Here I am. With another monthly wrap-up. As I do every month. This time it’s for my November Reading of 2023, featuring my reading statistics from The StoryGraph from that month. (Say month again, why don’t you?)
I read less, comparatively, than I did in October, but I still read a ton. I feel like ten books is nothing to sneeze at, even though four of them were manga super-volumes and one was a 20 page short story. But November was kind of busy for me at some parts, so cut me some slack? (I think December might have a few of the same problems for a few of the same reasons, ei: holidays.)
Bur yeah, I’ll shut up now. Let’s get into the wrap-up.
November 2023 Reading
I read 10 books and 4195 pages
😐 MOODS:Adventurous was the biggest slice of pie, as it always is. Lighthearted was surprising in being the second biggest piece though – it’s only the second time this has happened, so far. The other ones were: Reflective, Emotional, Dark, and Mysterious.
👢 PACE: I read all three different kinds of paced books: slow, medium and fast. They were mostly fast and medium paced novels, though.
🔢 PAGE NUMBER: Everything I read was between 240 and 600 pages. But the majority of books I read were between 300 and 499 pages.
📖 FICTION/NONFICTION: It was once again all fiction this month.
🎭 GENRES:Fantasy, as usual, was the biggest bar of the graph. Manga, Graphic Novel, YA, Science Fiction and Romance were the second longest bars after Fantasy. The other genres on the graph were Comics, LGBTQIA+, Historical and Short Stories. I think this might be the most genres I’ve read in the same month yet.
📄 FORMAT: This little StoryGraph pie chart is not correct (again). Most of the books I read last month were digital.
⭐ RATING: My median star rating for last month was 4.13. My ratings for November weren’t as varied as in October, but they were about as high. Most of them were 4.0 and above.
📉 PAGES READ DAILY: I read a ton throughout November. The time I read the least was between the 21st and the 28th, and my peak of reading was on the 18th.
So yeah, November reading in 2023 was pretty strong. I’m really happy with what I was able to read though I do wish I was able to do a bit more. Ah well, we’ll see how what happens in December.
December doesn’t have any books coming out (that I’m aware of, at least) that I’m super excited about reading. Yeah, I had one on my anticipated reads releasing October through December list, but I’m not all that stoked about it. Just moderately – it looks interesting, but I won’t be upset if I don’t end up reading it. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, though. (Well, most of it anyway. I find Shallan’s chapters to be kind of boring at the moment.)
I’m also hoping to read some winter themed fantasy books, if I can find some. Tell me your recs in the comments, please! I love reading festively!
And well, I guess we’ll all find out what else I want to read this month together, because I’m honestly not sure now. Oh wait, maybe The Princess Bride by William Goldman. I got a really nice edition last month as a gift, and I’ve wanted to read this book for ages. But we’ll see.
So yeah, thank you so much for reading and I hope you have an excellent day/night!
I don’t think I’ve ever posted a monthly wrap-up on the first of the month yet. Or maybe I’m wrong? I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter much. It’s time to begin the October Reading 2023 Wrap-Up!
I read so, so, so much during this past month. It’s my bookish peak of the year so far! I’m so happy with myself – I don’t think I’ve ever read 13 books all in the same month before! I guess this just shows that autumn really is my favorite reading season, huh?
But yeah, without further ado, let’s get on into my statistics from The StoryGraph from last month!
October 2023 Reading
I read 13 books and 5439 pages
😐 MOODS:Adventurous was the biggest slice of pie, as it always is. Lighthearted was surprising in being the second biggest piece though – it’s never been before. The other ones were: Funny, Emotional, Dark, and Mysterious.
👢 PACE: I read all three different kinds of paced books: slow, medium and fast.
🔢 PAGE NUMBER: Everything I read was between 240 and 600 pages. The majority of books I read were between 300 and 499 pages, however.
📖 FICTION/NONFICTION: It was once again all fiction this month.
🎭 GENRES:Fantasy, as usual, was the biggest bar of the graph. Manga, Graphic Novel, YA, and Middle Grade were the second longest bars after Fantasy. The other genres on the graph were Comics, Romance and Historical.
📄 FORMAT: This little StoryGraph pie chart is almost correct. All of the books except for one we’re all physical copies.
⭐ RATING: My median star rating for last month was 4.27. My ratings for October were all pretty varied, but they were generally higher than in September. Most of them were 4.0 and above.
📉 PAGES READ DAILY: I read a ton throughout October. The time I read the least was between the 5th and the 8th, and my peak of reading was on the 20th.
So October ended up being waaayy better reading-wise – and blogging-wide – for me than September was. I’m really happy that I read so much, and with the books that I ended up reading. Here’s to keeping it up in November! 🤞🍀🥂🍻
I’m actually really excited for the books I’m almost certainly going to read this month. For one thing, Murderbot book #7 is coming out, and it’s my most anticipated book of the year. I’m also looking forward to hate reading Lightlark AND Nightbane, the latter which is also releasing this month. And of course, I’m continuing with One Piece and I’m looking forward to the next arc.
As for anything else I’m planning on for November… Other than the beginning of the holiday season and Thanksgiving and stuff, I’m not really sure yet about anything else. I’ll probably be doing some Christmas shopping though.
Anyway, thank you all so much for checking out my October 2023 Reading stars and monthly wrap-up. I hope you have an awesome day/night!
Last week was crazy. I read a lot, and I got a bunch of stuff done around the house. So, lots of different kinds of progress.
I can’t believe that Halloween is tomorrow. These past four weeks have gone by so fast. Soon enough I’ll be posting October’s monthly wrap-up!
But that’s for another time. Let’s get into this part week’s wrap-up.
Tuesday 10/24: Tasteful Tuesday
Last Tuesday I brought back Majestic Mondays – but now under a new name! I’ve also moved the day of the week that I do the post – hence why I’m now calling it Tasteful Tuesday!
Tasteful Tuesday, if you aren’t aware, is when I highlight an awesome looking book cover and talk about what I like about it.
For my Friday post, I did something a little different. I wasn’t feeling a First Line Friday or anything like that, but I was having a time of figuring out what to do.
I eventually decided to give the blog a reading update. As of Friday of last week, I’d read 52 books within 43 weeks. I’ve never done that before (and I’ve read even more now!). I’m not gonna gush about it here, cuz I’ve already done so in the actual post.
Yesterday I posted another book review – the second of two last week. It was a book (and series) that I was actually excited to read, but was ultimately disappointed by, unfortunately.
Hounded was simply not for me. I don’t think it was necessarily poorly written or anything – I just think it just wasn’t my type of book. I ended up giving it ★★✯☆☆.
I know I’ve been talking a lot during this section of the post lately, but I’m going to cut it a little short this time. I’m tired and I haven’t been feeling well since last night.
This coming week I’m definitely going to post my review for The Graveyard Book. I’ve actually been saving it for tomorrow, since it’s Halloween and all – I wanted to do a spooky book review!
Aside from that, I’m gonna post my monthly reading wrap-up for October, and probably Spell the Month in Books. But I’m not sure about anything else.
But yeah, I don’t really have anything else to say. So this is the end… of this post.
As always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope that you have a great day/night!
I actually can’t believe it – I’ve never, ever, read this amount of books in a year. Within a year, seeing as 2023 isn’t quite over yet.
But somehow, whether it be interest or willpower or something else, I’ve managed to find time to read this many books. I’m so happy!
And seeing as there’s still like 9 weeks left, here’s hoping that I’ll read a bunch more! Maybe not 52 novels… but a sizable amount! 🥂🍻
I know this is a weird post, and that it’s entirely out of the blue, but I’m just so excited. And I’ve been this excited since I noticed the numbers a couple of days ago. Like I may have mentioned: This has never happened for me before.
So yeah, apologies for the short and weird blog post, but I just had to share the news! (And I wanted to do something a little different today/this Friday and I couldn’t really think of anything else, lol.)
Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have an awesome day/night! 🌞🌜
It’s that time of year again – the time of year where I recommend books for the season! My recommendations of autumn books of 2023! It’s the middle of October, so that means I’m gonna recommend some spooky books and/or just some books with fall vibes in general. There are a bunch of them, after all.
I also understand that, once again, it’s a bit late for this kind of post. But! I hadn’t read a couple of books on this list until the last week or so, so I wanted to actually read them before doing this post. So, sorry it’s kinda later in the month again, but I had a decent reason this time, lol.
Now, I know that I usually do these things in lists of five. The thing is though, I’ve just read too many graphic novels in the last year or so that are just too perfect for this post. So, there’s seven recs here. Deal with it, lol.
Ichabod Crane, a schoolteacher, came to Tarry Town in the glen of Sleepy Hollow to ply his trade in educating young minds. He was a gullible and excitable fellow, often so terrified by locals’ stories of ghosts that he would hurry through the woods on his way home, singing to keep from hysterics.
Until late one night, he finds that maybe they’re not just stories. What is that dark, menacing figure riding behind him on a horse? And what does it have in its hands? And why wasn’t schoolteacher Crane ever seen in Sleepy Hollow again?
I couldn’t help but to start with a classic. Sleepy Hollow has been one of my favorite spooky stories for many years. And though it’s been quite some time since I’ve last read it, I know that it still holds up even now.
If you enjoy unsettling oldies, dullahans, and just a good book for Halloween, give this one a try if you haven’t already. It’s still fantastic.
Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.
Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.
Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.
After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.
Despite some of my annoyances with this series, the Shades of Magic trilogy remains one of my favorite adult fantasy series. I love, love, love these books.
Though this trilogy might not have the strongest of fall vibes, I think the books are great for the season anyway. Cuz I read them in the fall and I was feeling the cozy, magical vibes. And if your not interested in this trilogy, I think that all of Schwab’s books have some autumnal atmospheres.
A sparkling, witchy reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, told from the perspective of the troublesome and—according to her—much-maligned youngest Bennet sister, Lydia.
In this exuberant reimagining of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Lydia Bennet puts pen to paper to relate the real events and aftermath of the classic story from her own perspective. Some facts are well known: Mrs. Bennet suffers from her nerves; Mr. Bennet suffers from Mrs. Bennet, and all five daughters suffer from an estate that is entailed only to male heirs.
But Lydia also suffers from entirely different concerns: her best-loved sister Kitty is really a barn cat, and Wickham is every bit as wicked as the world believes him to be, but what else would you expect from a demon? And if you think Mr. Darcy was uptight about dancing etiquette, wait till you see how he reacts to witchcraft. Most of all, Lydia has yet to learn that when you’re a witch, promises have power…
Full of enchantment, intrigue, danger, and boundless magic, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch, has all the irreverent wit, strength, and romance of Pride and Prejudice—while offering a highly unexpected redemption for the wildest Bennet sister.
The first new book on this list! The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch is a novel completely drenched in fall vibes. You’d be hard pressed to find a better book to read during October, if that’s what you’re looking for.
Not only does this book appeal to those who crave that cozy autumn atmosphere, but it’s also an excellent historical fantasy novel. It’s also a magical retelling of Pride and Prejudice, so Austen fans have a huge chance of loving it too.
Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a perfectly normal boy. Well, he would be perfectly normal if he didn’t live in a graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the world of the dead.
There are dangers and adventures for Bod in the graveyard: the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer; a gravestone entrance to a desert that leads to the city of ghouls; friendship with a witch, and so much more.
But it is in the land of the living that real danger lurks, for it is there that the man Jack lives and he has already killed Bod’s family.
A deliciously dark masterwork by bestselling author Neil Gaiman, with illustrations by award-winning Dave McKean.
Yet another book that it’s been quite some time since I’ve read. Regardless, I still adore it. Anything that Gaiman writes is wonderful in it’s own way, even if I don’t always enjoy it myself. I definitely liked this one though.
This one isn’t admittedly all that scary, as it’s targeted toward middle-grade as well, but it’s still a solid book. Yet another one I’d like to read again this year before Halloween if I can find the time. For those who like The Jungle Book, ghost stories, and found family, give this a shot.
All human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil: and Edward Hyde, alone, in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil.
The disturbing Mr. Hyde is making his repugnant presence known in late 19th Century London. But punishment for his vile acts are always parried by the good, and well-respected, Dr. Jekyll. Soon, the secret relationship between the two men will be revealed.
A classic that continues to be referenced today, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde will forever be locked in literary history.
This is by far my absolute favorite creepy classic. Something about it – just the way it’s written – and especially the intriguing dichotomy between Jekyll and Hyde just has absolutely loving this novel.
If you’ve ever had any interest at all in this book, definitely read it. And also, if you like webcomics and graphic novels check out The Glass Scientists by S.H. Cotugno. It’s a brilliant and imaginative retelling, and I love it.
Two twins, one prophecy, and a whole lot of hijinks. From WEBTOON, the #1 digital comic platform, comes a fantastical story about twin siblings Dani and Dorian who have missed the bus to magic school and scramble to find a mentor to teach them before their parents find out. Perfect for fans of THE OKAY WITCH and the 5 Worlds series.
When Dani and Dorian missed the bus to magic school, they never thought they’d wind up declared traitors to their own kind! Now, thanks to a series of mishaps, they are being chased by powerful magic families seeking the prophesied King of Witches and royals searching for missing princes.
But they aren’t alone. With a local troublemaker, a princess, and a teacher who can see the future on their side, they might just be able to clear their names…but can they heal their torn kingdom?
Based on the beloved webcomic from WEBTOON, Hooky is in stunning print format for the first time with exclusive new content sure to please fans new and old.
This is one of the things I read recently. Review incoming – very soon. Hooky was such a cute, Ghibli-esque, Halloween themed story. I love the art, the characters, and the setting and story. It’s all so wonderful.
For fans of cozy Halloween and graphic novels, this is one for you. If you just like good art in general though, and are looking for autumn vibes, then also check this out.
A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft.
Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers’ bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town.
One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home.
Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.
There’s nothing more cozy than Mooncakes. It is the ultimate cottage core, fall graphic novel. With baking. And books. And witches and werewolves.
This is a sweet little story that tugged at my heart while I read it. And it has gorgeous artwork! And good queer rep if you’re into that. Definitely look into it regardless.
What books have you been reading this fall? Have any of them had any autumn or spooky vibes? Do we share any of the same favorites?
And if course, thank you to everyone so much for reading, and I hope that you have an awesome day/night!
It’s August now, which means it’s a new month! So it’s time to wrap up July!
The first thing I want to say, before I get into it, is wow, I don’t think I’ve even been able to post one of these on the first of the month! I could be completely wrong though.
The other thing I wanted to say was, ew July was a little pathetic, reading and review wise. Actually, very pathetic review wise. Sure, I technically read eight books and just a thousand pages, but they were all for a children’s series, and I didn’t read and review anything else. So I’m disappointed in myself for that.
But yeah, without further ado, let’s get into my states for The StoryGraph for my July reading 2023.
July 2023 Reading
I read 8 books and 1205 pages
😐 MOODS:Adventurous was the biggest slice of pie once again. There are like no Moods on this graph though for July though. The only other one is Mysterious, which is almost as big as Adventurous.
👢 PACE: Unlike last month every single book I read was fast-paced. This is the first month where fast-paced was the entire graph, though.
🔢 PAGE NUMBER: Everything I read was super short this month, because all I read were the books in the Deltora Quest series, and they’re all less than 150 pages. So all of them were less than 300 pages.
📖 FICTION/NONFICTION: All fiction once again this month.
🎭 GENRES:Fantasy was the biggest part of the graph this time, as per usual. The only other genre on the bar graph, though, is Children’s, which is actually equal. So hasn’t been as colorful as it usually is.
📄 FORMAT: This little StoryGraph pie chart is actually correct again! All the books I read were physical print copies.
⭐ RATING: My median star rating for last month was 4.0. I rated two books 3.5 stars, four books 4.0 stars, and two books 4.5 stars.
📉 PAGES READ DAILY: I read some during the second week, but dipped down a bit in the middle. During the last third of the month of July though, I read a lot, comparatively.
So July still kind of definitely sucked reading and review wise. But for whatever reason, over the last couple of years, I’ve had some trouble not falling into reading slumps and the like during the summer. I don’t know what it is about summertime or whatever, but I’ve had trouble getting into books lately.
I’m hoping that’s going to change with August though, since it’s kind of the bridge between summer and fall, and fall is my reading jam. Plus, I’ve never really had as much trouble finding a book to read in August. So yeah, the July 2023 Reading Wrap-Up comes to a close.
As per usual, thank you all so much for reading and have a wonderful day/night! What books did you guys read in July? What did you think of them? What genres did you read?
Wow, okay, so like I’m super late (again) with this one. But it’s still Monday where I’m at, so this post is still very much valid!
Last week I was waaayy better than I’ve been sign posting lately. No book reviews, unfortunately, but my posting was still better.
Anyway, I won’t ramble. Here’s last week’s weekly wrap-up.
Tuesday 7/4: 4th of July – Independence Day
Last Tuesday was the 4th of July, otherwise known as Independence Day. 🇺🇲🎆🇺🇲🎆
I was feeling under the weather, or else I would’ve posted something. It was nice to relax and listen to the fireworks going off all around my town, though.
Wednesday 7/5: WWW Wednesday
On Wednesday, I participated in yet another WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.
Thursday, I decided to do something a bit different. Every season or so, I do a post about books with that particular season’s vibe. For this summer, I decided to do a post about YA and middle grade mermaid books that I’ve read.
Last Friday, I once again participated in First Line Fridays. First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words.
Sunday 4/9: Book Hauls from the First Half of 2023 / Most Anticipated Reads of Quarter Three
Yesterday, I double posted. For my first post, I did one for all of my book hauls for the first half of this year. This is cuz I don’t collect books at the same rate as a lot of other book bloggers, lol, but I still wanted to show off my haul so far.
For my second post, I finally got around to posting about my most anticipated SSF books releasing in July, August, and September this year. These are the ones I’ve been the most interested in yet!
The main goal for this week is to read more than one book, lol. For real though, I’d like to post at least as many times as I did last week. So five different posts hopefully, at least one of which is gonna be a book review.
And as always, thank you so much for reading, and have a great day/night!
Okay, so I know that July started a week ago, but I’ve been busy! …And sick, unfortunately. But I’m finally here to show off all the books that I’ve hauled during the first half of the year.
And yeah, the reason why I’m doing a big post about this halfway through the year instead of during my monthly reading wrap-ups… Well, it’s because I don’t do as large of book hauls as most of the rest of the book blogging community. So I decided to do two massive posts including all of the books I’ve gotten during both halves of the year.
Let’s go!
NOTE:Large pics are books I’ve hauled and read, and medium pics are books that I’ve just hauled so far.
If you’re here, congratulations on making it to the bottom of this very long, photo filled post! Wow, I collected more books over the past six months than I thought I did! I didn’t even realize this until I finished up this post, haha.
What books have you read this year so far? What books have you hauled? Do we have any of the same ones?
And as always, thank you so much for reading, and have an excellent day/night!
Wow, okay, so like I’m super late with this one. But it’s still Monday where I’m at, so this post is still very much valid!
Last week I was slightly less productive than I’d hoped, but I still did like four posts, so I’ll take it as a win. Especially compared to some of the weeks preceding it. Ugh.
Anyway, I’ll stop yakking. Here’s last week’s weekly wrap-up.
Wednesday 6/28: WWW Wednesday
On Wednesday, I, as per usual, participated in another WWW Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.
On Friday, I once again participated in First Line Fridays. First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words.
Sunday 7/2: Song of Silver, Flame Like Night Review / June 2023 Reading Wrap-Up
Yesterday, I posted my review for Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao. It’s a YA fantasy novel inspired by Chinese folklore. I gave it ★★★★☆.
I also posted my monthly reading wrap-up for June 2023. I was actually pretty early with posting it for once, haha.
The main goal for this week is to read more than one book, lol. For real though, I’d like to post at least as many times as I did this past week. Normally, I’d try for a fifth post, but I’m hosting a gathering this weekend and I’ve got to do some extra cleaning and prep, so I’m not sure if I’d be able to.
So, goals: read more than one book, four posts, my usual posts, and… we’ll see what else I do.
And as always, thank you so much for reading, and have a great day/night!
Hey, look! I’m super early with my reading wrap this month! June 2023 Reading statistics incoming!
Anyway, before I get into it: June… I’m not at all happy with how much I read last month. My statistics were pretty bad on The StoryGraph. It was the least amount of reading that I’ve done yet this year. I don’t even have the excuse that stuff went down, like in May. I just had the worst reading slump ever.
Anyway, I’ve talked enough. On with the stats!
June 2023 Reading Stats
I read 2 books and 885 pages
😐 MOODS:Adventurous was the biggest slice of pie once again. There aren’t a lot of Moods on this graph though. The only others are Mysterious and Emotional, which are equal.
👢 PACE: Unlike last month every single book I read was medium-paced. I think this is the first month where medium-paced was the entire graph, though.
🔢 PAGE NUMBER: I read a lot of shorter books in June, similar to what I read in April and May. 300 to 499 was the only kind of pie here.
📖 FICTION/NONFICTION: All fiction once again this month.
🎭 GENRES:Fantasy was the biggest part of the graph this time, as per usual. The only other genre on the bar graph, though, is YA. So it’s much less colorful than usual.
📄 FORMAT: This little StoryGraph pie chart is actually correct for once! All the (two) books I read were physical print copies.
⭐ RATING: My median star rating for the month of June was 3.5. I rated one book 3 stars and one book 4 stars.
📉 PAGES READ DAILY: I read some during the first week, but dipped down a ton in the middle, particularly in the last third of the month. During the last couple of days of June though, I read a lot.
So June was not what I had hoped it would bet be. I hate reading blocks. Ugh! But, I’m very hopeful that July will be better. I seem to be out of the slump, so I’m hoping for good things.
I haven’t had the time to really read yet, but I’ve already got a book cued up – one that I’ve been wanting to read for a long time. So yeah, the June 2023 Reading Wrap-Up comes to a close.
Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day/night!
