Monthly Wrap-Up: September 2017

Welcome to Fall, the season of horror, monsters and pumpkin spice lattes! September is coming to a close, and I need to sum up what has happened this month along with some interesting finds.

Book Reviews

• Tokyo Ghoul, Vol. 2, by Sui Ishida: 4/5 Stars
• Day of the Oprichnik by Vladimir Sorokin: 3/5 Stars
• Trans Voices: Becoming Who You Are by Declan Henry: 4/5 Stars

Currently Reading

I’m reading Sandra Uwiringiyimana’s memoir, How Dare the Sun Rise, and the eARC of Molly Ringle’s soon-to-be-released novel, The Goblins of Bellwater.

Memes & Book Tags

• Six Degrees of Separation from Wild Swan to Paradise Lost
• The Outlander Book Tag
• Book Traveling Thursdays: Travel Bucket List

Discussion Post

I wrote a post about constructive criticism in book reviews. I learned that there are several ways to contact the author so that they can hear your comments about their writing, which may lead to changes in the book or improvements to later writings.

Reading Challenges

#TheReadingQuest

Long story, short. I didn’t complete the challenge. Here are the stats:

Class: Bard

Level: 1

XP: 20

HP: 61

I did finish one book, which was Nisemonogatari: Fake Tale: Part 01 by NisiOisiN.

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 53/60

Pages Read Challenge: 11,905/17,000

I’m 95 pages short of a level that has a real name. Ninety-five until I am at the Bonsai level. I’ll get there next month

I would like to have counted all the pages I’ve had to read as a slush reader, but I haven’t kept track of how many pages I’ve read. Heck, I’m not even keeping track of pages that I’ve had to read out of traditional textbooks.

Back to the Classics Reading Challenge: 5/6

I’ve had to read a lot of Shakespeare over the past few weeks, but only one play applies to the challenge. That is The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.

Banned/Challenged Books Reading Challenge: 9/13

No change here.

Graphic Novel Reading Challenge: 10/12

The second volume of Tokyo Ghoul fits for this challenge.

Library Love Challenge: 18/24

The book that went to this challenge is Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia.

Operation Deepen Faith

Since there are way too many verses for me to keep track of, I’m tracking myself by chapter. I’m disappointed in the fact that Bible as Literature will not have us read the entire Bible. In fact, we’re reading very select chapters, so I will probably push this challenge into the new year.

Percent of Old Testament: 7.9%

Percent of New Testament: 0.0%

Percent of the Bible: 6.1%

Picture Book Reading Challenge: 9/20

2. a counting book – DK Braille: Counting by Fleur Star, designed by Jemma Westing

This little board book teaches counting in both braille and with the Latin alphabet. It also checks to make sure that you know what the numbers mean on the last two pages. The best part is that each image that is to be counted is a texture. The balls are made of rubber, and the worms are sticky.

98. a bilingual book – Guadalupe: First Words / Primeras Palabras by Patty Rodríguez, illustrated by Ariana Stein

Inspired by Our Lady of Guadalupe, this board book introduces little ones to their first words, which are the same in English and Spanish. Stein’s illustrations are beautiful and all fit one color palette.

Read It Again, Sam, Challenge: 1/8

Romeo and Juliet applies to this one as well. It was required reading when I was in 9th grade. It was weird this time because I saw Juliet as more mature in this reread.

Reading Challenge Addict: 2/11

I had hoped to count #TheReadingChallenge toward this, but I didn’t complete it. The count stays at two. Because of a couple of these challenges, I have to wonder if I should have set a lower goal for myself. I should have allowed myself some wiggle room to fail one or two challenges. I’m leaving my goal at 11.

Interesting Finds

It’s Banned Books Week, the week where book lovers go crazy about reading every book that has been censored in some capacity. While I appreciate the mission of Banned Books Week, last year author S. Hunter Nisbet wrote about why he stopped caring about Banned Books Week. It sheds an interesting light on the subject of book banning.

Dahlia Adler @ LGBTQ Reads interviewed four authors with the overarching question: “Where Is the Queer Black Male Voice in YA?” They answer questions about the publishing industry, writing, and diversity. I highly recommend reading this interview.

On the subject of diversity and representation in YA, Mikaela @ The Well-Thumbed Reader shares her perspective on reading diverse books as a diverse reader.

As a once Twihard who still appreciates it for what it is, I liked reading why Cal @ Cal’s Constant Raving Reviews values Bella Swan. I’m personally tired of hearing all the hate directed at Twilight, so I’m happy to have found a defense for Bella that I agree with.

Rene Denfeld on Lit Hub says, “Don’t Make Violence and Abuse Just Another Plot Device in Your Novel.” All too often, violence and rape are just plot devices in novels.

On a lighter note, Morgan @ The Bookish Beagle was inspired by the back-to-school season and her love of history, so she created her own major (for the book community): History of Fictional Worlds. She chose several fictional worlds and made them fields of emphasis. For each field, she created a list of courses you can take. From her list, I would love History of Magic or History of Westeros.

Final Thoughts

I think October is going to be difficult to stay on top of blogging. I will do my best, but it’s possible that there will be a week with only one post.

Thank you as always for reading, commenting, and liking my posts and for following this blog. Have a wonderfully creepy October!