Monthly Wrap Up: October 2020

Me in October

I’m not going to lie, October was a fantastic month for me personally. We got the keys and moved into our house on the 2nd, so we spent the whole month settling in. The first couple of weeks were quite hectic as we had to get all of our appliances delivered, and also get Octavia settled in. We ended up painting the bedroom, which I LOVE, and we took down a whole cupboard by ourselves. I have never felt so adult. There’s still some work to do on the house, but knowing we have the time to save up and do it makes all the difference. I’m just so happy!

Work-wise, it’s not been great. My company is in the middle of rightsizing, and the workload has also picked up slightly. I mean, a lot. I’m no longer allowed to do overtime, so trying to organise everything with my strange work hours is annoying. I’m not stressed, because there’s nothing I can do about it, but it still sucks.

Last weekend, Quill and I went to a vegan market and I had a great time! I am hoping it’ll become a regular thing in my town. I didn’t go too overboard with the purchases because I’m trying to be mindful, but I also wanted to support the local small businesses. I ended up getting a plastic free, natural deodorant, some natural sponges, some soap because I’m out of shower gel, and some muffins. All in all, it was a good trip! Next time I’m hoping to find some plants.

New on the Blog

Well, first of all, how do you like the new design? I had my previous theme for six or so years, so I felt like it was time for a change. I’m still playing around with the colour scheme and tweaking bits and pieces, but the bulk of it is sorted! I love having the Latest Posts banner at the top, and I also love the Instagram banner at the bottom! There’s a lot about it I really like. I want to update Recaptains too at some point, but that might be a way off yet. I should probably focus on this blog first!

• Review: Inside 10 Rillington Place
• Review: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
• Review: The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker
• Review: The Cheerleaders
• Review: Incendiary

Books Read

My reading is slowly picking up again, although it’s not quite back to where it was before the house buying process started. I’m hoping that November will be a good reading month for me, especially because I’ve got some highly anticipated releases coming out!

1. The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker by Lauren James ★★★
2. The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling ★★★.5
3. Exhalation by Ted Chiang ★★★
4. Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge ★★★★
5. Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova ★★★★
6. The Carrow Haunt by Darcy Coates ★★★.5
7. The Way of Kings Part 2 by Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★
8. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James ★★★
9. Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix ★★★
10. Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant ★★★★
11. The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones ★★★★
12. Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell ★★★★

Coming Soon

Okay so I have SO MANY plans for November and December. IRL, it’s my birthday, then Quill’s birthday. It’s also our anniversary. So we have SO MUCH to do. I’ve got some time off coming up, which will be really nice. Lots of time for reading!

As for on the blog, I will be posting my Most Anticipated November Releases early on in the month. I’ve really missed doing those posts, so I’d like to start bringing them back.

I also have a REALLY exciting announcement coming up towards the end of the month! Like, REALLY EXCITING. Stay tuned for that if you’re intrigued. I’m not putting out any hints yet, but I’ve been working on it for two weeks already and will probably continue to do so right up until the deadline.

I’m planning on posting every other week day on my Booktube channel, so I’m thinking I can probably post twice a week on the blog. I’ll probably be mostly posting reviews, because I’m loving writing those at the moment, but I also want to do a couple of bigger posts too, like a NetGalley Check In.

What do you have coming up in November? Are you looking forward to winter?