October 2018: Recap + On My Shelves

October 2018: Recap + On My Shelves

• Dec 7, 2018

Yes, you're reading that post title and main graphic correctly. This is my October recap... in December. I'm laughing at myself, honestly, but I couldn't resist posting this anyway. Here's what I've been up to this fall:

1. My New Bookshelves – As I mentioned in my September recap, we recently moved. When we found the house we ended up buying, I realized there was a room that would be perfect for a library. I mentioned an Ikea Billy bookcase hack to Nick, and he surprised me by making it happen. It's a dream come true!

2. All Things Fall – October was filled with all things fall: corn maze, hay ride, hot boiled peanuts, petting zoo, trick or treating and a good ole' fall festival. This photo is from the fall festival in our neighborhood, and it felt like being a mini Stars Hollow. I haven't blogged much lately because I've been soaking up this special season. 

3. My Most Anticipated Release – We did so many fun things in October, but I had to mention the release of Kingdom of Ash. It was my most-anticipated 2018 release and such a bittersweet moment when I had it in my hands. I drove to the bookstore that morning and got to spend all day binging it. Such a great memory! 

Read 14 Books | Favorites:

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Lethal White by Robert Galbraith

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

“Pretending you're OK when you aren't isn't strength.”
Lethal White by Robert Galbraith

 “Tears were misunderstood, she thought, and used inappropriately most often.
They were designed as a private response of being. Because sometimes life filled you to the brim
and spilled over. Tears were the body's way of cleansing the overflow of emotions,
from sorrow to joy and so many others that couldn't be described.”
Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy

 “Remember that we have something to fight for, and it will always triumph.”
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

 “When someone stabs you it's not your fault that you feel pain.”
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

“How frightened we are of being known, and yet how desperately we long for it.”
The Good People by Hannah Kent

I didn't get very much blogging done in October. I started off the month with my September 2018 recap, even though it was weeks late by the time I posted. Then, I was excited to talk about all the Anne of Green Gables related books that I'd seen recently in Beyond Green Gables: For Anne Fans at Every Age. 

And finally, I finished the month by collaborating with Alexa from Alexa Loves Books, Kelly from Belle of the Literati,  and Rachel from Hello, Chelly on a celebration for the release of Kingdom of Ash. We called it Light Up the Darkness. Our Series Roulette and Twenty Questions posts were so fun, but it was our final post – What Throne of Glass Means to Me – that was my favorite. I, unsurprisingly, wrote an essay about my love for the series.

This is a new recap section that I thought I'd try! I've been more active lately on Instagram, which is probably one reason that I've had less blogging energy. But ideally, I'd really like to make time for both things. I'll probably never blog as frequently as I used to, but I'm not ready to abandon this space altogether. But, since I am posting content on @soobsessedblog that you aren't seeing here, I figured I'd start including one of my bookstagram photos from each month in this recap. It won't necessarily be my post popular – just one that I'd consider a favorite!

Favorite Album: Borrowed Heart by Heather Morgan 
I didn't listen to very much music in October because I focused mainly on audiobooks,
but I did enjoy this album. I think my favorite song on it is "A Hundred Miles."

Sex and the City, Season 1-3, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Kim Cattrall and Cynthia Nixon – You can blame Kelly for this TV binge! She's been begging me to give it a try, and I couldn't resist when she gifted me the first two seasons after finding them at a garage sale. I watched while I unpacked and worked around the house, and it was great for that since I didn't have to give it my complete attention to still follow along. The humor and content is too sexual for me (as expected), but the friendship aspect made it a fun watch overall. 

Just Because: A Fatal Grace, The Cruelest Month, A Rule Against Murder, The Brutal Telling, Bury Your Dead, A Trick of the Light, The Beautiful Mystery, How the Light Gets In, The Long Way Home, The Nature of the Beast, A Great Reckoning and Glass Houses by Louise Penny

New Books: Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak, Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas and The Simple Wild by K. A. Tucker

Used Bookstore: Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon and Marrying Winterborne, Cold-Hearted Rake, Mine Till Midnight, Seduce Me at Sunrise, Tempt Me at Twilight, Married by Morning and Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas

For Review: The Gown by Jennifer Robson and Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy

Kindle: All Fall Down and All Aces by Ellie Marney and Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas (and audio, too!)