Monthly Wrap Up: September

Hello, lovely bookworms!

Here we are again, it’s another month gone and time is moving too fast for my comfort! There’s only three months left for the year’s end, how? I mean. Just how?

So, September. September has been a month, not a great month but not a terrible month either. I am still doing my daily Duolingo Italian thing, I might have added Norwegian and Greek to it but you know what? I don’t mind. It’s slow going but I am learning and more importantly remembering it as well. I haven’t had the same luck with audio lectures, about half-way through one course, I was just…done with the course. I mean, it might have had something to do with the professor but I think it was mostly just me. Despite it being one of my favourite topics to study or read about, I couldn’t get into it. It sucks, it absolutely sucks.

My health wasn’t the best this month either and it affected my blogging. I felt so freaking guilty when I didn’t post but the thing was, if I had posted there would have been a very obvious lack of quality so I didn’t dare post anything. That might have been a good decision. Maybe. Of course it didn’t help that reading wise, this wasn’t my best month.

I didn’t read a lot, I only read eight books? Yep, eight books. I didn’t reach the double digits and it’s ok, I mean, there was a literal almost two week period of reading slump so, I understand. Sort of. I wasn’t able to get into a few books and it really made feel down, if I am being honest. That might have affected my overall reading, I think. I might be totally wrong about that but hey, who knows!

However it wasn’t all bad. I mean, it was pretty bad but it wasn’t the worst. It easily could have been, which is what I tell myself to help me sleep. Anyway, I did a bunch of tags and I also started something. I am not sure how well it will be received or how well it would actually help me but yeah, it’s out there now. It’s called Wednesday Wishlists, here I talk about what I wish to change about myself or what I need to improve myself. It’s a bit of a self-improvement thing but it also has bookish things in it, so, it’s a win-win for me.

Wednesday Wishlists 1

Wednesday Wishlists 2

I also did a few tags (Linked below) and I did an unboxing for the July box of The Big Book Box. I was then nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award (what????). If I don’t count anything else but this then this was an exciting month.

Bookish Tags:

Bookish This or That Tag

Fall Book Tag

I am forever trying to make my posts better so if you see some minor or major changes then it’s for the betterment and nothing else.  Feel free to offer some input, ok? If you look at my life and blog and just me in general, it’s pretty obvious I need all the help I can get. Hehe. (I laugh but it’s painfully true.)

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

★★★★

Gosh, I had heard so many wonderfully things about this book and it being based in one of my favourite eras, I was really expecting something good. Unfortunately, it didn’t blind me with its brilliance. That is not to say that it’s not a good book, it’s an okay sort of book. Maybe the hype got to me but the fact of the matter is that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped to. Oh well, you win some, you lose some, right?

Amazon

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

★★★★★

What can I say about Radio Silence that hasn’t already been said a thousand times over? It’s an absolutely brilliant book and I adore it with all my heart. Everything in it is just….perfection, ok? The diverse representation, the mental illness representation, the characters, the plot, everything is awesome and I am in love with this book. Also, just in case anyone was wondering, Aled is my bb and he will be protected at any cost, thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

Amazon

Love is Blind by William Boyd

★★★

So, another one of the reasons my reading month didn’t go swimmingly. This novel had so much potential and so much research went into it, it’s obvious in the writing but the thing is. The thing is, the characters let me down. In any book, I need the characters to be fleshed out and I need to see growth and I saw neither in this one. The plot also wasn’t particularly enticing. I will be on the look out for the author though because his writing is seriously good.

Amazon

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

★★★★★

Gosh, this book! It starts quietly and ends just as quietly but in between this, so bloody much happens. It starts out so hopeful and a little bit awkward and as the story progresses, I started to feel so bad and sad for Frances and Edward. God. I admit to crying a little bit but you know what? It might have been set in 1960s but the thing is, I could relate to it in this decade because well, in India, it is still something of a taboo topic. I just loved it, ok? I want to read more of McEwan’s books now.

Amazon

Soonish by Kelly Weinersmith & Zach Weinersmith

★★★★

This was such a fun read! I love to read about technology and generally those texts tend to be pretty dry but with this one, I had a few genuine laugh-out-loud moments. With tons of research between the two authors, this husband-wife duo tells us about ten emerging technologies and why most prototypes aren’t produced on a mass scale. If you are into technology and you wanna read about maybe upcoming new things then this is the book for you.

Amazon

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

★★★★

Another one of those books I have seen practically on every bookstagram account and on every bookish blog. Celeste Ng is a well known name within the bookish community however I hadn’t had the pleasure of reading anything by her. This month, I finally decided to read this one. For the longest time, I wasn’t really sure whether I liked the book or not but something was clearly making read more and more to reach the end. With so much happening, and such vivid characters in the book, it finally made me fall for it. I want to read more Celeste Ng. I will say this about the book though, one has to be in the right mood for this book.

Amazon

I Was Born For This by Alice Oseman

★★★★★

Another Alice Oseman gem!! This one dealt with fandom culture and how eerily similar it is to religions. With absolutely brilliant cast of characters and their very real problems, this book managed to make me feel drained by the end of it. I really felt for Jimmy, his anxiety along with his paranoia really made me sad. Angel Rahimi is truly an angel on earth and should be protected at all costs! Read it, trust me, you will love it.

Amazon

What Should Be Wild by Julia Fine

★★★★

This was a book I had been looking forward to reading for a while now. I was so interested in the blurb and it managed to have the effect on that I was hoping for. I didn’t totally wow me but it wasn’t so terrible either. I really liked the concept but beware if you are thinking of reading, there should have been some serious content and trigger warnings because there are instances when I was surprised by what was happening. When I bought it, I don’t know why I thought it would be something close to YA. It’s not. It’s really not. However, I did like the book a lot hence the 3 ½ stars. I will be on the look out for more from the author.

 Amazon

 

And that was September for me! I didn’t read a lot of books and only a few of them truly managed to capture my eternal love but you know what? I also had that almost reading slump and I blame it entirely. And considering my September TBR and Current Reads, I think I did pretty well.

So, have you read any of the books mentioned above? If yes, which one was it and did you like it? Do you agree with my rating or would you like to offer some input to claim otherwise. I think September could have been better but it just wasn’t, here’s to hoping that October will better. It’s also my birthday in October so it better be a good month or else. Hehe. (I am serious about the threat tho.)

*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may get a small commission for purchases made through this post.