We’re in November! Hard to believe – won’t be that long before I’m doing my final update for the year! It’s kind of scary as we get into the last couple of months for the year, do you find? It’s the time when I need to really make sure I’ve got things ready for Christmas, have to check and double-check plans, and my birthday is mid-November which always puts me in a certain type of mood for checking goals and seeing what, if anything, I’ve achieved that year. As noted before, the Netflix Challenge I picked up is currently still on pause, as I try and get through as many of the prompts for the two specific 2023 challenges as I can. For October, this was between Halloween reading, and now we’re in November I’ve started on my Christmas reading, too, ready for Blogmas next month.
Reading Challenges / Update #1 / Update #2 / Update #3 / Update #4 / Update #5 / Update #6 / Update #7 / Update #8 / Update #9
Goal – 83/70 (+13)
Disney Reading Challenge
19/40 (+4) Prompts Completed
Currently Reading
Alice in Wonderland – I don’t see how he can ever finish, if he doesn’t begin – a book you’ve been putting off reading
I have avoided Under the Dome for a long while, not because I didn’t want to read it, more because of how long it is, in true Stephen King fashion. I’m about halfway through now and struggling with it – it’s definitely got that dragging middle part, where I’m finding I just want things to speed up and start happening! Still, I’ll be glad to get this – the oldest book on my Goodreads Want to Read shelf – finally read.
Peter Pan – Never is an awfully long time – a book by an author you’ve never read before
This seemed like a really good opportunity to check out the audio version of Garth Marenghi’s Terror Tome. I’m really not that far into it, but it’s so good so far! Definitely very funny, from a Master of the Dark Arts, a man who, unlike other cowardly writers, doesn’t use subtext, but instead uses text.
Read
Sleeping Beauty – Briar Rose – a book with a rose on the cover/in the title
I really enjoyed The Rose Daughter – despite it being part of a series, it was really easy to pick up what was happening and ‘fall’ into the story, though now I do want to go back and read from book 1!
The Nightmare Before Christmas – Just because I cannot see it, doesn’t believe I can’t believe it – a non-physical book
Definitely an interesting book, Conspiracies Uncovered made for a good audiobook, with some interesting information surrounding conspiracies, though I definitely think it’s more leaning towards someone who doesn’t know everything about the topics discussed!
Brave – Don’t just play with your haggis – a book set in Scotland
I was left fairly unimpressed by The Whistling. I get what the author was going for, but it fell flat and read a bit too close to more impressive Gothic fiction.
Cinderella – glass slipper – a book with a shoe on the cover
How about four shoes? The Wedding Confession was, I admit, a lot of fun, and a book I really enjoyed getting swept up. If you like Contemporary Romance, this one is worth a go.
Books to Read: Fae Away, A Hunger Like No Other, The Christmas Swap
2023 Tarot Reading Challenge
19/164 (+3) Prompts Completed
Read
The Emperor Reversed – a book with a main character who has issues with authority
I really enjoyed These Burning Stars. It was one of those books that didn’t feel as long as it was, there was so much going on and with really compelling, morally grey characters. Really great space opera!
The Lovers Reversed – a book featuring a relationship gone bad
Unfortunately I was nowhere near as impressed with The Hollow Kind, a horror novel I kind of felt let down by. It just really dragged out, and I found myself impatient for something interesting to happen.
Temperance Reversed – a fantasy
For this one, I listened to the BBC Radio Collection of His Dark Materials. It was okay – good acting, but fell flat in a few different areas. It veered very, very closely to what the show did, too, but made some less interesting chocies.
Books to Read: Perilous Times, First Team, The Supreme Lie
Netflix Movies & TV Shows
12/24 (0) Prompts Completed
Books to Read: So You Want to Talk About Race, Daisy Jones & The Six, Hexed
Overall…very pleased with myself for the last month! I feel like I read a lot more than I usually do in a month, and with Halloween (sadly) come and gone now, it’s time to move on with Christmas reading, reading for Blogmas! And of course with Blogtober over, my blog is now back to its normal schedule.
Unwrapping Words 