Failed TBR and Mystery/Thriller Binge | September Wrap Up

Hey everyone! September was a mixed bag for me. I returned from my blogging hiatus (YAY!), but spent the first week panicked and uncertain about Hurricane Dorian. I live in Orlando so hurricane preparation was kind of wild. Stores were out of water or limiting the amount you could purchase within hours of the forecast and well, Floridians don’t know how to act in times of crisis lol. I’m very happy we weren’t impacted and saddened by the damage it caused in the Bahamas. September was also a little challenging for my mental health. I had a few 3 a.m. breakdowns, but somehow I survived.

During the week I was off from work because of Dorian, I decided to challenge myself with a secret September TBR. I was really excited about the TBR (and still am), but I abandoned it after two books because I’m allergic to TBRs and ended up mood reading a few mystery/thriller books. Hopefully, I’ll get to those books very soon and will still be able talk about it on here when I’m done. Anyways, without further ado, let’s get into the wrap up.

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September Wrap Up & Stats

Somehow, I read 10 books in September (5 YA and 5 adult). Of the 10 books, 4 were ARCS. My most read genre this month was mystery/thriller. Even though I read 10 books, it doesn’t feel like I read 10 books because most were rated low. My average rating was 3.3, which shows that most of the books I read were middle of the road and not very memorable. Now for the breakdown of the books I read.

📖 Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite (review)
📖 The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager (review)
📖 The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (review)
📖 Toussaint Louverture: A Revolutionary Life by Philippe Girard (review)

📖 Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris (review)
📖 Frankly in Love by David Yoon (review)
📖 The Grace Year by Kim Liggett (review)
📖 Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson

📖 Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell (review)
📖 The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young (review)

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September Favorites

• Trello – This productivity tool has changed my blogging and work life. Normally my desk at work is filled with post-it notes, notebooks, and memo pads that house my to do lists, but I haven’t had a need for that since I started using Trello.
• Google Sheets – I wanted to be a more consistent blogger when I returned from my hiatus so I’ve been making spreadsheets to track my blogging schedule and that’s helped tremendously. I blacked out the October stuff, but here’s what it looked like for this month. I color coded everything.

• Kelly @ Another Book in the Wall wrote this great guide about removing stickers on books.
• Alexandra @ Whimsy Pages tried a speech-to-text app for a week for her blogging routine.

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October Goals

1. Read two ARCS
2. Keep up with my buddy read for Well Met by Jen DeLuca
3. Publish at least 4 blog posts
4. Read two outstanding books for my 5 star predictions posts and my secret tbr challenge

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How was your September and what are you looking forward to in October? Let me know in the comments!