Well, October was a busy month! For this wrap-up, I’m going to start with some blogging highlights then go on to list the books I’ve finished, started, and continued last month.
Blogging in October 2018
Blogtober 2018
At the beginning of the month, I announced my attempt at Blogtober, during which I planned to post at least once each day. I started off strong, then in the middle of Shattering Stigmas (which I’ll talk about next), it got a little bumpy because I started to run out of guest posts. Then Shattering Stigmas ended strongly with even more wonderful guest posts! And finally, the last ten days of October were kind of a mess, but it was also just after all my midterm tests and essays, so I was really looking for a break. But in the end, I only missed 3 days, so that’s still an A-.
Shattering Stigmas 4.0
I could not have asked for a better first year hosting this amazing event. I did a wrap-up post, but I need to thank everyone once again, so to everyone who helped make this event possible, from guest posters to hosts to interviewees to readers to people who just helped us writers with ideas when we were stuck about what to say or do with the event. So I don’t talk about numbers and blog stats often because it’s Taboo™ or whatever. But I’ll say that in October I had more than five times my average number of monthly views (averaged from January to September of this year), and that’s just amazing because that shows people want to read and listen to other’s stories and that talking about mental health is super important. I hope that everyone involved with Shattering Stigmas continues the conversation even though the event is over.
Finished in October 2018
One World Two: A Second Global Anthology of Short Stories edited by Chris Brazier
My rating: ★★★★★
Format: Physical book
Review Coming: No review
A Touch Of Gold by Annie Sullivan
My rating: ★★★☆☆
Format: Audiobook
Review Coming: November 15th
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
My rating: ★★★★☆
Format: Audiobook
Review Coming: November 21st
Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore
My rating: ★★★★★
Format: Audiobook
Review Coming: November 8th
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
My rating: ★★★★★
Format: Audiobook
Review Coming: November 29th
Signs Preceding The End Of The World by Yuri Herrera (Translated by Lisa Dillman)
My rating: ★★★★☆
Format: Physical book
Review Coming: No review
Human Acts by Han Kang
My rating: ★★★★☆
Format: Physical book
Review Coming: No review
Started in October 2018
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
Started: October 31st
Format: Physical book
Progress: 2%
Fresh Ink: An Anthology edited by Lamar Giles
Started: October 27th
Format: Physical book
Progress: 61%
Put Down in October 2018
La casa en Mango Street por Sandra Cisneros (Translated by Elena Poniatowska)
Status: On pause
Reason: I lost interest, and I think that’s mostly because I’m reading it in Spanish and have to look up so many words. I plan on picking back up this month.
A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab
Status: On pause
Reason: I lost access to the audiobook I was listening to (damn unreliable online library resources) and I’d had the physical copy checked out of the library for too long, so I just put it on pause. I’m loving the series, but this book was just a victim of my reading slump.
Happy November, everyone!
Lovely wrap up! I’m looking forward to reading The Poet X and When Dimple Met Rishi. Really glad you enjoyed them. Hope you have a great November! 😊