Bookmark Lit Bulletin | November 2016

Posted December 1, 2016 / Bookmark Lit Bulletin, Features, Wrap-Ups / 11 Comments

BL header

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin was created to wrap up each month and prepare for the next. I share my 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. I recently split out my personal posts into the Lauren Lately feature, so this is a bit shorter!


looking backreading lifeI finally got my reading mojo back!! I was able to finish three books plus one novella in three days. I was a reading addict around the middle of the month thanks to two books that were exactly what I needed to break my slump. I also got back into some audiobooks a little bit, managed to finish off the fall bingo card, and still was able to keep up with my TV shows. I’m finally getting the balance I’ve been wanting to find. I hope I can carry this attitude with me into the new year because this is what I had in mind when I set my goals/resolutions for 2016.
1

this month in books

12 books read in November

11 new reads   •   0 rereads   •   1 DNF
3 books for review   •   9 released books

Breakdown:
4 physical books
1 Kindle/digital book
1 novella/short story
3 audiobooks
0 audio/physical mixed
3 review books


153 books read in 2016

132 new reads   •   16 rereads   •   5 DNFs
59% review or newer books   •   41% backlist books
53% books in a series   •   47% standalones

Goodreads Goal: 160 books | 93% complete

books so far this year

books read

Average rating for books read in October: 3.64 stars

Highlights & Lowlights

Favorite

little-black-dresses

Disappointed

burning-sky

Pleasant Surprise

monstrous-beauty

Hit the Spot

amateurs

All of the books read this month:
monstrous-beautyReplicaHeartlessThe Burning SkyCall Me Forever: Epilogue to Call Me, MaybeThis Is Your AfterlifeThe AmateursLittle Black Dresses, Little White LiesThe UnquietHere We Are: Feminism for the Real WorldThe HeirHow to Hang a Witch

floralchallenge progress

Year-Long

Contemporary Romance Challenge

1 book this month
59 total read
281% complete

Little Black Dresses, Little White Lies

Debut Author Challenge

1 book this month
19 total read
158% complete

Little Black Dresses, Little White Lies

Backlist Books Challenge

4 books this month
34 total read
170% complete

monstrous-beautyThe Burning SkyThis Is Your AfterlifeThe Unquiet

Flights of Fantasy Challenge

2 books this month
23 total read
115% complete

HeartlessThe Burning Sky

Rock My TBR Challenge

1 book this month
17 total read
68% complete

The Amateurs

Seasonal

Fall Bingo Challenge

I’m pleased to say that I FINALLY filled an entire bingo card! I was pretty determined this time and knew it was actually in reach, based on the books ahead on my TBR. I made a fake TBR to get through the month and followed it somewhat to finish off bingo. Thank goodness for Hoopla and ARCs I really needed to read!

nov-16-fall-bingo-completed

November’s books:

monstrous-beautyReplicaThe Burning SkyHeartlessThe Unquiet
Call Me Forever: Epilogue to Call Me, MaybeThe AmateursHow to Hang a WitchThis Is Your Afterlife

9 books this month  •  100% complete
Full list of completed books:

Standalone | Leave Me – Gayle Forman
Animal on cover | Replica – Lauren Oliver
Purple cover | Nine Women, One Dress – Jane L. Rosen
Dragons | The Burning Sky – Sherry Thomas
Fall release | The Sun is Also a Star – Nicola Yoon
Backlist | Rebound – Noelle August
Sea creatures | Monstrous Beauty – Elizabeth Fama
Horror or paranormal | This Is Your Afterlife – Vanessa Barneveld
Friendship | Cherry – Lindsey Rosin
Creepy cover | Cruel Beauty – Rosamund Hodge
Multi POV | The Goodbye Year – Kaira Rouda
Green cover | Heir of Fire – Sarah J Maas
Retelling | Heartless – Marissa Meyer
Short story | Call Me Forever – Ellie Cahill
Killers | The Unquiet – Mikaela Everett
Revenge | Daughter of Deep Silence – Carrie Ryan
Illustrated | Bombshells: Enlisted – Marguerite Bennett
Black cover | The Thousandth Floor – Katharine McGee
Graphic novel | Ms Marvel: Generation Why – G. Willow Wilson
Suspense | The Amateurs – Sara Shepard
Rec’d to you | The Hating Game – Sally Thorne
American history | How to Hang a Witch – Adriana Mather
Weapon on cover | Queen of Shadows – Sarah J Maas
College | The Goal – Elle Kennedy

December Disney Dare – Coming Up!

Kristin posted about her December Disney Dare, which runs through the month of December. Basically you challenge yourself to watch as many Disney/Pixar animated movies as you can throughout the month! I’ve been thinking of putting some on in the background while I’m being lazy in bed or working on my planner, so I thought this would be a fun challenge to join in on. Here’s a list of Disney films for reference. I’m actually aiming for either the Moana level or Aurora level because I know that holiday/Christmas movies will distract me from this challenge more than they should! I hope to squeeze in some good movies, both old favorites and new ones!

1 – 4 films – Moana (Newbie Disney Fan)
5 – 8 films – Aurora (Rather be Sleeping Disney Fan)
9 – 12 films – Stitch (Crazy for Disney Fan)
13 – 16 – Ariel (Disney Film Hoarding Fan)
17 – 20 films – Rapunzel (Diligent Disney Fan)
21+ films – Snow White (Ultimate Disney Fan)

1

on the blog

Reviews

Blog Posts

 

book haul

nov-16-secret-sisterMy Secret Sister helped me achieve my goal of finally owning all three Stephanie Perkins books! I’m so excited to have them to reread and admire forever. She also included a stir stick for coffee or hot chocolate (I love these!) and The Darkling candle from Novelly Yours. IT SMELLS DIVINE. I can’t burn really sweet scents in the bedroom (including some of my favorite apple ones) because it somehow makes my stomach hurt before bed LOL sooo this one is absolutely perfect to keep in the bedroom.

nov-16-bought

Preordered | The Amateurs by Sara Shepard
Purchased eBook History of Glitter and Blood by Hanna Moskowitz

nov-16-reviewPhysical ARC from publisher The Cursed Queen by Sarah Fine
Digital ARC from Netgalley | Here We Are edited by Kelly Jensen


life update

✨ Check out my most recent personal life wrap-up HERE ✨

Life Happenings | Media Addictions | Goals | Favorites | Life Ahead

 

month in pictures

 2016-11-19-22-54-40-2 2016-11-15-19-17-38-2 2016-11-13-21-48-09-2 2016-11-13-10-23-42-1 2016-11-14-07-36-34-2 2016-11-16-18-27-28-1 2016-11-25-21-30-31 2016-11-29-21-23-23-2


looking ahead

Top Blog Posts Coming Up

I’m Getting Older and Wiser Pickier • I started a draft a long time ago about how I’m getting pickier as I read more and more YA. I know I’m not the intended audience for YA books so I try to keep it in mind when I get annoyed with some teens making dumb decisions… but it’s hard! I find myself reaching for “older” books now.

Holiday Reviews • I just recently posted my possible holiday TBR for this year and have carved out some dates (mostly Mondays and Fridays this month) to share holiday reviews. I realize this means I kind of have to get going on actually READING these holiday books!

Favorite Holiday Books (through 2015ish) • I’ve read quite a few Christmassy books since I started blogging – and a few before – so I think it’d be appropriate to do a list! I want to be able to recommend books early enough in the month so people can read them before the holiday season is over. This one is a WIP but it’ll be up!

Book Blog Post Ideas • Another random draft I’m finally publishing! One day I just sat down and wrote a bunch of ideas for blog posts. I actually need to go through and write some of these posts because damn, I was on fire that day. I fine-tuned the post a bit and it’ll be up this month.

Christmas Coziness • I loved Kristin’s post the other day about her Christmas aesthetic, so I made something slightly similar to post on Christmas Eve Eve. I did a little Polyvore collage and talk about my holiday traditions.

Top Books on the TBR

The HopefulsThe Secret Ingredient of WishesWinter StreetCrooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2)
The ForgettingEmpire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5)The Choices We MakeWhat Light


How was your November?
Anything good planned for December?

11 responses to “Bookmark Lit Bulletin | November 2016

  1. Wow you are doing kick ass in challenges!! I failed at mine lol. I just bought Little Black Dresses on black Friday so I am excited to see it was a favorite this month. Your TBR has two I loved – The Choices We Make and The Secret Ingredient of Wishes. Enjoy them and have a great December!

  2. Wow, it looks like you had a jam packed month! I love the Disney movie challenge – that looks awesome, so I might do a version of it with the kids. Hope you have an excellent December!

  3. Two shoutouts in one blog post! I am honored!!! I really want to read Little Black Dresses, Little White Lies! I picked it up at that beautiful Baltimore Barnes and Noble and lately I just feel like it’s calling to me from my shelf. And I’m so excited to be reading The Amateurs for my book club! Congrats on completing your bingo card! And I’m really looking forward to reading your Christmas Coziness post!

  4. wow – that’s a busy month. Glad to hear you got out of your reading slump – (Strangely I always seem to fall into one after a succession of really good books). But wow – you seem to be doing awesome on your challenges. I am so behind with mine, It just hasn’t been a good year for reading lol.

  5. I’m hoping to participate in that Disney challenge as well, though I’m not sure what level I’ll actually be able to hit! But worth a shot anyway AND it means I get to rematch some favorites 😉 Also, yay for your TBR! I see you have a ton of excellent reading ahead of you.

Leave a Reply

(Enter your URL then click here to include a link to one of your blog posts.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.