Bookwyrm Breakdown: It’s November and We’ve Been Dealing with Life

Hello friends and bookwyrms!

Wow, Lupe and I planned on doing this since May 2020 and every month we kept pushing it off. Truly we are living up to the Procrastinator Life. Without school we no longer have deadlines and we’re going to get exposed in every way.

But we’re doing this! Finally.

Welcome to Bookwyrm Breakdown

This is our version of a monthly wrap-up, where we essentially tell you if and how our lives are, in fact, breaking down. Kind of fitting, considering how 2020 has been an overall shit opening to a decade, but the universe generally likes to cook up some catastrophes.

Sometime in the whirlwind of reformatting blog posts, we might have come to the realization the blog is probably the only way we’d actually remember anything that happened in our lives like the time I ran over a bunny. And doing a weekly wrap-up (when our hearts desired to do so) or even a bi-weekly wrap-up felt a little much other than the same things:

• Work
• Sleep
• We ate some books
• I found a gem from our younger selves
• I broke the blog
• Lupe played video games

This Month’s Posts

Months later, still haven’t come up with a better name that fits our Brand™.

• [5 Oct] The Last Angel Warrior by John W. Wells III ★★½
• [8 Oct] 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad ★★★
• [12 Oct] Find Me Their Bones by Sara Wolf ★★★½

Books Hoarded

Sophia

I’ve been staying off Netgalley for the most part these past few months because I’ve been falling behind. Every time I think I’m in the mood for reading, it turns out that’s not the case.

• Send Me Their Souls by Sara Wolf (ARC) – I finally wrote my review for my ARC of the second book, Find Me Their Bones and I am so so ready to see the finale.
• The Alchemist and an Amaretto by Annette Marie (Audiobook) – It’s about time that I catch up with the series since I last read Demon Magic and a Martini.
• The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig
• Shine by Jessica Jung
• Death’s Door by April White
• The Iron Raven by Julie Kagawa (ARC) – I would 100% break my Netgalley ban for Julie Kagawa. I would also break it for Katie Zhao and a few other authors.
• This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria (ARC)

Lupe

Oh, hello there! It’s been a hot minute since you’ve last heard from me. I assure you that I haven’t been reading at all, but I’ve been burning a hole in my wallet from all the books I’ve been buying lately. My bookshelf is OVERFLOWING. My TBR? HA. In SHAMBLES.

• The Cruel Prince by Holly Black – Heard very good things about this series!
• The Wicked King by Holly Black
• The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black – Confession time. I bought the B&N special edition set. I couldn’t resist! The covers look great on my shelf!
• In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren – Honestly, the blurb was intriguing. Plus, I enjoyed The Unhoneymooners. This novel shouldn’t be a miss.
• Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren – I remember Sophia telling me about how she enjoyed reading this. Naturally, I caved.
• You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle – I guess, I’m on an adult romance train? I heard this involves pranks. Who doesn’t love a good prank?
  • Sophia currently: Yes yes yes yes yes yes
• The Hating Game by Sally Thorne – Damn, I really went on an adult romance book-buying spree. Trust me, it doesn’t stop here.
• The Roommate by Rosie Danan – Alright, hear me out. There was SO MUCH HYPE surrounding this book. I’m gonna see for myself if this is worth the hype. Got to branch out my horizons, right?

Books Devoured

Sophia

I don’t really know what reading is but somehow I read books this month? At least in the earlier parts?

• The Tea Dragon Festival by Katie O’Neill
• The Last Angel Warrior by John W. Wells III (ARC)
• The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi (ARC)
• The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig (Audiobook)
• The Alchemist and an Amaretto by Annette Marie (Audiobook)

I really really wanted to read my ARC of The Fallen Hero by Katie Zhao because it’s one of my most anticipated reads of the year but uh… that fell through quickly.

Lupe

I bought too many books this month, but I haven’t read any. I’m a disgrace to the book blogging community. I’m sorry for letting you guys down this month. *Insert Crying Emoji*

Fandom Assemble

Fandom Friday is being shelved and squished into the monthly breakdown! The name is definitely a Marvel reference.

Here’s what we’re each excited about that happened this month:

Sophia

I’ve been so busy being tired all month, I don’t even know anymore.

Lupe

SEASON 2 OF THE MANDALORIAN IS FINALLY HERE! This show is something I have been looking forward to since the last season ended. Baby Yoda is everything. I’m looking forward to finally have something to watch on Fridays after work. I also look forward to The Masked Singer every week.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a game I thought was way overhyped. I was so wrong. This game is so pure and adorable! I haven’t played it in a while knowing that if I do play, I spend HOURS trying to perfect my island. Sector 45 is the name of my lovely island. If you know the reference to that, you’re a real one.

The Breakdown

What catastrophes have the universe handed us throughout the month? Let’s find out. 🧐

Sophia

My mental health has been down the drain and all I’ve been wanting to do is take a nap outside of my full-time job, much to my mother’s dismay. With limited internet access now that I’m no longer in school, I’m back to my high school blogging ways and finding ways to make the most of my mobile hotspot. But other than that, here’s what’s been happening this month!

• Continuing Korean – I can kind of form very basic sentences like “This is an apple,” but I’ve got a ways to go.
• Messing with Pinterest again – I’ve been playing with how I want Pinterest images to look on blog posts. Now that a lot of my blogging is more mobile, I’m trying to find ways to be more efficient like creating images on my phone and then uploading it to the WordPress app.
• Overhauling my landing page – Okay, I actually did this on November 1, which is definitely not October, but I did plan the layout during the month! (Kind of.)
  • Next on my list is overhauling a few pages on the blog and my media kit, which was originally for a class. It’s long overdue for a makeover.

Lupe

What a month.

I got a job mid pandemic right after getting my undergrad in my field of study which I am truly grateful for. Although I complain about waking up at at 6 during the week, I’ve enjoyed having the entire afternoon to do whatever I desire. Does that include reading? Sadly, no.

• The ‘Reading’ Struggle Bus – I can’t tell you the last time I have picked up a book and read it. There are times when I get in the ‘reading’ mood but get overwhelmed. Which book do I read? Why do I keep buying books when I haven’t read this book I bought last week?

Let’s talk, bookwyrms! Tell us about your October. How are you coping?