Bookmark Lit Bulletin | September into October 2016

Posted September 30, 2016 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 8 Comments

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The Bookmark Lit Bulletin was created to wrap up each month and prepare for the next. I share my life happenings, book haul, books I read and reviewed, posts I shared, challenge updates, and more from the previous month. I also let you know what may be coming up on the blog in the coming month. You can read past bulletins here and learn more about the feature here.


looking backreading lifeI had a few shittier books towards the beginning of the month, but things definitely improved by the end! September turned out to be a decent month of reading, quantity-wise too. I planned to read WAY more on my vacation from work but that just didn’t happen. The earlier part of the month didn’t involve much reading because we were super busy, but I hit a stride with some books later on for sure.1

this month in books

11 books read in September

11 new reads   •   0 rereads   •   0 DNFs
4 books for review   •   7 released books

Breakdown:
2 physical books
3 Kindle/digital book
1 audiobook
1 mixed format
4 review books


134 books read in 2016

114 new reads   •   16 rereads   •   4 DNFs
79 new release & review books   •   55 older books
52% books in a series   •   48% standalones

Goodreads Goal: 160 books | 82% complete

books so far this year

books read

Average rating for books read in September: 3.59 stars

Highlights & Lowlights

Favorite

the-hating-game

Beautifully Written

the-sun-is-also-a-star

Not What I Expected

nine-women-one-dress

Least Favorite

goodbye year

Most Eye Rolls

broken-prince

All of the books read this month:

floralchallenge progress

Year-Long

Contemporary Romance Challenge

8 books this month  •  58 total read  •  276% complete
Books read this month:

ReboundThe Sun Is Also a StarThe Hating GameNine Women, One DressCherryBroken PrincePaper Princess

Debut Author Challenge

2 books this month  •  16 total read  •  133% complete
Books read this month:

The Hating GameCherry

Backlist Books Challenge

3 books this month  •  31 total read  •  155% complete
Books read this month:

ReboundCruel BeautyHeir of Fire

Flights of Fantasy Challenge

2 books this month  •  20 total read  •  100% complete
Books read this month:

Cruel BeautyHeir of Fire

Rock My TBR Challenge

0 books this month  •  14 total read  •  56% complete
No books read this month

Seasonal

Fall Bingo Challenge

9 books this month  •  38% complete
Bingo card through September:

fall-bingo-2016

Books read for the challenge:

Cruel BeautyThe Sun Is Also a StarThe Hating GameNine Women, One DressHeir of FireLeave MeCherryThe Goodbye Year

on the blog

Reviews

Blog Posts

 

book haul

sept-16-otspssI literally squealed when I opened this package. The minute I saw the black and blue tissue paper, I knew what the theme was! EEEEK. The Cam Newton Pop Figure was the main reason I squealed to be honest. It’s perfect! I also totally love the Panthers hair ties (been on my wishlist forever) and the Panthers scarf that she made me! Nimona has been on my graphic novel TBR for what feels like forever, so that was really exciting too. AND the birthday cake Oreos were really good! I may or may not have eaten some ASAP.

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Book Barn & Books-a-Million Trip • A Midsummer’s Nightmare by Kody Keplinger, the Secrets of my Hollywood Life series by Jen Calonita, The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson, and a Tony Hawk book (Chris’s)

sept-16-bought

Preordered • The Goal by Elle Kennedy (ebook),
Six of Crows boxed set with Crooked Kingdom (HC) by Leigh Bardugo

Amazon ebook • Broken Prince by Erin Watt

life update

Highlights

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Birthday and anniversary celebrations • As you saw in my wrap-up, I had lots to celebrate in September! It’s my favorite month of the year for a reason, ya know! I took a week off from work, hung out with friends, spent time with mom, and (of course) took trips with Chris. Chris and I then celebrated our four year anniversary on September 16th, a week after my birthday. We went to this AMAZING Korean BBQ restaurant we’ve been wanting to check out. I seriously can’t wait to go back; the food was delicious. We then just hung around home and enjoyed each other’s company.

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Best friends’ engagement party weekend •  That weekend was an absolute whirlwind – some ways good, some ways bad. Without getting too much into it, there was a big problem with a friend on our last night there. Our group has unfortunately parted ways with said friend; it wasn’t easy but what’s done is done. On to the good stuff though! The rest of the weekend was filled with henna, delicious Indian food, celebrating, drinks, and swimming. I loved every other minute of it and wish I could relive certain parts. So happy for Rahul and Natasha <3

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New kitty for the family! • My boss had a stray cat hanging around her house for a week, so she asked if anyone in the office was looking for one. My childhood cat, Tigger, had recently passed away so I checked with my dad, stepmom, and little sister to see if they’d be ready for a new one. They were! After a visit to the vet, we determined that it’s a 10 month old girl kitten and we named her Ollie. She’s SO playful and adorable – much more energetic and cuddly than our other cat ever was. They’re so happy with her and we love visiting.

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Company picnic and Hartford ComiCONN •  We had a really busy Saturday last weekend. Chris’s mom had a company picnic at the local… I have no idea what to call it… fun center? Mini amusement park kind of? They have an arcade, go karts, zip line, bar area, food, mini golf, and other random activities. We went up on the zip line and it was gorgeous. We spent some time in the arcade and riding go karts, then we had to leave for Hartford ComiCONN. Our Lego group had a display there so Chris and I had to volunteer for a few hours. We browsed the con, set up our Lego displays, and then hung around with other club members. Chris made the Pikachu you see at the top of the picture and the Mickey on the right. (He also made little Marvel characters but you can’t really see in this photo too well.)

Favorites

Around the Blogosphere

I feel like a jerk because I’m so behind on my Bloglovin reader! I don’t even want to know how many posts I have left to read, heading all the way back to the beginning of the month. Here’s one favorite post though…

A Comprehensive List | Friends-to-More Romance from Brittany @ The Book Addict’s Guide: This is one of my all-time favorite book tropes, so this post made me so happy! I’ve read a good amount of these, but she has sooo many more for me to check out. I hope she keeps this feature up!

Recipes

Chicken Enchilada Soup: I found a recipe on Pinterest and we were loving this soup for a few days! I need to make a bigger batch next time so I can freeze some for later. It was super easy. I replaced the masa harina with regular flour because I didn’t want to pay for it and never use it again. Tasted great still! Gimme Some Oven is one of my favorite recipe blogs, by the way.

Cheesy Tater Tot Breakfast Back: I’ve been on the hunt for an easy breakfast idea, so I whipped this up while I was on vacation at the beginning of the month. I followed this recipe pretty exactly and it was easy. I can’t think of any alterations you’d need because the flavors were great. I wish I froze this when we were getting sick of eating it every day. I want to modify this into muffin tin breakfast cups.

Beef EnchiladasYes more enchilada-related food. Not sorry. I usually enjoy chicken enchiladas at home, but LOVE beef enchiladas at restaurants (or beef in my tacos at home). I decided to alter the usual enchilada package and use beef instead of chicken. I have to say, it’s a new favorite for me! You just buy an enchilada kit (seasoning, tortillas, enchilada sauce) and use beef instead of chicken. Sooo much better.

Items & Bookish Things

Fleece sheets: Last year, Chris’s parents went away on vacation and we watched the house/dogs for them. His mom got these amazing fleece (yes, fleece, not flannel!) sheets for his old bed when we were staying there. She let us take them home with us because they were THAT amazing. Seriously. Ridiculously comfortable and cozy and warm without being TOO warm. We just popped them onto the bed for the season, so you can imagine how difficult it’s been to get out of there for work in the morning.

Pusheen Surprise Plushes: When we were in New Jersey, we won a cute little mystery Pusheen plush with our tickets. I became a little obsessed with them and have since acquired three more. I have the taco, coffee cup, and cupcake/muffin ones. I realllly want the pizza one but honestly they’re all SO cute. I hope to get them all at some point because honestly how can you resist?

Fall clothes: This isn’t really a new obsession or anything, but I was SO sick of my summer clothes that I’m just incredibly ready for the fall wardrobe! The weather is finally getting cooler so I can bring out my long-sleeve shirts, sweaters, and leggings (on weekends). Because I’m trying to not be superstitious this year about football clothes, I’m going to rotate through all of my Panthers items instead of wearing the same shirt over and over again because otherwise they’ll lose.

Media Addictions

720v1ii-imgurUgh this show is perfection! I watched This is Us the day after it premiered and have been itching for episode two ever since! (I’m writing this the day before the second episode and I hope I loved it as much as the first!) I literally set up my iPad in the shower so I could watch while I got ready for work. Loved.

eymbzjf-imgurI’ve also watched the first handful of episodes of The Good Place. I really do like it so far and am excited to see where it goes next, but I don’t get it – is it supposed to be LOL-funny or not? I find it charming and cute and interesting, but I don’t laugh really at all. It’s super enjoyable though!! I’m not complaining.

Interested in the other fall TV shows I’m starting and
my TV plan for the rest of the year? Check it out!

 

month in pictures

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looking ahead

Top Blog Posts Coming Up

Short & Sweet Reads • I went through the books I’ve read and pulled together some of the shorter, somewhat fluffy ones – any book you could blitz through in one day! I find lists like this helpful when I’m behind on my Goodreads challenge and/or have entire days to myself where I’d love to finish something quick.

Adult Fiction Books on my Radar • As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve been reading more adult contemporary books than usual. I’ve just found myself reaching for them and adding them to my TBR like crazy! I take a break from the usual YA posts and share some adult fiction books I hope to read soon.

Backlog of ARC Reviews • I read a lot of September/October ARCs early, so you’ll see ARC reviews for Wrecked, Gemina, If I Fix You, and The Sun is Also a Star. While we’re talking reviews, I also have the second half of my ToG binge reviews and the series review for The Royals (once the final book comes out you’ll see my thoughts on all three books).

Series I Need to Start • I’ve had this post in my drafts forever and just noticed it sitting there! I’ll finally finish this one up and post it. I think I need to update it though because, shockingly, I started at least one series I previously put in the graphics. Yay me for once!

Songs that Could be Books • I was inspired by this TTT a while ago and started this post. I hope to finish it and post it as well. It feels really unique so I hope everyone likes it! It’s basically about songs by certain artists that I love that I feel could be turned into books.

Life Ahead

Chris’s birthday • We’re not sure what we’re doing yet, but Chris’s birthday is October 19th. We’ll be taking the day off like we did for my birthday. I hope he picks something he really wants to do instead of being somewhat lazy like we did on my birthday haha. (That was totally my fault though!)

More football! • I just feel like it’s worth bringing up again because FOOTBALL. It’s my favorite thing about this season and gets me through the winter too. There’s honestly nothing better than making no plans on Sundays, eating football food, and being comfy in my leggings and Panthers gear.

Fall bucket list items  I recently posted the things I hope to do and see this autumn, so I definitely want to check off some of those boxes during October. Chris and I usually go pick pumpkins every year and we hope to add a fruit picking day as well. Lots of fun, cozy things to do each time this season rolls around!

Top Books on the TBR

I recently did a Fall TBR post for TTT this week, so I’ll just direct you there 😉


How was your September?
Anything good planned for October?

8 responses to “Bookmark Lit Bulletin | September into October 2016

  1. Happy birthday Lauren! I hope you’ll have an amazing year ahead! Ooh I love Korean food, they’re the best haha! Also, those pusheen plush are so cute, I want them all! <3

  2. Happy Birthday Lauren! Looks like you had an amazing month and we have much to look forward to on your blog in the coming month. I admire the hell out of the hard work you put in on your blog. Everything is always so perfect. I’m jealous af!

    Happy reading and hope you have a great October!

  3. That cheesy tater tot breakfast bake sounds so yummy! I’m definitely going to check it out, and perhaps take a shot at putting it together (which is saying something since I so rarely actually cook). Also, it’s lovely to hear about what you’ve been up to in September. Sounds like it was a really fun month!

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