Monthly Wrap-Up – September 2020

Hello everyone,

We are now officially in autumn, and for me it brings realisation of the need to cram in as many books as I can before the end of the year, and the start of term at university, where I have had to become used to a whole raft of new procedures.

As for September, I feel like it was the first month in a long time that did not fly by. It was a busy one for me, what with my continued efforts with reading and blogging, but I also have my new flat to concentrate on. I am looking forward to making a start with painting the walls and ceilings over the coming weeks!

My reading in September saw me take part in three blog tours (a very big commitment for me!), a buddy read, and take in my one non-fiction book of the year. I ended up finishing six books, and at one point I was reading four of them at once!

Here are the books I read last month:

The Inheritance Games ⭐⭐⭐.5
How To Be A Footballer ⭐⭐⭐.5
The Confessions Of Frannie Langton ⭐⭐⭐.5
Invisible Girl ⭐⭐⭐
May Day ⭐⭐⭐
The Devil And The Dark Water ⭐⭐⭐.5

Taking a look at the ratings I gave, it was not my best month, but on the bright side there were no books here that I really did not enjoy. Even May Day, which I struggled badly with at first. I was so thrilled to get an advanced electronic copy of The Devil And The Dark Water, when my Netgalley wish was granted.

Looking ahead, I am extremely excited for my October TBR. It is very diverse and includes several books that are right near the top of my ‘most anticipated’ list. I also have one blog tour obligation to fulfil, and two buddy reads. The question is, how much can I fit in over the course of 31 days?

On my blog, the biggest change has been the new banners I have created, such as the one at the top of this post. I was looking for something more sophisticated, and I was quite happy with what I created. I still have a long way until I can consider myself half-decent at graphic design, but I am getting better!

I have a tentative ambition of trying to publish a poetry collection at some point in the future. In the last two months I have written a lot more poems than usual and rediscovered my love for it, so hopefully that is something to aim for if I can continue to devote more time towards it.

So, October looks set to be another busy month! To finish, here is a list of some of my favourite posts in the book blogging community from September. It is a long list, but that is because there is just so much great content which deserves the recognition!

• Sofii writes two or three amazing posts every week, so I could include all of them here! Among her posts in September are things she likes and dislikes in books.
• Emer wrote a very detailed post where she investigated the results of a poll she ran on the age-old debate of whether three stars is a positive rating.
• Becky did the Book Interview Tag, which looked a lot of fun!
• Emily wrote a very interesting spotlight on translated literature.
• Sumedha gave her thoughts on whether non-fiction really is the ‘superior’ genre.
• Caitlin reacted to a lot of Twitter’s unpopular opinions about books, and I loved her answers!
• Emme wrote about what it is like to be a book blogger who rarely writes reviews. It was a great discussion!
• Jessica began a new series of top five lists. The first one was her top five thrillers.
• Eleanor wrote about why she started blogging. She has had her blog for four years now!
• Aayushi came up with a list of 13 books that are perfect to read during autumn, and they were all excellent recommendations. She also posted about her six months of book blogging and what she has learned. I love her blog!
• Clair wrote an excellent review of The Governess by Wendy Holden, a book which I have heard a lot about lately.
• Anika found a new favourite book, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. She wrote a suitably wonderful review.
• I love literally all of Abby‘s blog posts, but her review of Silence Of Bones by Jane Hur made me want to pick it up straight away.
• Francesca‘s review of Little Disasters was so eloquent and insightful.
• Ellie wrote a review of Dominicana by Angie Cruz which really captivated me and made me add the book to my TBR. Do check out Ellie’s blog, she writes so beautifully and deserves all the love.
• Syl read one of my favourite books of the year, A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder, and gave it five stars! Then she wrote an amazing review.
• Jess asked which is better – one book at a time, or multiple books at once. Loved reading her thoughts on this!
• Kristin discussed the merits of the CAWPILE rating system.

Candyce and Isabelle celebrated three years of blogging by looking ahead to the next three years

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That’s everything! I hope you have a wonderful October!

Happy reading 🙂