what else has me completely booked: july 2025

I actually read a lot in July, or it felt like I did, so the regular edition of completely booked is gonna pop off and I'm going to write a paid post about one of the worst celebrity "memoirs" I've ever read. Any guesses?

But for now, here's what else has been keeping me busy.

[puzzles!]

I've never actually counted, but I feel like I average two 500-1000-piece puzzles a month. WELL THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN IN JULY because I've been stuck doing this one fucking puzzle all month that I hate! I mentioned last month that I work for a shop that verifies resale puzzles (among other things), so that's why I'm doing this puzzle, but I regret everything because it's not even a customer's puzzle! It's my coworker's! It's a gold foil puzzle, and it's hard, and I'm sick of it, but I'm way too far gone to give up now. If it's missing a piece, I'm going to set it on fire.

[podcasts and music!]

I just finished listening to both Top Gun soundtracks in a row because it's Sea Fair weekend in Seattle, and we felt inspired at work. I unironically love the song "Highway to the Danger Zone" and "Take My Breath Away." I want to watch Top Gun again now. I've become like, a big Top Gun fan in the past five years. Both versions.

Otherwise, I've been listening to a lot of The Bangles, Sabrina Carpenter (always), and Destiny's Child, which I do semi-annually, but was also inspired by the recent reunion. I also decided to listen to every Coldplay album in order at work the other day, and the next morning, the whole CEO affair thing happened, so I think I'm responsible. I also unironically love Coldplay. I've seen them live two or three times.

I've been doing my usual podcast thing and am bored so once again, recs welcome.

[and watching stuff!]

I've been watching fuck all, and now Jeopardy! is on summer break. I've been dabbling in a slow Seinfeld rewatch. I watched Naked Gun for the first time to prepare (not that it's necessary lol) for the new movie with Liam Neeson and Pam Anderson, who are in love, which has made us all really happy. I am watching Bachelor in Paradise weekly (and posting book recs for all of the contestants) and weirdly enough, I am still watching season 4 of Love Island, which I started three years ago. When I'm desperate and am not sure what else to do, I put that on. I'm lowkey invested in them at this point, even though I don't really understand the concept, and there's so much plastic in everyone's bodies, and the narrator is annoying. I know, I know, it gets better! But these guys are my friends now.

I'm going to eventually watch the new season of Hacks.

Oh, and the Billy Joel documentary (two-parter) was great. I should go listen to Billy Joel now.

[making stuff!]

When would I have time to make stuff when my puzzle board is occupied with the gold foil puzzle from hell??? Maybe in August.

[and school!]

I realized I didn't include school last month, which is funny because school is what keeps me actually completely booked. It's not always super busy or anything, even though I am in GrAd ScHoOl, but this summer, I picked the professor who loves to give assignments. I've been taking a micro/meso social work practice focusing on families and groups, which is very much in my wheelhouse, as a lover and studier of families. The professor is a very smart and savvy Black woman with a lot of expertise in addiction and mental health with women, children, and families. She's amazing, and I've been happy to learn from her, but this past week I spent hours project managing a group presentation about a family assessment using a family in a documentary. I had to role-play as a white Jewish adoptive mom in front of the whole class, but I was really grumpy in the moment, so I was not able to role-play excellently because Tova was really angry in the doc. I also wrote a six-page family assessment on that same family, which I got full marks on because I actually tried! The doc was called Off and Running (2009), and I'm glad I chose that even though Lady Bird (2017) was an option, but I didn't want to assess one of my favorite movies in case I ruined it for future me.

I've also been doing practicum, which basically means an internship, and this past week was the busiest bout I've had yet which means I submitted a project that I had done incorrectly and had to re-do it and also had multiple meetings which is a normal thing for a lot of people but not a thing I'm super used to, having quit my last full-time office job in June 2024. It's felt busy! And I've felt like I've learned this summer! And I get a month off from school between summer and fall quarter, which will happen soon.

BORING! But that's what I'm up to when I'm not talking at you guys about books. Which I will do right after this! Look forward to July's completely booked in your inbox tomorrow.