September Wrap-Up: Alphabethon, Apologies, and so many books!

Hey guys! So, I disappeared for a bit there…

About a month, to be exact. I’m sorry about that! I needed a break, but I kept meaning to post something explaining an official hiatus, and I never got around to it. Boo. Not cool. To be honest, I got really into BookTube (still am) and I lost sight of what I really loved about blogging for a while there. Recently, however, I have rekindled my spark, and I am ready to dive back in! I do plan to take my blog back to its basics, which probably means 1-2 posts a week if I’m busy/uninspired, and some more reviews and tags. I have a lot of fun with those and I just psych myself up so much to do them that they become super intimidating. Anyway, that’s that. Let’s move on, shall we?

Alphabethon is happening!!!

Alphabethon is a super cool, relaxed, and fun readathon that is designed to help you work through your TBR, one letter at a time. I’ve joined the team as one of the hosts (which is super exciting), so you’ll see me hosting some sprints throughout the week. We are now on Round 4 (oh, how time flies), so the challenges are all based around the letter D. This round will run from October 23-29. Also, as per usual, Michelle (the lovely creator) is giving away a $25 Amazon gift card! All you have to do to enter is post a picture of your D TBR on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #alphabethondtbr. I should be posting my TBR fairly soon (I’ve got a fairly good idea of what I want it to be), but definitely make sure you check out Michelle’s post with all of the other details.

I’m reducing myself to a… “sort-of” book buying ban?

I’ve been buying a bunch of books recently. Which is rather fun and not bad, except… I haven’t read ANY of them. Ack! Book Outlet is my weakness. I don’t want to entirely say no to buying any more books, because, I mean, Book Outlet’s having a sale soon. And Spookathon is coming up shortly, and I am SO ready for ALL OF THE BOOKS. But the number needs to be reduced. Muchly. That is all. Wish me luck? I’ll need it. 😉

As for September, I did get a fair amount of reading done!

For the first week or so, I was in a HUGE reading slump, thanks to The Magicians (by Lev Grossman), which was honestly horrid and no one should read it (sorry not sorry). BUT, I got through it, and then ALL OF THE BOOKS ASSAULTED ME.

It was beautiful. I’m not complaining, I promise. I read a total of 11 books this month??? ELEVEN. (Okay, that’s counting some finishing-up of books, but I’m just going to say it works) Not including if I finish my current read today, which would be rather fabulous. Let’s just get into it, shall we?

City of Bones– This was a reread that I had started in early August and never finished. I ended up checking out the audiobook from my library and I finished the last 70% in no time at all. It was FABULOUS. ★★★★★

This Shattered World– I started this book a year and a half ago. A YEAR AND A HALF. I had the audiobook checked out and it expired when I was only 70% of the way through. I was surprised at how easily I got back into the story, and ironically, I think I will continue on with the last book in the series. I’m rather curious to see what will happen. Let’s all hope it takes me MUCH less time with the last book than this one did, eh? ★★★★

The Magicians– Just, no. Why. I SO don’t understand the hype around this book. I’ve heard the TV show is better (and that’s actually the whole reason I read it in the first place; *ahem* it had nothing to do with BooksandLala at all…), so I’ll give that a go, but UGH. This book had POTENTIAL. But it THREW that POTENTIAL out the WINDOW. BOO. Also, can we talk about the fact that “Fillory” was a COMPLETE RIP-OFF OF NARNIA??? What is this nonsense. *sniffs* ★★

When– I picked this book up from Book Outlet because um, it looked cool. I mean, really. She can see everyone’s death dates. What more do you need to know? It ended up being the perfect thing to get me out of my reading slump, and I really enjoyed it. I’m not sure whether it would be everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m super happy that I picked it up! ★★★★★

Catching Fire– This was also a reread. I’ve never actually read Mockingjay, so in August I reread The Hunger Games, and in September I reread Catching Fire. Hopefully in October I’ll be able to get to Mockingjay. In any case, I really enjoyed this reread, and I thought it was fabulously written! It has to be my favorite book in the series so far. (I rated THG 4.5/5 stars, and this one is just gold) ★★★★★

Dress Codes for Small Towns– I had to pick this one up because Kayla from BooksandLala has been raving about it. And OH. MY. GOSH. Was it FABULOUS!!! This book was so beautiful and pure. I absolutely adored the characters, setting, writing, and all of the discussion about sexuality and fluidity. It was perfect and… yes. I definitely need to pick up more of her work. ★★★★★

The Hate U Give– It took me AGES to get around to reading this book, but I’m so glad I ended up picking it up. I read it as a buddy read (for the Cosmo Readathon) with Cody Levi @ The Bookworm in Me, and we just could not stop reading. It was fabulous. This book was done so incredibly well and I highly recommend it. Honestly, if you haven’t read this book yet… Just do it. You won’t regret it. ★★★★★

A Darker Shade of Magic– I planned on continuing on with the series with A Gathering of Shadows, but I hadn’t read this one in a year, so smart little me thought it would be a wise idea to reread this one. I still enjoyed it, but it wasn’t my best idea. I was so eager to get to the next book that I was mostly bored with this one. However, it was good to remind myself of a few things that had happened in the last book! ★★★★

How Not to Disappear– I picked this up for the “read a book you’ve never heard of before” challenge in the Cosmo Readathon, and honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. I had to be somewhere so I couldn’t stay very long at all at the library, so I pretty much picked up the first book I saw, skimmed the blurb, and ran. But MY GOSH this book was beautiful. I loved the writing and the heartbreak and oh yes the warm fuzzies are returning. Dual timeline stories are so interesting and this one was just done so well. I would definitely recommend this, but it was fabulous to go into it not knowing much, so I’ll leave it at that. ★★★★★

A Gathering of Shadows– This being the sequel to A Darker Shade of Magic, I absolutely ADORED it. Whereas the first book focused mainly on world-building and was basically setting up the groundwork for this one (not that that’s bad, but it got 4 stars out of me), this one took that groundwork and RAN with it. Like Usain Bolt. I listened to it partly on audiobook as well and that was fabulous. Lila features more heavily in this book, and let’s be real, she’s one of my absolute favorites. Besides, you can’t go wrong with the main plot point of this book. I love duels. And fights to the death. And magic. ‘Twas perfection. ★★★★★

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue– I had heard fabulous things about the audiobook, so I did partly listen to that, and OMG IT WAS SO ADORABLE AND FABULOUS. It’s been a hot minute since I read a romance so it took me a little bit to get into the groove, but I mean… Monty and Percy. It really wasn’t too hard. MY BABIES. Also, can we talk about the fact that FELICITY IS JUST. AGH. MY FAVORITE. I’m so pleased that the sequel focuses on her. What’s not to love about that??? ★★★★★

A Conjuring of Light– Okay, strictly speaking, I’ve yet to finish this book as I’m writing this. But I’m a little over halfway through, so there’s a fair chance I could finish it today. We shall see. I’m a tad busy painting my room (it’s purple and fabulous), but a girl can dream, right?? Here’s hoping it’s a solid five stars!

Whew! And that’s that!

Wow, that was a lot longer than I was expecting. Alas, I hope my return was worth the wait (HAHAHA I’m kidding I promise), and I’m so glad to be back! With any luck, I’ll be back tomorrow with my October TBR. That’s right, I’m fancy and I have an actual TBR now. *knocks on wood* Alright, the purple paint (and fumes, my lord) are calling, I’d best be off!

Will you be participating in Alphabethon? What do you think of book buying bans? Have you ever tried one yourself? Have you read any of the books I mentioned here, or plan to? Talk to me in the comments, I missed you!

 

P.S. I’ve gone crazy and somehow been on a blog reading spree, but I am feeling blog-less. Please shower me with links to your blog/some of your favorites, I’d love to check them out!

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