulations. it was heartbreaking and funny, full of daring-do, and lots and lots of secrets.

currently reading:

  • a sky beyond the storm, by sabaa tahir. the fourth and final book in the an ember in the ashes series. #eliasforever even if i'm scared to know what the author is about to put him through...

  • percy jackson: the sea of monsters, by rick riordan. not as classic as harry potter, but this modern mythology series is definitely re-readable and entertaining (maybe my fourth time through the series?)

  • around the writer's block, by rosanne bane. obviously nonfiction, and a great help! finding ways to break mental blocks and create new habits to do the thing you want to do. comes with helpful little exercises to journal through at the end of each chapter, so reading and working through this one nice n' slow!

check out my book recs + support indie bookstores by shopping online at bookshop.org

link to my monday morning weekly reading book reviews on instagram

july indie pre*orders:

believe it or not, i've cut down on my book*buying this year. (i can feel my mom gasping in unbelief, but i promise it's true, ma.) ;)

instead of book boxes or book of the month or just buying as much as i can carry from my local big box stores, i've been trying to support debut (or some of my fave) authors by pre*ordering from their own local indie bookstores-- which means i get the new books signed & personalized, too!! :D

i usually only pick one a month, but i couldn't help myself in july. august got a little out of control, too. ;)

july 6: six crimson cranes, by elizabeth lim, pre*ordered from books of wonder in NYC
july 13: xoxo by axis oh, from the writer's block las vegas

august indie pre*orders:

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august 3: sky born: sparrow rising, by jessica khoury, pre*ordered from fiction addiction in greenville, sc
august 10: in the wild light by jeff zentner, from parnassus books, nashville, tn
august 10: eva evergreen and the cursed witch, from books of wonder, NYC

none of this is sponsored, just book*nerd, book*collecting me letting you know which books i'm looking forward to and how i'm trying to support authors with those ever*important pre*order numbers! :) i'd love to hear what new releases you're looking forward to! :D

come see me!!
upcoming fall events

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september 10-12, 2021: northern virginia fine arts festival, reston, va

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october 2-3, 2021: an occasion for the arts, williamsburg, va


i'm keeping my events page updated, so until you can collect art in person, shop for all things colourful and bookish on the halthegal etsy page! (or if you don't need stuff, you can support me on patreon for lots of digital content!)

as ever, thanks oodles!

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enjoy your summer reading and road trip adventures!
let me know how you're doing and what you'd like to hear more about next time! :D
with peace, love, and many colourful reads to you,
*hallie :)

hallie bertling