October Wrap-Up

Well, here it is – my first post to showcase everything that happened in the last 31 days! From October 1 through October 31, I have accomplished the following:

Read: 18 books (click on the link to see my review!)

• Freak of Nature by Julia Crane
• What’s Left of Me by Kat Zhang
• Waterfell by Amalie Howard
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
• Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
• The Scourge by A.G. Henley
• Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
• Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
• Damselfly by Jennie Bates Bozic
• Roomies by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando
• The Rising by Terra Harmony
• The Darkness of Shadows by Chris Little (not reviewed)
• Divergent by Veronica Roth
• Insurgent by Veronica Roth
• Pawn by Aimee Carter
• Legend by Marie Lu (review posted November 1)
• Silevethiel by Andi O’Connor (DNFed at 20%, no review)
• Shatter Me by Tehereh Mafi (review to come November 4)

Top Three Favorites: 

I read so many good books this month, but my top three have to be Legend, Shatter Me, and Siege and Storm. Although I really loved most of the books this month!

Three Least Favorites:

Of course the two I DNFed (Silevethiel and The Rising), and I was really disappointed by Roomies as well.

Standing On My Soapbox posts: 6 (a bonus one this month!)

• Gay Characters (10-3)
• Series vs. Standalones (10-5)
• The Statistical Probability of DNFing a Book (10-10)
• The Importance of Being Happy (10-17)
• Showing Up Late (To a Series) (10-24)
• Why I Don’t Read Scary Books (10-31)

Other notable achievements:

• I went to my first author event and met Leigh Bardugo, Ann Aguirre, Jessica Brody, and Gennifer Albin
• I brought my NetGalley ratio up to 71%, and plan on finishing most of the books in my queue in November
• I made some new friends, namely Veronica, Rose, Sara, Angiee, Sierra, and Andi!
• Life is getting so much better – my ratio of bad to good has dwindled drastically! I never thought I’d be able to say that I actually look forward to life and have hope for the future
• Okay, maybe it’s not a “huge” achievement, but I drove to San Diego all by myself. Which is huge, because I go up three exits either way on a three lane highway at my house, and that’s it. None of this oh hey there’s eight different lanes for you to choose from, and five highways possible! Not to mention carpool lanes and toll roads and fasttrak… Seriously I’m just proud I didn’t have to pull over and cry!
• I got my sister three Christmas presents already – getting ahead this year! A signed copy of The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen, Bunheads by Sophie Flack, and Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver. I plan on getting Requiem when it comes out in paperback, as well as the final book in the Unearthly series when it hits paperback December 23. That’s going to be a rush for me!

What I’m looking forward to in November:

• Catching up on all the NetGalley and book tour books I’m behind on
• Buying the boxed set of the Legend series when Champion comes out on the 5th, and then reading Prodigy and Champion to prepare for meeting Marie Lu in the beginning of December!
• World After by Susan Ee is released – sequel to Angelfall. Holy crap batman this is possibly the most exciting thing EVER. CANNOT WAIT.
• Ender’s Game, Thor: The Dark World, and Catching Fire is released in theaters – like how am I supposed to afford all this?? And even more – how is my poor fangirl heart supposed to take all the feels???

Well, that was my October. How was everyone else’s? Can’t wait to see what November brings!