November 2014: Month in Review
posted at Monday, December 1st, 2014 at 9:10 AM | Month in Review
What I’ve Been Up To:
In case you want to know what’s been going on behind the blog, I’m going to catch you up with some of what I’ve been doing this past month.
Blogging: I’m perpetually behind on my reading challenge for the year (2 books as of this writing) and very frustrated with my secret project. I’ve been feeling stressed and am struggling with reminding myself that it’s my hobby and I should have fun with it, not pressure myself the way I do. *pressures myself to write this post* Well, I’m trying. On the plus side, I’m well on top of my advance review copies at the moment and am slowly shrinking some of the backlog of ones past their release date. Also, I’ve been reading more stuff for fun (The Raven Boys, Lynburn Legacy, and The Heroes of Olympus), so that part of my goals is going really well.
Discussion posts on the blog this month:
- Books I most want to reread
- Characters that need their own series
- Some DNFs
- That moment when a character becomes a total dick to resolve a love triangle
- How I organize my TBR.
Shenanigans: I didn’t do any traveling in November, but I did have a lovely Thanksgiving with my family and boyfriend. I also got my haircut. Weeeeee.
Music: Thanks to Meg (Cuddlebuggery) and Lenore (The Memory of After/Chasing Before), I’ve gotten into a mood to listen to new music again and I’ve been obsessed with a playlist on Spotify that I’ve put together, heavily influenced by the two of them. I’m embedding it if you want to check it out!
Movies & TV: I continue to TV watch like a boss. I love TV and I regret nothing, minus the being behind on my reading challenge thing that I mentioned above.
Mockingjay Part 1 should more accurately be named Mockingsob. I spent basically the first half of the movie almost crying and by the end I think I stopped only because I was emotionally destroyed. I continue to be so impressed with this franchise. I didn’t even mind Gale this time! I’m simultaneously finally okay with the fact that it’s in two installments and super frustrated I have to wait for the next movie. Ship level: PAIN.
Kekkon Shinai was so much fun. If you watch Japanese drama, I point you in this direction. It’s about two single women, one in her thirties and one in her forties, and what it’s like being a single woman in Japan. It’s all about marriage and whether it’s something that they really need. The show’s definitely a bit campy, but I loved the message and grew quite attached to it. Ship level: cute.
Officially gave up on Robin Hood. I made it through the first two seasons, only to be surprised by a major character death at the end of season two. Now, I LOVE character deaths, but it was not a good sign that I did not care at all. On top of that, my ship (made up of my two favorite characters) left the show. That was the final straw. The beginning had some promise, striking a balance between campy and dark, but I don’t think that ended up working in the long run. Plus, if you don’t want me to ship Marian with Guy, you probably shouldn’t cast Richard Armitage. You can’t hide that charisma under any amount of makeup. Ship level: unship + shouldn’t ship but do + MAJORLY SHIP BUT IT WILL GET NO SCREEN TIME FRUSTRATION
Buh bye.
On the last day of the month, since I like to cut things close, I finished God of Study, a high school kdrama. It’s completely unbelievable and involves a lot of study tips that I don’t give a single fuck about, but I really liked it. I’m not sure of the rewatch value, but I got really sucked into the characters and highly recommend it to those who enjoy school dramas and can ignore the preachy study tips. Ship rating: Tease.
Guh, they’re just so precious. *pats*
Reviews Posted:
Though I DNFed a handful of books this month, I did end up powering through quite a few I didn’t like. I seem to be slumping a bit, which isn’t necessarily helping my progress. I mean, yeah, I’m reading Heroes of Olympus and they’re super fun, but they’re also long so I don’t really power through.
5 star:
Endsinger (The Lotus War #3) - Jay Kristoff
The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2) - Maggie Stiefvater
4.5 star:
Unmade (The Lynburn Legacy #3) - Sarah Rees Brennan
Isla and the Happily Ever After (Anna and the French Kiss #3) - Stephanie Perkins
4 star:
Mortal Gods (Goddess War #2) - Kendare Blake
Stranger (The Change #1) - Rachel Manija Brown & Sherwood Smith
Murder on the Ile Sordou (Verlaque and Bonnet #4) - M. L. Longworth (reviewed by my mom!)
Lola and the Boy Next Door (Anna and the French Kiss #2) - Stephanie Perkins
Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle #3) - Maggie Stiefvater
Jane Austen: Cover to Cover - Margaret C. Sullivan
The Storyspinner (The Keepers’ Chronicles #1) - Becky Wallace
The Cure for Dreaming - Cat Winters
3.5 star:
Top Ten Clues You’re Clueless - Liz Czukas
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
Kissing Kate - Lauren Myracle
3 star:
We Should Hang Out Sometime - Josh Sundquist
2.5 star:
The True Adventures of Nicolo Zen - Nicholas Christoper
Enders (Starters #2) - Lissa Price
Stray (Four Sisters #1) - Elissa Sussman
2 star:
Shadows (Masks of Aygrima #2) - E.C. Blake
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Ian Fleming
I have found the best way to succeed at reading challenges is to not do them, but if you insist on doing them, I must say that 2 books doesn’t seem very behind at all and I’m going to go ahead and say GO YOU.
I’M STILL SUPER IN LOVE WITH YOUR HAIR FYI, DON’T MIND ME I’LL JUST SIT HERE QUIETLY GAZING IN ADORATION
I very much love your playlist and it warms my heart to know my rabid obsession with finding ALL THE MUSIC has been of actual benefit to someone.
Mockingsob is an excellent name for that movie as it is the absolute saddest. Poor Gale. He emotes so hard in his turtleneck but he will always be the less awesome Hemsworth brother. I am also okay with the two installment thing (even though it meant there was a mild lack of dramatic plot event in part 1) because ZOMG PART 2 IS GOING TO BE BALLS TO THE WALL (now that i’ve typed that phrase out, WHAT DOES IT EVEN MEAN LIL JON OR WHOEVER FIRST COINED IT?)
While I sit and admire your hair I will also cry happy tears that The Dream Thieves is on your five star list. I AM VERKLEMPT DON’T LOOK AT ME
Meg recently posted…We’re Thankful For…
I like having a challenge to work towards, but I realllllllly hate losing. WHAT DO YOU MEAN I’M NOT COMPETITIVE? I CAN SHOUT LOUDER THAN YOU CAN. Two books isn’t that much, only I’ve been behind one to three books for a few months.
THANK YOU
Stalking Meg’s music is my new favorite hobby. As opposed to just stalking your reading which is frankly much more difficult. Why you no want me to stalk you.
OH MAN. THOSE BALLS WILL BE ALL UP ON THAT AIRPLANE’S WALLS. They have sweet airplanecopters in Mockingsob.
I’m very happy about my five star list. MY HEART.
I love your haircut! I’m a bit behind on my reading goal, as well (3 books at the moment) but I’m hoping I can catch up. I think I will be able to. But if not, I’ve still read a crap ton of books, which I think you have, too.
I watched the first two seasons of Robin Hood years ago, but after that character death you were talking about, I stopped. And I get it. Richard Armitage ALL THE WAY! HE’s so dreamy. And his voice is amazing. And he’s so tall. And basically just gorgeous.
Quinn @ Quinn’s Book Nook recently posted…Review: Searching for Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
Thanks! True. I just hate seeing that I’ve failed. If I don’t make it, I might go change the number at the last minute. lalalala
Robin Hood could have been so good, but they really couldn’t decide on the tone they wanted and Richard Armitage is just so yum. Which meant I couldn’t get on the Robin Marian ship. *sighs*
I think you can handle your 2 books behind, so go you!
Your new hair cut looks amazing on you, very flattering for your face. I can’t wait to see Mockingjay, but I wasn’t ready to handle all the feelings. I might go and see it this week. Oh boy, Richard Armitage as the bad guy, it’s hard to hate a character played by him. The voice *swoon*
Mel@thedailyprophecy recently posted…Monthly Recap. November.
Your haircut look great! I have long hair and have never had the courage to cut it even remotely short! I really need to get to the movies to see MockingJay, though I am not sure I am ready for it.
I have Unmade sitting on my kitchen table, I just keep telling myself I need to finish the other two books I am reading before starting, though I am quite excited to read it! Glad to see you gave it 4.5 stars!
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