Category: Whimsical Wrap-Ups

Whimisical Wrap-Ups #3: October 2020

Published on by Solace in Reading2 Comments
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fave local bookstore/place to get books? highly recommend @bookcellarchicago if you’re in Chicago. they sold out of copies of legendborn so i didn’t get my copy until tuesday and it’s so good!!!! Tracy Deonn, I will be recommending this to everyone. anyway i’m about to be posting about ARORB a lot because i finally have a finished copy. it’s been nearly a year since it came out and i read it and now i can re read it over and over. highly recommend this spectacular and magical duology. Amanda Joy crafts a world to get lost in. a mg book and a ya book! kingdom of souls = best KOS!!! another 2019 debut i love. Rena Barron is awesome. and grown. now this is one i’m most excited to start that i haven’t started yet. my first book by Tiffany D. Jackson. overall, i am super grateful that i did have the money to buy four books at once. also to these people for being amazing people and writing some of my favorite books ever.

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my most liked post of October.

October somehow went really well? Online learning is challenging but I feel like I’m retaining information more than I did last spring and my teachers are SO accomodating. Somehow I posted thirteen times on my bookstagram, which is pretty good considering the fact I had 5 tests last month. My blog has been a bit neglected: I posted five times in October vs. thirteen times in September. As for my mental health, it’s pretty good. (I am trying my best to avoid the Internet tomorrow.) I’ve also surpassed my Goodreads Challenge goal by 13 books so far, which I honestly was not expecting

TOP BOOKS

  1. Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson – This is for sure one of my top books of 2020. I need to convince my school to add this to the curriculum because Grown changed my worldview forever. I highly recommend reading Jackson’s author’s note as well.
  2. Miss Meteor by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Anna-Marie McLemore – OMG, have you ever seen a more perfect author duo? This book combines magic, social events, and what it’s like to be a teenager so well. That ending almost made me cry happy tears.
  3. Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar – Star Daughter is enchanting, beautiful, and will draw you in. I think this is Thakrar’s debut novel and she does amazing. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.
  4. Any Day With You by Mae Respecio – As an adopted Filipino American teen, a book like this would’ve pushed me to research my homeland earlier. Any Day With You is so important and visibility is so important. I don’t read a lot of realistic fiction middle grade books but I loved this one.
  5. Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe – Philippe is one of my all time favorite authors. The way he writes teens is so well done, and Henri is awesome. I’d want to be friends with him if he was real. Also, I relate to Corinne so much (almost a little too much).
  6. This Is All Your Fault by Aminah Mae Safi – Hello this book takes place in my favorite city in the world!!! Not many YA books are set in Chicago, and I love this book so much almost for that reason alone. Also the fact that this book is about three girls trying to save their local bookstore in Wicker Park.
  7. A Thief Among the Trees by Sabaa Tahir – Tahir does it again. Elias has been through so much, and it’s so sad and heartbreaking and I just want him to be happy. (Also, Helene is a colonizer/supports colonization. So I don’t mind if she dies in ASBTS.)
  8. Beyond the Ruby Veil by Mara Fitzgerald – I AM NOT OVER THIS BOOK. It is intense, brutal, and will leave you gasping for breath. Emanuela is so amazing.

I read 13 new books, which is pretty good, however, I am in the middle of reading 14 new books and

October Evaluation

Well. I sort of met my September goals: I have not started Rebel Rose or Clues to the Universe yet, but I will soon. I didn’t really do any Halloween themed bookstagram posts, but it’s ok. October was so good and I am kind of nervous that November is going to not be as good because I currently have all A’s in my classes (except AP Psych oof). On the positive side, I have my AP Research problem statement done and I have found 18 sources, and by the end of this month, I should have 30+. Also, my first MUN conference is next month!! I don’t think I’ll win anything but it’s fun. I also won a physical ARC copy of Wings of Ebony and I AM SO HAPPY!!!!

November Goals

  1. Post on bookstagram 9 times and on my blog more than three times. I already posted today and find that taking pictures when I feel motivated is best. I also have a lot of blog ideas, which is good.
  2. Read 5 new books and finish the 20 books I’m in the middle of reading.
  3. Write ARC reviews for Skyhunter, Like Home, Clues to the Universe, and Rebel Rose.

How was your October? Any goals?

Whimsical Wrap-Ups #2: September 2020

Published on by Solace in Reading6 Comments
Some of my August/September Book Mail.

September was wayyyyy better than August and July mentally for me. I finally like my blog and bookstagram again, I feel less pressure to post, and school is going really well (considering the fact that I am a junior).

I turned 17 on September 25. It went super well and I will have a birthday post up later (maybe Sunday or next weekend; I don’t have much time in the week for blogging). I am super grateful that I received some money from my family and family friends, so I did a book haul at one of my local bookstores: Grown, Maya and the Rising Dark, A River of Royal Blood, and Legendborn! I am sure that I will love all of these (CR: Legendborn. OMG, everyone!!).

Top Books:

  1. The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi: I read this all the way back in July in one day, and now I am re-reading slowly. OH MY GOSH, everyone!!! This is my #1 sequel of 2020. Chokshi is so skilled at writing, and here is my review: https://solaceinreading.home.blog/2020/09/22/review-the-silvered-serpents-by-roshani-chokshi/
  2. LEGENDBORN by Tracy Deonn: I started this on September 29 and am only a little over 100 pages in. Legendborn is my #1 book of 2020 and I love Bree and relate to her so much because of an event that happened to me earlier this year. I hope to meet Deonn someday because she’s so kind and this book is amazing.
  3. Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant: My first 2021 ARC, and it’s one of my favorite books of 2021 already. I don’t want to say too much, but just know that this is a book I would love to see adapted. (Also, Filipino rep!!! The MC’s best friend is Filipino.) Super grateful to Bryant and Harper Teen for providing me with a digital ARC that did not influence my opinion at all in the slightest.
  4. Iron Heart by Nina Varela: OMG. Another amazing sequel!!! Crier and Ayla and Benji are some of my favorite characters and this finale is perfect. Here is my post for Caffeine Book Tours: https://solaceinreading.home.blog/2020/09/06/iron-heart-by-nina-varela-caffeine-book-tours/
  5. Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan: This was a just for fun read that I actually liked. I related to Lucie and thought the romance was very sweet. Would 100% watch a movie adaptation of this. It’s fun to read about fancy places. (I still believe billionares should not exist, though.)
  6. Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado: Another 2021 ARC I am so lucky to have! It was in the free downloads section of Edelweiss and is pretty good. Again, not saying much, but I know that if you’re trying to get into YA/have a younger sibling who you want to read more, have them read this when it comes out in February.
  7. Skyhunter by Marie Lu: I am not done with this book yet, but know that Marie Lu constantly surpasses herself in how amazing her books are. Lu is one of the most versatile and creative authors I’ve read, and I 100% recommend this book. Thanks to Fierce Reads and Netgalley for the ARC which did not influence my opinion of this at all in the slightest.

I hit my Goodreads goal, which is awesome! I’ve never hit it this early (it’s probably because I set my goal at 100 books and not 300). Now I can read newer books a lot slower. Additionally, I am sort of on Twitter. I have a fanpage for TVD not connected to this blog or bookstagram, but if you want it, I’ll share my username on Instagram if you DM me.

September Evaluation

This September was really good. It was a lot better than August because I threw out my blog and bookstagram schedules and started to focus on when my creativity flows naturally. Also, I need to commit more time to school now.

I am in AP Psych, AP Lit, AP Research, Strength and Conditioning, a TA for a junior English class, and Math 118 (my dual enrollment class). I like all of them. However, online school is pretty tough on my eyes, but I am trying to get off my phone when I don’t need to be on it (which is challenging but I am working on it, so that’s good).

I just realized that I read 20 books last month, which is a lot more than I thought!! Some of those were DNFs that I might return to, but I’d been reading some since July, so I gave up on them since I was wasting my time.

Did I meet my September goals?

  1. I finished 14/23 books that were on my TBR, which is so great!! A lot more than I expected.
  2. I didn’t post 2-3 times per week on my blog but I did post 13 times, which is awesome and again, a lot more than I expected. I also posted 21? times on bookstagram, which again, was so unexpected, but being at home has given me A LOT of time.
  3. I did relax more!! I feel less guilty about taking time for me and have completed all of my homework on time. I currently have a B+ in Math 118, but it’s ok because final grades don’t come out until December, so I have a lot of time. Last year, I was a mess because it was my first year of AP and I had three AP classes, and now I have 3 APs and a DE class, and it’s going well. I wish I could tell my past self to just breathe and find good coping mechanisms.

OCTOBER GOALS

  1. Finish Skyhunter. Start Rebel Rose, Like Home, and Clues to the Universe. I’ve received quite a few ARCs from August to now, which is pretty cool.
  2. Tour for Spell Starter!! (Highly recommend Caffeine Tours.)
  3. Get creative with my bookstagram photos for ~Spooky Season~.

How was your September? Any goals or fun things happening soon?