Monthly Wrap Up: October 2009
Total Books and Current Status
Since January 1, I've read 81 books and left 5 books unfinished. I have posted 79 full reviews and 23 mini-reviews and I have 2 reviews left to write. I am currently finishing up a number of print books and am listening to An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon.
What Did I Read and Review?
Here's what I reviewed in October. Click on the link to see my review; the letter in parentheses is my rating.
31 Hours by Masha Hamilton (B-)
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (B-)
Mind Scrambler by Chris Grabenstein (B-)
The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl (B)
Only Milo by Barry Smith (B-)
To Darkness and to Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming (B-)
Darkness Be My Friend by John Marsden (B+)
Also read in October but not yet reviewed:
A Friend of the Family by Karen Grodstein
Fables (Vol. 1) by Bill Willingham
The Magicians by Lev Grossman (review later today)
I had an average reading month and didn't read as much as I wanted to during the October Read-a-Thon. Darkness Be My Friend was my favorite for the month, though An Echo in the Bone (a 46-hour audiobook) is wonderful and will be near the top for November. I've been a bit disappointed in my reading lately; I need a WOW book.
Mini Reviews
I posted four mini reviews of books I read before I started blogging:
I, Claudius by Robert Graves
The Judas Pair by Jonathon Gash
The Kingdoms of the Elves of the Reaches by Robert Stanek
The Love Wife by Gish Jen
And I had one mini review of a book I couldn't finish:
Sword of Fire and Ice by John Matthews
Movie Reviews
- Literary Road Trip project: Susan DiPlacido, author of 24/7
- Literary Road Trip project: Mindy Withrow, author of the History Lives series
- Guest post: Matthew Pearl, author of The Last Dickens
I completed the R.I.P. Challenge and the What's in a Name Challenge (wrap-up post to come).
I joined the 100-Mile Challenge, the YA Dystopian Challenge, and the Shelf Discovery Challenge.
What's New and What's Coming in November
I started a new weekend meme in October: Weekend Cooking. This is an open-ended, make of it what you will meme that everyone is welcome to join. If you have a post that is even remotely related to a food or drink topic, please feel free to hook up to Mr. Linky on my Saturday morning post. I am very happy with the first day: Margot of Joyfully Retired posted a great essay of her first dinner party, Michelle of GalleySmith posted a review of a YA novel, Sherrie of Just Books posted a mini review of a novel including a recipe, Wendy of Caribousmom wrote about her dinner on Friday night (including a recipe), and Diane of Bibliophile By the Sea shared two book reviews.
I have two Literary Road Trip posts planned for November and one blog tour.
I'm am particularly excited about Nicole's (of Linus's Blanket) That's How I Blog! series on Blog Talk Radio. Trish of Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'? was the guest last week, and Kathy of Bermudaonion's Blog will be the guest on Tuesday, November 3. I will be the guest on November 10 (more on this in a couple of days). Please tune in, check out the chat room, and support this radio show. It is a lot of fun and Nicole is a natural host.
How was your October? Did you meet your reading goals? Are you caught up on your reviews? Are you making changes?
13 comments:
I can't believe it's November already! It looks like you read some good books last month.
I'm sorry to see that you didn't love any of your October reads. I hope that you find some great books in November and I'll try to write some cookbook thoughts soon!
Good luck on finding your wow book in November.
I also get disappointed when I go too long without WOW books; I like plenty of them, but there is just something special about certain books. I hope you find one of those (or two!) in November.
Great accomplishments! You have a lot of great stuff planned for the next month. I can't wait for everyone's That's How I Blog show, it's so much fun.
I hate when I feel like it's been too long since I've really read a GREAT book. It usually leads to a reading slump for me.
Your monthly wrap-ups are a good way for you to assess what's working (or not ... and make adjustments).
Love the new Weekend Cooking segment. Can we link to posts that we ran earlier in the week (like my CAKE DOCTOR post from Monday), or should we schedule our posts to run on Saturday, too?
I agree - Nicole is a natural host; we'll have a lot of fun with her "That's How I Blog" program!
Dawn: any post from the week can be linked up over the weekend. Whatever works for you is fine with me.
Hats off to you with that Weekend Cooking meme. I am hoping I can get my crap together to the point where I can contribute. I am always making something, and often entertain. I have no idea how many books I reviewed this month. I need to go check, and I also need to wrap up my RIP Challenge. I think if I sat at this computer for the next week, I just might get caught up!
You always have so much going on! And I probably won't participate in your new meme as I'm not much of a foodie person but if I ever come across something that might fit, I might give it a whirl!
The Last Dickens is on my wish list!
Sunday Salon: October Wrap Up
Blink blink and it's November already! I really want to read SHANGHAI GIRLS and I, CLAUDIUS.
Oh! You read FABLES! I hope you liked it... I forgot to ask!
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