Bookmark Lit Bulletin | August 2018

The Bookmark Lit Bulletin wraps up the last month in reading and what was on the blog, as well as what’s coming up next. You can check out my book haul, books read, posts shared, challenge updates, etc. You can read past bulletins here. If you’re looking for more personal updates, you can check out my Lauren Lately feature; it highlights my life events and non-bookish fun from the previous 30 days.

I feel like my wheels are constantly spinning, trying to get my Goodreads goal back on track. I honestly think my ARC August participation was bad for my overall reading numbers, but great for catching up on the intended purpose – reading books for review. The issue was that I wanted to read 75% ARCs, which meant I would NOT read other non-ARCs (aka audiobooks) even when I was in the mood for them. In hindsight, I should have just said I wanted to read 5-7 ARCs and called it a day. There were times I was in the mood for an audiobook and just decided not to listen to it because it would mess up my challenge, which is so not the point.

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All of the books read this month:

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Breakdown:  3 bought  |  0 borrowed  | 0 free/gifted | 6 for review 

Review Copies

   

Egalley: The Dinner List by Serle, Fight or Flight by Young,
Intercepted by Martin, The Proposal by Guillory

 

Physical ARCs: Imprison the Sky by Gaughen, A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Kemmerer

Kindle Books

   

Roomies by Lauren | The Chase by Kennedy | Impossible Saints by Harwood
FREE: Spy Girl series (books 1-2) by Dodd

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My recent personal / life update found in the last Lauren Lately HERE.

• [8 Aug] After Nightfall by A.J. Banner ★★★★
• [13 Aug] Jackaby by William Ritter ★★★★
• [17 Aug] The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang ★★★★½
• [20 Aug] The Leading Edge of Now by Marci Lyn Curtis ★★★★½
• [23 Aug] Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan ★★★★½
• [24 Aug] Kiss Me in Paris by Catherine Rider ★★½
• [24 Aug] Sadie by Courtney Summers ★★★★½

• [1 Aug] Bookmark Lit Bulletin | July 2018
• [2 Aug] ARC August 2018 Kick-Off and Tracking
• [3 Aug] Beauty Brands I Love
• [6 Aug] Currently: A-Z Edition
• [7 Aug] Top Ten Tuesdays #195: Combining Books
• [9 Aug] Bout of Books Sign-Up
• [10 Aug] I’d Rather Be Reading – Favorite Books and More
• [14 Aug] Top Ten Tuesdays #196: Bookish Features
• [15 Aug] Lauren Lately | August 2018
• [16 Aug] ARC August 2018 Midpoint Check-In
• [21 Aug] Top Ten Tuesdays #197: Reading Slump-Busters
• [22 Aug] The Queer Eye Book Tag
• [27 Aug] Bout of Books Wrap-Up
• [28 Aug] Top Ten Tuesdays #198: Back to (Boarding) School
• [30 Aug] September TBR
• [31 Aug] ARC August 2018 Wrap-Up

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August’s goal: Get Goodreads on track
September’s goal: Finish a series

Alright so it was a tough one, getting back on schedule. I wrote about it at the very beginning of the post but ARC August was good and bad for my productivity. I read a LOT of publisher copies I needed to read, both upcoming and backlist, so it felt nice to get my Netgalley to the 75% area this month. However, I kind of screwed myself by using a percentage goal instead of a number goal. I prohibited myself from getting easy audiobooks read because I didn’t want to ruin the ARC to backlist ratio. It’s my fault, but it is what it is.

For September, I am hoping to finish a series! I have a couple of options here, so we’ll see if any or all of these pan out. I have the next two CRAZY RICH ASIANS books overdue at the library so I’m hoping to binge-read them (probably already in progress when this posts) and finish it up. I also plan to do the next two audiobooks in the SUMMER series by Jenny Han. I am rereading but still will count this as finishing a series!

My Go-To Trader Joe’s Shopping List | In honor of the new TJ’s opening up where I work at the beginning of the month, I’ll be sharing my favorite Trader Joe’s products! I used to shop there weekly when we lived in Maine, so I’m pumped to be reunited with my favorite things again.

Finally Mastering My Oily Skin | I feel like there have been quite a few beauty-related posts lately but sorrynotsorry I love writing them. I finally found a routine that keeps my oiliness at bay for around 8 hours until I blot my skin. I have never gone that long without seeing legit oil poke through!

Birthday & Charlotte | We’re going down to Charlotte for my birthday this year, where the Panthers play the Cowboys (mom’s team) in the season opener… on my actual birthday!!! I AM SO EXCITED. There will be some kind of trip wrap-up when we return home after the 10th.

How I Plan my TBR | I was inspired by Nick’s post about her “organized mood reading” and did a little spin on it for my post. I’m talking about how I pull together my monthly TBR posts and try to fit mood reading in.

Bookish Things I’ve Learned About Myself | I had a random idea come to me for this post when I started thinking about how, as a general rule, I need to stop letting myself request fantasy books on NG. I never read them by the pub date and must STOP myself nowadays. This random bookish thing/fact about me is new, so I started thinking of other bookish things I’ve learned recently.

Check out my September TBR post! ?

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How was your reading in August?
What do you have up next in September?

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