Hi everyone!

Whoa…. Can it be that it is already time for another monthly wrap-up? I feel like I just wrote the August wrap-up? Where does all the time go? (If someone has solved this mystery, please do let me know!)

All in all, if I were to summarize September in a series of GIFs… Work was like this:

But life was like this:

Reading

I read 4 books in September! Only one of them was on my initial monthly TBR, but still! (You’d think that I should stop making monthly TBRs by now, hah 🙂 )

Six of Crows was hands-down my favourite series in the YA fantasy genre this year. I loved the premise, the plot twists and above all, the cast of amazing characters. Read my review here.

After Six of Crows, how could I not read Crooked Kingdom right away? It was a brilliant finale to the series. I loved how the plot became ever more mind-bending (you wouldn’t think that was possible after Six of Crows but alas it was!) and that the characters shone more than ever. Review coming up.

There was so much hype around the Crazy Rich Asians movie. Wherever I went, someone was talking about it! This was what made me pick up the book. I wasn’t a big fan of the overly elaborate writing nor the head-hopping omniscient narrator. Check out my review here.

Ohh how I was waiting on the edge of my seat for Wildcard (Warcross #2)! I began listening to the audiobook on the date of its release in Canada and finished it 4 days after. It was a bit dialogue-heavy though I enjoyed this finale overall. Read my review.

October Goals

So…… I am a bit behind on my Goodreads goal (understatement.) At this rate I would have to read 6 to 7 books each month, which includes the month of November which is Nanowrimo. That is frighteningly unrealistic! I will take the liberty to modify my Goodreads reading goal to 50 books, which I was able to comfortable accomplish last year.  My goal for October would be to read 4 books.

I’ve debated about whether or not I should still do TBRs, because I am terrible at sticking to them. However I decided to continue doing them because I feel a bit lost without them (what if I have no idea what to read next?) and because it is so much fun.

Here is my TBR for October:

Ever since finishing Six of Crows, I’ve been in the mood to read more books in the fantasy genre. Which means that it is time to catch up on some of VE Schwab’s books! I am super excited to read Vicious, which was apparently VE Schwab’s first adult fantasy novel, and I hope to continue with Vengeful which was recently released in my country. I also heard great things about City of Ghosts, which is a middle school novel. I am going to round it all out with a YA contemporary novel which is The Exact Opposite of Okay.

Writing

So… My goal in September was to finish writing Shapeshifter, however many words it takes. Um, more on that.

I wrote a total of 30587 words this month, which is phenomenal by my standards. However the problem is that I am not (yet) done writing my novel. I had estimated Shapeshifter to be a 60K-word novel, and now it is 73K and continuing LOL.

On a bright note, I can feel the excitement of this novel coming to an end, the plot is rolling and I’m feeling my characters more than ever. I know exactly what has to happen from now until the end, and I am absolutely determined to capture it all using words! There are still a few days left until the end of September…. so who knows!? 😉 (Updates incoming.)

October Goals

I want to finish writing Shapeshifter! Final stretch!

Also, does October ring a bell??! Yup, it is time to prep for Nanowrimo! To be honest, I am not 100% sure if I can win Nanowrimo this month, because I can foresee November being a busy month for me at work. However after missing Nanowrimo last year, I don’t want to give up the chance again 🙂

Blogging

I have to apologize for being a bit quiet in the blogosphere in September. Not only did I miss out on blog-hopping, I was also late in replying to comments. I really wanted to prioritize my writing this month. Also, I kept myself busy in other aspects of life.

All that aside, here are the blog posts that I really loved this month!

Zoie @ Whisked Away By Words shares with us her WIP, which is titled A Writer’s Relevation. I haven’t read this work yet though I am definitely excited to because Zoie’s blog is full of insight and positivity. Here is her summary of the book:

A Writer’s Revelation is a collection of my journal entries from August 6th to August 30th. The 6th was when I got back from two months of traveling; the 30th was around 2 weeks into my junior year of high school. I wrote with the intention of creating a perfect lifestyle for myself to take with me into the school year. What I was instead left with was a revelation about my identity as a writer that changed the entire structure of my life.

Beth @ Reading Every Night talks about the bookish tropes that she loves, including my personal favourites: the enemies to lovers and friends to lovers tropes.

Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books is co-hosting Shattering Stigmas 2018, a blogging event dedicated to mental health. If you would like to contribute a guest post, you have until October 1 to sign up! Here’s more about it:

Three years ago, Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight launched the first Shattering Stigmas, a blogging event dedicated to posts about mental illness to address and challenge the stigmas against it. Through book reviews, discussion posts and lists, Shattering Stigmas has continued conversations around mental illness for the past three years.

Dominique @ 3C Style shares more looks from the When Fashion and Nature Collides collaboration! This one is about celebrating the ocean.

I recently came across Rasya @ To the Moon and Back‘s blog. I loved this post where she shares 4 Japanese quotes that gave her strength.

October Goals

In October, I want to be a bit better at my blogging game. My goals are to reply to comments by 1-2 days at the very latest, and to blog-hop once per week.

Now that Nanowrimo is coming up, I am planning something a bit special on this blog. Pssst, watch out for more writing posts in the upcoming month!

Life

Remember this wedding which is supposed to happen sometime in the future? Yup, I finally made some headway in planning it! We booked the venue, found a photographer, made a rough list of our invitees, decided on a theme and… booked an engagement photoshoot!

Yes!!! It’s actually happening!

To prepare for this photoshoot (which is coming up in early October), I decided to sit down at my sewing machine and hammer out two more pieces for my wardrobe. More on this later 🙂

October Goals

The photoshoot! Yay!!!!

Some more DIYs- sewing, thank you cards, and… origami!? (More updates coming up!)

How was your September? Do you set monthly TBRs? Are you planning to do Nanowrimo in November? If so, when will you begin to prepare for it? Let’s be writing buddies!